On Spiritual Path Finding

Once you have awakened from The Great Sleep Of Your Unawareness ...

Once you get past The Circumstances Of Your Best Imaginings ...

Once you’ve bumped into The Greater Way Of Things ...

There’s no turning back ...

Your problem is,

Now You Know.

And

This knowing cannot be undone ...

Once you’re initiated

You’re done.

Your Initiate.

And

Your life ... like it or lump it ... has changed ...

I had a Traveller once who screamed at me


“Put It Back The Way It Was!”


Sorry—I don’t do that one ...

I am just a gate keeper,

“Shams al Din.”

It’s a one way passage.

Through,

But only after

... “You know!” ...

On Seeing Clearly Perhaps for the First Time―What’s Next and Why it is Next

EXPERIENCE has taught us that, unfortunately, the drama and trauma of life happened to us far too soon. Those who were supposed to protect us either could not or did not. Life’s pot got stirred at precisely the wrong moment; our impetuous newborn souls froze up in fear, and now hold on tight to anything they can, demanding that life come to them rather than they go to life.

Stalled in the spiritual birth canal.

Demanding ever more and more; the content changing, but the form always staying the same.

Give me.

Give me right now.

I don’t care what it is.

Just give me so I got it.

Give me so I can feel safe.

I’m not going out there after it.

Give it to me right here and now.

Confusion and fear … my ever-faithful traveling companions … arise yet again to do their handy work.

I begin by questioning life and all that is about me … and as I have noticed … at the time of my asking these deeper questions … they are seemingly real to me … but in hindsight I can see now that they were in no way connected to me either finding or seeing the truth.

Truth, I pondered that recently …

• Does my search for it actually get in the way of my attempts at finding it?

• Do my best efforts hold me back from what it is that I say I want?

I have gone over and over my history … my story … my past … in a vain attempt to be able to say out loud to anyone who would listen that I now … egotistically … understand … so I can say “I know” … as an aside I discovered that can be a dangerous thing to do …

I have noticed that as I did this review of my life thing in my mind I tended to edit and revise my story just to better suit it to the condition of my circumstances … help me explain the unexplainable … those things that I did that I can’t seem to find the courage to take responsibility for … to make a better story … to explain why it is that I do what it is that I do or did what I did … etc.

If I were being honest I would notice that I am secretly striving for control …

There it is … I said it out loud … is that Honesty?

Insatiable, needy, scared, loving, and friendly?

All in the same thought.

ndt extracted from Zen and the Art or Seeing Clearly Perhaps For the First Time: Available at Amazon dot com ... publisher Bright Star Canada Ltd ...  

On the Way of Things

Spiritual Intelligence: It is what we use to address, resolve and solve our problems ... It gives meaning and true value to the things and circumstances in our lives ... Under it all it answers the question, Why. It is the device we use to place our lives and actions, ours thoughts, wishes, wants and desires into the greater context of life. What is Real For Me.

How do we know it is operating in our lives? There are qualities that will be at work in our lives ... with no hidden agenda!

Compassion, truthfulness, and respect for all levels of life... constructive empathy, generosity of spirit, trust, having a sense of being a part of and a player in something that is far larger than any of us could possibly imagine, there is a sense of being in tune with ... or in synch with ... The Greater Way of Things ... being comfortable with the company you keep when alone and at the same time not being lost in the sense of loneliness that is sometimes confused with solitude ...

The Qualities of Spiritual Intelligence:

The capacity for transcendence ... they are able to go beyond what is usually seen as normal and do what needs to be done and that often times takes the individual well past what most would consider as “more than enough” ... Having a heighten sense of awareness ... not hyper-vigilance ... just a greater sense of what is going on around them in the world. There is a deep understanding that every day is sacred ... It’s God’s Gift. People who display these qualities treat every problem as a Spiritual Problem and they know that every answer is a Spiritual Answer.

They behave in a fashion that is honourable ... they know not to embarrass God by their actions. They have a conscious awareness of self and others ... they know where they begin and end. They display wisdom, often beyond their years. They have the capacity to hear and practice listening; those two items are different, they may sound similar but they are miles apart.

They can face their legitimate suffering and grow through it rather than make major efforts to avoid or evade it or be stopped in their tracks by it. Melodrama is not the focus of their life ... there is no outside justification for their feelings and emotional state. They are able to follow through with commitment(s) and, this is important, clearly demonstrate dedication.

They are able to ask difficult questions when they need to be asked and not shy away because of fear.

They are reluctant to cause unnecessary harm to themselves, their friends or family or for that matter ... to the world.

The Dreaming Mind

The Four Agreements are an introduction to living life with awareness and choice to lead a person into happiness and deeper love.

It is a practical spiritual road map to undoing the layers of fear, suffering and pain we may be experiencing in our lives so that the natural expression of life happens effortlessly which we then experience as pleasure and love for life.

The Four Agreements

• Be Impeccable with your word

• Don’t take anything personally

• Don’t make assumptions

• Always do your best

These are simple steps to begin the path to personal freedom and happiness. While the steps are simple, the application of these steps can be challenging to master in our daily life.

This is when working with a Teacher can be beneficial to going deeper on your own path of personal growth.

ndt don Miguel Ruiz wrote a series of books that are simple but very to the point ... the base prinicipals are listed in the Four Agreements

On Seeing Clearly and Taking Action

EXPERIENCE has taught us that it is both mindful and healing and for you to attempt this ongoing experiment. It clearly demonstrates a willingness on your behalf to want to experiment with, and to want to enter into an experience that might allow a fuller, more open relationship with a Higher Power. This next idea is an old concept.

The exercise is one example of ‘demonstrated willingness’.

It has many faces and has been presented many times in many forms. It is an understatement to say that this exercise tends to pit the ego against the Will of God, because that is exactly what it does and that is the idea of the exercise.

The exercise is simple enough, and in fact some may say too simple, but most find it to be work and most have difficulty completing the exercise.

So here are the rules:

1. You may elect not to actually try this experiment, but if you do decide to experiment, then all that is required is simply imagining what it would feel like for you to thoroughly believe five simple statements. This will achieve the purpose this exercise is designed to afford.

2. The exercise is this: simply affirm, a number of times a day, day after day, for six months, the following statements, imagining the full meaning of each statement to the fullest extent possible for you:

i. I am not separate. I am one with All that Is, All that Was and All that Ever Will Be.

ii. I can trust.

iii. I can know.

iv. I am responsible.

v. I am single-minded.

On Being A Traveler

Travelers are people who prefer not to go to war ... in any of its many forms. Be that in their home with their family or on the battlefield with armed foes or simply driving through traffic behind some guy with his turn signal on for five blocks. Rather they are people who are devoted to the concept of Making Peace More Vivid.

They find their sense of honour and self respect in the traditional virtues of loyalty, integrity, dignity, courtesy, courage, prudence and benevolence.

They pursue Mastery of Self through will, patience, diligent practice and spiritual undertaking. They work not at being a perfectionist but rather work at perfecting themselves in their ways of doing life. This is not about Appearing this is simply about Doing ...

Their journey is not a means to an end but rather it is done because it needs to be done ... only for its own sake. These people are risk takers ... calculated risks ... done so they will be able to realize their own potential. They are fully accountable for their actions ... pro and con. They seek inner freedom ... to be able to have choice and then make choices...

They take the time to study esthetics, culture, and the wisdom of the ages. Their aim is to achieve a sense of direction and purpose that is not curtailed by fear.

They are people who respect and value the human as an individual and the entire web of life on this planet. These people practice Service. As they do they will come to realize that service is of the highest good. To freely give and accept nourishment from life is the spiritual traveler’s single most profound challenge.

They hold the spiritual realm in high regard. They cherish their life and conduct their affairs in such a manner that they are prepared to meet their maker at any moment. In this light, they are able to view all complaints, regrets, and moods of melancholy as simply indulgences.

Travelers realize that being a modern spiritual seeker is not about winning or losing. It is about putting one’s life and beliefs on the line. It means risking and failing, then picking yourself up and risking again ... for as long as you live.

There is a Place

There is a place in my deeper mind... It is an imagined place ... but at the same time it is very real for me; it is just not in the here and now. It is slightly removed from the reality of my terrible dailyness. The oddity is, this place is profoundly influential on all the variations and levels of my world. It influences over how I think, how and what I see, what I imagine others are doing ... etc ... and this list is very long.

It is a magical place ... it is a quiet place. It is a place where the lower order of things from within me meets up with the higher order of things. It has a visual, for me: a stream, a rock wall, a hill that goes up from the stream and well past the wall, a very clear blue summer’s afternoon sky. There is an oak tree that stands just near the edge of the wall. I go there in my mind’s eye to be with my God, and sit under the tree by the stream and feel the warmth of the summer’s afternoon’s sun on every cell, every fiber, every tissue of my being. I go there to replenish myself from the rigors of being me.
I was there one day just sitting there under the tree by the stream, feeling the warmth of the sun on my body when I thought to ask a question. Just offer it out into the ethers and see what happens. So I did, “What is a spiritual being?” simple question. Then from all around me I could feel this deep presence. I was enveloped ... Something like fish discovering water ... I mean suddenly I knew I was not alone. Something very real was now with me:

“Butterflies are spiritual ... as are snakes ... spiders and whales ...”

I did not hear this ... it was more that I felt this ... there was no voice ... but the reply was profound...

“A spiritual being is an awakened being.”

Again I felt that ... it was like I was immersed in this great pool of information and I was becoming more aware of it as I simply sat there and became more relaxed ... then I simply felt things that came to me:

Spirit is honorable ... it has strength, determination and perseverance.

It is magical and optimistic, wise and powerful.

It reveals itself in silence not in grandiosity.

Spirit can appreciate both inner and outer beauty.

It knows who you really are.

It is dedicated to the sacredness of all life.

It loves to live life fully.

Spirit is unwavering in its quest for the Infinite.

It is respectful.

It will commit to worthiness.

It can let go of what is no longer useful, or necessary.

Spirit is compassionate.

It possesses the will to walk away from Egotistical self-made Delusions.

It is willing to trust and surrender into the Greater Way of Things.

It has extraordinary vision and clarity.

Spirit faces fear(s) head on.

Spirit truly believes ...

It has faith and knows how to apply it.

I absorbed this on that afternoon ... the other thing that came to mind was that it was always there all I had to do was ask ... then listen ... absorb ... that was a lesson in and of itself, so much to absorb. Now the task was what do I do with all this stuff? ... I had asked another question:

“Experiment With Your Life, Live Life As Fully As You Can!

I gave you this gift of life; it is yours to do as you please,

I shall return for you when your time is done.”

Then it all subsided as quietly as it came upon me and I was left with me sitting under the tree by a mystical stream in a quiet place in my mind.

The Gift Of Fear

The gift of fear is wisdom and freedom.


Embracing our fear gives us the opportunity to notice what is life destructive and what is life enhancing. Both involve risk. Fear gives us the pause to reflect and make judicious evaluations. The opportunity to use our wisdom gained from listening to our fear gives us choice. Freedom Is The Ability To Choose.

Repressed or denied fear controls our life.

Shame is often called the master emotion, yet fear is its equal. Re-pressed fear can create phobias, anxieties, death obsessions, hyper-vigilance, terror, anxieties, worries and obsessions, with the attendant rituals. Two primary issues of co-dependency are the fear of abandon¬ment and the fear of intimacy.

The dysfunctional, polarized approach to fear involves overreacting to fear, and or attempting to avoid any risk in life that might stir up our fears. We become like wallflowers, standing along the wall watching the dance of life but afraid to join in because we may be rejected, laughed at or not do it well enough. If we do get rejected we end up back where we started. The fear of rejection prevents many of us from risking and putting ourselves out there again. This fear of being ridiculed, laughed at or not performing well controls our lives.

The other approach is the daredevil who says, "I’m not afraid of anything.' We have fear but we disconnect from it. We can’t ignore it so we defy and challenge it, taking life-destructive risks: I’ll jump the Grand Canyon on a bicycle with a parachute." Does this prove courage or a lack of common sense?

The bully keeps hiding the fear behind aggression.

Our fear can be the pause to reflect, and this gives us an opportunity for choice. Listening to the fear tells us what is alive and life enhancing. This is the source of our wisdom.

A Simple Case of Confused Realities …

So I ask myself: where is God in all this?

It could be that He is the light that shines equally into all worlds … into all imaginings … regardless of the affective nature of the reality … that ray of sun shine … that beam of light … just maybe that is where he is …

For me, it seems that for most of us are seeking a measure of reassurance that we have once and for all been chosen and are special in someone’s eyes if not our own. So we garner proofs that prove once and for all we are well along in our spiritual journey. When, in fact, if we had the courage to say it out loud, we really don’t have any idea whether or not we really don’t have any idea whether or not we have even begun the journey.

There is an aside to this whole Proof Thing that sits there quietly in the shadows. It seems to me that this thing that sits there is “Motivation by Fear.” So it is fear that lurks in the shadows, not fear of something but Just Fear, just a feeling, not a circumstance. Some of us try rationalizing it and we will come to various conclusions but mostly the rational undercurrent is: The Journey Will Swallow Me Whole …

This fear seems to be coupled with a deep desire to appear to be well advanced on the journey so we can pretend the fear won’t get us. This in and of itself is the proof that we are not well along on the journey... we just hope we are!

Material is not a proof … Spiritual Judgment is not a proof … especially if you are making the judgment about just how spiritual someone else is …

So the only proof that you can conjure up that has any sense of appreciation for the conundrum that life holds for us is that you display a willingness to do what next needs to be done. All of this is done in the face of what life has to offer. This is often seen as adversity, but not always. I have to overcome the urge to simply just sit down and quit. That one is always lurking.

Rather, take a pause at the side of the path. Take a deep breath and then laugh and that should be followed by a moment or two of sharing with anyone you notice there with you. Then let go of as much of the resistance as possible and step forward into the void. As you do practice the tenants of forgiveness, then add just a little more laughter and this should be taken together with a sprinkle of love and a dash of caring. Wrap all this in an offering of understanding coupled with forbearance and gratitude … not verbally … words don’t cut it at this point … only in actions …

Just let your heart open and then … let it rock and roll … just like in skydiving … once you’re out of the plane there is nothing to do but go for it.

Yes

… Skydiving can be fun …

But the operant word here is CAN.

The Witches Brew

The Witches Brew

We are all driven to Fulfil Our Primary Needs:

Survival, Power, Belonging, Freedom, Fun

This is combined with another subset of undercurrents of life's need to survive ...

Our Motivation For Seeking A Life Partner Is Our Deep Unconscious Urgent Desire To Heal Our Childhood Wounds. (Referred to as an Imago Match ... see Getting The Love You Want: A Guide For Couples By Harville Hendrix, Ph.D.)

This unconscious desire for healing is combined with what I do consciously to both heal and avoid my legitimate pain at the same time:
• We Behave to Achieve the above ... I’ll be whatever it is that I think you need me to be so I can have you to fulfil my need for ... (fill in the blank) ... As I behave to achieve I pretend ... perform ... I am in competition with me and life to ...( and again fill in the blank) ...
• We Do This As Best We Can ... Translated this means by hook or by crook ... My neediness will dictate the intensity of my urgency to satisfy my needs ... we do this to achieve a match between our Real World experience and the pictures we have on how our Imagined World should be ...

This effort is combined with my basic tool bag

• The Container/Form: the techniques I use to operate in my world

• The Contents/what I use to make my techniques work

• Point of View/How I look at things

The last bundle is the basic tool bag and it is what we are all most familiar with. This helps us to form how I am going to develop the Three Phases of My Conscious World Perceptions.

My Imagined World...

The fantasy of my reality

My World of Comparison...

The judge of my reality

My Real World...

The reality of my reality

Now with these five bundles of my reality in the mixing bowl of my life, and being well stirred I hope that the outcome will be My Real World overlapping and interchanging with My Imagined World. Then hopefully I will be happy.


There are literally thousands of hours of effort put in trying to make this happen.

... The Problem Is It Can’t Work ...

Notice that it is circular ... notice that there is the highest probability that you will end up where you started ... every time.


It has all the potential to become an insidious treadmill with no way off.


Notice how this can be depended on to define the Way of Things ... it can’t work the way you are doing it ... but there are different ways to do it!

Golden Rules of Coupling

Habits that Clearly Show Caring

Being Supporting

I may not necessarily agree with what you are doing but I will support you ... in my actions and in my thoughts.

Being Encouraging

when I see you struggling ... I will encourage you to make you journey ... the best teacher in life is life itself ... and most times we just need to go through what we need to so that we can learn the How to's of Life.

Being A Listening/Listener

When I listen to you or to others I reassure me quietly that I am heard too ... Odd but true ... to be able to listen to my partner work at being who they are and supporting them in their attempt and encouraging them to move forward is important both for them but more so for me

Being Accepting

Life is full of hiccups and my mistakes allow me to see more clearly where it is that I am going ... there will be times when I encounter situations and people that I am totally in disagreement with ... then I have to move my mind and heart to a place called accepting ... in doing so I may discover that what they are is morally or ethically wrong ... then I can stand my ground with purpose ... but to accept my life being what is and how it is ... is the secret to my serenity today (AA's Big Book)

Being Trusting/Trustworthy

this is totally about real value ... and what is really valuable ... A Course In Miracles (see manual for Teaches on page 9) takes some time with this thought ... this is not about I hope he or she will not step on my toes ... this is about how I value you and how I perceive that you value me and how it is that I value me ... this is all about perception and value ... but the point is real value.

Demonstrating Respect

In partnering we next naturally come to the need for respect: It follows that if I am in a relationship with you, then I need to respect your choices ... I don’t need to agree with them but I do need to respect them. I don’t need to try and control your choices. One of the undercurrents of saying “I love you.” often is my need for or my attempt to ... control, so I can feel safe in the face of overwhelming knowledge that I am Alone And My World Is A Dangerous Place.In showing respect for you, I allow you to be who you are and I don’t attempt to adjust you to my liking ... the way I need you to be so I can believe that I am safe. So if I am in a place called respect, I respect every belief you have and every choice you make. Again, I may not agree, but I respect ... Why? Because I love you the way you are, not for the way I need you to be. Now to balance off respect spiritually within me, I ... being in Self Love and not narcissism, I have to respect my own life, (wants, wishes, needs and desires) and thus I will not allow you to control how and who I am.

Willing to Talk things Through
An open mind
An open Heart
And a Willingness To Change
To be able to talk things through
To a safe conclusion for Me
to Negotiate