Spirit Quest

4 Questions to Ask Yourself If You Are Seeking Happiness

2016-08-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

For most of us, happiness continues to be illusive. Why is that?

Here are four questions to help you understand why.

The answers to these questions will help you overcome your blockages to happiness.

Why does thinking lead us to so much unhappiness?

Because… In our thoughts, we are endlessly craving and never satisfied.

Besides, most of our thoughts are about the past or future. But the only time we can be happy is in the Present Moment.

The solution: Quiet the mind. Be still. Go within.

What is the alternative to excessive thinking?

Acceptance. Don’t judge. Don’t criticize. Just accept everybody and everything as being the way they’re supposed to be at this moment in time.

How can we let go of the power that the external world has over us?

You can't find happiness in the world around you, because the world is an ever-changing illusion. Because it is ever-changing, happiness in it is fleeting. That which brings you a sense of happiness today can be gone tomorrow.

Suffering exists because of our attachments to other people and the things of this world.

We fear that we might lose those external things, and when we do, it causes us enormous unhappiness.

Remember: you created the kind of world you see around you. Change what’s “in here” and the world “out there” will begin to change as a result. Why? Because you’ve changed your perceptions of the world.

Don’t be so attached to external things, people, events, or outcomes. Let go of your expectations.

What does it mean to “look within” or “go within”? How do we do this?

Instead of looking outward for guidance and confirmation from other people and your past experiences, focus your awareness within. During meditation, focus your awareness perhaps on the brow chakra or the heart. Focus on your breath. Let any thoughts that may arise during meditation pass through you without focusing on them.

And, when physically looking outward, simply watch and observe, without making mental commentary on what you see and without judging and criticizing. You are the witness to everything around you. You don’t have to be a participant in all of that drama.

What You Can Learn from A Course in Miracles

2014-10-25T15:28:00.001-07:00

A Course in Miracles has profoundly changed my perceptions about myself and the world I live in. I describe the impact that ACIM has had on me in a separate blog post: How A Course in Miracles Changed My Spiritual View of the World.

Let me share with you some of the key teachings contained in the Course...

1. What is a miracle? A miracle is not defined as walking on water or turning water into wine. These are acts of magic. A miracle actually means a correction of perception. A Course in Miracles seeks to change our perception of everything. When we change our perceptions, the world we see around us and our experiences in it begin to change.

2. We think this physical world is real, but it is only an illusion. We created this illusion, and we "came into" it for the purpose of spiritual evolution. The challenges we experience in the illusion can accelerate our spiritual growth.

3. The five physical senses make the physical world seem real. Fear convinces us of it.

4. In fact, we are still in Heaven, dreaming that we are experiencing a life here in the physical world. The task before us is to awaken from this dream (as in a spiritual awakening).

5. Just as we never really leave our beds when we are asleep and dreaming at night, so also have we never really left Heaven. At some point, we will awaken and realize we have been dreaming all along, just as we do when we awaken from our nighttime dreams each morning.

6. We seem to be born into physical bodies in a physical world, but the truth is: we are not even here.

7. What we think we see around us in the world, and what we experience throughout our lives, is just a projection of our own mind. We can change the world we seem to see around us and our experiences in life by changing our thoughts, beliefs, and expectations.

8. We think we are physical bodies, and as such, we believe we are separate from each other.

9. Our physical bodies are an illusion we created to try to separate ourselves from each other. Likewise, we created the physical universe to try to separate ourselves from God.

10. The belief that we are separate from God and from each other is the cause of all suffering in the world.

11. Time also is an illusion. Everything that seems to be happening now has, in fact, already occurred, and we are merely observing it, much like watching a movie that was produced months or even years ago. When watching a movie, we become immersed in it, and what happens in it seems “real” to us.

12. We can choose the ego’s thought system (as we normally have done). Or we can choose the Holy Spirit’s thought system (as A Course in Miracles encourages us to do).

13. The ego is the "separate me” that I think I am. The ego’s mantra is: “Seek and do not find (the truth).”

14. The Holy Spirit is the Voice of God/or the teacher that dwells quietly within us. The Holy Spirit can teach us the truth about what we really are — that is, divine, eternal, invulnerable children of God. The Course refers to us collectively as the son of God. Jesus was not God's only son; we are all sons or children of God. God is Love, and so are we.

15. The Course seeks to help us undo the ego’s stranglehold on us.

16. Special relationships are totally different from holy (or divine) relationships. Special relationships typically are what we experience here in the physical world. In them, we expect others to satisfy our wants and needs. If they fail to do so, we can withhold our love from them. This is called "conditional love." We think others are responsible for our happiness. We believe we are victims of other people and life's circumstances. In truth, we are creating our own reality at all times.

17. Forgiveness is a central teaching of the Course. As used in the Course, forgiveness does not mean saying "I sorry." Rather, it means: The things I thought others did to me in the past never really happened. Instead, everything that seems to have happened is just a projection of my own mind. Thus, I have never been the victim of anyone. Forgiveness is a process of undoing judgments we have made about others and the things we thought they did to us in the past. ❖

Questions

1. Do you think physical reality is real? Or is it just a very convincing illusion?

2. If, in fact, we are asleep dreaming that we are here in the physical world, why is it so hard for us to awaken from the dream?

3. What do you think we really are? And why do you think we came into this physical world?

You Don't Have to Suffer Anymore!

2014-02-02T04:37:00.000-08:00

Have you suffered enough? I certainly have. Let’s find a way to end the suffering that continues to plague us.

For me, suffering refers to mental or emotional misery and distress, such as that caused by chronic depression. Pain, on the other hand, refers to physical discomfort or agony caused by illness or injury. But the terms pain and suffering are often used interchangeably, so my distinction between them may be artificial.

The Causes and Affects of Suffering

The sheer magnitude of human suffering throughout history boggles my mind, and to this day, it continues to ravage our experience here on Earth.

Religion has been one of the leading causes of suffering in the world and in our lives. I'm sure that's no surprise to you. Take Christianity, for example. For 2,000 years, Christians have been told that they should be willing to suffer in this lifetime just as Jesus did, and that their suffering will entitle them to eternal bliss in Heaven. Hundreds of millions of Christians have died excruciating deaths in the name of religion. Others have endured unbearable hardships and self-imposed trials such as penance and asceticism. Many have undergone redemptive suffering, believing it would lead to forgiveness of their sins. I grew up in an environment of Christian fanaticism, so I know first-hand how traumatic it can be and how much mental and emotional suffering it can cause.

In his teachings, the Buddha explained why suffering exists in the world and what we can do about it. He said that suffering originates within us. He said the greatest cause of suffering is our total ignorance of our divine nature and our belief that we are weak and limited physical beings. He said the only solution to suffering is a spiritual one.

My own experience tells me that suffering can impel us to overcome our habitual behaviors and addictions in life. It can ignite a spiritual awakening within us, followed by a lifetime of personal and spiritual transformation. It can prod us to remember what we really are and why we really came here. In other words, it can lead us to a spiritual approach to life. But it can do these things only when we finally get tired of suffering and decide to change our lives.

How to Reduce or Eliminate Suffering

I’ve given a lot of thought to how we can reduce our suffering in life or even eliminate it altogether. Let me share my conclusions with you...

We can gain freedom from suffering when we awaken to our own divinity and let go of the erroneous belief that this physical world and our physical bodies are real.

We need to reestablish conscious contact with God, because suffering originates from our belief that we are separate from God. Of course, when I use the term God, I do not mean the church-version of God.

At all times, we must remember that we are eternal spiritual beings.

We must understand that materialism will never bring us lasting happiness nor genuine relief from suffering.

We need to understand that suffering is not a result of evil or sin, despite what we were told in church, but rather the result of poor choices we have made in life.

We must live in the present moment. The past with its guilt and resentment will not bring us happiness nor will the future with its fear and anxiety.

We should stop taking all of that drama in our lives so seriously, especially the drama in our relationships and jobs. Life is not a soap opera. Most of the drama we experience in life is just a story we made up.

We should try to avoid people, places, and things that lower our spiritual vibration.

We should let go of negative emotions such as fear, anger, and resentment, which fuel our suffering.

We should stop judging and criticizing others, because it only serves to separate us from them. Our belief in separation from others is the leading cause of global strife and problems in personal relationships.

Likewise, we should stop judging and criticizing ourselves, because low self-esteem and self-loathing cause us enormous suffering and block our spiritual growth.

We should stop watching television news and violent movies, which only add to our discomfort and our false conviction that suffering in life is real and necessary.

We should focus only on what we want and not on what we don’t want, because we attract into our lives more of whatever we focus on. For example, we should focus on perfect health and not on sickness.

We should remember that our happiness depends on ourselves and not on other people. We are not, and never have been, the victim of other people, because we create our own life experience.

If we’re not happy with our current life experience, we need to change our thoughts, beliefs, and expectations, because these are what create our life experience.

We should remember that we pre-planned certain challenges for our current lifetime before incarnating. We came to Earth to accelerate our spiritual evolution by experiencing these challenges.

A Call to Action

Most people continue to live in ignorance, fear, and greed. They neither believe in nor understand these spiritual solutions to suffering. Apparently, they are content to go on living — and suffering — as they always have done. But as a spiritual seeker, you understand these solutions. You know they are viable.

Like most people, I still struggle and suffer. But I know what I must do to eliminate suffering from my life, and I believe I am making progress. Suffering is neither inevitable nor necessary nor desirable. We can overcome it by using the kinds of spiritual techniques and approaches to life mentioned above. Doing these things will help us create Heaven-on-Earth. Let’s do it! ❖

You Are Eternal!

2014-01-23T14:03:00.000-08:00

In the Bhagavad Gita written thousands of years ago, Lord Krishna says to Prince Arjuna: There never was a time when you did not exist, and there never will be a time when you cease to exist. Krishna is reminding Arjuna that he is eternal.

Of course, Krishna is not referring to Arjuna in his physical body. Rather, he is referring to Arjuna's immortality as an atma, or soul.

Our fear of death

Like Arjuna on the battlefield, we are afraid of death and will do everything we can to prolong our physical existence. Most of what we do every day is designed to meet the needs of our physical bodies and ensure our physical survival.

Do you know you currently are in an Earth phase of your eternal existence? This lifetime — like those preceding it — is just a temporary illusion you made up in order to have the kind of unique experiences you are now having. And despite what you may have heard in church, you don't have to wait until you die to become eternal and experience eternal bliss. You are already eternal and you can experience eternal bliss right now.

The accelerating pace of time may alarm you at this point in your life. It reminds you that your lifespan is limited, thus convincing you that you are mortal. But when you return to spirit, you will leave behind the sensation of time and enter a timeless state.

Perhaps you would like to achieve physical immortality. Many people would, because of their fear of death. We are so attached to our physical bodies that we want to live in them forever. We believe our physical bodies are what-we-are. We think we are born, live, and die in our physical bodies and that constitutes the extent of our existence. Our five physical senses and brain support this illusion. Our senses and brain enable us to deceive ourselves about what we really are during our time here on Earth.

What you really are

You are, in fact, eternal, non-physical spirit. You have taken on the form of a physical body temporarily for the purpose of spiritual evolution. The physical world you have come to is a marvelous place in which to accelerate your evolution. You need a physical body in order to experience the physical world. You take on the appearance of a physical body when you arrive here, and you discard it when you leave.

The part of spirit that dwells in your physical body is often referred to as the soul. You-as-soul are actually individuated spirit that has taken on the form of a physical body. You-as-soul are like a drop of water in the infinite and eternal ocean of spirit.

While here on Earth, we try to extend our lives as long as we can. Certainly, science and medicine have helped us do this, and yet we continue to look for ways to cheat death. Throughout the day, we devote nearly all of our time to sustaining and preserving our high-maintenance physical bodies. Then, at night, we sleep because our physical bodies require it. Sleeping eight hours each night means we spend a third of our lives meeting this requirement to rest our physical bodies. That adds up to a staggering 25 years or so asleep! You may be surprised to learn that when your physical body is sleeping, you-as-soul are galavanting all over the astral realms. Then, near the end of our time here on Earth, we may find ourselves hooked up to life-support systems in hospitals in hope of extending our lives. That's how desperate we are to remain in our physical bodies.

I think the attachment we have to our physical bodies explains why Christians believe in resurrection. They believe they will be resurrected from the grave in the bodies they now inhabit. Through the resurrection of their physical bodies, they hope to achieve a kind of physical immortality. Personally, I prefer the definition of resurrection offered by A Course in Miracles: raising the mind from the ego’s dream of death to the awareness of eternal life.

The desire to achieve physical immortality is futile, isn't it? Yes, we might be able to extend our lifespans, but we probably won’t be able to live in our physical bodies indefinitely. In fact, I believe the timing of our departure is pre-determined and is known at the soul level. When we came here, we didn't intend to stay forever. “Death” was the way we devised to get back out of the physical world, most often through aging, illness, or accident. At the time of death, the soul-you-are departs from the physical body and goes on to new adventures in the spirit realms where we normally dwell. Without the spiritual energy of the soul to sustain it, the physical body becomes lifeless, like a burned out light bulb that no longer receives electricity.

We may not be physically immortal, but we are indeed spiritually immortal, and we do survive the illusion of physical death. Immortality really means spiritual immortality. But how can we know for certain that we are spiritually eternal as long as we remain trapped in the belief that physicality is real?

Evidence that we are eternal

We don't have to die to learn that we are eternal. There are a number of gentler ways to learn it. One of them is to study near-death experiences. People who have had an NDE return to tell us we are eternal. They provide us with a glimpse of eternity. They tell us that time does not exist in the spirit realms.

Another way to confirm that we are eternal is through after-death communications with our departed loved ones and through conversations with our spirit guides and other friends in spirit. Yes, you can do this, and despite what you may have been told in church, it is not evil or sinful. Our departed loved ones and our friends in spirit can tell us what happens to us when our physical bodies die. They can assure us that they are happy and in a beautiful place. They can tell us about our never-ending existence. Through our conversations with them, we can learn that our separation from them is just a temporary illusion.

Past-life and inter-life regressions are still another way to confirm that we exist forever. Past-life regressions show us that we normally dwell in the spirit realms and that we choose to periodically reincarnate into new bodies here in the physical world. These past-life regressions show us what our life has been like during our other incarnations. Inter-life regressions, on the other hand, show us what our existence in the spirit realms is like between physical incarnations. Both types of regression help us to understand why our current life is the way it is. They both confirm that we exist eternally.

An end to fear

We continue to fear death because we don’t know what happens to us when we die, and we haven't been willing to find out. The nonsense we were taught in church underlies this fear. We are still living in a spiritual dark age.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can awaken from our spiritual slumber and remember what we really are. As Krishna says to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, you are not a physical body. Rather, you are the indweller, the atma, the soul. As such, you are eternal. You will never die. When you fully come to realize this, you will never again need to fear death. ❖

How to Cope with the Tyranny of Time

2014-01-07T05:26:00.000-08:00

We now find ourselves in the early days of 2014. With the passing of the new year, time feels as if it is continuing to accelerate. Our feelings of stress and urgency continue to grow.

How can you cope with the relentless passage of time? I’d like to offer some suggestions...

Ways to cope

Visualize your life without constant stress and urgency. Allow yourself to feel what it would be like. As you do this, you are setting in motion the process of manifesting a life that is gentle and serene. Remember: you are the creator of your life experience. You are not a victim of other people or life's circumstances.

Engage in spiritual journaling. Our memories are fleeting and often unreliable. As you journal, write down your experiences, thoughts, feelings, and expectations. You will be amazed in a few years when you re-read your journal entries.

Read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. In this best-selling book, Eckhart emphasizes the importance of living in the present moment and not dwelling in the past or future. His book describes methods for anchoring yourself in the present moment.

Try to always remember that time is an illusion. We as spiritual beings co-created it to organize our experiences here in the physical world. Our time here seems fleeting, but we are eternal. The passage of time can feel uncomfortable to us because in the spirit realms where we normally dwell, there is no sense of time passing.

When stressed, remember that you are never given more than you can handle. If it feels like it is becoming too much for you, ask Spirit to “tone it down a little.” Discuss your discomfort and concerns with your spirit guide, just as you would with any dear and trusted friend.

Perhaps you can’t defeat the relentless pace of time that you are experiencing here in the physical world, but hopefully you can learn to live in harmony with it. Remember to use the positive affirmation: “I always have plenty of time to do everything I need or want to do.

Set aside some “me-time” each day away from your hectic routine and demanding people. Devoting 5 or 10 minutes to resting and inner stillness allows you to step out of the flow of time and enables you to experience a sense of calmness and relaxation. I discovered the importance of doing this just a few days ago when I took time out from my usual routine of writing to sit quietly in the living room, gazing at our Christmas tree and holiday decorations.

Be sure to devote at least 20 or 30 minutes each day to the vital spiritual practice of meditation. For me, it often seems as if no time passes when I’m meditating, and I emerge from meditation feeling refreshed and relaxed. I consider meditation to be the single most beneficial spiritual practice we can engage in.

It's always important to know what's going on. Those who don't know are bound to experience discomfort or even fear and panic. Simply stated, our vibration, along with that of the Earth, is accelerating in preparation for ascension out of the 3rd dimensional level of consciousness and into the 4th and 5th dimensional levels. For that reason, time feels like it is accelerating as we continue to evolve spiritually.

A final thought

The events of 2013 have come and gone. For me, the whole year seems like a blur. I honestly find it difficult to remember what I did throughout the year. But I do remember that it was an intense year. The rapid pace of events and activities in my life often left me feeling stressed and wondering what I could do to alleviate this stress.

Certain spiritual practices such as those mentioned above have helped me deal with the pace of time, and I believe they will help you, too. At the same time, I believe we should embrace 2014 and immerse ourselves in the present moment, knowing that this year too shall pass, just like all previous years. ❖

Related posts:
How the Tyranny of Time Affects Us
Is Time Just an Illusion?

Is Time Just an Illusion?

2014-01-06T18:31:00.002-08:00

We live in a world that seems to run on linear time, from the past through the present to the future. We are convinced that things occur one after another. Since we believe this is true, it becomes our experience.

Have you ever heard of “the arrow of time”? This phrase was coined in 1927 by Sir Arthur Eddington. It suggests that time flows only in one direction. Certainly, that is how we perceive the passage of time, but is it necessarily true? Could we say that the past and future don’t even exist? We can’t experience the past; we can only remember it. Nor can we experience the future, because it’s only an expectation that we have in the present moment.

We are therefore admonished to live in the present moment as the only time that really exists. But could it be that even the present moment doesn’t really exist? Could it be that time itself doesn’t exist except as an illusion we created to separate the crush of events in our lives. Albert Einstein concluded that the past, present, and future all exist simultaneously and there is no real separation among them. It is just a convincing illusion, he said.

On a number of occasions, I have discussed the passage of time with my spirit guide. My obsession with it seems to amuse him. He reminds me that time, as I perceive it, only exists here in the physical world. He points out that I can alter the flow of time by changing my perception of it. He says that reincarnation does not occur in what we would call chronological order. Rather, we can incarnate at any point in time. For example, we can and do jump from earth’s historical past to the future and back to the past again in successive incarnations. In other words, “past lives” don’t necessarily occur in the past, and “future lives” don’t necessarily occur in the future. In fact, he says, all of our incarnations are happening concurrently. I have trouble wrapping my head around this one, but he tells me to relax and just enjoy my “time” here in the physical world.

Does time really exist?

Perhaps time is just an illusion. Perhaps it “exists” only because we believe it does. In other words, it exists because our beliefs create our reality.

Along with other Eastern philosophers and mystics, Ramana Maharshi said, "Time is only an idea." America’s most documented psychic Edgar Cayce said, “There is no time.” And British physicist Julian Barbour said, “People are sure time is there, but they can’t get hold of it. My feeling is that they can’t get hold of it because it isn’t there at all.”

Certainly, each of us has a different perception of time, and each of us experiences its passage differently. Perceive it going fast, and it will. Perceive it going slow, and it will.

As I often do when I have a persistent question, I turned to A Course in Miracles to see what it says about time. The Course says: Time is not real. It is an illusion. It emerged when we decided to experience separation from God. We have already reached the end of time and are now looking back on our experience in time as if watching a movie. Miracles are defined as a change in our perception. Such a change in perception allows us to experience time differently than we have until now.

Time is collapsing

Spiritual author and teacher Jim Self says that 3rd dimensional linear time is collapsing into a single point of present time. He says time really isn’t accelerating; rather, it’s collapsing. We literally are running out of time to play in the 3rd dimension. He says the 3rd dimension is going away, along with everything that has supported it including our belief in linear time, because we no longer need it for our continued spiritual evolution.

As time collapses, Jim says it is becoming more difficult for us to remember our past experiences. Maybe that’s why last year seems like such a blur to me. I often say, half-jokingly, that I can’t even remember what I ate for breakfast. With the disappearance of the 3rd dimension, we are ascending into the fourth and fifth dimensional levels of consciousness where it’s always present time.

Jim says that we created the 3rd dimension as a “playground” in which to become better creators using our thoughts and feelings. To help us do this, the 3rd dimension has a built-in time buffer. Instead of instant manifestation, a time lag occurs between our thoughts and the actual manifestation of those thoughts in our experience.

What can we do?

Time is the greatest source of stress in our lives, and it seems to be accelerating. How can we cope with it? I will address that question in a sequel to this blog post. ❖

Related posts:
How the Tyranny of Time Affects Us
How to Cope with the Tyranny of Time

How the Tyranny of Time Affects Us

2014-01-06T15:45:00.001-08:00

We crossed the threshold into 2014 a few days ago. Now I’m left with a question: Did 2013 actually happen? I can barely remember it.

The transition from one year to the next is always a “non-event” for me. Yet I feel a sense of irritation each year when the glittering ball drops in Times Square and revelers there count down the last 10 seconds of the old year. The rasping sound of “Auld Lang Syne” that always follows grates on my nerves. It simply reminds me that the keeper of time has taken another year from us.

Frankly, time baffles me. What is it exactly? Is it real? Or is it just an illusion?

I set out on a quest to understand time and how it affects us. I would like to share with you what I have learned...

What is time?

The first thing I learned is this: We can experience the passage of time. And we know it relates to the sequential occurrence of events in our lives. We know that one moment seems to follow another. But we don’t really know what time itself is.

We invented clocks to measure time, and we are constantly attentive to them. In fact, they have come to symbolize the tyranny that time holds over us. But in my home, the clocks all seem to be out of sync. None of them is set to the same time. So I usually turn to my cellphone to see what time it “really” is, because I know my cellphone service provider is “infallible.”

We may not know what time itself is. We may not even know what time of day it is. But we do know time dominates our lives. And we know that when it is gone, it really is gone. Unlike money or possessions, we can never replace it.

How does the passage of time makes us feel?

Instead of defining time, a more useful question may be: How does the passage of time affect us? How does it make us feel? Since we are eternal spiritual beings, why is time so important to us when we are here in the physical world?

Like most people, I have a strong sense of “time.” There never seems to be enough of it in which to do all of the things I want or need to do. I normally get up each morning and have my first cup of coffee. Then suddenly and inexplicably, it’s nighttime again and time to go back to bed, and I have no recollection of what I did all day. Where did the day go? And to make matters worse, the passage of time seems to be accelerating and my sense of urgency is growing with each passing year. The accelerating pace of time may be the biggest cause of stress in our lives.

My perception of time has changed throughout my life, and perhaps yours has, too. When I was a kid living first on a farm and then in a small town in central Pennsylvania, I seemed to have all the time in the world. I spent summer vacations reading science fiction books, stopping now and then to mow the grass and to talk with my best friend about saving the universe.

But eventually I grew up and became a “responsible” adult, and my perception of time began to change. Like most people, I became an economic slave and, of course, that meant I had to get to work on time. In my mid-40s, my sense of urgency escalated. Life seemed to be passing by, and I hadn’t yet achieved anything of lasting value. Now decades later, I’m in my 60s, and the passage of time continues to accelerate. I’m retired and don’t “go to work” anymore, but I am busier than ever before. I always have a long list of things to do, most of which never get done for lack of time. I often wonder what happened to the promise of “endless time” in retirement.

Today, we always have to rush. We always feel stressed. In fact, I think we are facing a “crisis in time” and it’s beginning to feel hopeless. Trying to hold onto time is like trying to hold onto a handful of water. The accelerating pace of time is killing us, and I don’t think we can sustain it indefinitely.

I used to think technology — along with fast food and interstate highways — would alleviate the accelerating pace of time. But that hasn’t been the case because everything else has been speeding up as well. Sometimes I long for the simpler life of my youth in the hills of Pennsylvania.

Have you ever seen the list of “A Hundred Things You Must Do Before You Die”? The list includes things such as riding in a hot air balloon, getting married, going to Mardi Gras, getting a tattoo, crossing the equator, visiting all 50 states, learning a foreign language, and skydiving. Give me a break! I’m already stressed enough without believing I ought to do any of those things.

And how about “time management.” Have you ever heard of that? Wikipedia describes it as the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time you spend on specific activities in order to increase your efficiency. I constantly make lists of “things to do,” but the term “time management” and the expectation that I should manage my time according to rules laid down by “experts” only adds to my feeling of stress.

I suspect it is the ego which creates our sense of not having enough time. The ego arbitrarily decides what we must do on any given day. As the day goes along, we soon discover that we won’t be able to get most of those things done. The ego constantly evaluates our progress, causing us enormous unhappiness.

What can we do?

The passage of time causes overwhelming stress in our lives, but is it real? Or is it just an illusion? And how can we cope with it? I will address these important questions in sequels to this blog post. ❖

An audio version of this blog post:

Related posts:
Is Time Just an Illusion?
How to Cope with the Tyranny of Time

How to Bring More Spiritual Light into the World

2013-12-29T04:44:00.000-08:00

Violence, hatred, conflict, greed, and exploitation have characterized human history. But, at long last, wave after wave of spiritual light is pouring into our physical world from the spirit realms.

As a result, our experience here in the physical world is beginning to change. Of course, the privileged elite is frightened by humanity’s transition into an Age of Light and would like to prevent it from happening.

But as more and more spiritual light flows into the earth, our transformation is inevitable — and is accelerating. The veil of separation that we have been trapped in throughout history is lifting. Many people are waking up and remembering what we really are. Many are discovering that physicality is just an illusion. Our belief in separation from each other and from Spirit is diminishing. The earth’s vibration — and our own — is speeding up, in preparation for the ascension out of this 3rd dimensional vibration and into the light-filled 5th dimension.

How you can accelerate this process

Are you doing anything right now, or planning to do anything, to bring more spiritual light into the world? What can you do to contribute to humanity’s spiritual awakening?

Let me offer some simple suggestions. No doubt you will think of many others.

First, I would like to suggest that you avoid television news, soap operas, and violent movies. Ignore politics and the empty promises of self-serving politicians. Ignore the dire predictions of economic gloom and doom. Avoid the tendency to be pessimistic. Pay no attention to conspiracy theories and those who advocate them. Dwelling in all such negativity only serves to lower your vibration and the vibration of everyone around you.

Now maybe you think you need to be informed, but in fact, you are being manipulated and controlled by the forces of darkness who want to keep you fearful, enslaved, and obedient. Remember: you attract into your life more of whatever you focus on. You can let the nonsense rage around you, if it must. But you don’t have to be drawn into it or let it affect you in any way.

By contrast, here are a few things I would encourage you to do: Release your attachment to having things remain the same. Envision yourself surrounded by light that penetrates you and then radiates back out to the world. In meditation, contemplation, and visualization, send healing energy to places in the world that seem to be troubled or beset by ecological disaster. Reduce or eliminate your consumption of meat. Become less materialistic. Avoid alcohol which anesthetizes the spirit within you that you are trying to awaken. Participate in spiritual groups like Spirit Quest, which will accelerate your spiritual growth. Become a lightworker or planetary healer. Become dedicated to spiritual practices like meditation.

There’s more. Ask yourself the following kinds of questions: How can I become more loving and gentle? How can I discover and follow my life purpose? How can I share my spiritual knowledge and skills with the rest of the world? And in what ways can I contribute to the global spiritual awakening?

How you will benefit from doing this

As you draw more spiritual light into you through your intention to do so, your life experience will begin to change in every way. Your level of vibration and consciousness will rise. You will discover your true identify and your unlimited potential. Your transformation from a physical body into a light body will accelerate. You will find your life purpose and be able to devote yourself to it with passion.

As the spiritual light within you radiates back out from you, it will affect people around you. Their level of consciousness will also rise. This will feel uplifting to them, and they will be drawn to you.

You will remember that you are the creator of your life experience and a co-creator of the kind of world you live in. You have spent most of your eternal existence in the spirit realms. You will now remember the qualities of the spirit realms and will be able to manifest these same qualities here in the physical world. In effect, you will be helping to co-create heaven-on-earth. ❖

Related blog post: How Spiritual Light Is Affecting You

How Spiritual Light Is Affecting You

2013-12-28T19:05:00.000-08:00

A massive amount of spiritual light from the higher dimensions is now pouring into the world in wave after wave. It is sparking humanity’s long-awaited spiritual awakening.

What is this spiritual light?

As you know, physical light provides illumination, whether it comes from the sun, fire, light bulb, or any other physical source. Like physical light, spiritual light also provides illumination but in the form of consciousness, awareness, knowledge, or enlightenment.

Normally, you cannot see spiritual light, nor can you measure it. However, like gravity, electricity, and magnetism, you can feel it and observe it effects.

Although you cannot see spiritual light with your physical eyes, people who have had a near-death experience often describe a light they saw during their experience. And earth-bound souls clinging to the physical world after death can look for a light we cannot see and go into it. In my journeys to the other side of the veil during meditation, I have often observed beings and plant life glowing radiantly from light within.

What happens when the sun rises each morning? What happens when you walk into a dark room and turn on a lamp? Obviously, the darkness disappears. In like fashion, spiritual light replaces the darkness of fear, ignorance, and greed we have been living in throughout human history. It banishes the darkness that has caused us so much suffering.

How is this light affecting us?

We have always been beings of light, but here in the low-vibrating physical world, our light has become very dim, like lanterns covered with soot and smoke. We have been trapped in the illusion of physicality, believing it and our physical bodies to be real. We have forgotten that we are beings of light.

As the spiritual light continues to flow into the world and into us, it is helping us to remember what we really are. It is washing away the illusions of physicality and our erroneous belief that we are physical bodies. It is healing and transforming us. It is changing our cellular structure and activating our dormant DNA. As the inflow continues, our physical bodies are able to hold more and more light and thus are gradually transforming into light bodies.

The light is also affecting us emotionally and mentally. We are letting go of negative emotions that have kept us trapped in duality and separation throughout history. We are releasing our feelings of victimization and replacing them with an understanding that we create our reality. We are beginning to experience more love and joy in life. Our intuitive and creative abilities are awakening. We are experiencing more and more synchronistic events and epiphanies in our lives. It is becoming easier for us to remember why we came here.

Have you noticed these affects of spiritual light? Have you been feeling them? I have been feeling a state of gentle bliss, optimism, and serenity. The spiritual light has been helping me clarify my life purpose and sense of spiritual direction.

To be sure, the inflow of light may have been causing you stress, anxiety, discomfort, and confusion, if you don’t know what’s going on. Perhaps your nighttime dreams have become more intense or even upsetting. Maybe you are experiencing a sense of chronic urgency and feeling there is never enough time to do the things you need to do

If this is so, then you need to know these negative feelings are caused by your resistance to the global shift in consciousness being sparked by the inflow of spiritual light. Apparently, you still believe this physical illusion is real, and you are clinging to it, reluctant to awaken from the dream.

What should we do now?

Spirit has been trying to speak to us for a long time, but we have not been able to hear because we have been cloaked in the veil of physicality, our limiting beliefs, and the ego’s stranglehold. Our level of vibration has been too slow for the frequencies of Spirit to get through.

Fortunately, the spiritual light now flowing into the world and into you will lift the veil that separates you from Spirit. It will allow you to establish a working relationship with Spirit.

But this cannot happen until you choose for it to happen. It cannot happen until you are ready to change your long-held beliefs and commit yourself to your own spiritual awakening. ❖

Related blog post: How to Bring More Spiritual Light into the World

How to Establish a Working Relationship with Your Spirit Guide

2013-11-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

Why You May Find It Difficult to Relate to Your Guide

Not long ago, a dear friend told me she was having difficulty communicating with her spirit guide. To be sure, she could visualize him. He appeared to her in the form of an American Indian. But each time she tried to talk to him, he would remain aloof with his arms crossed, gazing off into the distance. His unresponsiveness baffled her, because she wanted to establish a close relationship with him.

At her request, I discussed this situation with Max, my own primary spirit guide. At first, Max told me it was none of my business. But when I persisted, he became more forthcoming.

Here is what he said: Before she incarnated, my friend told her guide that she wanted “to go it more on her own” in this lifetime. She wanted to experience a lifetime with minimal involvement or interference by her guide. For that reason, her guide was now responding to her in an “aloof” manner.

At the same time, Max suggested other reasons why people might find themselves in “distant” relationships with their guides. He said such relationships can be symptomatic of the difficulties we have in bridging the gap between the physical and spiritual realities. As spirit entities, our guides vibrate at a much higher frequency than we do in our dense physical bodies. Fear or impatience on our part can block or hinder the connection. And society has taught us not to believe in “this kind of stuff.”

But Max assured me of two very important things: First, it is always possible to establish a relationship with our guides. Second, we can alter the kind of relationship we currently have with our guides, if we wish.

You Are Not Alone

Each of us is accompanied by at least one spirit guide throughout our lives here on earth. Our guides agree to accompany us when we — still in spirit — are in the process of pre-planning an upcoming incarnation. After we incarnate, they assist us in our spiritual evolution, which of course is the main reason we come here. To assist us, they bring certain people and experiences into our earthly lives.

Guides typically have lived numerous times themselves here in the physical world. They may have evolved to a point where they no longer need to incarnate. In any case, their own experiences here in the physical world qualify them to work with us while we are here.

Guides are just as interested in establishing a working relationship with you as you are with them. Like you, they are on a never-ending journey of spiritual evolution. The work they do with you not only gives them enormous pleasure; it also contributes to their spiritual evolution.

You may not be able to see or hear your guide or even sense your guide’s presence. But an image of your guide may pop into your mind if you are at all visual. Your guide may take on a form he knows you will be comfortable with, or you may perceive him in a form you can relate to. When I first met my guide in 2010, he reminded me of the Swedish actor Max von Sydow, who played the role of the tracker in the movie What Dreams May Come. For that reason, I began to call him Max. He seemed to be content with this name.

Use Creative Visualization to Meet Your Guide

Establishing a working relationship with your guide isn’t complicated, and you don’t have to achieve a high level of spiritual evolution before you can begin to do it. All you need to do is invite your guide into your awareness. Such an invitation is necessary because — except in cases of emergency — your guide is unlikely to intervene in your life in a way that you are conscious of. To do so without your invitation would be a violation your freewill.

For years, I sat quietly in traditional meditation, waiting for my guide to come to me. But he never showed up. Finally in 2010, I went “out there” looking for him while practicing the spiritual technique of creative visualization that I had just learned about — and I met him on my very first try. Very simply, I set the stage for an encounter with my guide in a beautiful garden. Then I invited him to join me there. He did so at once. This same technique has been working for me ever since.

For me, creative visualization has been a very simple but effective technique for maintaining a working relationship with Max and other spirit entities I have met on the other side of the veil. It works like guided meditation, except that instead of being guided by someone else, I am guiding the meditation myself. Max or other spirit entities appear instantly when I do this. I sit or stroll with them, and we chat like dear friends.

You can use this same technique yourself. When your guide shows up, you can ask him or her all kinds of questions. You can ask for guidance. You can ask about your life purpose. You can even ask your guide to explain why you are facing certain challenges in life. But, of course, don’t expect your guide to foretell your future — or give you the winning lottery numbers. Your future is being created by the decisions and choices you make as you go along. Remember: guides seldom tell you what to do. Rather, they make suggestions for you to consider.

When it's time for you to return to the physical world at the end of an encounter with your guide, be sure to thank your guide. As soon as your awareness re-focuses here in the physical world, write down everything you can remember about the encounter before forgetting it. As we pass back through the veil separating the physical and spiritual realities, we tend to forget much of what we discussed with our guides, just as we forget most of our nighttime dreams when we pass back through the same veil upon awakening each morning.

A Call to Action

Go ahead! Establish a working relationship with your spirit guide. Use creative visualization to do so. Doing this will benefit you immensely as you struggle through life here in the physical world. You will learn amazing things. I know I have. In this blog, I have often written about my encounters with Max and other spirit entities and what I have learned during these encounters.

Perhaps you are trying to initiate a relationship with your spirit guide. Or perhaps you have an ongoing relationship. Tell us about your experience in the comment box below.

Working with a spirit guide is a serious spiritual practice for serious spiritual seekers. But it's also a lot of fun. ❖

Related post: Creative Visualization for Spiritual Growth

The Top Ten List of Spiritual Misconceptions

2013-10-20T05:32:00.000-07:00

For thousands of years, we have accepted certain spiritual misconceptions as truth. In this article, I would like to take a look at our ten most egregious misconceptions...

1. We are separate from God and each other

Many people speak about God, or to God, as if “He” were out there somewhere, external to us, dwelling beyond the physical universe in an invisible realm called Heaven. These same people tell us our separation from God began when Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit and were cast out of Eden. Our sinful ways continue to separate us from God, they claim.

But I have learned something infinitely more credible from my spiritual studies, including A Course in Miracles: We are not now, nor have we ever been, separate from God or each other. Our erroneous belief in separation is the cause of all human suffering. The human ego — or the separate self we believe ourselves to be — does everything it can to maintain the illusion of separation. In truth, we cannot be separate from God, because God is everywhere and God is everything-that-exists. All along, we have been dreaming a dream of separation. We can awaken from this dream anytime we choose.

2. You are a physical body

You believe you are a physical body, don’t you? Moreover, you believe the physical space between you and other people is what separates you from them.

In truth, you are not your physical body. You are Spirit temporarily incarnated in the illusion of a physical body. Think of it this way: When you go out and get in your car, you don’t become your car, do you? No. You are in it temporarily, using it to get around. Likewise, your physical body is a vehicle you use here in the physical world. You get into your physical body, but you do not become your physical body.

3. This physical world is real

We believe physical “reality” is real. Our physical senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching have convinced us of it. What’s more, we believe the physical world we see around us exists independently of us, and that it was created by God, nature, or other forces external to us.

In truth, everything we perceive “out there” around us is just a projection of our own mind. It is not real. It is an illusion. When you are asleep and dreaming, are your dreams real? No. They are images occurring in your mind. In like fashion, we are creating the world we see around us — and our experiences in it — with our thoughts, beliefs, and expectations. To change the world we live in, we need to change our thoughts, beliefs, and expectations.

4. Death is real

We believe we are physical bodies which eventually must die. That’s our greatest fear. Organized religion has flourished because of this fear.

But since our physical bodies are an illusion, then death must also be an illusion. That which we really are cannot die. We are eternal. “Death” is merely the method we devised to get ourselves back out of the illusion of physicality. It is similar to what happens when we awaken from our nighttime dreams each morning.

We do not cease to exist when we cast off these physical bodies. We merely discard them like worn-out overcoats and then go on to new adventures in other realms of existence. Without a physical body, we no longer experience pain or illness. We lose our fear of death.

5. God is a person

God is often depicted as a person in writings and in art. Take, for example, Michelangelo’s paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which portray God as a stern old man with a beard and an angry expression.

Portraying God as a person is called personification, and most people relate to God as if “He” were a person. We have personified “Him” as “our Father.” We have also personified “Him” as Jesus.

Not only have we portrayed God in human form; we have also given “Him” human attributes. We have described “Him” as jealous, vengeful, and wrathful. In one breath, we plead with “Him” to help us; in the next, we condemn “Him” for failing to do so. In effect, we have created God in our own image.

I believe God can be described as Love or pure consciousness or everything-that-exists. But God most definitely is not a person.

6. Suffering is good for you

Many people believe suffering is a normal part of life. Some religions even teach that it is desirable. Christianity, for example, teaches that Jesus suffered and died on the cross. Therefore, we should be willing to suffer as well.

I must concede that suffering can lead to a spiritual awakening and subsequent spiritual growth, because that was my experience. Traumatic events like illness, divorce, natural disasters, severe financial hardship, or loss of a loved one can precipitate a spiritual awakening. And I agree with Robert Schwartz who writes in his books that we pre-plan our upcoming lives before we incarnate — including the painful and unpleasant experiences we will have — for the purpose of accelerating our spiritual growth while here on earth.

But I don’t think we come to earth just to struggle and suffer. Instead, we come, hoping it will be a joyous adventure. I think we can grow spiritually through joy and happiness. I, for one, have suffered long enough. I choose instead to experience a permanent state of gentle bliss in life.

7. Fear, ignorance, and greed are normal human attributes

Fear, ignorance, and greed are among the most destructive of all human attributes. Think of the astonishing amount of suffering and devastation these negative attributes have caused. The pollution and destruction of our environment is just one example.

One could argue that the world would lose its karmic value without such negativity. There would no longer be any reason to come here for the purpose of spiritual evolution. That may be so, but why should we go on suffering as we always have?

We can overcome the stifling effects that fear, ignorance, and greed have in our lives. To do this, we need to understand that the world we see “out there” is just a projection of our own minds. Just as we awaken physically from our nighttime dreams, we can awaken spiritually from our daytime dreams of a world filled with negativity.

8. We are born into sin

One of the most outrageous claims ever made by religious fanatics is that we are born into sin. They claim we are sinners from the moment of our birth. They tell us we inherited our sinfulness from Adam and Eve who ate the forbidden fruit eons ago, precipitating the fall of man in this act of “original sin” which severed man’s relationship with God.

Religious fanatics define sin as any transgression against God’s laws. Lust is high on their list of offenses. God sent his “only son” Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sins, they tell us. Apparently, Jesus died in vain, because we are still sinners, according to religious fanatics.

For me, salvation means being “saved” from the illusion that this physical world is real. In truth, God never threw us out of heaven, and we are not sinners. We chose to “separate” ourselves in a dream of make-believe here in the physical world where, we believed, we could accelerate our spiritual evolution. To make our experience here seem real, we had to place ourselves in a state of spiritual amnesia. Physical “reality” is no more real than our nighttime dreams. We made it all up. We are here to learn from our mistakes. We will realize this when we awaken from the dream.

9. Religion and spirituality are synonymous

Some people say religion is a form of spirituality. Others say it is the diametric opposite of spirituality. Either way, religion and spirituality are definitely not synonymous, despite the claims of religious fanatics.

Religion is designed to save you from the threat of eternal damnation in hell. As such, it is based on fear. It looks to an external source for salvation from this damnation. Spirituality, on the other hand, seeks to release you from fear by teaching you the truth about who you really are. It teaches that salvation occurs when you awaken from this illusion you always thought was real.

In spirituality, you don’t need “middle men” who want to tell you how to behave. You don’t need a church interposing itself between you and God. You have direct, conscious contact with God.

In religion, God is defined as an external entity having human characteristics who must be worshiped, obeyed, and placated. Spirituality teaches that you and God are not separate.

Religion imposes an institutionalized set of rules, dogmas, and rituals you must comply with in order to get into heaven. Spirituality has none of these.

Religion teaches you that God “created the heavens and the earth.” Spirituality teaches that you create the world you perceive around you and your experiences in it with your thoughts, beliefs, and expectations.

It’s no wonder people are leaving religion in droves.

10. Spirituality is not very practical

Most people are obsessed with earning enough money to pay their bills and buy the things they think they need. And, when not working, they’re busy doing “fun things” which they hope will bring them happiness. Spirituality seldom occurs to them, and if it does, they believe it isn’t very practical. They don’t have time for it. They’re skeptical of it.

Not practical?! That’s utter nonsense. The truth is: Nothing is more practical than spirituality. Through spirituality, you learn how to attract into your life all the things you want — things like health and vitality, abundance and prosperity, love and friendship, knowledge and wisdom, and joy and serenity. Spirituality provides the answers to all of your needs and concerns. It provides a solution to all of your problems.

A call to action

Here again is my top ten list of spiritual misconceptions:

We are separate from God and each other.
You are a physical body.
This physical world is real.
Death is real.
God is a person.
Suffering is good for you.
Fear, ignorance, and greed are normal human attributes.
We are born into sin.
Religion and spirituality are synonymous.
Spirituality is not very practical.

These misconceptions have caused enormous suffering in the world and in our lives. It is time for us to discard them and awaken spiritually. ❖

What Preachers Say About Sickness

2013-10-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Did you have to go to church when you were a kid?

I did — twice on Sundays and on Wednesday nights as well. Then, whenever the fire-breathing evangelists came around, I had to go each night for two continuous weeks. “Church craziness” consisted of every religious activity you can imagine — Sunday services, revivals, prayer meetings, camp meetings, sunrise services, summer vacation bible schools, church camps, tent meetings, church picnics, and baptisms in the river. I was subjected to non-stop religious fanaticism.

Throughout my “church years” as a child in the 1950s, the preachers and evangelists constantly threatened the congregation with eternal damnation in the fires of hell. This nonsense terrified me. Tragically, religious fanaticism still flourishes.

We get sick because we have sinned

Let me tell you what the preachers had to say about sickness back then. This may astonish or even shock you.

To begin with, the preachers liked to rant and rave about the story of Job. As you may recall, the Biblical Book of Job details the anguish which Satan inflicts on a man named Job — with God’s full consent. In the story, Satan takes away Job’s children, property, wealth, and even his health. God allows Satan to do this in order to test Jobs’s obedience. Job endures terrible pain and suffering, but God does not intervene nor does He bother to explain to the devout Job why all of this is happening to him. Instead, God ignores Job’s appeals for help. As Job sits on a heap of ashes with his body covered by painful sores, his friends come to see him. He must have sinned against God and God is punishing him, his friends insist. Of course, the story of Job is just an allegory for life here in the physical world, but the preachers presented it as historical fact.

The preachers asserted that we get sick because we have sinned. There would be no sickness if man had not sinned, they proclaimed. The preachers loved to remind of us of our many sins — sins like drinking, smoking, dancing, going to movies, playing cards, wearing jewelry, and thinking about sex. We were born into sin, they insisted, and every single one of us was a sinner. God had created a perfect world for us, where neither sickness nor death existed. But Adam and Eve violated God’s prohibition against eating fruit from the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden where they dwelled. Apparently, this was an unpardonable act of disobedience. It led to "the fall of man" and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden. Worse still, it brought disease and death into the world, and we have been suffering for this so-called "original sin" ever since.

The preachers offered a whole litany of explanations for why we must endure disease, suffering, and death. Here is some of what they had to say...

Either you have sinned or you have backslidden — meaning you were once close to the God but you have since fallen back into your old sinful ways. You are not living according to God’s laws.

You are unrepentant, and you have not confessed your sins. God is punishing you for your wickedness by withholding wellness from you. He is angry and has turned his back on you.

Sickness and other forms of suffering can be redemptive. Your suffering will earn you extra get-into-heaven points. In the meantime, God wants to test your devotion as he did with Job, to see whether or not you deserve His blessings. He allows the devil to tempt and torment you to prove your devotion to Him.

God is merciful but He can withhold the gift of healing until you earn it through your obedience. He expects you to be long-suffering. Sometimes He allows you to suffer so that His glory can be displayed when He eventually heals you.

He uses sickness to bring you and others to salvation. Your faith is strengthened through pain and suffering. If you bear your infirmities with courage and patience, with faith and hope, with gladness and joy, then you can be a witness to the ways of God. Thus, in sickness you are serving God.

We must plead with God to heal us

Of course, the preachers constantly reminded us that, to be healed, we had to “pray without ceasing.” You have to plead with God to cure you, they told us. If you pray and ask for healing in His name and according to His will, He will deliver you from your affliction. But if He doesn’t heal you, then it isn’t His will to do so. In other words, healing is God’s prerogative. If you aren’t healed, He doesn’t will it. Or perhaps you simply lack sufficient faith.

It was the apostle Paul who urged us to “pray without ceasing.” As you’ll recall, Paul wrote 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament — that is to say, the Christian Bible. Modern Christianity is based primarily on the teachings of Paul. Here is some of what Paul had to say about sickness in his writings: God sends sickness as one means of punishment. God allows us to be sick and sometimes refuses to deliver us from it. And suffering transforms us into God’s image. In other words, Paul taught that God uses sickness to (1) rebuke us, (2) sanctify us, and (3) display His glory.

According to the Christian fanatics, you must repent your sins and put your trust in your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you don’t do this, then you will have an eternal death sentence hanging over you that is far worse than any illness or disease you might experience in this life.

A rejection of such nonsense

What can we conclude from all of this? We can conclude that the promise of God’s healing is conditional and depends on your obedience. The God of the church will provide for your wellbeing if you are faithful and will punish you if you are not. But healing is not guaranteed, even if you have been faithful and devout. Throughout the ages, millions of faithful Christians have suffered terribly, their prayers for physical deliverance unanswered.

The nonsense I was subjected to as a child in church upsets me to this very day. It was nothing less than religious brainwashing and psychological abuse. But it must have worked, just as the preachers said it would. I became a skinny, sickly child who suffered from one bout of influenza after another. Apparently, I was very bad. I became frightened and neurotic. Once, during a revival meeting, I had an accident in my pants, because I knew God would strike me dead right then and there if I got up to the bathroom during the service. The church-version of God left me profoundly troubled and confused.

As a young adult, I was able to reject this nonsense. I even became an atheist for many years. Not until my mid-40s did I discover that religion has nothing to do with spirituality. I awoke spiritually at that time in my life and learned that real spirituality is not based on fear of God’s wrath and the eternal punishment He might inflict on me. I learned that you don’t become ill because God is punishing you for your sins, nor do you become ill as a test of your faith and obedience. I became spiritual but not religious.

Except for weddings and funerals, I don’t set foot inside of churches. Why should I? In church, I would never find healing for the psychological trauma of my youth nor any physical sickness I might experience in life. Rather, the ability to heal resides within me. During his ministry, Jesus became most famous for his miracles of healing, and he himself said: “All that I do, you too shall do, and more.” ❖

A Spiritual Solution to Your Fear

2013-09-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

You believe you are a physical body that can be harmed.

What do you fear?... Death of a loved one? Your own death? Sickness and disability? Failure? Humiliation? Victimization? Distress in your relationships? Lack of money? Global catastrophe?

Here’s why you feel these kinds of fears: You believe you are a physical body. You believe this physical world is real. You believe that whatever happens in the world is actual. You believe something bad could happen to you, and you have no control over it. These erroneous beliefs give rise to your fears.

For thousands of years, spiritual teachers have been saying there is nothing to fear. You are not your physical body. This physical world is just an illusion. Your experience in it is merely a dream.

How fear can affect you

As I understand it, fear is a natural reaction to danger. But even after the immediate danger has passed, you can remain in the grip of anxiety indefinitely. For example, I suffer from a pathological fear of flying. One day back in 1973 I was flying from Washington to New York. In mid-flight, the plane suddenly dropped without warning. Drinks splashed off the cabin ceiling. Flight attendants and passengers standing in aisle fell to the floor. People screamed. It was terrifying. When we landed, the pilot said nothing about it. Now, 40 years later, I still experience severe anxiety every time I fly.

Perhaps your fear originated in a previous lifetime. We typically bring karmic baggage with us from previous lifetimes, hoping to deal with it in this lifetime. Your baggage may be stuffed full of fear. Several years ago, I did a past-life regression during a seminar facilitated by Denise Linn in Tampa. In this regression, I experienced myself as a crew member on a B-17 bomber that was shot down over Germany during World War II. Yes, that’s right: this past-life experience could explain my fear of flying in this lifetime, a fear that was reignited on that flight from Washington to New York.

Fear profoundly affects your lifestyle and your happiness. You try to deal with it, but it has taken control of you and you can’t seem to break its grip. Ever since that terrifying flight in 1973, I have avoided flying whenever possible, even to places I wanted to go. I have undergone psychotherapy. I have learned how to use deep breathing, muscle relaxation, and gentle music therapy to help me while flying. Doctors have prescribed Xanax to reduce my anxiety. I used to drank heavily before and during flights. I have discussed my concerns with a pilot friend who assures me that flying is perfectly safe. Yet, when I’m walking to the boarding gate, my knees turn to jelly and I get that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Along with your lifestyle and happiness, fear also affects your personal and spiritual growth. It can limit your growth or even block it altogether. I have studied a number of great spiritual teachings — including the Bhagavad Gita and A Course in Miracles — to find out what they say about fear. This is what I have learned...

What I have learned about fear

The ego — or the separate self you believe yourself to be — wants you to remain trapped in fear. It feeds on your fear. It knows that fear prevents you from learning your true identity. The ego has filled you with all kinds of fear to maintain its stranglehold on you.

Fear arises from your erroneous belief that you are a physical body which can be harmed. The truth is: The physical body is an illusion that You-as-Soul created in order to experience physical “reality.” What you really are cannot be harmed.

Fear itself is an illusion. It implies that something bad might happen in the future. But the future does not exist, except in your imagination. In the present moment, you are perfectly safe.

Worry will not solve your problems. It will only aggravate your state of anxiety.

The Law of Attraction says you draw into your experience whatever you focus on. So you ought to focus on positive things that you want, not on negative or fearful things you don’t want.

You can transcend your fear. There are many methods and techniques to help you do this, but most importantly, you need to make a decision to let go of your fear. It’s insane to hold onto it and nurture it.

The opposite of fear is unconditional love and acceptance. Indeed, our spiritual journey here in the physical world is all about moving from fear to love.

Fear originates in the mind, not in the body. Therefore, the solution to fear lies in the mind. It descends from the mind into the body and there produces all sorts of symptoms such as physical stress and sickness.

You sleep at night because your physical body needs to rest. But you are also asleep throughout the day during your so-called “waking life.” You are spiritually asleep. You need to awaken spiritually to know the truth. That truth is: You are an eternal spiritual being. But you have intentionally forgotten this to make your experience here in the physical world seem real to you. You projected yourself into the physical world for the purpose of accelerating your spiritual evolution, and when you did this, you drew the veil of forgetfulness over yourself. All along, you have been perfectly safe.

If the world appears to be a terrifying place to you, it’s because your negative emotions and erroneous beliefs make it seem that way. Personal and spiritual growth are needed to overcome these negative emotions and erroneous beliefs.

How different the world would be if we all truly understood and believed that there is nothing to fear. How different our experiences in the world would be. Living in fear is no fun. You don’t have to go on doing it.

What Is Blocking Your Spiritual Growth?

2013-09-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

The physical world provides us unlimited opportunities to grow spiritually. That's why we come here. But negative emotions and erroneous beliefs can block our spiritual growth.

Discovering our blockages is an essential part of spiritual growth.

Let me mention a few of the negative emotions that can get in the way of spiritual growth. Perhaps you have experienced some of them. I certainly have. They include guilt, self-pity, greed, anger, pride, resentment, victimization, bitterness, doubt, disappointment, cynicism, skepticism, shame, despair, depression, indifference, hatred, jealousy, and envy — but there are many others.

Along with negative emotions, we cling to a host of erroneous beliefs about ourselves, the world we live in, and God. For example, we believe we are physical bodies; we have forgotten that we are eternal spiritual beings. We believe this physical world is real; we have forgotten that it is just an illusion we created for the purpose of "having physical experiences." And religious fanatics have filled our heads with preposterous ideas about God. They have convinced us that God is wrathful and plays favorites, demands to be worshipped, condemns us to everlasting torment in hell, and looks like Michelangelo's depiction on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. They have admonished us to fear God.

Of all the negative emotions, fear probably qualifies as the biggest impediment to spiritual growth. It literally paralyzes us. We are constantly confronted by fear-based stress, worry, and anxiety in life. We torture ourselves endlessly with fearful questions like: What if others discover the “real me” and don’t like what they see? What if I fail to achieve some very important goal? What if the plane I’m about to fly on crashes? What if I get sick, suffer terribly, and then die? What if I don't get something I desperately want, or what if something I already have is taken from me? Fears like these can haunt us at every turn.

The ego thrives on our negative emotions and erroneous beliefs.

The ego does everything it can to keep us in a permanent state of fear. It thrives on fear. It uses fear and other negative emotions to block us from learning the truth about who we really are. It does this to ensure its own survival and continued dominance.

I define the ego as "the me I believe I am." To be sure, this ego has played a vital role in human evolution. When we lived in caves and forests and were confronted by saber-tooth tigers and other dangers, the fear-based ego helped us find ways to survive. But long before this, the ego gave us a sense of individuality. We created physical bodies in which to live while here on Earth, thus giving ourselves a sense of separation and individuality. Without an ego, we would not have been able to perceive ourselves as separate individuals. This sense of individual identity continues to be a fundamental aspect of our human experience. It allows us to view all of creation from an infinite number of viewpoints, as we wanted to do.

But at some point, the ego gained absolute control of us and has been in control ever since. Today, we still believe we are separate from each other. We see the physical space between us as proof of this separation. But as A Course in Miracles tells us, our false belief in separation from God and from each other is the source of all human ills. It has led to our human habit of judging and criticizing others and bombing them out of existence when necessary.

Oh, yes, the separation seems completely real. It had to be convincing for it to work as we intended. Today, we still believe we are separate physical bodies living in a physical universe. But the truth is: We created the physical universe as a playground in which to accelerate our spiritual growth. And we created our "individuated" physical bodies in order to get around in the physical universe. Then we forgot we created the physical universe and our physical bodies. We forgot that everything we created is just an illusion and that, in fact, we never really left Heaven. All along, we have been living in spiritual amnesia. We have been hallucinating this entire physical experience.

We continue to believe that our negative emotions will ensure our physical survival and will help us to get everything we want or need in life. Of course, to satisfy our wants and needs, we think we must take what others have, and we easily find ways to justify such behavior. This has turned our lives into nonstop violence, pain, and suffering, effectively blocking our spiritual growth.

We can continue to pursue the same kind of human experience we always have. That’s what most people choose to do, consciously or unconsciously. They think they have “more important" things to do than work on spiritual growth.

We can begin to deal with the blockages we face.

By contrast, we can choose to awaken spiritually. We have been spiritually asleep for eons, and as we awaken from this sleep, we can begin to experience conscious spiritual growth. The awakening can occur suddenly and dramatically in an instant of time. Or it can be a gradual process. Either way, we can begin to remove the blockages to our spiritual growth at once. When we do this, we begin to experience a life of joy, serenity, and gentle bliss. We begin to accelerate our spiritual growth.

As we continue to grow spiritually, we get rid of more and more of the blockages we’ve been carrying around for such a long time like a heavy sack of rocks on our backs. We undergo a profound personality change. Spiritual growth soon becomes our focus and purpose in life. Life gets better in every way.

I believe all of this because it has been my experience. My first spiritual awakening in 1990 led me to a decade of profound personality change. My second spiritual awakening in 2000 launched me onto a path of accelerated spiritual growth. My experience suggests to me that a certain amount of personal change may be necessary before any real spiritual growth can occur. For me, personal and spiritual growth appear to be a lifelong process, but we can accelerate this process.

How, specifically, can we do that? Well, there’s always a possibility of divine intervention which can suddenly turn our lives around. That’s what happened to me in 1990. But more often, it’s a slow, evolutionary process requiring commitment. For me, spiritual studies such as A Course in Miracles and spiritual practices such as meditation have been helpful in removing blockages and accelerating my spiritual growth. So have spiritual groups, spiritual conferences, and like-minded friends. Past-life regressions have helped me uncover and deal with traumas from other lives which I brought into this lifetime and which have stymied my spiritual growth. But underlying all of this has been a willingness to replace my negative emotions with unconditional love and universal acceptance and my erroneous beliefs with spiritual knowledge and wisdom. Admittedly, I still have a lot of work to do in this lifetime to overcome a multitude of blockages that continue to confront me, but at least I'm not stagnating here in physicality.

Overcoming the blockages to spiritual growth probably qualifies as the most important task before us in this lifetime. That's what I believe. What about you? What do you believe? What is blocking your spiritual growth?

Your Never-Ending Quest for Spiritual Answers

2013-08-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

I have a friend in the spirit realms that I call "he-who-answers-my-questions." I besiege him with questions whenever I meet with him during my journeys to the other side of the veil.

I ask him questions like: Who am I really? Why do I incarnate again and again? And what is God? "He-who-answers" always accommodates my insatiable curiosity.

These same questions have been the subject of speculation for us as "human beings" throughout history.

But why do we ask so many questions?

The English word “question” comes from the Latin word “quarrier” which means “to seek.” The word “quest” also comes from this Latin word. Our spiritual journey through the physical dimension is indeed a quest for answers. In Spirit Quest, we ask all kinds of spiritual questions.

Why, exactly, do we do this?

Quite simply, this is why: We are spiritual beings living temporarily in physical bodies. As spiritual beings, it is only natural for us to seek spiritual knowledge and wisdom.

To find answers, though, we must first ask questions. The act of asking spiritual questions mobilizes the immense power of the Divinity within us, bringing knowledge and wisdom that would otherwise not be available to us. By asking questions, we open the spiritual floodgates. Knowledge and wisdom come pouring in. The process of transformation is unleashed. We may even experience enlightenment. Once launched, this process cannot be aborted.

Seeking answers is a sacred process

Seeking answers to spiritual questions is a sacred process. It may require time to complete. It may even require a lifetime. But we don’t have to do it alone. We are now accompanied by many others who, like us, are awakening and seeking spiritual knowledge and wisdom.

Unfortunately, most people seldom pause long enough to ask themselves spiritual questions. They are still obsessed with physical wants and needs, such as their careers and the rat-race of making enough money to pay the bills. They have no idea who they really are or why they have come here. Some may be afraid to ask spiritual questions, preferring instead to remain focused in physicality. Perhaps they are afraid to discover that they really are powerful, eternal spiritual beings. Or perhaps, when they were children, they were scolded by their parents or teachers who told them to “stop asking so many questions.”

Sooner or later, however, many of these people discover that they are not happy. They begin to ask: Is that all there is? What is life for? What does it all mean? They discover that worldly attractions will never provide a permanent state of bliss.

Perhaps you think you are just a novice and you don’t have any answers to spiritual questions. Maybe you think you’re not even entitled to ask such questions. But wait! You came to the physical dimension to have certain experiences in order to learn lessons and evolve spiritually as a result. Asking questions facilitates this process of spiritual evolution.

And — believe it or not — you already know the answers. You just need to remember what you forgot by drawing the veil of forgetfulness over you when you came here. You no longer need to remain lost in forgetfulness. The answers you are seeking can be found within you. "He-who-answers-my-questions" has assured me of this.

You can read about one of my encounters with "he-who-answers" by clicking here: Does Spiritual Knowledge Lead to Happiness?

Creative Visualization for Spiritual Growth

2013-08-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

I want to take you on a journey to a place you may have never gone before...

Put on some soft meditation music. Light a candle and incense, if these help to take you into a meditative state. Gently close your eyes. Breath deeply. Continue to breathe deeply. Relax your body and mind. With your eyes closed, imagine a set of large wooden doors in front of you. These doors represent a gateway from the physical world into the spirit realms. Push on the doors. They open easily. Enter the most beautiful garden you have ever seen.

You have just set the stage for what follows. Now, invite your spirit guide to join you. When he or she arrives, engage in a conversation as you would with any dear and trusted friend. Ask questions of your spirit guide as you stroll together through the garden. It’s like talking with someone who is infinitely wise. After a while when your conversation ends, thank your guide, bid farewell, and gently open your eyes in the physical world.

Immediately write down as much as you can remember about the encounter with your spirit guide and your conversation. Describe your feelings about the experience. Do this at once before you begin to forget it, just as you soon forget your nighttime dreams when you awaken each morning.

The Experience Was Real

Didn’t the experience seem real? In fact, it was every bit as real as your daily experiences here in the physical world. Didn’t it seem like a guided meditation? It was, except that, instead of being guided, you were guiding it yourself.

You will be amazed at how much knowledge and wisdom you gain as you continue to travel beyond the veil to meet your spirit guide or guides in this way. You may even find it to be more productive than traditional forms of meditation which expect you to silence your mind. I have found it helpful to know beforehand what I wish to discuss with my spirit guide. I usually have a specific question in mind.

Traveling beyond the veil to the spirit realms is my favorite form of creative visualization. For me, it is a kind of active meditation. From it have emerged many of my postings on this blogsite. For example, take a look at this one: "How I Learned About My Job in Heaven."

Our imaginations are extremely powerful. In fact, we create every thing and every experience in our minds before they manifest here in the physical world. For example, I visualized the Spirit Quest meeting space long before its actual construction.

It's Easy and Fun

A interesting aspect of creative visualization is that our conscious minds cannot seem to tell the difference between a real experience and an imagined one. Either way, the experience feels real and allows you to feed energy to your subconscious mind where your dreams and goals originate.

Yes, you can use creative visualization to achieve wealth, perfect relationships, homes, cars, and other material things. You can use creative visualization to improve any aspect of your life. But I am convinced that visualization for spiritual purposes is far more important than it is for physical purposes. Why? Because spiritual visualization allows you to establish a working relationship with Spirit and to co-create the kind of life you want to have.

Just create the setting. It may be a on a beach, in a forest or garden, in the mountains, or any other location that you find tranquil and relaxing. Be sure to engage all of your senses such as sounds and smells, because this reinforces the realism of the experience. Feel the gentle breeze and the warmth of the sun. Smell and taste the salty ocean air. Now that you’ve created the setting, invite your spirit guide to join you. Then see what happens.

Yes, you can do this. It’s easy and fun. You already do it all the time when you plan, anticipate, imagine, or daydream. You are literally creating your life experience at all times. You are constantly attracting people and events into your life. If it feels like you’re making it all up when you visualize, that’s okay. That’s normal at first. Soon enough, the results will amaze you.

What Spiritual Growth Means

2013-08-16T10:21:00.002-07:00

Spiritual growth changes you dramatically.

You’re a dedicated spiritual seeker. You want to make as much spiritual progress as you can in this lifetime. You want to raise your level of spiritual consciousness as quickly as possible. You want to get on a spiritual “fast track.”

That’s what you want to do — and you're in a hurry to do it. That’s why you’re reading this article.

You may feel that your progress has been excruciatingly slow until now. You may even feel that time is running out.

Can you accelerate your spiritual growth? Yes, you can! I’m certain of it because of my own experience.

My Experience

For me, the process of accelerated spiritual growth began in 1990. That year, I awoke on the morning of July 18th, lucky to be alive after yet another drunken blackout the night before. As I lay there in bed, I suddenly realized I could not go on living as I had been. Then, in an instant of time, I experienced an intense spiritual awakening, a moment of divine intervention in my life. It lasted only a minute or two and is difficult to describe, but I had never before felt anything like it. It was the single most important event of my life.

Sparked by this event, I underwent a complete psychic transformation and profound personality change in the months that followed. Outwardly, my life began to change in breathtaking ways as well — I retired from a military career; I divorced; I came to live in Panama; and I remarried — in less than three years. Then, in the year 2000 when my father was dying of cancer, I experienced a second spiritual awakening, less intense but more prolonged than the first one in 1990. The spiritual floodgates opened, and I became intensely interested in all things spiritual. For me, life became a joyous adventure.

Friends now tell me I’ve changed dramatically, and in truth, I hardly recognize myself anymore. In no way do I resemble the “me” that existed prior to 1990, an up-tight Army officer devoted to career and material pursuits. I like what I have become, and I have become what I am through conscious spiritual growth.

To be sure, I still experience debilitating episodes of frustration and depression. When this happens, I lose contact with Spirit. My sense of spiritual direction grinds to a standstill. I neglect my spiritual studies and practices. But sooner or later, these periods of stagnation come to an end, and my spiritual surge resumes.

The Meaning of Spiritual Growth

Spiritual growth means different things to different people. That’s no surprise. A vast selection of teachings and paths exist for spiritual seekers to choose from. But spiritual seekers everywhere do seem to have one thing in common: they hope to reconnect with God, or Source.

Spiritual awakenings — such as those I experienced in 1990 and 2000 — can be sudden, spectacular events. They are typically followed by extended periods of slow, evolutionary growth, during which our transformation continues but in a way that is nearly imperceptible. To me, these extended periods of time feel like spiritual plateaus where I wait for the next big surge.

As we grow spiritually, we change in so many ways. We seek to establish a relationship with Spirit. We hope to re-discover who we really are and why we incarnated into this physical world. We want to remove the veil that seems to separate us from Spirit.

Spiritual growth releases us from the ego’s grip and the negative beliefs and emotions that have ravaged our lives. We learn that we are not the victims of other people nor of life’s circumstances and we never were. We learn that we ourselves create all that we experience in life.

Spiritual growth enables us to awaken from the dream of a physical “reality” we always thought was real but is, in fact, just an illusion. This growth facilitates our ascension to a higher dimension. It allows us to transcend the erroneous belief that we are weak, limited, vulnerable physical beings living in a physical world of suffering, pain, and death.

Since the beginning of time, we have lived in the stranglehold of fear and ignorance, leading to all kinds of unpleasant and destructive experiences for us here on Earth. But in recent decades, the concept of rapid spiritual growth has begun to emerge in human consciousness. At long last, we have a chance to awaken from the nightmare in which we have been living throughout recorded history. We can finally raise our level of consciousness and accelerate our spiritual evolution. We can begin to create Heaven here on Earth.

Related posts:
How to Accelerate Your Spiritual Growth
How You Can Benefit from Spiritual Growth

How to Accelerate Your Spiritual Growth

2013-08-16T10:21:00.001-07:00

At some point on your journey, you may begin to ask yourself: How can I accelerate my spiritual growth? How can I get aboard a spiritual “fast track”?

Spiritual growth doesn't seem to come with a script or curriculum. You have to find your way without a roadmap, often in spiritual darkness. Perhaps you feel like a beginner on your journey. I know I do. We slug it out day after day here in the physical world, and if we're lucky, we do achieve some degree of progress, perhaps unwittingly, as we go along.

But there are specific ways to turbo-boost your spiritual growth. I’d like to share with you some of the ways that have worked for me. They may work for you, too...

There are specific ways to turbo-boost your spiritual growth.

To begin with, your desire and intent to accelerate your growth puts you way ahead of the rest of humanity. Unlike most people, you are not totally bogged down in the mindless pursuits of daily life. Unlike most, you are no longer willing to waste your time — nor your lifetime. You have become conscious of your desire to grow spiritually. That’s certainly what I had to do.

Psychic transformation
Before I could make any spiritual progress in life, I first had to undergo a psychic transformation. You see, my entire life had been characterized by a host of negative emotions and character defects — chronic resentment, anger, fear, and depression, just to name a few. These negative emotions and character defects were blocking my spiritual growth. I had to do something about them.

Spiritual virtues
Over the years, I have worked diligently on my negative qualities. I have tried to create a life based instead on spiritual virtues like unconditional love, acceptance, forgiveness, gratitude, humility, honesty, patience, and kindness. Of course, in doing this I have met with success and failure. I have not achieved perfection, nor have I experienced enlightenment. Far from it! If I had achieved perfection or enlightenment at any time along the way, I certainly would have no longer needed to hang around here in Earth school.

Spiritual studies
However, once I had achieved a certain degree of personal growth, I then became aware of — and could devote myself to — spiritual study and practices. In particular, I began to read about all things spiritual. Looking back, I recall how my father took me to join a public library when I was still in elementary school. Life was never the same after that. I grew up, sitting on the porch, reading, all summer long. Now the Internet is my window to the universe. Moreover, I devour electronic books. I spend most of my days and nights reading spiritual materials. From this, I have learned astonishing things. For example, I have learned about the Universal Law of Attraction and how, by using this law correctly, I can attract into my life the kinds of experiences I wish to have. And I have become passionate about studies like A Course in Miracles and the Bhagavad Gita. When it comes to reading spiritual materials, I’m insatiable. I can’t get enough of this stuff.

Spiritual practices
At the same time, certain spiritual practices have contributed profoundly to my growth. I first began to meditate during my spiritual awakening in the year 2000, and it continues to be my most essential spiritual practice. From time to time, I have done chi gong as a form of energy exercise. And I use creative visualization to travel to the other side of the veil where I meet my spirit guides — to discuss with them all manner of things human and spiritual — and, of course, you have been able to read about my travels in this Spirit Quest blog.

Spiritual friends
I love to hang out with spiritually-minded friends. I do this in Spirit Quest meetings and in one-on-one encounters with them. Spending time with people who have awakened or are awakening boosts my own spiritual consciousness. Yet it hasn’t always been that way. Except in the year 2003 when I met with my spiritual teacher every Saturday, I lived in spiritual solitude like a monk on a mountaintop for eight years from 2000 to 2008. Then in 2008, I came down from the mountaintop and founded Spirit Quest. Now I get to hang out with my Spirit Quest friends in our meetings. My friends share their knowledge and wisdom with me, and their generous act of sharing raises my understanding of all things spiritual to unprecedented levels.

Spiritual journals
I have kept spiritual journals from time to time. This practice of journaling has allowed me to record my thoughts and experiences along the way. I journaled faithfully from 2000 to 2003 when I was surging spiritually. Now, when I read those old journals, I’m amazed at how far I have come. Today, I journal only occasionally, but I still consider it to be an extremely useful spiritual practice. Journaling gives me a chance to write, and obviously, I love to write. I began to write short stories in 6th grade. and during high school and college I expected to become a creative writer or journalist in life. But a military career took me away from that for many years. Finally in retirement, I have come back to it. The combination of my passion for spiritual writing and my desire to contribute to the global spiritual awakening explain why this Spirit Quest blog exists in the first place. I am confident that someday I will even publish a spiritual book, thus manifesting a long-held dream of mine.

Nature
I love to spend time in nature where I’m transported into a peaceful state of mind similar to meditation. In fact, few places give me greater pleasure than nature parks and gardens. I used to devote 3 or 4 hours to my garden every day, but as I’ve grown older, I have reluctantly turned over most of those chores to a gardener. Now I spend only 3 or 4 hours a week in my garden. I still believe that gardening is a spiritual practice, and I aspire to create a meditation garden someday. I have visited perfect gardens in my travels to the spirit realms during meditation.

Grounding
I’m a simple country boy from the hills and valleys of central Pennsylvania. So I’ve always been close to the soil, and perhaps especially so since my astrological sign is Taurus. In my grandparents’ enormous fruit and vegetable garden, I could pick and eat warm, ripe tomatoes and strawberries right off the plants. I could climb fruit trees on their farm, and while up in those trees, I could eat luscious black cherries and heavenly peaches, which my grandparents also used in making home-made ice cream. Now I’m condemned to eating that crap in the supermarkets that tastes like cardboard. In my grandparents yard, I could roll on the grass in summer and in piles of leaves in autumn. I vividly recall the soft texture of the grass and smoky smell of burning leaves. My lingering attachment to the earth keeps me grounded, and I think that’s important now that spiritual growth has rocketed me into the stratosphere.

Spiritual questions
I always ask a lot of spiritual questions, confident that Spirit will provide the answers. I want to know what I really am and what my purpose is here the physical word. I want to know how to develop a closer working relationship with Spirit. I want to understand this illusion we call physical “reality” and why we repeatedly immerse ourselves in it through reincarnation. I want to know how to enjoy a life of peace and serenity. I want to learn how to accelerate my spiritual growth during my short stay here on Earth.

I have spent considerable time discussing these matters with my spirit guides and spirit friends on the other side of the veil during meditation. And here in this world, I have often directed such questions at my human friends. But I know the real teacher dwells within me, and I am awed whenever I experience a divine download of information, a spontaneous “aha!” moment, or an epiphany. I know instinctively when I’m doing the right thing in life because doing it seems so easy, I’m encountering little resistance, the right people and things magically appear at the right moment, and I feel passionate or even blissful about it. Synchronicities seem to occur one after the other when I’m heading in the direction I should be, and I’m fully conscious of their occurrence.

These are some of the things I have done to accelerate my spiritual growth. But the bottom line is this: Get clear about what you want. Then, to achieve it, do those things that work for you. As for me, I want to achieve accelerated spiritual growth during this lifetime. I’m dedicated to it and to the methods that help me achieve it.

Related posts:
What Spiritual Growth Means
How You Can Benefit from Spiritual Growth

How You Can Benefit from Spiritual Growth

2013-08-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

Many people still believe we are born, we suffer throughout life, and in the end we simply die. They continue to believe we are weak and vulnerable and that life itself consists of a series of failures and disappointments in a world of scarcity and greed. With so many “practical” matters to attend to every day, they don't time for superfluous things like spiritual growth.

But why do they want to live that way? We can, in fact, release our negative beliefs and emotions. We can experience a lifetime of joy and serenity. We can live in a permanent state of gentle bliss. We can do all of this through spiritual growth!

Spiritual growth means no more sleepwalking through life, unconscious spiritually and barely conscious physically. It means awakening to the truth of what you really are. It means discovering that this physical “reality” is just an illusion you created for the sake of having certain experiences to help you grow spiritually.

Of course, most people aren’t ready for ideas like these. And they may never be ready in this lifetime. That’s okay. They are where they’re supposed to be at this point in their evolution. They can have as many more lifetimes as they need to awaken. Many of us, however, want to awaken now and accelerate our spiritual growth in this lifetime.

You can enjoy a lifetime of joy and serenity.

When you awaken and begin to reach higher levels of spiritual awareness, you start to notice some delightful changes within yourself and in the way you feel. You begin to understand that you are much more than just a fragile physical body living in a harsh physical world. Your desires seem to manifest more quickly when you discover that you are a powerful creator. You learn how to attract what you want and need into your life. You actually become happier and more content.

What’s more, the world you see around you and your experiences in it seem to change. The world no longer appears to be a horrifying place of fear, ignorance, greed, and suffering. Your deep-rooted human tendency to criticize and judge everyone and everything diminishes. You come to understand that your belief in separation from others and from God is just an illusion.

Sometimes I have been frustrated by humanity’s apparent lack of interest in spiritual growth. Yet I have also witnessed the glorious beginnings of spiritual awakening in many people. That’s very exciting! We all incarnated at this time to experience the process of global awakening at long last underway. We came at this time because we knew the events now occurring would afford us an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate our spiritual growth. To one extent or another, everyone now living on Earth is being affected by this on-going process of human transformation, whether they know it or not.

Will I become fully enlightened in this lifetime? Perhaps. But perhaps I don't have to. You see, spiritual evolution is a never-ending process. I have awakened and I have achieved some degree of spiritual progress. But if I don’t become fully enlightened in this lifetime, I can reincarnate as many times as I need to. The process of spiritual evolution is eternal.

Despite my dedication to the global spiritual awakening and my own spiritual growth, human transformation still seems to be a slow and evolutionary process with occasional surges. Whether or not we decide to accelerate this process is a choice we must make individually and collectively, but the benefits of so doing are beyond our our wildest imagination.

You can gain so much through spiritual growth. And it’s not a lot of hard work. The time you dedicate to spiritual studies and practices will open your eyes to the truth, perhaps for the first time. You will experience a sense of joy and amazement when this happens. The journey will become a lot of fun for you!

Related posts:
What Spiritual Growth Means
How to Accelerate Your Spiritual Growth

Physical "Reality" Is Not Real

2013-07-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

Most people still believe physical “reality” is real. This belief accounts for the enormous pain and suffering we seem to experience each time we incarnate.

Even after countless incarnations, we continue to hold onto the most astonishing beliefs about physical "reality." For example, we continue to believe not only that is it real but also that it exists in a way that is both external to us and and independent of us and we have very little influence over it. We believe we are born into it as if by biological accident. And we believe God, nature, or other beings created it eons ago. But the truth is: It's just an illusion we ourselves created. After creating it, we began to immerse ourselves into it over and over in repeated incarnations, believing we could accelerate our spiritual evolution by doing so. We soon forgot we created it, and we began to believe it is real. Now we do everything we can to sustain it, because we think we still need to experience it.

Each time we incarnate, we become completely caught up in the illusion of physicality, just like we do when watching a movie or having a dream. The illusion is totally convincing. We perceive it as a life and death struggle. We take it very seriously.

Some physicists describe physical “reality” as a hologram or virtual reality, much like a computer simulation. They tell us that it is held together by consciousness, not physical laws. Their description of physical “reality” reminds me of the movie The Matrix which depicts the world as a simulation. It also reminds me of the holodeck on the Starship Enterprise where the crew creates simulations for training and recreation.

Despite our beliefs and perceptions, physical “reality” simply is not real. It seems to be real only because we believe it is and it most definitely appears to be. But we have been deceiving ourselves all along.

Our five physical senses and our physical brain seem to provide us “convincing proof" of the existence of physical “reality.” But in fact, our five senses — seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching — are actually filters that allow us to perceive only a scant portion of All-That-Is. In particular, we are unable to see beyond the physical illusion into other dimensions. Our brain interprets the filtered data it receives and then presents us with an image of “reality” shaped by our prior experience, our beliefs, and our expectations. It sustains the illusion.

Perhaps the most important questions are: Can we see and experience what lies beyond the physical illusion? If so, how? And why would we want to?

One time while sitting at a traffic light, I suddenly thought to myself: What would happen right now if I tried to see beyond the physical illusion surrounding me? Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to try to do this in congested traffic. In any case, it didn’t work. I discovered that I couldn’t see beyond the physical illusion. My physical eyes simply weren’t equipped to do so.

Nonetheless, I am convinced that we can experience the greater reality that lies beyond the physical illusion. We just need to raise our level of consciousness in order to do so. And to raise our level of consciousness, we need to change our thoughts, beliefs, and expectations. When we finally can do that, we will begin to experience a different kind of reality. We will know we are experiencing a new reality by the way we feel. We will feel liberated from the illusion. We will experience a permanent state of gentle bliss.

Spiritual studies and practices can help you “see” beyond the physical illusion. The consistent practice of meditation is especially useful. Sit in meditation 20 or 30 minutes a day. Imagine yourself being where you want to be. This will take you into a new reality. You will change. And as you change, the kind of world you see around you will seem to change as well. The fear-based illusions of the physical world will begin to disappear.

How can we benefit from all of this? Well, if we so choose, our experience here in the physical illusion can continue to be as wretched and fearful as it has always been. Or we can change at long last, and our experience in life will change as a result. In the movie Groundhog Day, the character played by Bill Murray keeps having the same experiences over and over, day after day, until he decides to change. As we change, we will discover that we are not the victims of physical “reality” after all. Instead, we will come to understand that we create our reality along with all that we experience here in the physical illusion. The illusion will become much more pliant to our wants and needs, similar to what occurs in lucid dreams. We will begin to experience calmness, peace, and joy. We won't have to stay bogged down in the swamp of ignorance and fear any longer; rather, we will be able to accelerate our spiritual evolution to glorious levels, and that's what we came here to do.

Eventually, we will no longer need the physical illusion. It will simply fade away. In fact, it is already fading away.

The Symptoms of Spiritual Ascension

2013-07-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

Have you been experiencing any of these symptoms:
• A feeling of being lost in time and space?
• Medically-inexplicable aches and pains throughout your body?
• A loss of interest in the things you used to enjoy?
• A profound sadness for no apparent reason?
• Excessive confusion or chronic fatigue?
• A deep sense of urgency, as if time is running out?
• A longing to go Home where you belong?

If so, you may be experiencing the symptoms of spiritual ascension. Spiritual ascension can affect you physically, emotionally, and mentally, whether or not you know you are ascending.

Ascension is a new age version of what Christians call "the rapture." In the biblical portrayal of the rapture, people will suddenly and surprisingly disappear right in front of us and be taken up to Heaven, while those of us left behind will endure unimaginable suffering. As a child in church, this prophecy terrified me. Preachers, evangelists, and other religious fanatics threatened in their loud, ranting voices that it could happen at any moment. As an adult, however, I have come to understand how the church uses fear to instill obedience in us. It is no wonder, then, that I would abandon the nonsensical religious idea of rapture in favor of the new age idea of ascension.

In effect, ascension is taking us to a higher level of consciousness. This process is also referred to as a shift in consciousness or spiritual awakening. The word "ascension" literally means to move upward. It will take us from the dense third dimension to the lighter fourth dimension and ultimately to the glorious fifth dimension.

Until now, we have had to undergo physical death in order to leave the physical world when it's time to return to the spirit realms. But long ago, we planned for ascension as a means to leave this lower dimension permanently behind. The question has always been "when"—not "if"—this would happen.

Our awareness of the process of spiritual ascension can be sparked by a life-altering event. This happened to me. As the result of a sudden and profound spiritual awakening in 1990, my life has changed in every way. Generally, I have lost interest in material, physical, and earthly matters. My life now focuses on spiritual growth. I have discovered that I don't have to wait until I get to "Heaven" to experience bliss, joy, and serenity. I have learned that I won't be left behind in the rapture despite the threats of the religious fanatics, because sooner or later, we will all ascend.

If you are concerned about the symptoms you are experiencing, consult a medical professional. But if it turns out that he or she can find nothing medically wrong with you, then you may be able to conclude that you are experiencing the symptoms of ascension. If the discomfort is too severe, ask your spirit guides to "tone it down a little." Know that resistance to ascension is a leading cause of the ascension symptoms. Know also that the symptoms are temporary and eventually will disappear as the ascension process continues. Hang out with like-minded spiritual friends who may be having the same symptoms you are. Continue with your spiritual studies and spiritual practices such as meditation. Learn as much as you can about the process of ascension and its affects on you, because our worst enemy is fear of the unknown.

Never before in history have we undergone the process of ascension, especially in such an intense and rapid way. We chose to be here at this time in order to experience it first hand. It is truly an amazing time to be alive.

What Is Spiritual Consciousness?

2013-06-17T06:49:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what the term “spiritual consciousness” means? I have, and for that reason, I have been giving it some thought.

So far, I can't offer you a dictionary definition for spiritual consciousness. But I have reached an understanding of what the term means for me, and I would like to share that understanding with you.

For me, spiritual consciousness can be distinguished from physical consciousness, which is your awareness of the physical world around you. Spiritual consciousness implies that you are spiritually awake. It means knowing and believing these great spiritual truths:

• You are a spiritual being, not a physical body.

• Physical “reality” is just an illusion we created collectively.

• We immersed ourselves in this physical illusion to accelerate our spiritual growth.

• While physical “reality” is an illusion, spiritual reality is real.

• As a spiritual being, you have direct contact with Spirit.

• Since the physical body is just an illusion, then so is physical “death.”

I believe our function here in the physical world is to raise our level of spiritual consciousness. Regrettably, most of us are still spiritually asleep. The physical matrix is very convincing, and most of us continue to believe it is real as we go about our daily lives.

Imagine this: What we would be like if we could raise our level of spiritual consciousness to higher and higher levels? What would our world be like? For thousands of years, we have dwelt in shame, guilt, apathy, fear, and anger. I ask you: Do we really want to continue to live that way?

I don’t believe it’s that hard to raise your level of spiritual consciousness, because where you place your focus is what becomes your experience.

The main purpose of human life is spiritual growth. The more you are able to raise your level of consciousness, the more joyous, serene, and blissful your life becomes.

Another way to look at consciousness is to understand that everything that exists is consciousness. Our universe and everything in it is just a physical manifestation of consciousness. That, of course, includes your physical body that you cling to so tenaciously.

Here are some of the indications that your level of consciousness is rising:

• You recognize the “oneness” of everything and everyone.

• You begin to let go of your ego-driven habit of judging and criticizing others.

• You truly understand that you create your reality and all of your experiences in life.

• You discover that the way to change the world is first to change your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and expectations.

• And you begin to enjoy lasting peace instead of incessant anxiety in your life.

I believe the most important thing we can do for ourselves and the world we live in is to try to raise our level of spiritual consciousness right now in this lifetime.

That’s what I believe about spiritual consciousness. What do you believe?

Why Are So Many People Indifferent to Spirituality?

2013-04-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, I attended an Abraham-Hicks seminar in Orlando. I remember how delighted I was to see so many young people in their 20s and 30s attending the seminar. It gave me hope for the future of humanity.

Since then, however, I have noticed a general indifference to, or a lack of interest in, spirituality. I have noticed that most people remain entrapped in fear, materialism, drama, and greed.

A number of possible explanations may account for this apparent lack of interest in spirituality. People may think spirituality is too complicated or too impractical. They may not be ready to challenge their long-held beliefs about physical "reality." They may still believe that spirituality and religion are synonymous. They may be preoccupied with their jobs. Or they may believe they have more important things to do.

Men especially seem to be disinterested in spirituality. Whenever I go to spiritual conferences and seminars, I notice that 80 or 90 percent of the attendees are women. I ask myself: Where are the men? What are they doing? Are they at home watching football and drinking beer? Do they still believe that earning money and having sex are the only important things to do in life?

We humans are ego-driven. That may be the real explanation for our lack of interest in spirituality. We still believe we are separate from each other and from Spirit. We still believe this physical world is real. We still believe we are physical bodies. These beliefs lead to rampant suffering and dissatisfaction in our lives, and yet we continue to cling to them. Spirituality would enable us to learn the truth, but the ego doesn’t want us to learn the truth. Its survival depends on our continued ignorance.

How you live is entirely up to you. You can continue to live in ignorance, leading to more misery and suffering in your life. Or you can choose a spiritual lifestyle that will lead to real bliss for you here on Earth.

Somewhere I read that 30 percent of Americans now identify themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” This may seem like a large number. But apparently it is not large enough to ignite a global spiritual awakening.

Have you observed this lack of interest in spirituality? How do you account for it?

What Is Spirituality?

2013-04-01T16:47:00.000-07:00

Ask a hundred people this question and you will get a hundred different answers.

For me, spirituality means establishing a relationship with Spirit. Spirit lies beyond the veil of separation and is not physical. But Spirit also dwells within you. In that sense, spirituality means connecting with what you really are.

The Real You is not a physical body. Rather, the Real You is a soul. Your physical body is just a temporary illusion that You-as-Soul created in order to experience physicality. You don’t have a soul, you are a soul. In the process of discovering what you really are, you also begin to discover that physical “reality” is not real. You come here from the other side of the veil, but you deliberately forget this in order to make your experiences here on Earth seem real.

In spirituality, we make use of spiritual studies and spiritual practices to establish a relationship with Spirit. My favorite spiritual study is A Course in Miracles. My favorite spiritual practice is meditation.

Spirituality and religion are not synonymous. I myself am spiritual but not religious (SBNR). If anything, religion has tried to separate us from Spirit by interposing itself between us and Spirit.

You pre-planned your life before you incarnated, so you are not a victim of other people or life's circumstances. You expected your life to be a learning experience. You also expected your life to be a joyous experience despite the challenges you would face. But you became entangled in the fear and drama of human life, believing it to be real.

A great shift in consciousness is now occurring here on Earth. This shift will help you remember what you really are. It will help you remember your reason for coming here. It’s a very exciting journey you are on here in the physical cosmos!

That's what spirituality means to me. What does it mean to you?

Planning Your Next Life

2013-03-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

Years ago, I said to Spirit: “Take me as far as you can, as fast as you can, in this lifetime.” Spirit responded. The floodgates opened. I began to learn amazing things. Life became a spiritual adventure.

Since then, the adventure has been overwhelming at times. When that has happened, I have had trouble coping with the pace and intensity of it. But I have never regretted my request for accelerated spiritual growth. You see, I don't want to "waste" yet another lifetime.

To be honest, I haven’t been learning new things. Rather, I have been remembering things—things I knew while still in Spirit but forgot when I passed through the “veil of forgetfulness” at the time of my incarnation into this physical world.

One of the most important things I have remembered is this: I planned my current life before incarnating. In fact, I have created such plans before every incarnation—and so have you. Of course, you and I have intentionally forgotten the plans we made, so that our experiences here in the physical world would seem real and spontaneous.

I have begun to remember some of the specific lessons I-as-Soul hoped to learn in this lifetime. For example, I wanted to learn lessons in patience, tolerance, and non-judgmentalism. For that reason, I planned to leave the United States and come to live in a foreign country, where I would have more opportunities to finally learn these kinds of lessons.

And I have begun to remember some of the events and experiences I-as-Soul wanted to have in this lifetime, to help me learn the lessons I pre-selected for this lifetime. For example, a past-life regression I did several years ago revealed to me that I had spent previous lifetimes deep in alcoholism. So, in my plan for this life, I included an opportunity to recover at long last from this addiction. Thus far, I have succeeded in my recovery, one-day-at-a-time since July 1990. And this recovery, in turn, has led to a profound personal and spiritual transformation for me in this lifetime. Of course, free will would have allowed me to deviate from my plan. But then, I would have continued to wallow in pain and misery.

It’s important, I believe, to remember the plans we made for our current life. Not knowing these plans is a lot like going someplace we have never been, with no map and no idea what we’re supposed to do when we finally get there. For that reason, I have often discussed my plans for this life with my spirit guides during meditation.

I also believe it’s important to plan for your next life because what you do, or fail to do, in this life will affect your next life. What you fail to accomplish in terms of spiritual growth in this life will determine what remains for you to accomplish in your next life. Guess what!—you are already preparing for your next life, although perhaps unconsciously. And when you plan unconsciously, you may not like the results.

Of course, You-as-Soul will plan your next life when you are dwelling in the spirit realms between lives as you always do. But you can start the process now. Life planning doesn’t have to be complicated or stressful. Just ask yourself a few questions and try to answer them. For example...

What are my goals in my current life? Since I may not be able to accomplish all of these goals in my current life, might I be able to accomplish them in my next life? Or am I content just to drift through this life and perhaps my next life as well?

What is important to me? What am I passionate about? What makes me happy and fills me with bliss? For example, do I want to play a greater spiritual role in the geographic location where I find myself in this life and perhaps in my next life as well?

In what ways would I like to change my current life? What do I want my next life to be like?

Am I living in economic slavery in my current life, doing an unrewarding job just to pay my mortgage and other bills? What would I like to do in my next life that will give me real joy and satisfaction?

How can I avoid the “wrong” decisions—such as those we often make in relationships and marriages—during the remainder of this life and during my upcoming life?

How can I change the world I now see around me? How might I make the world a better place in my next life? How might I contribute to the global spiritual awakening in this life and my next one?

And what are the two or three things I most want to accomplish in my next life that I haven’t accomplished in this life?

Go ahead! Ask yourself these questions and similar ones that may occur to you. As you can see from the questions, a direct relationship exists between your current life and your next life.

Remember: You-as-Soul will plan for limitations, challenges, and even adversity in your next life. You will do this for the purpose of spiritual growth. So don’t expect your next life to be as perfect or as easy as you might like it to be. You need opportunities to overcome obstacles in life in order to achieve or accelerate your spiritual growth. You need opportunities to learn the lessons you set up for yourself before incarnating. You did not plan to come to Earth just to gather up as much money and toys as you possibly could. You came here for the intensified opportunity to grow spiritually that this place affords you.

Perhaps you have convincing evidence that your current life is your last one here in the physical world. A few of you will not need to return to this “vale of tears.” You have learned all there is for you to learn here. America’s most famous psychic, Edgar Cayce, gave some 14,000 readings in his life and, if I recall correctly, only in 19 cases did he tell people they were in their last incarnation. You may be in your last incarnation, but that doesn’t mean your spiritual evolution is about to end. No, indeed, because we evolve eternally. Perhaps your evolution will continue at new levels of consciousness in the 4th, 5th, or even higher dimensions where you will dwell. Or perhaps you will become an ascended master who will teach and guide the rest of us who remain behind in the 3rd dimension because we still have things to learn here. If you are one of those people who will not be incarnating again in the physical world, where would you like to go? What would you like to do? You can plan for it and prepare yourself now for the new adventures ahead.

We all need to remain focused in our current life, because we incarnated into it for a purpose. But given the direct relationship between our current life and our next life, we can—and should—begin to plan for our next life.

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An audio-video version of this post appears on YouTube here...

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Some related blog posts:

What Did I Plan to Learn in This Lifetime?

What Is My Life Purpose?

Why Are We Here in Earth School?

For a complete list of Spirit Quest blog posts, click here...