Open-Secrets

Tag: spiritual journey

  • Spiritual Liberation

    Is All the Fuss About Spiritual Liberation Really Necessary?

    spiritual_liberation_freedomSpiritual liberation, spiritual freedom, enlightenment, the spiritual journey – I see and hear references to these terms all the time. What is it that is being sought?

    Being liberated means there is no clinging to anything; there is no worry, no concern, no heaviness. The mind is not fixated, focused or bound to any particular content; you are aware of whatever arises in the mind, without effort, without even trying to be aware. – A.H. Almaas

    Does this mean we all just want to relax and be worry free? In a way yes, but perhaps there is more to the story.

    What is it that keeps us stressed, uptight, reactive, fixated and un-liberated? In the greatest of all ironies – it is the very thing seeking spiritual liberation that perpetuates the state of suffering – it is us, our identification with something less than liberation.

    The agitation and suffering that results from our lack of spiritual liberation keeps us seeking liberation – which is often imagined as a state of living free from sadness, difficulties, economic downturns, bursting real estate bubbles and the like. Quite preposterous if we really think about it.

    Whether you are happy or sad, whether a person is there with you or not, none of these things seem important. For the moment you are completely free from all the concerns in your life. This state can never be achieved by striving for it. It will just happen one day, and if you notice it you won’t think it’s a big deal. You’ll go on eating your dinner or whatever you are doing. The moment it becomes a big deal, it’s gone.  – A.H. Almaas

    It’s quite the conundrum. If we do nothing, it seems like we will remain where we are, right?

    The old adage – If we continue doing what we have always done, we’ll continue getting the same results.

    Again it’s not so much what you do as who/what does. Getting to the point of understanding this often takes some doing for most of us – which obviously delays spiritual liberation.

    Links of Interest

    [ad#post468]

    Items of Interest

  • Ego Development

    Development of the Ego – sounds like a constuction site project and in many ways it is. There are foundations, structures, images (facades) and much more that seem similar to a housing project – and why not – when all is said and done a person lives within that structure – most are shut-ins, fearing to venture outside of their ego development (ego identity).

    Although many things are known about ego development, there is still much to learn.

    Ego development, as defined by Jane Loevinger, who developed a model to illustrate human personality development, consists of the changes in mental processes put in place by the self or ego (one’s self-image or sense of being) to make coherent meaning of what is happening as it experiences day-to-day life. Therefore, one could say that the ego is a meaning making machine, engaged in constantly organizing and reorganizing everything it sees, feels, hears, touches, senses, thinks and tastes. It does this to create and recreate a human viewpoint – your viewpoint. This is the individual perspective which each human can rely on to approach the enormous job of living life. Our egos work tirelessly on our behalf making our worldview out of the barrage of conflicting information that we are immersed in everyday. – Paul Marko

    A Google search on Ego Development shows almost 500K returns. Beyond the students of psychology and researchers who would be searching?

    Knowledge of ego development is invaluable for those on the spiritual journey. Ego development results in ego identity – what many spiritual seekers refer to when they say – false self.

    The true self that is sought is the self that exists free from identification with the ego and it’s structures. The “false self” does not need to be destroyed and we don’t need to engage in some holy war with it. Simple curiosity and understanding will allow the false to disolve and what’s true to remain.

    Understanding ego development helps this process along.

     

    [ad#post468]

     

    [ad#post468]

  • Google God for Guidance

    I’m still reading Your Soul’s Compass and came across a paragraph I just have to share –

    Seeking spiritual guidance is often misunderstood as consulting a cosmic Dear Abby or a universal Google for advice on relationships, health, and illness, pathways to financial freedom, or even great car deals. While there’s guidance out there fabout everything in life, the kind that we’re most concerned with here sheds light on the spiritual journey itself. Are we going in a direction that helps us become less selfish, more compassionate, and peaceful? Or have we gone off on a tangent that keeps us tethered to old habits and perceptions, which perpetuate fear, greed and ignorance?

    That first sentence is wonderful. Many people seem to approach God, True Nature, Allah, Jehovah, Brahma… with this kind of cause and effect orientation which is clearly an anthropomorphism of the divine consciousness.

    I don’t want to get into that debate, but what do you think – can you Google God in your head or heart?

    Google-god

    I guess if that doesn’t work then…

    Dear Abby,

     

    [ad#post468]

Open-Secrets