You cannot become a master by remaining a follower
THE SPIRITUAL PATH
By Walter Last
The purpose of life,
including our human life, is the evolution of consciousness. The aim of our human
existence is to become as fully human as possible, to realise or make real the
full potential inherent in the human condition. This applies to all levels of
being human, to the biological, the emotional as well as the mental level.
Instead of seeing yourself
as just a personality with a mind and a body, imagine yourself as part of an
individualised life-stream that flows eternally towards increasingly higher
levels of consciousness. This life-stream builds itself different personalities
as vehicles for its flow of consciousness. You are one of these temporary
vehicles. Your personality is temporary, the present cutting edge of your
life-stream as perceived in our space-time.
The aim of your life-stream
at this level is to develop a vehicle that allows the full expression of your
soul suitable for travel beyond the human condition. When this is accomplished,
no further personalities are needed. As an ascended being the life-stream can
now traverse the trans-human conditions of consciousness.
SPIRITUAL AWAKENING
This evolution of
consciousness normally is a slow process and most personalities are not aware
that they are part of an evolutionary growth. However, as the personality comes
closer to perfection, it does become aware of its purpose and it begins to long
for spiritual unfoldment. Before this spiritual awakening, the personality may
already have believed in God and followed a religious faith in the traditional
way. But there is a difference. In the traditional religious life the believer
may try to follow the doctrines of his faith the best he can, but he basically
remains on the same slow evolutionary path of consciousness.
With the spiritual
awakening, spiritual growth becomes the main focus of this personality. The
slow evolutionary process now becomes a spiritual revolution, not only in
regard to the speed of the growth of consciousness but also in regard to the
overthrow of established values. This spiritual revolution may take place
within the confines of an established religion or it may happen outside a
religious faith. Within a religion, these awakening spirits will sooner or
later come in conflict with established doctrines. They may try to
revolutionise or restore their church to its highest ideals and eventually
become mystics or saints or martyrs or just start their own church or sect.
Most established religions had at best an uneasy relationship with their
mystics and (later) saints.
In any way, whether the
awakening and subsequent spiritual growth takes place within or without an
established religion, the awakening personality will begin to follow the
spiritual guidance that comes from within rather than the established rules and
doctrines of church and society. Spirituality is no longer something that one
does on Sunday mornings or other established times and according to established
rules, but rather it becomes the central purpose and focus of life. With this,
we may say that the personality is now on the spiritual path.
VARIETIES OF SPIRITUAL
PATHS
While the real goal of the
spiritual path is the same for all, there are many different roads that one can
travel and one may even travel without a road. Also the goal may be described
in different terms without always recognising that it is the same goal. This is
so because we all have different starting points and different preferences and
opportunities. Many spiritual travellers will not expect to reach their goal in
their present lifetime, while others may realise that they do not really need
to travel anywhere.
Some of the better-defined
roads are the different forms of Yoga, the Tao, the Gnostic teachings, the
Rosicrucians and various ancient and modern
Looked at from a different
perspective, we may say that there are two different approaches that often
intermingle in each individual spiritual path. One is the path of the Doer or
the Magus, while the other is the path of the Knower or the Mystic. The Doer
mainly works in the world as a healer, alchemist or white magician, trying to
master the non-physical energies and forces. The Mystic, on the other hand,
follows mainly the inner path, seeking
THE PATH OF THE MYSTICS
The recorded experiences of
the many mystics in all religions is of particular interest because we can
learn from these what the spiritual path looks like when it is not guided by specific
verbal or written teachings. Most of these individuals in past centuries did
not know that there was such a thing as a spiritual path and that others had
travelled the same or a similar route. They just felt a longing to come closer
to God and to feel at one with Him, to melt into Divinity like a drop of water
becomes one with the ocean.
Each of them had different
experiences and many of them walked only part of the way, but by constructing a
composite picture from a large number of their writings we can discern a
distinct pattern of the typical mystical path. Few mystics seem to have
travelled all of this 'typical' path, but this may be because we can see only
one life-time of a multiple-life-time journey. This typical mystical path may
best be described as a five-stage journey and we may easily see its
relationship to contemporary spiritual practises.
1. The Awakening
The spiritual awakening is
the beginning of the mystical path and also of the spiritual path in general.
It may be sudden or gradual. Often it comes as an emotionally overwhelming
'mystical experience', possibly ending a period of great emotional torment and
suffering. Another frequent setting is during a spiritual initiation ceremony,
such as presently during water baptism for 'Born-Again Christians'.
Others may have this
awakening experience during an especially intense prayer or meditation or drift
gradually onto the path by attending workshops or reading spiritual books. The
latter as well as others coming to the path because of philosophical
considerations turn out to become like the 'mental mystics' as compared to the
'emotional mystics' who had their mystical experiences mainly at the emotional
level.
This initial peak
experience may last for hours or days with gradually declining intensity.
Commonly it is a combination of deep feelings, such as universal love, with
profound spiritual intuition or insight, although depending on the personality
traits the emotional or the mental component may dominate. Also psychic
phenomena are frequently involved in the form of visions and voices.
2. Purification
After the awakening the
individual does not only want to repeat the mystical experience but really
wants to live in a permanent state of grace close to God. However, the aspiring
mystic realises that he is not yet worthy, he becomes acutely aware of his
imperfections, of the impurity of his thoughts and feelings. He starts to
cleanse himself of all selfish or impure desires. Commonly this is combined
with periods of fasting or food denial. Medieval mystics tended to be very
severe with themselves in order to 'mortify' the body and with it the unruly
senses and the desires of the flesh. Worldly pursuits no longer hold any
interest. Periods of prayer and meditation are greatly extended.
While this process of
purification requires strong willpower and causes much self-inflicted pain, it
is also increasingly interspersed with beautiful and uplifting mystical
experiences that spurn the seeker on to greater sacrifices for the sake of more
rapturous experiences. This purification process continues for many years.
Instead of turning the spiritual energies released by the awakening experience
inward to purify, it may also be directed outwards. These individuals then
become religious fanatics and may remain at this level for the rest of their
lives.
3. Illumination
After the Self has been
sufficiently cleansed or purified and the mind remains fully focused on the
presence and the qualities of the Divine, a state of illumination may
unexpectedly arise. This will be similar to the experience of awakening but
even more intense and longer lasting. Again, it may be predominantly emotional
with feelings of indescribable Divine love, being at one with 'All That Is' and
combined with visions and voices, or it may be predominantly mental with
profound insights and states of pure knowing. Commonly the initial peak
experience is combined with perceiving an intense or blinding inner white
light.
For many months these deep
feelings and insights will keep flowing in, but gradually settle into a state
of a permanently raised and more intuitive consciousness. The illuminated
mystic will now always remain aware of the Divine presence in everyone and
everything and radiate a presence of love and goodwill. Intuitive abilities
will be greatly increased. Commonly, one will receive a spiritual gift with the
illumination. This may be the ability to heal or to see or to know. By
developing this ability one will become a great healer, seer or spiritual
teacher.
The perception of mysticism
as being incomprehensible to normal, unenlightened humans is due to the fact
that most mystical writings were composed by the emotional type of mystics.
They focused on emotional states of being and perceived and described their
visions and experiences with emotional metaphors that remained incomprehensible
to the uninitiated. This is similar to the present descriptions of reality
given by quantum physicists.
Life in this state of
illumination is easy and full of joy, a permanent state of great happiness and
contentment. It is like living in a state of grace that can never be lost
again. But sometimes it is being lost.
4. The Dark Night of the
Soul
There is a saying that he
whom God loves most, will be given the severest tests. This certainly seems to
be true of the few mystics who continue to travel further along the spiritual
path even after illumination. During the long and difficult purification
process the aspiring mystic gave up most of his sense attachments, the pleasure
of eating, of sexual union, of bodily comfort and of pleasant company. Instead
all the energies were focused only on what was perceived to be transcendental
and divine.
But there was still one
thing left that had not been surrendered, that is the will, the central part of
the Self. To give up the will, the innate instinct for personal happiness had
to be surrendered. This is called the 'mystical death' or the spiritual
crucifixion. During illumination the mystic seemed to walk hand in hand with
God and sunned himself in eternal Divine bliss. This makes the contrast even
greater to the feeling of having lost all the former grace and glory and being
totally abandoned by God to a life in abject misery.
However, gradually the Self
begins to accept total surrender. It gives up itself, its personality and
individuality, asks for nothing and desires nothing. Now there is total
passivity and acceptance of whatever God has ordained or whatever comes. Now
the mystic is finally ready for the last stage of his earthly journey.
5. The Unitive Life
Finally, by giving up
everything, the mystic has gained everything. By being completely passive, he
is able to be filled with the Divine Spirit. No longer does he experience the
strong mood swings between divine bliss and utter desolation, he has now
settled into a feeling of constant peaceful and love-filled union with the
Divine. However, this is not the goal of his long journey, just a by-product.
The real achievement is that the mystic is now an ideal tool or instrument of
the Divine Will to be used for manifesting the Great Plan on earth.
While now the mystic still
lives in the world, he is no longer of the world. He may be a great reformer,
healer, inventor, statesman, educator or spiritual teacher but whatever he does
is never for any small or selfish interests, instead it is always for the
greater good of All That Is. He now lives a life of service. Whatever he does,
he is now a spiritual master, even if that is not always apparent to the
outside world. After his passing, he will be an ascended being, not needing to
return to earth.
Comments on the Mystical
Path
In this description it is
easy to draw comparisons to the life of Jesus of Nazareth and see in it a
symbolic enactment of the mystical path. The baptism symbolises the spiritual
awakening, the 40 days in the desert correspond to the period of purification,
followed by illumination (the transfiguration on the mountain) and selfless
service in the form of a healing and teaching ministry. The experience on the
cross and the events leading up to it are his dark night. While the unitive
life is cut short, it is signified by the ascension and the following teaching
period in ascended form.
It may also be mentioned
that the described states of the mystical path do not necessarily follow one after
the other but some may occur simultaneously, such as enlightenment and the dark
night of the soul or purification, enlightenment and selfless work. These may
coexist or alternate, causing emotional extremes over short periods.
Coexistence is possible because we do not need to be perfect to reach
illumination and, therefore, continue with our purification on deeper levels.
Furthermore, these extremes
and the perceived sufferings are mainly the lot of the emotional type of
mystics while the mental type follows a much smoother path. Both have the
difficult task of giving up their attachments to gratifying the senses and
surrendering their will, it is just that the emotional mystics are so much more
sensitive and take things very much to heart. It also must be understood that
it is not necessary to give up things, only the attachment to things but that
was not always understood by those leading a life of extreme asceticism.
ASCENSION TEACHINGS
The ascension teachings are
a New Age phenomenon and largely based on channelled teachings. These started
with Madame Blavatsky and led to the foundation of the Theosophical Society
late in the nineteenth century. The aim of these teachings is to present a
greatly accelerated path to ascension.
Ascension is highlighted as
the main aim and achievement of the spiritual path. Ascension means that we are
no longer in need of experiences at the human level. For our continuing
progress towards higher levels of consciousness we develop a spiritual light
body through our ascension work. Presently ascension teachings focus mainly on
guided imagery to open, balance and extend the chakra system and build a light
body.
A key feature is a system
of initiations as a measure of progress on the spiritual path. These
initiations are to take place in our higher energy bodies and may or may not be
remembered with our normal body consciousness. While there are some variations
in the way of counting, the basic requirements for passing the five initiations
before ascension may be described as follows.
While formerly initiations
in the physical body took place in the form of tests and rituals within secret societies,
presently they appear to be incorporated as special situations in our normal
life. As an example the third initiation requires us to have good control of
the mental, emotional and etheric forces. In ancient
A modern equivalent might
be a diagnosis of advanced and incurable cancer. To overcome this without much
outside help, one needs to use the mind constructively to guide the emotions in
a positive way, release all negativity, especially be free of the fear of death
and also learn to direct the life-force energies as in guided imagery. While only
a small percentage of sufferers of advanced incurable diseases may have been
given their disease as an initiation test, most of those who did recover from
near-terminal conditions reportedly had profound spiritual experiences.
Ascension and the
Mystical Path
The relationship of the
ascension initiations as portrayed above to the divisions of the mystical path
are quite obvious. Starting with the spiritual awakening in both, the first
three initiations are related to the mystical period of purification. In
contrast to the yoga system of purification, which concentrates strongly on
controlling the etheric energies, the mystical path does not address the
etheric or life-force body directly. However, this level is purified indirectly
by removing emotional energy blockages and by learning to control the emotional
energies, which in turn direct the etheric life-force energies.
Illumination is the first
major initiation and is the result of purifying and learning to control the
mind and developing a higher mental body as the requirement for the third
initiation. The fourth initiation will be passed after waking from the dark
night of the soul and the fifth initiation is the result of the unitive life.
The ascension teachings
portray largely a magical or doer path in contrast to the knower-based mystical
path. A combination of both may in some ways be easier to follow than either
one of them on its own. The severity of the mystical path can be greatly eased
and progress speeded up by suitable guided imagery, while the present ascension
teachings seem to neglect the purification and control of the emotional and
mental bodies that feature so prominently in the mystical path.
AN INTEGRATED SPIRITUAL PATH
Presently travellers on the
spiritual path have two important advantages as compared to those in former
centuries. We now have published information on the nature and variety of
spiritual pathways so that we no longer need to find our way alone in the
darkness of ignorance.
Furthermore, with the
information explosion in recent decades and the learning of technical skills,
our capacity to understand and communicate has greatly increased. What formerly
could only be expressed as incomprehensible mysticism, can now be understood
and presented in rational and scientific terms. This makes it much easier for
us to come to the stage of illumination instead of being bogged down for long
time spans in emotional misery, which formerly was the lot of most mystics.
In the following, I want to
give some helpful information on the various stages of a modern spiritual path
and on the different components and tools that you may incorporate into your
individualised approach. There is now so much information available on
ascension, the path of yoga, working with energies, healing the emotions and
the mind and so forth that your problem is not to find information, but to
develop the ability to discern and know what is right for you. You can do this
by keeping your highest goal in mind and asking your inner or higher guidance
for help.
Beware of getting
sidetracked by psychic abilities or happenings. Developing psychic abilities
can be fascinating, but is no more spiritual than material, emotional or mental
activities. However, psychic activities can be more deceptive than other
activities. Most psychic happenings take place on the astral level or open us
to astral influences. Spirit entities operating on this level commonly are less
spiritually developed than someone on the spiritual path and often give
misleading or mischievous information. They also love to imitate or pretend
being a high spiritual entity or even God.
Churches, sects and cults
commonly have astral counterparts that feed on the devotion of their followers
and try to lure potential recruits just as much as commercial advertisers. But
these astral entities are more dangerous because they are usually hidden from
our awareness and their intentions and methods may not be clean. Already
AWAKENINGS
Do not worry wondering
whether you had already a spiritual awakening and are now on the spiritual path
or not. Just start or continue searching for spiritual information, reading
interesting books and visiting spiritual web sites. You will be doing the right
thing. By always keeping your goal in mind, you will quite naturally be
attracted to what is important and right for you.
While in the beginning it
is helpful and necessary to read quite a bit from different sources to get a
good overview, later it is better to read as little as possible. By continuing
to read a lot you remain at the intellectual level and that hinders the
development of intuitive abilities. Instead keep the subject in mind about
which you want more information, ask your guidance for help and trust that the
right book will fall into your hands when needed. Even then, often you may not
need to read the whole book but quickly find what is important for you.
One of the early sidetracks
on the spiritual path are the many interesting books now available. If you do
not control yourself, you can easily become addicted to reading and spend the
rest of your life reading interesting books on spiritual and related matters
instead of really doing what needs to be done. Therefore, move quickly through
the information phase and start the real work. Whenever you really need
additional information, your spiritual guidance is likely to let you
unexpectedly find it.
If you are a practising
member of a religious denomination, you do not need to be concerned that the
spiritual path may be incompatible with your religious beliefs. Instead, you
may expect that it will increase your faith. If you discover a contradiction or
incompatibility here or there, put it on the shelf for the time being.
Remember, the spiritual path does not have any doctrines. Any writings about it
are personal opinions that you do not need to accept. On the contrary, walking
the spiritual path means finding your own insights and personal relationship
with your God.
PURIFICATION OR
CLEANSING
The purification period
does not need to be a time of misery and suffering as it was for the mystics.
Instead, it can be a time of adventure and discovery. The greatest adventure is
to discover yourself. By removing biological, emotional and mental blockages,
you will become healthier and happier. Life will become emotionally as well as
mentally more satisfying. What could be better? The main fun of the spiritual
path is not the arrival at the end, but the whole long and interesting journey
of getting there.
You do not need to make a
sharp distinction between working on the biological, the etheric, the emotional
and the mental level. They are all closely related. It is just easier to write
about one level at a time. You may concentrate on one level, say the emotional,
which also affects all the other levels at the same time, although the greatest
impact will be directly on the emotional level. It is also easier to start with
concentrating on the body or biological level and then proceed to the etheric,
emotional and mental level in turn.
In addition to purifying,
we also aim to strengthen and balance each level to achieve an overall inner as
well as outer harmony. We may say that we move to sanitise and spiritualise all
aspects of our Self.
THE BIOLOGICAL LEVEL
While many great spiritual
teachers have not placed much emphasis on the body, they nevertheless purified
it just as a side effect of their spiritual quest. See for instance the 40-day
fast of Jesus of Nazareth in the desert, or the Buddha fasting until the
imprint in the sand where he was sitting in meditation looked like the hoof
print of a camel. The Buddha is also quoted as telling his monks: "if you
want to be healthy, eat only one meal a day". Of course, that was in
Furthermore, in previous
centuries all food was organic, and air and water were still unpolluted. We
have to work hard on purifying our bodies to get to the point where previous
spiritual seekers started. Therefore, it has advantages for the later work on
the higher levels if we start with sanitising the biological level. For this I
recommend:
THE ETHERIC LEVEL
The main features of the
etheric level are the etheric body, the etheric part of the chakra system and
the acupuncture system. For a basic understanding of this level see the
articles in the section on 'Energies' at this web site. This level determines
directly the basic health of our body and how energetic we are. This is not
only the energy of life and of the etheric blueprint of our body, but also the
energy of healing and manifestation.
In order to manifest
something, be it our own health or healing someone else or manifesting a
physical or social condition, we need to do energy imagery: hold a clear
visualisation or other form of guided imagery of the desired situation, fill it
with etheric energy and expect it to manifest in your reality. This is the
basis and the principle of all genuine magic. An important part of our work at
the etheric level is learning how to accumulate and direct etheric energy.
The most important
principal to understand is that energy follows thought. However, mental and
etheric energies exist on vastly different density levels and do not affect
each other directly. Therefore, they require the assistance of the emotional or
feeling level, which is sandwiched between the two. For learning to accumulate
and direct etheric energies I recommend that you practise the exercises described
in Cultivating the Energy and also in The Love Cure. When you are able to feel the energy
flows, you may also try using them in guided imagery for healing and other
manifestations.
Furthermore, by practising
The Love Cure you automatically improve any weaknesses and imbalances in your
chakra system. This, in turn, will have favourable effects on your health, on
healing your emotional level and building your light body. If you are so
inclined, you may in addition also acquire and use any of the various guided
ascension and chakra meditations available on tape or CD from New Age outlets.
For improving your
acupuncture system see the article on Meridian Therapy,
and use mainly mental tracing after you have learned to feel the energy flows.
For more practical information on working at the etheric level you may see the
various books on Kahuna Magic such as the pioneering books by Max Freedom Long
('The Secret Science Behind Miracles' and 'The Secret Science at Work') and the
more recent 'Kahuna Healing' by Serge King and 'HUNA - A Beginner's Guide' by
Enid Hoffman.
THE EMOTIONAL LEVEL
For most travellers this
will be the most difficult and possibly painful level to sanitise but it will
also be the most rewarding. To start with, I suggest that you read the articles
in the section on HEALING OUR EMOTIONS, and especially the main article 'The World of Feelings and Emotions'.
The important steps in
healing our emotions are:
1. Emotional Cleansing
Experiment with the methods
described in Mind Tools, especially emotional
release, regression and the Emotional Freedom Technique. These are best
practised in Healing Groups as described in the article on 'Healing Social Relationships'. Also rebirthing
may be used if you have the opportunity.
A relatively simple way to
contact and release past emotional traumas is by using present emotional
upsets. If something strongly affects you emotionally, try to feel into
yourself, possibly combined with a relaxation or meditation exercise, to
discover why it upsets you. Most likely some old forgotten memories come up
about a similar incident in your younger years. Whatever the method, when an
emotional event from the past is made conscious, it either ceases its
detrimental effects on its own or can now be dealt with in a rational way.
Some of the main hidden
emotions that we need to uncover and release are fear, guilt and resentments.
These block the flow of life-force energies and make us susceptible to lack of
energy, diseases and aging. The main remedies, after making a suppressed
emotional memory conscious, are unconditional love, understanding and forgiving
ourselves and all others.
On this level you do not
need to clean out all hidden negative emotional memories that would probably be
impossible. However, you should aim to uncover and remove all those factors
that interfere strongly with the flow of life-force energies in your body, with
your emotional health and enjoyment of life and also with your ability to make
clear and impartial decisions.
The most important
emotional event to discover and release is commonly our last death experience.
This often is at the root of our present health or social problems. To discover
and overcome this try regression therapy as described in Mind Tools.
2. Overcoming Addictions
and Cravings
For many, overcoming their
addictions and cravings may seem to be the hardest task of the spiritual path. Addictions
to certain foods, drugs and stimulants are best overcome with a combination of
Emotional Freedom Technique, guided imagery, prayer, affirmation and cleansing
periods with a very high fluid intake. Also homoeopathic doses of the addictive
agent can be helpful.
In addition, we may also be
addicted to or have cravings for certain activities or objects, such as sex,
gambling, entertainment, expensive dresses, jewellery or antiques. Again, the
activity or object is not the problem, but rather the attachment to it, the
desire for it that controls us rather than we controlling it. The most
important step is in acknowledging that we have a problem in this area. Apart
from prayer, meditation, guided imagery and affirmations, the most helpful
approach would be to live for a sufficiently long period in a simple way in
natural surroundings.
3. Free-flowing Emotions
Freely expressing our
emotions for most of us is contrary to our upbringing and social conditioning.
A first step is in learning to feel our emotions when they arise instead of
suppressing them because the time or situation is not appropriate. Then we may
decide to express them immediately in a harmless way or re-enact the situation
at a later time. We can then in our imagination relive the situation and may
kick or punch a pillow or do or say, possibly in front of a mirror, what we
felt like doing at the earlier time. Nevertheless, it is preferable to develop
the skills to react appropriately whenever the situation arises because then we
can also be an example to others.
Marriages and other close
relationships are ideal opportunities to learn communicating. If free
expression is not always possible, then arrange a fixed time at the end of the
day or once a week when you each can freely express your thoughts and feelings.
It is important that only one speaks without interruption until he has said
everything he wants to say and then the other replies also without
interruption. See the article on Healing Social Relationships.
4. Generating Positive
Feelings
After emptying ourselves of
negativity and learning to acknowledge and express our feelings and emotions,
it is equally important to fill and surround ourselves with positive and
uplifting feelings. Ideally this will come as a naturally by-product of
habitual meditation and through focusing on spiritual feelings during our daily
activities. In this way we develop a higher emotional body as a precondition
for the second initiation.
In addition, it will be
beneficial to practise feeling exercises as explained in the article on The Love Cure or in the Love
Meditation. Another possibility is to look at a beautiful or impressive
object, such as a tree, a flower, a cloud or a landscape and send feelings of
appreciation, admiration, joy and love to it. You can do the same by thinking
of an individual whom you like or love. After sufficient practise also send
feelings of forgiveness, appreciation and love to anyone whom you may have hurt
or who may have hurt you in the past.
Finally, learn to carry the
loving feeling that you can now generate in special situations over into your
normal daily activities. You can do this by training yourself to carry this
loving or joyful feeling in your heart wherever you go or whatever you do.
Whenever you see or meet someone, you can embrace that individual with the warm
feeling in your heart. This is especially important and effective for improving
relationships with people who do not seem to like or appreciate you.
As another useful exercise
you may try learning to change one feeling into another. You can start with any
emotional feeling that you may experience at the time or you may just generate
a warm feeling by breathing into the abdomen or you may generate an emotional
feeling by imagining an appropriate situation. Intensify the feeling as much as
possible, but then imagine how another emotion might feel. In this way you may
experimentally convert love into anger and then back into love. This will show
you that you do not need to be at the mercy of emotions arising as a reaction
to outside events but that you can make a mental decision how you really want
to feel.
5. Reacting Positively
After learning to remain
centred in the self-generated positive feelings of our heart, we still need to
learn to react positively and appropriately to the many frustrations of our
daily lives. This can come only by letting ourselves be guided by a spiritual
belief system. After adopting a spiritual philosophy of life it will be much
easier to see everything that happens to us as a test of our progress on the
spiritual path.
Every day we have many
little tests. It is alright to feel a burst of anger if we break a valuable
item, but we may also just laugh about our clumsiness or look for an inner or
outer reason why it happened. It does not matter too much how we react, as long
as it is appropriate. If we do feel a burst of anger, then it is appropriate to
feel it and not try to rationalise it away. But after having felt the anger, we
should not remain stuck in it but use our mind to get out of it, either by
seeing the funny side of it if that is possible, or by trying to learn from it.
However, it would not be appropriate to suppress any stirring of anger by
quickly switching to one of the other modalities.
It is similar with our
reactions in relationship to others. The basic rule is to feel and express
whatever emotion comes up, but then to modify it according to our understanding
of the situation from a spiritual point of view. Our emotional reactions are a
reflection of our beliefs and the more spiritual these become, the more
positive will be our reactions. The ideal is that we can express our feelings
naturally in a way that is a positive example.
THE MENTAL LEVEL
Our mind is the most
important level to heal because here we make the conscious decisions that
affect all other levels. For an overview see the article ‘Healing the Mind’. As with the other levels, our
aim is to free ourselves of negativity and developing positive aspects instead.
A well developed higher mental body is a precondition for the third initiation.
We build this higher mental body by practising abstract creative and intuitive
thinking such as by thinking about the purpose of life or existence or the
nature of God.
In order to free yourself
of negative beliefs and thoughts, you must first recognise them when they
occur. A recommended way is to develop the habit of having a small part of your
awareness in the background as an observer. Whenever you have a negative
thought, your observer will ring an alarm bell and you realise what you have
done. Then, as a mental exercise, find the corresponding positive thought.
As an example, you may watch
someone passing by and observe that she is rather overweight. If you notice
having a critical thought about her weight, mentally apologise to her and
either send her a mental compliment about some other aspect of her appearance
or just wish her well. It is alright to observe, just refrain from uninvited
judgments, especially of a negative kind. However, the habit of critically
evaluating others is the opposite to an invited critical and constructive
assessment in order to help someone.
Another important aspect in
controlling our mind is to refrain from talking about other people, especially
about common friends, relatives or acquaintances, except when exchanging some
relevant factual information. Anything more is gossiping, judging or
criticising and would delay progress on the spiritual path.
The Law of Manifestation
Any kind of worry is
negative, whether you worry about your finances or your health or about a child
or someone else. Worry or concern is a form of fear and that is the opposite of
positive expectations and faith. To a large degree we shape our own future by
what we expect. Our inner self tries to manifest what we expect. Our
expectation acts like a magnet to attract and draw the expected event into our
outer reality. If we worry about anything, we expect a negative outcome and
help to make it come true.
Therefore, our key lesson
to learn at the mental level is to know what we want and then without wavering
expect it to manifest sometime in the future. Except where timing is essential,
it is best not set a definite time limit. If we want to use magic to help our
expectation to manifest, we can use energy imagery as mentioned earlier:
visualise or imagine the desired result and fill it with emotional and etheric
energy. The critical factor then is our unwavering faith until the expected
event appears.
This brings us to the next
important step, to know what to manifest. It is said that we should be very
careful with our wishes because they might come true. That means that we are
usually ignorant about the hidden implications of a fulfilled desire. Often
there is a spiritual or karmic price to pay. We may delay our spiritual
progress or even take on a karmic burden of another individual whom we try to
help. We may still have certain karmic obligations to fulfil in this lifetime
and it would be detrimental to our spiritual progress trying to delay or avoid
their consequences.
Often an incarnation with
the specific purpose to reach ascension in this lifetime starts already with a
severe handicap and is intentionally filled with difficult and possibly tragic
karmic events. These tests need to be passed before reaching the high goal. The
greater the handicaps, the greater the victory if we are able to overcome them.
When we are progressing on the spiritual path bad things do not just happen to
us by accident. Therefore, we really do not need to worry; whatever happens to
us is good in that it helps us to reach our goal.
Every adverse event,
whether karmic or not, gives us a chance to proof ourselves. We need to pass
tests on every step of the way to make sure that we have learned our lesson;
otherwise the lesson has to be repeated over and over again. To come close to
such a worthy goal as illumination or ascension, we must be able to pass the
lion test in one form or another.
What all this means is that
it is not advisable on the spiritual path to use magic that is our mind power,
lightly to avoid obstacles and make ourselves an easy life. If we are
successful, we may just have evaded a test and will have to wait for another
test to be arranged. Another way of saying this is to go with the flow of your
life and do the best you can, rather than always trying to make things happen
according to a preconceived plan.
Pure Motive
Another thing to watch out
for is the motive for our actions. While it is important that we try to do the
right thing, it is even more important that we have a pure motive. Being pure
at heart means having pure motives. Therefore, another job for our inner
observer is to watch over our motives and warn us if there is any doubt. In
case of important decisions we may meditate and contemplate about our motive
and make sure that it is sufficiently pure.
A method that helps us to be
fair in all situations is to see a problem from all sides, especially from the
side of someone who disagrees with us. Usually everyone in a disagreement has a
valid point and we have to learn to understand all these opposing views and
find the common ground that is fair to all.
With all this focus on
purity and doing the right thing, it is easy to fall into the old habit of
suppressing what we perceive to be negative within us rather than transmuting
and overcoming it. Suppressing creates new blockages and brings us back where
we started. Rather we have to acknowledge and integrate all parts of our
personality into a single conscious unit. Only when we are fully conscious of
our negative parts can we successfully transform them.
Acting like a Master
A good way of overcoming
our weaknesses and reaching spiritual mastership is by acting as if we have
already reached it. With every doubtful or important decision we may ask
ourselves what a spiritual master would do in this situation and then just do
it.
Remember the advice given
to Jonathan Livingston Seagull by his teacher? In order to be instantly in
another place just imagine that you are already in that place! If you
habitually act like a spiritual master, then you are a spiritual master. Never
mind a few mistakes or wrong decisions. Nothing better then our own mistakes to
learn from. You still have many years ahead of you to learn doing the right
thing most of the time.
Actually, when you have
reached a level where your motives are basically unselfish, then you do not
need to be too concerned about making the right decision. Just trust your
intuition or inner guidance. Whatever you choose will usually be right. It will
be like going on a camping trip or bush walk and you have four choices of
getting to the selected camp site: a high track over the top of the hill, a
much longer level path, a shortcut across a stream through an overgrown valley
or you can simply sit in a bus or car to get there. Each of these choices will
give you a different experience. Depending on your preference at the time you
may choose the high road or the low road, adventure or comfort, it does not
matter, there is no wrong choice, only different experiences.
However, the concept of
right and wrong still exists in relationship to our intentions or goals. If it
is your intention to reach the camp site in the most comfortable way, then
obviously the bus or car is the right choice and the other choices are wrong.
Right and wrong only disappear if you look at life or your path as a fascinating
adventure and do not mind what it brings you, if you are not attached to
outcomes.
MIND TOOLS
Prayer, meditation and
studying holy Scriptures were the basic original mind tools on the spiritual
path, especially in the West, while in the East visualisation or guided imagery
and mantras were commonly used in addition. All of these are still very useful
now. For an introduction to some of these methods see Mind
Tools. In addition you will find some of the more modern techniques very
helpful, especially regression therapy, relaxation, affirmations and centring.
You may gradually develop a
routine where you combine several of these methods in a daily program. This
may, for instance start with prayer and/or affirmations, followed by
relaxation, then guided imagery and finally meditation. During the day practise
centring. A good way to remain centred is to use a silent mantra. A Hare
Krishna devotee might use "Hare Krishna" as mantra while someone
raised in the Christian tradition may mentally repeat "Jesus
Christus" or "Your Will Be Done".
At the same time we may
focus part of our consciousness on the heart or forehead chakra. We can do this
whenever our mind is reasonably idle without the need for concentrated
thinking. When we have to focus our attention we temporarily interrupt and
afterwards start again with the mantra. After some time of practise it will be
easy to do this automatically whenever the mind is idle.
In addition, you may make
an effort to become and remain more and more aware of your God Presence, at
first in meditation and as guided imagery, but gradually also in your daily
life. Imagine your God Presence as shown in the picture of The Magic Presence in the introduction
to the Spirituality Section. Instead of a figure, you may just visualise an
intense white light over your head or feel or sense a protective and loving
presence.
Initially imagine sending
an offering of love or devotion through the top of your head straight up to
your God Presence or if lying down send it up through the forehead or from the
heart centre. Then imagine a strong beam of white light together with an
intensified feeling of love and protection entering your top centre and
proceeding through the forehead and throat centres to the heart centre. At the
same time feel and possibly see your whole body surrounded by intense white or
yellow, rose and purple light as depicted in The Magic Presence. Connect with
your God Presence in this way especially before any prayer or healing work.
The classical text on the
mystical path is 'Mysticism' by
The
Science of Spirituality
One of the main aspects of
the spiritual path is the development of a higher mental body or the capacity
for abstract, creative and intuitive thinking. This is the tool for opening and
developing the forehead chakra and may be seen as a precondition for the third
initiation or illumination. With this, wrestling with fundamental spiritual
questions in order to gain a deeper understanding not only helps to develop our
higher thinking but frequently is a trigger for illumination experiences.
One of these fundamental
problems is to reconcile our scientific understanding of the world with our
spiritual experiences and beliefs. There must be a unity at a higher level
despite the outer appearances to the contrary. Try if you can find this
understanding of the unity of all that is. What is matter, energy, spirit,
consciousness, time? In the The Science of Spirituality
I have outlined my answers to these questions, see if you can come up with a
different or better explanation. Then learn to apply these principles to
interpret and understand social phenomena or your own professional or
scientific area. There is a good chance that this can lead to an illumination
experience if you are otherwise ready.
Remember, the real purpose
of reading or studying 'The Science of Spirituality' is not to gain any
knowledge or to make a judgement about believing or not believing the theory,
instead it is all about developing your own ability of abstract creative and
intuitive thinking in order to develop a higher mental body.
Selfless service or service
to others is the practical expression of our spiritual consciousness. The
degree of our inner disposition to serve is an indicator of our level of
consciousness. However, just looking at the action itself may not show whether
it is a service to others of to oneself. Working as a healer, or writing a
self-help book, or working as a carer for a disabled person, or giving money to
charities may either be done out of compassion to help others, or it may be
done for a self-serving purpose, or it may be a mixture of both.
There is nothing wrong with
helping others and at the same time expecting or receiving a benefit for
oneself. However, the purer our motive, the more we act out of a feeling of
universal love or compassion rather than for personal gain and the more is it
an expression of genuine spiritual consciousness.
The
importance of selfless service is highlighted in the Ra Teachings of the Law of
One. According to this, the main criterion for moving from the human condition
to the next higher level of consciousness is the degree of our service to
others. To get to this higher or trans-human level, our interaction with others
in thought, word or deed needs to result in at least 51% of our actions being
selfless or in service to others. You can find a short summery of the Law of
One at http://www.lawofone.info/q_and_a.php,
while a longer version is at: Divine
Cosmos (or http://www.divinecosmos.com/
and go to Articles & Books). A comprehensive compilation of questions and answers is at http://www.lawofone.info/.
OUTLOOK
We know that we make good
progress on the spiritual path if in our daily life and especially in difficult
situations we display more and more the spiritual qualities of compassion,
devotion, faith, forgiveness, harmony, high ideals, joy, kindness, openness,
patience, self-responsibility, serenity, tolerance, unconditional love,
understanding, wisdom and a gentle love for All That Is.
Another way of assessing
our progress is by how well we are able to unite opposite characteristics
within our personality and manifesting each characteristic as the situation
requires. For example, are we able to be a good leader as well as a good
follower, a master as well as a servant? Can we display the male
characteristics of assertiveness, aggressiveness and power as well as the
female qualities of gentleness, kindness and yielding? Do we know how to be
strong in our beliefs but also open to change?
After years of diligently
working to purify and improve yourself you may be wondering when you will have
your mind-blowing illumination. However, that is counterproductive. The
illumination experience is an act of grace, a gift of your spirit that will
come when you least expect it. It may be during a meditation or in the middle
of city traffic. Waiting for it is a sure way of postponing it because patience
is one of the early virtues we have to learn. When it finally does happen,
enjoy it.
The same applies to
ascension. Presently it is fashionable to regard the various initiations rather
like university examinations for which one has to work hard by doing plenty of
guided imagery and meditation. I see this as counterproductive as well. Guided
imagery and meditation are helpful but should not remain the main or only
tools. I see the most important part of ascension work symbolized by the rose
and the cross as used by the Rosicrucians. The rose symbolizes the opening of
the heart chakra to universal love and the cross a life of service to overcome
suffering. Therefore, the real ascension work is a life of loving service.
You do not need to actively
look for good deeds to do or for your future field of loving selfless service.
Just continue doing whatever needs to be done at each moment and especially
continue purifying yourself at deeper and deeper levels. At the right time your
mission will be revealed to you. By now you become increasingly competent to
handle anything life throws at you or to play any role that you choose or are
obliged to play.
Looking back on the path
that you travelled so diligently, you may ask yourself "What Path?"
and wonder if there ever was a path or only a figment of your imagination. In
reality there was nowhere to go and nothing to do to get there. All you did was
to change your perception and your attitude. You know now that you are a great
spirit having a temporary experience in a body. Nothing really changes by
gaining or losing a body. As a spirit you can always choose to be joyful or
sad, peaceful or loving or anything else you want to be. That is spiritual
mastership. There is a Buddhist saying: 'Before enlightenment he gathered wood
and carried water; after enlightenment he gathered wood and carried water.'