You
are a great spirit using a biological body to have experiences
A SPIRITUAL PATH FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM
By
Walter Last
Traditionally the main focus for those following a spiritual
path has been to transcend the human condition as rapidly as possible. Much of
spiritual practice involves withdrawing from worldly activities either
temporarily or permanently in order to reach so-called higher dimensions.
However, consider a different scenario. Spirit,
individualizing as souls, seeks to explore and experience the dense world of
physical matter. For this purpose it forms biological bodies that allow it to
become creative and master this world, but the real purpose of wrestling with
physical and biological aspects is to experience itself more fully in the
dimensions of feelings and mental conditions.
Therefore, the real focus of a soul may not be to
overcome the need for a biological body as quickly as possible, but rather to
develop and train a personality that allows it to be fully functional on these
levels, and to experience these worlds as fully as possible. This may actually
be the original and oldest spiritual path, if you want to call it that. The
main feature of this original 'path' or condition was that the incarnation
remained aware of who it was and why it was here. The troubles of mankind
started when it began forgetting this, by becoming deeper and deeper enmeshed
in karmic issues. Karma is the tie that binds us to this world in ignorance.
Therefore, the key to returning to the original path
is to realize who we are and act accordingly. See yourself as a spirit using
this body as a tool to have the adventure trip of a lifetime. Feel yourself as
a spirit observing how your body and your personality react to the varying
experiences. Spiritual growth is not meant to happen through suffering but
rather by expressing your inner essence in joyfully creativity.
Because of some outstanding karma you are not always
in control of what happens in your life, but you can be in control of how you
react to these events, and that will shape your future. By remembering who you
are, you will have fun dealing with events in an appropriate way, in a joyful
way, a way that maximizes your experiences. By knowing who you are you also
know who your brothers and sisters are, and you treat them accordingly.
In time you learn more and more to shape your future
experiences by your expectations. No need anymore to get out of this body as
quickly as possible once you have finished your apprenticeship. Just realize
that 'there' is no better than 'here' or vice versa, you can be joyful or
whatever you want to be in either place, with or without a biological body. In
this way you truly are a free spirit, you can experience your incarnation as it
was originally meant to be.
Spiritual Communities
But there is more! Until now a realized incarnation
was very much alone, there were not many others at the same level around to
associate with. It longed for like-minded company; it longed to live in a
spiritual world. The only reason to remain here was to teach and help advance
humanity. However, now there are so many spiritually realized individuals
present that it is possible to form more highly evolved social structures where
a spiritual being can feel at home.
There is no need anymore to leave this planet in order
to incarnate in a highly evolved spiritual society on another planet. We can
start forming a highly evolved spiritual society right here. The Internet has
greatly helped by making it so easy to establish worldwide links.
I see the next step in the formation of communal
groups of spiritually realized individuals, working towards a common goal.
There can be a wide variety of spiritual groups, from meditation and healing
groups, to those living together as spiritual families or tribes on large
tracts of land. This is not meant as withdrawing from society but rather as
establishing ‘spiritual universities’, to experiment with and teach
‘holistic living’, to develop a model of a new cooperative society.
Traditionally, similar ventures were either on a small
scale, or commercially oriented, or the individuals were not sufficiently
evolved, or there was a spiritual leader with a group of followers. The obvious
signs of a spiritual group or society are harmony, cooperation, and a minimum
of rules. The main quality to look for in someone who wants to join a group
living communally is the ability to live in harmony with all the others.
Forming interconnected spiritual communities would
bring several advantages, in addition to the obvious ones for the participants.
These communities would serve as examples or showcases for the rest of society,
and they could become focal points of healing activity, spiritual teaching and
social innovation. Eventually a new world order may evolve based on cooperation
and spiritual values. Last not least is the survival value in the event of
worldwide calamities that greatly damage or destroy our present civilization; a
new cooperative civilization can then re-grow from strong spiritual roots.