Sometimes It’s Best To Not Know Where You Are Going
-
Spiritual growth is a spontaneous journey. At any given time we may be unaware of what we need, where we are going, and how our awakening will unfold.
There is nothing wrong with such unknowing. In fact it’s ideal.
Treating spiritual growth like some sort of personal development hobby is fine, but for the true seeker there are enjoyable projects in the realm of personal improvement and there is the ultimate process of walking one’s spiritual truth. The latter is of a more profound nature than the former, and hence not bound by such concepts as timelines, goal setting, and clearly defined direction.
I humbly submit that teachers who insist you hold specific timelines and objective lists for your spiritual growth are missing the point.
Goals and dates are great for things like making money, losing weight, moving into a new home, filling all the seats in your networking group, or even learning the basics of a new skill. And it can be rightly said that all of these things are spiritual pursuits.
For isn’t everything spiritual in nature to the person who has one foot on the ground and the other in the dimension of spiritual awareness?
Certainly yes. Physical, intellectual, emotional, and energetic experiences and concepts are all manifestations of the universe and are therefore spiritual to the person who walks the spirit path.
But the innermost dimension of spirituality lies beneath, behind, or beyond such things, depending on the terminology you prefer. In other words when we think specifically about our conscious development and our process of spiritual awakening, we can say this phenomenon is deeper than any other pursuit or involvement that’s part of our life experience.
That said, my point with this article is that it’s best – in my humble opinion – to release the notion of timely progress and specific milestones with regard to our spiritual expansion.
First of all there is no real arrival. We are always in motion, eternally on our journey. And the joy of shifting into various stages of observation should never be hampered by some sort of spiritual yardstick or bar graph.
We will evolve into new spaces of being at or own pace. When our emotional growth is sufficient to allow for greater wealth, increased understanding, more patience, and so forth we will step into these phases of living.
Does a small kitten work hard and strain into the flow of life so that it may more quickly become an adult feline? Do the flowers of spring rush into full bloom, anxiously counting the days until they can drop the old, withered petals and push new floral growth out into the world?
Of course not. The idea is absurd.
And it is no less absurd that we should say…
I’ll be a more patient, understanding, intuitive person by the end of the month.
Or…
This time next year I’ll be able to forgive more quickly when I become angry with myself or another.
Such ideas are silly of course. We’ll grow at the pace most appropriate to our individuality.
Time is probably just a construct of our imaginations. The idea that things have happened before, are occurring now, and will take place in the future is how we arrange the conscious experience of the Universe.
We must have chosen this system for a reason, perhaps to savor the various experiences as individual sensations. If this is so then we rob ourselves of an essential bliss each time we declare the time and date of our next spiritual shift.
You are perfect exactly as you are right now. Indeed you are every possible experience, in every possible place at every imaginable time; you are all that has been, is, and will be.
What more could you possibly ask for? So relax and enjoy the ride; celebrate things along the way but in matters of awakening (or whatever term you choose to define spiritual expansion) try to be more of a witness to the miracle than an impatient driver.
Tags: higher mind, inner self, Life Purpose, spirit journey, spiritual growth, Spirituality, spontaneous expansion
A1 Earning » Spontaneous Spiritual Awakening | Life Purpose | Spiritual … Says:
June 30th, 2009 at 7:33 am
[...] post: Spontaneous Spiritual Awakening | Life Purpose | Spiritual … This entry is filed under Spirituality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the [...]
Chris Cade | Inspiring 1 Million People Says:
June 30th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Your post really hits home on two particular ideas I’ve been working with over the last couple of years.
1) “Should” is the most hindering word in spiritual development I’ve ever heard. We “should” be more loving… “should” forgive more quickly by this time next year, etc.
2) That “perfection” is not about comparing ourselves to others, nor comparing ourselves to ourselves… it’s merely about realizing that if something could have been improved, or different, it would have been. Since we’re in this moment, it is as it was supposed to be, and therefore cannot be improved nor different. And in that, it’s “perfect.”
Anyway, thanks for sharing – I enjoyed the blog post
-Chris
http://twitter.com/ChrisCade
Auriella Says:
June 30th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Time is for the physical realm. When you merge together the physical and spiritual into your total life experience then the unfolding of your growth, achieving your goals, and awakening of your consciousness is in perfect timing and in physical time as well as beyond physical time. You bring together in a perect blend the physical and spiritual realms of your world and your life experience.
Want Success? Be Decisive! « Power Of Positive Thinking Says:
July 4th, 2009 at 10:56 am
[...] But we MUST trust ourselves and take swift action if we want success in life. This applies to business, personal development, romance, health, and even spiritual growth. [...]
Life After Death and the Beginning of Time: Does it Really Matter? Self Help Says:
July 30th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
[...] For additional discussion of spiritual topics ranging from life after death to the nature of spontaneous spiritual growth be sure to visit the author?s blog.Tags: after, death, growth, life, spiritual, spirituality [...]
Finding Your Life Purpose in Three Easy Steps Self Help Says:
August 26th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
[...] hope you?ll take action on these suggestions! To see more insightful content on spiritual growth and finding your life purpose, be sure to visit the author?s blog. You?ll find a wealth of [...]