Tag Archive: spiritual path


Starting on a Spiritual Path

Filed Under: Spiritual Growth by Soul Arcanum — Comments Off on Starting on a Spiritual Path


Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

I feel the need for greater balance in my life. At the moment, what I lack most is spiritual fulfillment. What would be a good way for me to start on this path? Where should I go to begin seeking spiritual guidance? There are so many paths out there; how do I know which is right for me? Since I am a Christian, numerous people have suggested that I go back to church, but the attraction is just not there. When I do go to church, the spiritual void I feel remains unfilled. Others have suggested that I try exploring other paths like Buddhism. Where do you suggest I start?

Michelle

Dear Michelle:

You are already doing the most important thing: you are listening within and allowing yourself to be led to what you really need. You are also trusting your feelings to determine what does and does not feel right to you.

God/Spirit/the Universe whispers to us in our own hearts. The only way to determine the right path for us is to pay attention to how we feel and trust that what we long to do is what we are meant to do. Unfortunately, this is a far cry from what most of us have been taught. In my view, the “the Church” generally teaches people to distrust themselves. They are urged to follow a prefabricated set of rules instead of allowing their own heart and conscience to guide them to right action. Traditionally, the church has also asserted that one needs a priest to serve as intermediary between oneself and “God.” The Church not only discouraged a personal relationship with the divine, it suggested that for most people, this was an impossibility.

That being said, I believe traditional religion does have its place. People who are more rooted in their base instincts than a quest for spiritual growth are much like sheep who need shepherding. This is a natural stage in our spiritual evolution that we probably all passed through at some point. However, it is also natural to outgrow this stage: to start to question what we’ve been taught, think for ourselves, and hunger for direct personal experience in order to build a solid belief system. It sounds like you have recently reached that point in your own spiritual evolution.

The first step is to trust that your desire is trying to guide you. Allow yourself to go exploring with trust in your own interests, desires, instincts and intuitions. You might begin exploring by going to a local spiritual/metaphysical bookstore to peruse the possibilities. If you are in an open, relaxed frame of mind and trusting of your intuition, you will feel drawn to certain subjects and titles. Many people even have strange experiences where books fall off the shelves at their feet or strangers strike up a conversation during which they recommend titles.

While you’re there, check the bulletin board for a listing of classes, seminars, workshops, practitioners, groups and other offerings. There will probably also be a local spiritual magazine with articles by local teachers, a calendar of classes and events, and lots of ads for local spiritual practitioners of various sorts. You will discover options you’ve never even heard of before. Don’t become overwhelmed; if you listen within and trust your own interests and instincts, your intuition will guide you.

Sometimes we don’t feel called to a certain path simply because we haven’t yet stumbled upon the path that is right for us. If you are only considering whether to go back to church or explore Buddhism and neither of these paths is the one for you, then it’s no wonder you’re not getting a clear sense of direction. By exploring all the options available to you, you are more likely to hit upon something that really speaks to you.

Now that you’ve selected some books, start reading! One book and subject will naturally lead you to another and another. If you keep trusting your own curiosity to guide you, you will never run out of paths to explore. Similarly, if you have hit upon a class, group, or other local offering that seems intriguing, check it out.

A word of caution: no path is “perfect.” Just as you wouldn’t expect to like everything on the menu at your favorite restaurant, you probably won’t love every aspect and tenet of a particular path. Though I have had some wonderful spiritual teachers in my life, I haven’t agreed 100% with any of them.

Next, pick a spiritual practice you feel drawn to. This may be a certain form of meditation, an exercise like yoga or tai chi, chanting, prayer, or even community service. Whatever you choose, give it some time before you decide if it’s really for you or not. This will take some discipline and devotion. Getting spiritually in shape is a bit like getting physically in shape: if you judge a certain form of exercise based on how it feels the first couple of times you do it, you’re likely to give up before you begin to see its benefits.

Next, keep in mind that you are constantly creating your own experience of life. You can use the law of attraction to manifest spiritual abundance just as you would use it to manifest financial abundance. I count my understanding of the law of attraction as the most precious spiritual knowledge I’ve been blessed with this lifetime. No matter what you desire, working with the law of attraction is the way to get it. For this reason, I encourage you to study the law of attraction and start using what you learn to manifest the spiritual guidance and fulfillment you long for.

Do keep in mind that if you keep telling the Universe, “I don’t know what to do. I feel lost and empty,” then you will get more of that same sort of experience. If you tell the Universe, “I want magic! I want a clear sense of spiritual direction and deep sense of spiritual fulfillment” and you imagine how it will feel when you get that, then you will naturally begin to attract what you desire.

Finally, start a dialog with Spirit. Instead of just asking questions in your mind and heart, listen for insights and answers. Ask for signs to come to you and honor the ones you receive by acting on them. It’s wise to ask for signs to come in threes so you’re sure that they are what they seem to be.

Many years ago, I was in a similar place. I was having all sorts of spontaneous spirit communication experiences but I was far from being able to control or initiate them. I felt called to try to help people with this gift but since I couldn’t control it, that path seemed closed to me. Then I prayed to Spirit. I basically said, “If this is what I’m meant to do, then show me how I can learn to use this gift in a purposeful way.” Within two weeks, three different people had mentioned Lily Dale, New York, to me. This got my attention and I just “knew” I should go there. When I visited, I saw the school I ended up attending advertised on a flier, and I just knew I was going to go to the school. It wasn’t even so much that I knew I wanted to go to the school – I knew I was going to do it. This school proved to be the answer to my prayers.

You ask where you should begin to seek spiritual guidance. I recommend you stop asking other people (including me), and start asking God/the Universe/Spirit – whatever label you personally put on the source of intuition and inspiration. This is a very exciting time for you, my friend. May this new journey bless you with faith, wonder, and the spiritual fulfillment you desire.

Soul Arcanum

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She’s Weary of Her Spiritual Mentor

Filed Under: Divine Guidance, Intuitive Development, Spiritual Growth by Soul Arcanum — Comments Off on She’s Weary of Her Spiritual Mentor

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

Lately I have felt stagnant in my spiritual growth and practices. I had a friend that was kind of like a mentor to me, but within the past six months, I have grown very tired of her and weary of anyone trying to “mentor” me. Am I being stubborn, going through my own growing pains, or is it something else?
– Jennifer

Dear Jennifer:

I do feel you are being stubborn – not because you are resistant to others’ guidance, but because you are resistant to letting go of relationships you have outgrown.

As we grow and evolve, we are led to the people and experiences that can help us learn what we need to learn next or become what we want to become. When we first discover those people or experiences, we feel strongly attracted to them. This is our inner guidance telling us that we’ve found what we’ve been looking for. Our feelings of interest and excitement are signs from our inner compass that we should go in this direction. This is why it is wise to “follow our bliss.”

As time goes on, that which once was blissful and exciting naturally loses some of its shine. Challenges arise. Now we’ll either move beyond the surface to deeper levels of understanding, or lose interest and move on. This holds true both for new teachings/practices and for new relationships.

Think about it: when we first make a new friend or start dating a new lover, that person seems wonderful and fascinating. After a while we get beneath the surface, however, where things are more complicated. In addition to all the good things that first attracted us, we discover new stuff that we struggle to understand. We may not be sure what to think of it, and spend a good amount of time really weighing it out. That “struggle” is at the heart of personal growth.

If we hang in there, over time we learn how to work it all out: how to be patient and understanding with these new issues and push through the rough spots. If this relationship or practice really works for us, we may stick with it indefinitely and make it our own. If it continues to bring us joy and blessings, that will be easy. If it brings new lessons and challenges, we’ll be motivated to keep it alive – at least as long as our desire for growth outweighs our fears and insecurities.

If, however, we discover that there isn’t much for us to chew on beneath that surface, we’ll start to experience feelings of stagnation, boredom, frustration, etc. These are signs that we have outgrown the relationship or situation.

As we are always looking for “the answer,” “the key,” or “the one,” when we find something or someone that feels like it might be it, we tend to grab it with both hands and refuse to let go. We want it to be all we have been looking for, so we define it as such. Then later when we’ve outgrown it, if we fail to redefine it in light of all we’ve learned, we may feel confused because it doesn’t “do it” for us anymore.

Just because a certain person, practice, course of study, etc., is what we most need at one time, that doesn’t mean it will always be what we need. Even something of great power can become a hindrance if we cling to it too long. We can no more force ourselves to stay in relationships or situations that we’ve outgrown than we can force ourselves to wear the same pants we adored when we were six years old. Over time, they will become more and more uncomfortable until we finally discard them for something that fits better.

This is a natural process. It doesn’t mean we’re missing something, failing to appreciate our blessings or resisting our lessons. If you felt angry, inadequate, overwhelmed or challenged, I’d recommend you look within for how you may be resisting the wisdom and experience this teacher may have to offer, especially if you admire her and would like to become more like her.

By contrast, boredom, weariness and indifference are signs that it is time to move on. When we find ourselves saying, “I’m so tired of” this or that, or “This is getting really ‘old,'” it’s time to ask ourselves why we’re still in that situation. Usually, it’s because despite our lack of interest, we’re still living according to that obsolete definition, which keeps us hanging on.

To get unstuck, you just need to update your mental files and redefine this teacher’s role in your life in light of where you are NOW. It doesn’t really matter what you once got out of this relationship; what matters is how well it fits who you have become and where you want to go in your life from here.

While it’s wonderful to be grateful to everyone who blesses us with new wisdom and experiences, gratitude is not the same as obligation. Let go of any guilt you’re feeling about wanting to move on so you can celebrate how far you’ve come!

Now, this teacher aside, everyone on a conscious spiritual path at some point grows weary of others trying to mentor them. This is a very important turning point. I feel your inner being is telling you that you don’t need to be led by anyone outside of yourself anymore. Your next step on your spiritual journey will involve you developing your own conscious connection to Spirit and listening within for your own answers. You may still take classes or read books, but instead of assuming these writers and teachers know more than you do, you will weigh all input against your own inner wisdom.

You’re very wise to be questioning yourself. That means you have developed the ability to rise above your ego for higher awareness. It’s ironic: the more we can ask ourselves if we are just being “stubborn” due to ego issues, the less likely it is that this is true. Since you’re able to question your reaction objectively, I feel that you need to trust your feelings and honor them by doing what does feel right and best.

None of this means that you’ve learned everything there is to learn! It means now you have learned enough to dig in to a new level of experience, to apply what you’ve been taught and make some new discoveries of your own. This is very exciting.

It can be unnerving to begin to forge our own spiritual trail. It’s sort of like moving from a reader of great books to a writer of great books, or like moving from a child to an adult. Instead of trusting others to take care of us, guide us, and have all the answers, now we have to figure things out for ourselves.

Nevertheless, just as a child grows and realizes that her parents are not all-powerful and do not have all the answers, at some point in our spiritual journeys, we also realize that our gurus are not gods, and there is no one person out there with all the answers we’ve been seeking. While we can still learn from others, we realize that no one is a greater authority on our own spiritual truth than we are. No one else can direct us on our spiritual journeys better than we can ourselves by listening within for guidance and answers.

So when friends, jobs, teachers, etc. grow weary for you, ask yourself why you’re still there. Odds are good it is because you just haven’t updated your mental files on this situation in light of what you’ve learned and who and where you are now, or you’ve grown accustomed to being led and are reluctant to forge your own trail.

Whenever you feel stuck, call to mind the things in your life that you’re weary of, and for a moment, ponder how they are just one tiny possibility in an infinite sea of potential. Think of how many spiritual teachers there are! Contemplate how many friends, lovers, jobs, books, ideas, etc., you’ve yet to encounter. Let the immensity of all that potential stir your soul and draw you out of what has been into all that could be. If you listen to your weariness, it will eventually guide you into exciting new beginnings and discoveries.

– Soul Arcanum

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