Tag Archives: spirituality

Spirituality Measured With a New Ruler

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You have your own personal spiritual system in place. You know what you believe is true for you and not something you believe because your parents or friends believe it. You have strong reasons for what you believe you believe. You feel you have all your bases covered.

One small thought for you consideration. Are you spiritually any farther along than your local neighborhood Atheist who’s believes you live until you die? As far fetched as it may seem to any “True Believers”, it is time truth be heard over popular fiction.

Some people keep their belief system in a box, taken out on the weekend for an hour or so, and then put back in the box until the next week. Other people try to be spiritual daily  according to their belief system, and for the most part they succeed.

We individually are sure we are the fortunate ones. Most people around us, family and close friends included are not in the same league as us spiritually. We do everything correct, and they do some things sort of correct. Due to our perception, we think we are correct and almost everyone else is wrong.

If this is true; if perception is stripped away, would we find each of us is pretty much the same? We all generally do the right things most of the time, and we individually feel we have the edge on everyone else.

In some small way those right things we do, somehow outshine our family, friends, and neighbors. Not to mention those people who live further away with whom we have no type of bond. Those far away people, well they live their lives in a way that does no good for anyone! Why do we think like this?

In truth, or at least my perception of truth, you and I, and everyone does what we perceive to be the ‘right thing’ as much as we are able. I accept I do not do the right thing all the time. I know no one who does do the right thing all the time.

Even people whom we pay to lead us spiritually, be they Guides, Guru’s, or Preachers, do not do the right things all the time. If they were interested in only doing the right things all the time, you would not be paying them for their services. They would be offering their services for free and working for a living as you are!

How many people out there, be they acclaimed Preachers, Guru’s or Spiritual Leaders of any type, offer what they know for free? They fall back, on the, “I need to make a living to you know” defense. I do not find that reason very defensible, having someone who wants to help me, demand money for improving me spiritually?

If there were no money involved, would these people still be there to lead? Some of these enlightened leaders are millionaires, and you probably have to watch your spending each month to keep your life on solid financial ground. There is nothing wrong with making a living, but not on the backs of people who struggle to find that space where they can become the type of person they want to be.

Which brings me back to the Atheist next door. Since Atheist’s generally believe we live until we die, there are no Guru’s telling any Atheist how to live a better life, and requesting payment in the process. Atheists do not need to review their belief system and see how it fits in any situation. Nor does an Atheist follow the rules and conventions of an organized belief system hoping for a reward in the after life.

The average Atheist is a lot like you or me with one small exception. When an Atheist does the right thing at the right time, it is done because they want to do the right thing, or think they should do the right thing. That one small difference more than levels the playing field of belief systems in the hope of living a better life, and having further reward at the end.

How empowering a concept that is? Having a belief system of nothing, no reward, no level of attainment, no eternal bliss for having a few boxes checked off a list of things we are supposed to be doing! Doing something good for another person because you want to, not because you may be punished if you do not?

Before you become angry and think I am promoting throwing away your carefully tuned beliefs, read to the end. The idea of holding up an imaginary Atheist as a spiritual leader for the rest of us to follow is an important one.

Not one figure who was/is seen as transcending the restrictions of living doubted for one second where they would be after their physical death. Few Atheists have any doubt about where they will be after physical death either. Grouped together, all these people did or do the right thing to make life better for someone else without any expectation of reward in the present or beyond.

All the rewards of this earth and beyond do not compare with doing service for another because you can and want to help someone who has a need. Helping someone not for the expectation of reward or advancement, but because you want to and are able to make a positive change in two lives at once.

None of us really have the ability to change anyone’s life. All we can do is place our intent with our action, and do what we are able to help people because we want to. The rewards that come from a life lived in this way are far greater than any checklist of actions to undertake than we would ever conceive.

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Meditation Ideas You Can Use

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I want you to know I am not a meditation expert by any stretch of the imagination, mine or yours. I can only speak from my experience, and the mileage of my experience varies according to your understanding. There are many people who teach meditation for a living, probably including your local college who will have more substantial information than this post may contain. This as an overview of my experience with meditation.

Over the years I have been skeptical about most paranormal or mystical concepts unless I have experienced them and can validate them myself. I have had to change my opinions about some things and with other things, they are not worth a second thought. Meditation however is the one of the ‘Real Deals’. Unless one is so rooted in their beliefs, believing nothing exists that cannot be proven scientifically, it is well worth your time and effort to give meditation a try.

The first type of meditation I learned which we all share or used to share is daydreaming. Daydreaming is a powerful free resource. Whether daydreams are confined to our minds or occasionally tap into some other source, I do not know. I do know daydreams tend to slip from the context of Daydreaming and become something else.

We all used to daydream as children. As we grew up daydreaming was relegated to those childish things we put away, or leave behind. Daydreaming in itself does not go away. After we have forgotten we used to daydream, daydreaming comes back to us in new packaging. Sometimes called positive affirmation, perceptive visualization, or other vague name, it is daydreaming. Once the pretty wrapper is taken off and we look closely, we will see the daydreaming we knew as  children in adult form.

A second meditation method I learned was meditating on or against trees. The idea is a tree will trade you energies, refreshing you and taking away your stress. How much energy exchange comes from the tree and how much from the process itself is not clear to me, but there is no better place to relax under when outdoors than a nice shade tree.

I stumbled into a quasi-meditation form that is part of Shamanism. I am not sure if Shamanic Flight could be considered meditation per se, but the process is about the same, only with different focus. Shaman’s use Shamanic Flight to help one or more people in some fashion. Shaman’s do this by being active in two realities at one time. Shamanic Flight is also used for other reasons, but that is a different subject.

One interesting aspect of Shamanic Flight is most people I know have met a ‘Gate Keeper’ who questions their purpose at the beginning of their Shamanic Flight. If the purpose for Shamanic Flight does not satisfy the Gate Keeper, their entrance to another world is denied.

They are kicked out of their semi trance state, waking with an abrupt start. In some instances Shamanic Flight is put on indefinite hold by the Gate Keeper, and you will become spiritually mundane against your wishes.

I came across a most interesting meditation which is uses a word to achieve a meditative state. If you have ever watched a movie where someone is in a sitting posture and repeating the word ‘Ommm’ over and over you are familiar with this type of meditation. While I personally do not think repeating Ommm over and over would work for me, I have experienced very interesting outcomes from using other words that feel right in the moment.

If you want to try a simple type of meditation yourself, start with daydreaming. Ask around  and find someone knowledgeable about meditation. If you do not know anyone, find one or more good written resource(s) to help you. If what you read sounds soft and mushy, find another book or website. Sitting down and successfully meditating cannot usually be done the first try without help. For some, meditation is a tedious painful process to go through before any of those wondrous benefits you hear or read about begin to be realized.

Shamanic Flight deserves the utmost respect, and extreme caution. If you want to explore meditation leave Shamanic Flight alone. Some people in their ignorance have approached Shamanic Flight as a new playground to be explored. Some of them are ever sorry for their lapse in judgement because they did not understand that what they were doing has effects and consequences in this reality.

Personally, I have found each type of meditation produces different effects or responses. Daydreaming opens me up to possibilities, it is fun and relaxing. Resting with my back against a tree, or sitting somewhere that feels special brings me to a white cloud-like space and leaves me both refreshed and relaxed. For a little while the world is repainted in warmth with bright colors, and everything is perfect.

Shamanistic Flight has taken me to places I would never have imagined, and situations I would not have conceived, as I am not that imaginative. I recommend you stay away from Shamanic Flight and leave it to others as it can be harmful to you and your spiritual self.

Meditation while speaking a word is amazing! I am not sure yet where you end up, but in my experience there is someone there to meet you, and they will know an awful lot about you. They have demonstrated to me at least, abilities I have a hard time coming to terms with even though I am/was the recipient of those abilities. The experience is akin to meeting someone who knows everything about you and your life, and they can help you in areas of your life if they so choose.

If you think meditation may be for you, find someone who has experience with meditation and let them teach you what they know. I may be falling off the deep end here, but meditation is a spiritual practice, not a physical practice. With any spiritual practice or undertaking, caution should rule the day. Things of the spirit have a lot in common with high risk sports such as hang gliding, or cave diving.

In the land of the spiritual, practicing thoughtlessness and rash behavior will hurt you both emotionally and physically. Meditation is a somewhat arcane practice in the western world and for good reason. We are generally too into our ego and personal fears to think beyond ourselves. As I once read, and am now passing on, treat everything of the spirit the same as you would standing in a bad part of town on a full moon night. It is better to be a live mouse, than a crippled or dead warrior.

With that disclaimer out of the way, the rewards of meditation are many. Insight, answers, life mysteries explained, the list goes on and on. Give it a try, it may be just what you are looking for and you never knew it, until you tried it.

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Fear Based Life is No Life

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I read a recent post on a forum of a person who writes they hear knocking and being touched by something unseen. They write they are scared to the level of being terrified. I wonder what there is to be terrified of?

If someone knocks on a wall from the next room is that scary? If they touch your leg and you did not seen them is that scary? If there is really something close to him (as he thinks there is) he can not see, is that a good reason to be scared?

The majority thought of what is happening to him is collectively it is something bad. He hears some noise he can not find the source of. He feels something touching him he can not see. He sometimes feels a presence next to him that he can not see or touch, but it does not feel normal. He knows it must be something out to harm him. All the replies he received to his post were about various ways to either protect himself, or make it stop.

He is scared because this is something foreign to him. Why he would remain  scared is conditioning he learned growing up. What we as humans usually do that other large animals do not is we rarely transfer out of our fear state soon enough.

If you have a pet, or know someone who does, pay attention to what the pet does in a new situation where the pet is initially scared. When something happens that scares your pet, they react with fear as a healthy normal response.

After a few seconds if nothing hurtful happens, curiosity takes over and the pet becomes more interested in what is happening. It calms its fear because it understands fear is no longer an appropriate response.

The pet becomes curious as it tries to understand the new situation. What is in it for the pet, is there food, or is it something to play with? We humans on the other hand, stay stuck in a fear state knowing it must be something bad.

We allow ourselves to remain afraid even though nothing happens to be afraid of. Fear is a healthy emotion and has contributed to our being alive, however it is an emotion we overuse and abuse.

Unlike a normal animal, the poster won’t let go of his fear. He is more comfortable remaining in a state of heightened fear, than embracing the possibility of having nothing to fear.

One of our former Presidents in his Inaugural Address repeated an old quote, “[The] Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself“. Fear leads to inaction. Inaction does not contribute to our health and wellbeing. Inaction caused by fear leads us down the path to victimization.

Fear stops us of thinking of other possibilities. This poster, hearing noises and being touched is terrified. Perhaps there is a good reason for this happening. Maybe the poster’s attention is wanted, and this is the only way it can be garnered.

What would the poster have written for example, if the first time he heard the knocking and felt something touch him, he awoke and his home was on fire? What would he be writing then? I doubt it would be a fear based post about how terrified he is. The poster would have posted about how fortunate he is that something touched him, waking him up from a sound sleep, and saving him from a horrible end.

The Poster and his fear based state, who is the main subject of this post aside, it is time to change the focus to us. How many fears do we carry around, allowing them to shape the direction our life, and keeping us from what may be the best changes we ever made in our life?

Some amount of fear is good. Fear is a healthy emotion when used correctly. Allowing fear to take over our life, fear becomes a debilitating disease. We allow ourselves to become so overwhelmed with fear we cease to make choices we know are best for us.

As for the poster, what is causing his fear may have stopped already, or it may be with him for the rest of his life. To the end of his post, nothing had happened that could even be vaguely dangerous to him. Holding a detached view at what is happening to him, there is no reason to be terrified. Annoyed, upset, or angry are possibilities, but fear is not.

For a more in depth reading of our new fear based culture, here is a good read on the subject: The only thing we have to fear is the ‘culture of fear’ itself, a PDF file, which can be viewed in your web browser with a plug you may already have installed.

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One Secret About You

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I know a secret about you. A secret you share with many others. Maybe really a secret but something you let yourself forget. What could it be that I know, that you either don’t know or have forgotten? Something that you share with many others? Those people like you sharing a secret? What could other people also know and have forgotten?

I think it is kind of funny to me, some of the time when I look at people around me and they are wrapped up in the moment because they have forgotten. (I am that way occasionally myself. It is fun being that way for a short time, then it gets old.) Maybe people become wrapped up in the moment so they can forget? I am never sure. I doubt they give themselves permission to know the answer either.

What I know about you, that you likely do not know about yourself is probably going to make you want to quit reading as soon as I tell you. You will want to quit reading because to ponder the idea of it being true is something you may not want to think about or do. After all, you must have wanted to forget at some point and time?

I suppose I will go ahead and, “Let the cat out of the bag”. I don’t know the significance of that saying, but I have heard it since I was a child, and it seems appropriate. Or maybe I used to hear it as a child, and I do not hear it any more.  At any rate, think of the time you will save when you quit reading this post, or maybe even reading anything else from my blog because I have fallen off the log one time to many.

Here is what I know about you, that you do not know about yourself. You live a life of duality! Whether you know that, think you know that, did not know that, or maybe don’t believe it, you have a spiritual life going on, and you are very active in your spiritual life. Who you are and what you do in your spiritual life away from your earthly you, I can only guess. You will have to learn this yourself.

You do have something going on though. I am not the only one who knows this. I don’t mean you have some form of religion, and you go to church for a few minutes each week. (That is sometimes used as part of the coverup that people use to forget who they are.) You have a mission or quest you work towards continuously as your spiritual self.

Here in your earthly self you live a spiritual life. You also have at least two spirit beings who are with you every second of your life. There are what we like to call Angels, but they are not really angels in that the way we think of Angels. If you become seriously ill, you have three or more of these beings around you. If you want to know more about them, you can. You can learn for yourself, from yourself, about yourself. You are all you need to find out who and what you are, and what is around you.

You also have other beings that come close to you on occasion. Some, you may think of as allies, they want what you want. Some of these beings want to destroy you, and failing that, help you remain ignorant of who and what you really are. For the most part, the second group is succeeding. If they weren’t succeeding, you would not be reading this in disbelief. Other beings could care less about you and what you want, or don’t want, they have their own agenda and you are not part of it.

You do not have to try to attract a spirit to you, they are already around you. You are just too numb to realize they are there. If you were aware enough to realize their presence, you may find you interact with them in some form or another. You can change your earthly self thinking and know more about your spiritual self other than the occasional unexplained events that happen in your life. Or you can keep that side of yourself a secret and go one as you have.

The choice is always yours. If you choose to start to remember who you are, Pandora’s Box comes into play. Think and decide carefully. Once you lift the lid, you can never pretend you do not know.

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Spirituality, Your Ignored Other Half

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How great it would have been if through my life someone would have been there to teach me spiritual development. Not to be confused with religious education, or indoctrination if that is how you see it, but rather an age based life mentoring, showing my spiritual growth and possibilities.

That is not to say I would change any of my choices through my life. Generally, the only semi real attention concerns state of spirit from a religious perspective. It is possible that some religions are more holistic in their approach, but I have yet to encounter one at close range that is.

spiritual selfAuthority figures in our life do what they can to raise us to know right from wrong and how to stay out of trouble. Their purpose generally is to make life easier for themselves rather than for our own good, excepting parents and other close family.

We are also led into achieving a certain level of achievement in our educational curriculum. What that level of achievement is for us varies from person to person and individual life circumstance, but generally we are expected to start making our own way as best we can once we reach a certain age, or achieve a certain level of educational mastery.

In all of this, with all our adult keepers, and societies watchful eye promoting acceptable behavior, no one really cares about our spiritual life. Most families, do not have spirituality hour, and there is not time set aside in the classroom where children are shown their life from a spiritual perspective.

Wouldn’t it have been wonderful to receive spiritual training throughout our life up to this moment? Having a mentor, or many mentors explaining to us with words and ideas that we understand, what our basic human purpose is and why it is important we nurture our spiritual self.

We would not wake up one day as an adult after a period lasting from weeks to decades of never feeling really comfortable with who we are and not knowing how to fix it. When we do come out of  our self absorbed life looking around as if for the first time, noticing something serious is lacking, we generally do not know what it is, or why we feel how we feel.

Right now, this instant wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to ask our spiritual adviser why we feel the way we do? I believe as children when we are not shy about asking questions, we are too busy learning about our world to think about our spiritual self. Along the way our spiritual self is hidden from us.

As adults we have a self imposed rule about admitting we do not know, and asking others what they think. That is with the exception of asking our closest friends who are our closest friends because they are almost just like us, or as close as we can find.

Spiritual development does not have to be a process of rebellion against everything you believe, were taught, or think is possible. What your spiritual development should be is learning how you live your life so you recognize the face in the mirror as yourself. You do not want someone acting as you, as you peek out from behind deciding what kind of job they are doing for you.

When I was a child someone told me never to marry an actor, because you could never be certain if they were being real or acting. I have come to realize that it applies to each of us. Being yourself is the best gift you can give to you. Being yourself you may not know where you are headed with any certainty, but you can take comfort in knowing it is you and not some shell living your life for you on the trip.

I am still learning about my spiritual self, and I imagine I will for a long time. I urge you not to wait until you see your end out on the horizon to start filling in the blanks about what your purpose to being alive is and the amazing power of your spiritual self. Start learning about your spiritual side of you now, so you enjoy the trip instead of an unhappy spectator in your life.

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Karma

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Karma, depending on how open you are to possibilities, and attuned to what really goes on in the world is either nonsense or fact. Karma is one of those life forces net everyone agrees may exist. karma is either real for you or it is not.

What is karma exactly is another question. Some who are familiar with the Christian bible relate karma to a biblical verse(es) about the sins of the father being visited on the sons down to the third generation. Other people think of karma as something that is paid back in your next life for things done or not done in this life. Some see karma as a type of immediate feedback machine. Others see karma as lifetimes of progression to an end state. Of course some see karma as an invention of the ignorant.

For myself and my world Karma is all those things and more. It seems obvious that because we are eternal beings as the bible and most major religions hold to be true, it certainly plausible that what I may do in this live could have consequences that follow me into future lives. Perhaps I am to do, or did something that makes a change to the world of the future. I will be born into a world where I live with the effects of the change I incurred in this lifetime.

karmaOf course believing in reincarnation lends itself to thinking it is viable that what I do, or do not do in this life, is either rewarded or punished in a like fashion in a future incarnation. For example if I were to murder someone, and was found not guilty in a court of law, I am subject to the karmic effects of the murder I committed. On the other hand, if I were to live a saintly life, I will be rewarded in my next life for what I accomplished in this life.

Believing in karma as a function of reaching an end state of perfection brings a belief that I am mobile in each lifetime and either have climbed up or climbed down the karmic ladder. Living a good life in this lifetime moves me up a rung on the ladder when I live the next life. Doing poorly with this life, drops me one or more rungs on the karmic ladder.

Of those who believe karma does not exist except in peoples minds, it is hard to comprehend for those that have a belief system how karma does not play a part in ones ultimate fate. After all one is judged on ones actions and if that is not a function of karma with finality, I am at a loss to think of what may be a refection of karma. Calling a cat a dog does not change the name or nature of the animal.

For myself, I see all these beliefs or reflections of what karma is and how it functions very limiting. We like to categorize everything in our life, placing everything in it own little compartment. Most of the time how we categorize those things in our life makes little difference. With a belief system, or something as dynamic as karma, that is like classifying a brilliant diamond on one facet, ignoring or choosing to be ignorant to the idea that there is more than what we see or choose to see.

How about the possibility that karma is everything and more than I mentioned? What if karma is dynamic, far reaching across generations, and does move you and I up and down the karmic ladder of life, and also provides real time feedback on how we are managing our spiritual life? This more holistic approach is more rational than trying to place something like karma in a little box on the shelf.

Right now, if I am lonely, feeling lost, separated, or life just is not going where I want my life to go, it is immediate karmic feedback on how I am managing my life? Perhaps I am intentionally ignorant, or blissfully unaware that my actions at this moment, or this day, affect how the world interacts with me tomorrow, and how I interact with it? It is so much easier to find an external source for our problems, or life struggles than it is to take some introspective time and determine what we are doing or not doing to create the world we are living in at this moment. Why not take some time to ponder what you personally are doing to make your world a world you want to live in, instead of settling for a world you must endure?

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