spiritual teachings
Spiritual Power And Spiritual Practice
We are spiritual beings having a physical experience. This is important to remember when considering the nature of spiritual things. The root word for spirit is ‘breath.’ This means that every person that is breathing is equally spiritual.
Too often people think that there is a hierarchical system within spirituality; that some people are ‘more spiritual’ than others. This is simply not true. There may be individuals that have a more intentional spiritual practice, with more understanding, knowledge, or wisdom. However, this does not make them ‘more spiritual.’
The nature and purpose of spiritual practice is also something that can be misunderstood. Whether it be prayer, meditation, invocations, or other sacraments, these practices are not just to get what we want. It can be a byproduct of authentic spiritual seeking and practice, but in nearly every tradition, true spiritual power is often summed up with three principles: Love, Joy, and Peace.
All spiritual practices are intended to lead us to tap into these three qualities. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, Love, Joy, and Peace are the first of many “fruits of the spirit.” Authentic spiritual practice is meant to lead us to the experience of these three things.
The Truth About Manifesting
Spiritual seekers often ask, “Why am I struggling to manifest what I want? Why is it taking so long?” Many books and workshops on the Law of Attraction and the practice of manifesting, tend to give people the false belief that they can simply say something like, “I want a million dollars,” and then it will show up in their bank account.
I have attended many of these manifesting workshops in my lifetime, and I have watched many webinars on the subject. Most of them have one thing in common: the people leading them are charging a fee and are certainly making money. But I have yet to see their students achieve the same!
Manifesting is tricky. You have to learn to allow, and to keep your thoughts, your free will and your ego out of it. Manifesting is also guided by what you are meant to have, or the lessons that you are meant to learn from past lives, current or past karma, and even your desire to have it all ‘right now.’
We have all had experiences of thinking of a person… and then suddenly you run into them, or receive a phone call, text or email from them. Is it just coincidence, or is it synchronicity, or did you actually manifest it? Take a moment to consider this.
Magic And Manifestation
Every human being has powerful magic inside of them, and part of my job is to teach people how to use that energy. I understand that ‘magic’ is somewhat of a loaded word. So, let me re-frame it for you. Jesus called if faith and told us that with a small amount of faith we can move mountains. Buddha called it thought manifestation and explained that our conscious thought produces our reality. How we focus our energy will eventually manifest in one way or another in our lives.
One thing that concerns some people with this kind of talk is the idea of darkness, or evil. Darkness does exist, but I believe that it exists only as a catalyst to increase our vibrational frequency, if we are ready to do so. My personal belief is that darkness cannot stick if there is nothing for it to stick to. This is why when discussing lower vibrational frequencies the best action is to increase our vibration.
There is really no war of light versus dark. We can turn on the lights and then if there is something that needs to be cleaned up, we can clean it up. The darkness does not struggle when the lights come on. It just goes away. For nearly all problematic circumstances our primary goal should be to change our consciousness and increase our vibrational frequency.
The Wisdom Of Forgiveness With Healthy Boundaries
We all have experienced the unease of feeling unable to forgive someone who has wronged us in some way. Sometimes it is really hard to let go of the way someone has gossiped about us, for example. It is difficult to understand why some people have the need to act the way they do, especially when these people are directly or indirectly related to us. Some families just split up and have nothing more to do with each other, because of this lack of forgiveness.
I was meditating on this one night before bed, and asked the Great Spirit to give me deeper insight and understanding on forgiveness. I had consciously made the healing decision for myself, that I will no longer share and keep space open for those who continue to do the same things to me, over and over, because it is unhealthy for me. But, I still felt the need to forgive. And I needed insight on how to do this.
Do You Also Remember Atlantis?
Are you an Atlantean? Since I was quite young, I have been able to remember some of my past lives. I was raised by atheist parents, so I didn’t call them past lives, since I had never heard that phrase before. I called them ‘the other times.’
In one such other time, I was an Atlantean. I have met many Atlanteans on my path in this life. Are you one of them? I remember being always dressed in white, like everyone else there (just like I do now as Kundalini Yoga instructor). White is cleansing and represents purity. More importantly, white deflects negative energy. Black absorbs it.
I have noticed, as technology began to evolve more in recent years, especially since 2000, that I became more nervous, because I remember how technology destroyed Atlantis. Technology is meant to be a good thing, but how it used is a potential danger.
Karmic Issues Versus Karmic Debt
There is a vast difference between karmic issues and karmic debt. Suppose you have a neighbor that you don’t like. Maybe he is a braggart and a show off, but what might complicate this further is that he appears to be totally successful. He buys a new car every couple of years, while you are lucky that your old clunker is still getting you back and forth to work each day.
His pretty wife and three whiny, noisy children go on marvelous vacations every year and you are always made to know about their adventures, whether you care to listen, or not. You have to hear how exceptionally exotic and expensive all these getaways are. Meanwhile, you cannot even remember the last time you took your own family for an outing that required more than a tour through the entire kitchen of the local Golden Arches!
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.