dogma
Guidelines For Spiritual Growth
Spirituality is a wide-ranging concept with many diverse perspectives. In essence it is the process through which our inner being seeks to relate to something bigger than ourselves. It is the search for the meaning and purpose of our human existence. Spirituality is about our soul or spirit, and the unseen realms, as opposed to material things and physical life. It is also the life-long pursuit of inner peace, unconditional love, and existential wisdom and understanding.
Many people believe that the secret to spiritual growth and development can only be found in a book, a lecture, dogmatic belief system, or some other product or service that will magically unlock the doors to spiritual insight, happiness, joy and fulfillment. However, spirituality is a unique, personal path that each of us can explore on our own, from within. The following guidelines may be helpful on your journey towards spiritual fulfillment.
Reflection
The first step in personal spiritual growth is reflecting on your life journey. To be spiritual is to be questioning and inquisitive. Spiritual growth is a process of constantly learning and improving. One must be willing to open yourself to personal and spiritual growth, and by doing this your world opens up and things become less scary.
Holding on to past events keeps us from experiencing new adventures, and the emotional baggage will only weigh you down. Accept your past mistakes and learn from them. Reflect on what changes need to happen for you to move forward.
We are all teachers. We are either teaching someone, or they are teaching us – both good and bad. Learn from your experiences and move on with life.
Love Is The Healing Force
I grew up in a Christian family. In fact, it was going to seminary, and exploring world religions, that eventually led me to practice metaphysics and intuitive consulting as a full-time profession. Being trained and ordained in a Christian organization has also given me a unique perspective on alternative spirituality and metaphysics.
Jesus is, in fact, one of the spiritual guides I connect with when I work with people. This has made me realize that Jesus, the central figure in Christianity, is often misunderstood by many people. In the many years of connecting with Jesus, I am confident that he never had the intention to create a formal, organized religion. In fact, often the religious attributes attached to Jesus are far more complex than his original core message.
Jesus taught very simple strategies for life. I think sometimes these strategies are considered too simple by some people. When asked, Jesus was able to sum up his teachings in three simple statements. Someone inquired about an authentic spiritual path and Jesus gave two commandments and then gave a third statement, “In these two commandments rest all of the law and the prophets.”
This third statement is quite profound. He was stating that every spiritual text that had ever been written, or would ever be written, could be summed up in two commandments. This means that in Jesus’ perspective, if a person simply abided by these two commandments, they would be fulfilling the fundamental guidelines associated with religious and spiritual practice.
If you are interested in Jesus’ teachings, or interested in following the path he taught, then the good news is that you are already following the second ‘commandment.’ I have been living on this planet long enough to recognize that every person is already following this second commandment, which says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Choosing A Spiritual Path With Heart
There are many blind choices we make when we are too young or inexperienced to make the best decisions for ourselves. We are born into a family, or raised in a culture, for example, with its unique traditions and beliefs, or lack thereof, and we are usually quite susceptible in our youth to these influences.
In the process of becoming an adult, the questioning of such beliefs and traditions leads us towards who we will become, to discovering what truly resonates with us, and what does not. But this is something we may have taken lightly in our youth, and therefore needs to be looked over several times in our life to find out with real sincerity what is truly calling us.
It is possible that being born in a traditional Christian home, for example, we felt constrained and limited, even small and powerless, ultimately causing us to reject all dogmatic religion. For someone else, brought up maybe in an atheist home, the search for God or faith may bring a profound sense of empowerment and life purpose that nurtures their life. It all depends on us as individuals, and how we process our own reality.
Carlos Castaneda writes in The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, “Before you embark on any path ask the question: does this path have a heart? If the answer is no, you will know it, and then you must choose another path. The trouble is nobody asks the question; and when a man finally realizes that he has taken a path without a heart, the path is ready to kill him.”
We Are All Equally Spiritual
There is so much terminology and discussion about what it means to be ‘spiritual.’ There are both religious and other esoteric practices that people use, and entire languages developed around spirituality. While I personally believe that much of this is good, it can also often lead to things like elitism and greater polarization of people and groups.
So, the question today is: what does it mean to be spiritual? The answer is far simpler than some might believe, simply because of the original meaning of the term ‘spirit.’
In the Western world much of our religious tradition comes from Greek or Hebrew esoteric writings. In Greek the term for spirit is pneuma, and in Hebrew it is ruach. These are transliterations of the original words.
How To Choose Your Path
Think about all the choices you make every day. Do you cut that person off in traffic? Who do you vote for? Do you stay faithful to your partner or spouse? We all make many decisions every day that affect our lives and the people around us.
It is recommended we take time to wrestle with our decisions and make the right decision. When we are grounded and in alignment with our true self, it is not as difficult as it may seem. It is always more difficult when we take the path that the rest of the world seems to preach or dictate. The tendency is to take the easy path; the simple path; the selfish path. And once we do, we then wish we had taken a different path – a path less travelled. Hindsight is too often 20/20.
The Fallacy Of Being Perfect
People who go around trying to be perfect, or aim to “live up to their maximum potential” seldom seem to be happy. Neither do they appear to be living fulfilling lives. Their constant striving to achieve or maintain perfectionism seems to take the joy out of their lives.
Spirit inspired this chain of thought in me as I remembered three psychic readings that I did recently. The theme of perfectionism and potential had a profound effect on all three of my clients’ lives and or their loved ones. With their permission I am briefly sharing their stories here.
The first client called me upset, because she felt she had ruined their holiday stressing about wanting to make everything perfect. Not only did she take the fun out of it for herself, but for everyone else involved.
I connected with Spirit and received this message for her: “Doing special things like making Easter eggs and cooking Thanksgiving dinner should be enjoyable. Some people will like it, and some people won’t. Next week no one will remember. Learn to enjoy these activities more, and just go with ebb and flow. Spirit then also offer tools she can use to help her relax. Continue reading
The Truth About Dragons
Dragons are often relegated to the realm of myth, but in my experience the energy of these beings can serve as an ally in our everyday life. Dragons in the western tradition tend to have a bad rap. For example, in some Judeo-Christian theology, the dragon is considered a symbol . When I first encountered this type of being in my own life I was taken aback. My roots stem from the Judeo-Christian tradition and much of my training and personal evolution stems from this background.
In eastern cultures, dragons are looked upon in much the same way westerners consider angels. These beings bring with them blessings, help, and unique power to facilitate change. Dragons are also represented in the Biblical tradition as well, but they have a different name.
Several years ago, I had my first encounter with a dragon-like being. When I saw it I heard the word seraph, even though at the time I had little familiarity with the term. I looked up the term and the literal meaning of the word is, ‘flaming serpent.’
In my experience, the creature looked exactly like the traditional conceptualization of a dragon, with a few minor differences. I realized after this first encounter I had interacted with a seraph – one of the classes of angels. Continue reading