Spiritual Realization

Spirituality is a way of knowing who you are, and mastering your relationship with the world-at-large. True spirituality is about self-mastery. There is a new paradigm for spirituality, which departs from old ritualistic traditions, religious dogma, and indoctrination. It is a way of being, and a way to be free from all that might otherwise oppress you. It is about liberation from a system of suffering which has been in place in this world for a very long time. And, rather than being just another belief system, it is a practical, simple, and realistic way of embracing a Greater Reality — by simply being more who you truly are.

This is the basic outline of the course:

Lesson 1: The spiritual self
Lesson 2: A world of illusions
Lesson 3: Indoctrination, dogma, and delusion
Lesson 4: Grace
Lesson 5: Spiritual practice, meditation, and prayer
Lesson 6: Stepping out of the karmic system
Lesson 7: Spiritual healing and wholeness
Lesson 8: A "path" with heart
Lesson 9: Spiritual freedom
Lesson 10: Review

The goals are to:

transcend illusions of self, and come closer to your true spiritual Self

step out of illusions about the world, and come closer to a Greater Reality

live consciously with the Divine, in a state of higher awareness

open to and align yourself with your highest good, true grace, and healing

realize your spiritual freedom, even while living in the material world.

Lesson 1: The spiritual self

Introduction
1. Who Are You?
2. Spirit, Soul, and Being
3. Still Haven't Found What You're Looking For?
4. Reflections of You
Exercise One
5. Connectedness
6. Purpose in Living
7. Spiritual Flow
Exercise Two
8. The Way You Live
9. Honoring the Divine
Exercise Three
10. You Could Be Magnificence
Exercise Four

Introduction

Welcome to the course in Spiritual Realization. All of us are born into a world of problems. It is up to us — individually and collectively — what we do about it. Spirituality is seeking a larger perspective on life, seeking to understand who we are and our relationship with the world-at-large, in the highest sense. And it is an intensely personal experience.

Spirituality is different from religious indoctrination; it does not necessarily depend upon any particular dogma, doctrine, or ideology. It is a personal experience which may or may not be shared or understood by others, but which you may experience as who you truly are.

In this course we will not seek to adopt an ideology, belief system, ritual practice, or tradition from the past. Rather, we will be moving beyond all of that. Teachings and traditions that we may have relied upon until now, only have value at a certain stage of our spiritual unfoldment. Then we have to move on. In fact, many things that might have once appeared to "help" us, may be seen as more of a hindrance — when it is right for us to go beyond them.

This is a course in spiritual mastery, going far beyond any commonly available teaching or traditional approach. It is a course for finding spiritual freedom, peace, and healing, beyond anything that you might have expected or come to accept in the past. It is a whole new paradigm of spiritual being.

You may find it helpful to write down your thoughts, insights, or experiences in a notebook or journal.

Note: The purpose of the course is to make you think, to be more self-aware, to gain perspective, and to learn how to apply universally applicable principles to situations in your own life. What's different about these courses is that there is no "fluff" or stories about other people, no facts to memorize or "top ten" ways to make everything in your life perfect. Be aware, your comfort zone will be challenged. For some, the material may seem like common sense, something you already know but have yet to practice. For others, the realizations you make will be profoundly transformational. As in life, you decide its value to you.

1. Who Are You?

The search for who we are begins with consciousness itself. Consciousness is more than an awareness of what is external to you; it is an awareness of what is within you, and who you truly are, on the deepest level.

We all have a body — most of us think we are our physical body. Even those who think of themselves as spiritual beings are likely to identify with their body as their self, in day-to-day living. It is extremely rare, in this world, for a person to know — understand and experience — that they are not their body. Yet that is the most basic truth about who you are: you are no body. You are a spiritual being. You are a consciousness or being of energy and light. You are spirit.

The more you identify with — take your identity or sense of self — from what you are not, the more you suffer. You lose your way in this world. You lose sight of the spiritual essence of things.

You are not the body. You are not a body that has a soul. You are a spirit or soul that has taken on a body. Think about this a bit, to see how this shifts your perspective on who you think you are.

You are a spiritual being. That is who you are.

Of course, the world-at-large tells you who you "are," too, who you should be, what is expected of you, how to act so as to be accepted, approved of, and rewarded in this life. Yet, none of that is necessarily a validation of who you truly are. More often, it is programming, an invalidation or misidentification of who you are.

The continual programming, especially via the media, of physicality, sensuality, sexuality, and materialism, has an ultimate effect. It causes you to identify more with things of the material world — which you are being sold — rather than things of the spirit. There are countless shows that focus on the body, including physical death, as the be all and end all of existence. Murder mysteries, autopsy crime shows, sporting events, and so on. It is all about the body, as if the body — physicality, emotion, ego, and related activity — was all there is to life. That is very far from the truth. Even so-called spiritual shows are grossly distorted, seeking to emotionalize and upset us as some kind of entertainment. Entertainment is not the truth — it is selling you something, and playing to your programming, emotions (especially fear), and ego. It is merely seeking to profit by your ignorance.

Many people's lives — and sense of who they are — revolve around the most gross physical needs they have. Though these daily "needs" may seem quite real and necessary, that is not all there is to life. You — who you really are — will survive death. And you may wonder what in the world everything meant in this life, why you were so lost, why you didn't have a clue, why you didn't realize or find what you were really looking for. You may wonder why you never found you.

There have been teachings and traditions that have helped people to know who they were and better cope with life in this world, throughout time. A common thread of spiritual teachings is that the body and the ego are not the true inner being. Some traditions seek to eliminate the ego, which is seen as an obstacle to simply being one's true self. A person might be taught to not think too highly of themselves, or to think of themselves as insignificant. That is not really what we are trying to get at, here. We are seeking a place which honors who we truly are, without being egotistical, and which does not require that we be "put down" in any way. So, it isn't that you are "nobody," but simply that you are not your physical body. Who you are — spiritually — is important, and not anything insignificant or inconsequential. Who you are is very important.

This is the simple truth: you are a spiritual being. You are not made of the gross matter of this world. The body you have is not the real you, it is just a vehicle you are using at the moment. You exist for higher things, beyond merely eating, drinking, sexing, and ego ambition (all of the things that are glorified in the media). Most people are so lost in the world that it becomes their usual state of mind.

After a long history of human existence, people do not know who they are — spiritually — any better, today. In fact, they know themselves even less. That is the story of life on Earth — life after life — for countless souls and spirits, consciousnesses and beings. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Now you have an opportunity to know your self, more deeply and truly than you may have in a very long time, to come closer to who you really are. Not who you have been told you are by the world, but who you realize you are within you. The truth of who you are, and what you know on the deepest levels of your being, will resonate within you. Call it deeper feeling, resonance, intuition, knowingness, insight, or realization — the word doesn't matter. What matters is that you find that place within you which validates who you truly are, rather than being content to remain lost in a world that invalidates you in countless ways.

This is an opportunity to come closer to the highest good, within you.

It is all right there. Here. Now.

2. Spirit, Soul, and Being

Spirituality is how you live in relation to others and your self — in the highest sense, in a way that works best for you and everyone else. Spirituality is not something that is separate from your life. It is reflected in every choice you make. All of the practices you may have learned already — such as learning how to solve problems; finding what is right, good, and true to you; being centered in your self, and relating to others with love — are all part of being spiritual.

Spirituality is a choice you make, and are already making. It is not foreign to who you already are.

This is about who you already are, but may not realize, fully experience, or know.

It isn't easy to describe things of a subtle or spiritual nature, including our own spiritual nature. This is an analogy to portray something so basic to our life, yet so unseen, and so beyond words.

You can think of "Being" as an ocean of Being. If you have seen the ocean, or traveled over it, you may have a sense of its vastness. Ultimately, each rain drop, each bit of water vapor in clouds, has its origin in the ocean. That is its nature and its origin. And in that sense, it is not any different from the ocean. The ocean is just the totality, Source, and essence of each individual droplet of water.

The Divine Being is like that ocean. Spirit is like a river, the flow of the Divine ocean of Being. All rivers ultimately have the same source as all rain drops and clouds: the ocean. There are multiple oceans on the Earth, which can all be commonly grouped together and called "the ocean." Even lakes, whether large or small, that seem to be separate from the ocean, are ultimately tied to it. The endless flow of water, in its many states, in individual droplets and in enormous rivers, is part of the ocean. Spirit is like that endless flow: the "life" and movement of the ocean of Being, and its expression in many forms that take on different qualities.

The individual droplets are analogous to souls. The collective bodies of water, the rivers and lakes, all flow from and to the ocean. The individual droplets or souls are carried along in the river of life, by the flow, by spirit. They may first come to know themselves in the greater flow of the river of life, or spirit, before they know themselves to have originated in and arrived back at the Source, the ocean of Being.

Even with something as manifest and visible as a cloud, how many people look at that and have no understanding or appreciation of the origins of clouds, or rain, or the intricate process by which water changes form, from vapor to liquid to solid? It is said that every snowflake has a different pattern, when looked at under a microscope; countless trillions of snowflakes all coming from water drops in the atmosphere, all taking on a totally distinct form and pattern of expression. How many people look at a snowflake and see the ocean in it?

Life is like that. Like water, there is infinite variety of expression of the same underlying spirit. It takes on different forms and states and patterns and arrangements and flows, but it all comes from the original Source. Each tiny snowflake inherently has the same essence as the limitless ocean.

As we walk through this world, it is good to remember our origins, and our true spiritual essence or nature. We come from an ocean of Being, and no matter how different we may appear to be, or how separate or far we may appear to be from our Source, we are not that different in essence. Remembering that helps us to reconnect to our Source, and we may begin to perceive the essence of the ocean of Being that is present in a single, "isolated," beautiful snowflake.

There is the quality of dignity, wholeness, and unboundedness that you may see in a deeply spiritual person. It is the true dignity of life, based in a larger sense of connectedness. And we all need to find that. It is the essential quality of Divine beingness.

3. Still Haven't Found What You're Looking For?

Have you ever felt as if a part of you was missing? Do you already know all that you are, all that you could be? You are much more than the personality you have taken on, or the role you play in this life. We all are. We need to look for that "something deeper," within us, or we may not even realize it is there — or that it is what we are truly looking for.

What's missing in your life?

Do you even know what you want, or is it only a vague idea? Where will you find it? What is the source of all good in your life, in you?

At some point in life, many of us seek to better understand, connect with, or experience our true selves, and our true Source. In the midst of endless "doing," we wish to find and live in the dignity of our true Being. We wish to live in the presence of love, peace, happiness, and light. We are ultimately seeking our True selves in the Divine — and the Divine in our True selves.

But, in our modern lives, it is common to forget this search for the Divine in us, and go off into the world in search of something else — an illusion of who we are, illusory needs, people, places, and things that will "fulfill" us. How many people demand to be loved, accepted, and respected for what they are not — the role they are playing, which has little or no connection with anything Real or the True Spirit? We mistakenly seek support for our false "needs," acting as who we are not, and label that as "success," "love," and "fulfillment."

There is ultimately a meaning to life; but, as you may realize, it is not found out in the world.

Think about this. What will you have to show for your life? What are you trying to purchase on the physical level at the expense of the spiritual? You will find, sooner or later, that the only wise investment of your energy and resources must be on lasting things, things that transcend the material world, things that you can "take with you," that are truly of value. Otherwise, you may find that you have wasted your life, or mortgaged your spiritual being, on things of no ultimate value whatsoever. Any choices you make to remain trapped in energy-draining situations, problems that you have accepted or rationalized rather than rejected, will not prove to be of any true or lasting value in the end. Spend your time and your life wisely. Do not sacrifice what truly matters — love, peace, inner joy, and harmony — for what matters not. Look beyond the physical outer world, and search your inner being, for what you want most in life. And find it within you.

The true joy and peace that you should have within you are inner-derived qualities. They may be destroyed or overshadowed by social conditioning and the resulting search for happiness in the outer physical world. Joy and peace are qualities of the true self, the inner being, and cannot be found outside you. They are found by quietly turning within, by detaching from the relentless, self-negating, self-destructive, influence of the outer world — not by getting lost in it. Remember, the world has an agenda for you; it wants you to be mindless, unaware, unquestioning, asleep. Then you are an easy victim and fall into all the traps that have already been laid out for you — that you have already been programmed to fall into.

You must be more aware than that.

Continuing the analogy of water to spirit, there are some spiritual teachings (especially in organized religion) which promise: you may be a water droplet now, but when you leave this life you will rise to heaven and become a snowflake. Other spiritual teachings (especially New Age ones) declare that you are not the droplet of water you appear to be, but you are really a snowflake, and so is everyone else in the world, and you just need to see everyone that way. Some spiritual teachings say that you are not a droplet of water, you are really the ocean.

So, what are you to do? If you are a droplet of water and you imagine you are the entire ocean, do you really know who you are? Have you found yourself? If you are a droplet of water, wouldn't it be nice to know your essence to be part of the larger ocean, without having to cater to illusions about actually being the entire ocean? Wouldn't it be better to realize how the ocean may have become you, but you are not the ocean? In fact, you can know the essence of the limitless ocean within you, you can have that connectedness, and live within the dignity of the ocean, even before you ultimately return to the Source. The way to do that is to get all the illusions you may have about who you are, out of the way.

4. Reflections of You

Did you know that you go through life seeing reflections of yourself in everything and everyone? That does not mean everyone and everything is you, as various spiritual teachings suggest. It simply means that you see bits and pieces of yourself — hints and reminders of who you are — even while you are out there in the world.

We tend to feel so separate, so isolated, here in this world. Even a single snowflake, which seems to be just like every other snow flake, is unique. How much more so a human being?

Billions of people rush around, each with their own agenda, "needs," desires, thoughts, feelings, and ambitions. We all seem to have separate purposes, separate lives. And we all tend to try to look for what we "need" somewhere out there, in the busyness of the world, from people, places, and things outside us. We imagine so strongly that everything we need is outside of us, that we even take our identity from everything outside us. We become a product of the world and forget our True Source, our deeper self or essence.

The way you react to people and things shows you something about yourself; it may reveal the quality or clarity or your perception, understanding, or love. Do you see weaknesses or failure in other people, and judge them for that, or possibly even hate them for it? Can you see, that is how you react to the thought or feeling that you might be that way, too? You are looking at other people and liking what you prefer to see in yourself, and disliking what you may not like to see in yourself — which may already be there. Or you may fear becoming like those who you prefer to think are so very different and separate from you.

Do you react to people with ego, emotion, judgment, or the desire to get something from them or to prove your worth or superiority? What does that say about you? Do you see that you are looking at your ego, your illusions, your programming, and imagining that you are seeing clearly? Instead of merely looking at everything through the mechanism of programming, learn what it means to really look at your programming, ego, illusions, and so on.

Regarding the spiritual teaching which says everyone and everything is you (or like you), there is some small measure of truth to that. Imagine everyone and everything is a mirror, and your reactions are letting you see something about yourself. Perhaps in this life you are seeking to satisfy a lot of material ambitions, which might not have had a place in some other life, or which might not be what some disadvantaged person is doing in this life. Do you judge others harshly, for not having the ambitions you have in this life? Can you see how that is in a way judging yourself, for how you might have been, if you hadn't made a different choice, in this life? Do you see how you judge yourself for how you have been in the past?

The way we artificially hold everyone separate from us keeps us from knowing who we are, and who they are, more fully. It distances us from a Greater Reality. That being said, it is not necessary to try to carry the illusion that you are everyone and everything. It is sufficient to have a clear perception of how what you see actually relates to you, and shows you different ways of being.

Exercise One: Take a deep breath, relax, and close your eyes. Picture the world we live in, and this Earth, as a whole. We each have consciousness of our own life, and collectively we share consciousness of the whole world. Within the overall consciousness or "spirit," is the experience of each of our lives, forming a larger whole. On some level, Spirit is aware of all that we experience in our lives, individually and collectively. And, there really isn't any separation between them. Picture the entire Earth, with all its diverse peoples, animals, plant life, and so on. Get a sense of the consciousness of the whole. Get a feel for what the consciousness of all life on this Earth might be like. Allow yourself a sense of connectedness with that greater consciousness. Be aware of the interconnectedness of all life, everywhere, in all space and time. Realize, there is no separation. When you are ready, you can open your eyes.

It is better to work with your own perceptions and understanding — your own experience in the present moment — than to merely make a mood, fantasize, or embrace illusions. You have the opportunity in everything you see and do, to bring more awareness, clarity, and understanding to your experience. Realize how what you experience is part of a greater whole, and you will come closer to the Greater Reality.

We will discuss the concept of how spirit takes many forms, and soul is something which extends before and after your present life. But, for now, consider the possibility that Spirit — or your own soul — has within its depths the experience of many lives, the lives of people who are "advantaged" as well as "disadvantaged," rich and poor, of different races, ethnic backgrounds, sex, education, ambition, spirituality, and so on. All of that is held on the spiritual level.

So, in a way, we each have within us, on a spiritual level, the experience of all the kinds of lives a person might live on this Earth. When we see people who appear to be very different from us — whether they have a different language, ethnicity, race, sex, age, body type, or whatever — they really aren't that different from who we are, who we have been, or who Spirit knows us all to be.

5. Connectedness

Do you ever feel alone, as if your life didn't matter at all? Do you ever wonder where all the love, peace, and joy are (or went), in your life? Do you walk in the sea of humanity, among all the people in the world, and yet not feel any relation to all of them? There are countless beings in existence that you do have a connection with, whether on the physical level or on a more subtle level.

What if you were told that you have an angel with you, unseen, who is there to help you in your times of need? Would you feel less alone? What if God was closer to you than your own breath, and could live in your heart? Would you feel less alone? What if you knew that people, throughout time, have had the same problems, challenges, and suffering in life, and that you would some day rise above it? Would you feel less alone on the path you are walking, if you knew others shared the same experiences or were walking with you?

If you ever feel alone, realize you need to move closer to the Source, and appreciate the infinite expression of the Divine. There are countless beings interrelated and interacting, forever, on the level of spirit. You are a part of that. The illusion of being alone or separate is ultimately not a true or lasting experience. The truth is, you are not alone, you are not removed from your spiritual family on many levels — you have not been left here on your own. Realize, all the spiritual comfort, compassion, understanding, and love you could ever want, is there for you. Right now. It is the Greater Reality.

In this life, we all walk our own path. Sometimes, there is someone to share part of the path with you, in friendship, loving relationship, or spiritual journey. But, even then, you still have to walk your own path. You need to find your way from where you are to where you want to be — your own way. No one can do that for you. And, you can't do that for anyone else.

Realize your connectedness to a greater whole, a Greater Reality, with all those who are seeking what you are seeking — the Source of love, wisdom, goodness, and life eternal. Rejoice in your common goal, your interrelatedness, and what you can share with others on the same journey home.

We all seek our own true Beingness, a state of oneness within us and beyond us. Paradoxically, moving towards that experience, some people experience a state of separation from everything — as they find a sense of self, less bound by the material world. There are spiritual traditions that declare the state of "emptiness" to be the goal. But it is not a real goal. Unboundedness, perhaps, but not emptiness. Our real goal is to experience wholeness, fullness, and a return to the Source of all. That is not emptiness, but a much greater fullness.

We experience the subtlest levels of experience in terms of energy and consciousness. More subtle levels of experience, and reality, underlie the gross physical world we commonly experience. Consciousness is an underlying field, unbounded by the materiality of experience. Consciousness is a quality of our own beingness which extends beyond the physical world. And, just as energy is the underlying essence of all matter in the physical universe, consciousness is the underlying essence of energy. Consciousness underlies and interconnects everything.

Consciousness connects everything and everyone. That is already a greater reality. As we may come to understand or experience our greater connectedness, or greater consciousness, we still need to discern what we experience. The fact that there may be a common underlying energy field or consciousness in the universe, as we know it, does not mean we no longer need to discern what is right, good, and true for us — we do.

For example, you recognize that fire has a potential to serve but also to harm, and so you relate to it in the right way. You respect it, appreciate it, and acknowledge its essence, but you wouldn't necessarily grab it and try to embrace it. The same is true for everything and everyone — there is no such thing as a "oneness" in this universe in which everything and everyone becomes the same, and "it's all good." There may be interrelatedness of all things, but that does not mean everything has the same origins, effect on us, importance, use, significance, purpose, or value. Regardless of how connected we may feel, we still need to discern everything, carefully.

6. Purpose in Living

We live with spirit and soul, as an inherent part of who we are; but, depending upon how conscious we are of our soul connection, we may or may not realize our purpose in living. We may have a soul purpose which is often at odds with what we take as our "sole" purpose in life, in the material world.

Our true purpose is spiritual, by nature. There are teachings which declare that since we already have a spiritual nature, we are here to explore everything as a way of expanding beyond the boundaries of our soul; that the experiences within the material world complete us in some way. But, this is not necessarily the case. Within our material existence, our spiritual nature is severely limited. It is our spiritual purpose to fully experience and express who we are, in acknowledgment of our true Source — transcending the material world, not who we already are spiritually.

Looking more deeply within you, you may come to realize that you actually have an inner nature, an inner consciousness, an inner being. You do. That is coming closer to who you truly are. Soul is a deeper level of self-identification, more in touch with your spiritual nature. And yet, even the soul is not the ultimate spiritual Being. The soul is compartmentalized in worldly experience, life after life, taking on so many worldly experiences — or karma — that it often becomes more a product of the world than a reflection of pure Spirit.

To use the water analogy, it is as if we are trying to see if we can put out a fire with a garden hose, rather than a fire hose. The garden hose is more limiting, and does not allow as much force, pressure, or capacity of water as a fire hose. But, we are told, it is more suitable in our worldly life to not have that high capacity (or high spiritual energy), and to learn how to get by with a minimal flow and connectedness. That is, unfortunately, the message in many spiritual teachings, and the one we hear when we come into this life. The karmic rule is: the less spiritual wholeness we bring with us, the more fully we will test our capacity to deal with the world and its challenges, and the more lessons we will learn.

That is one way of looking at life. We prefer a different perspective: the more spirituality you can bring into your experience, the greater your connectedness to Source, the better able you are to deal with everything in this world. And you won't be trying to put our forest fires with buckets.

We believe there is a higher purpose in life, than learning to run a race with both feet tied together, or your hands tied behind your back. That is not a lesson in achievement or a way of honoring the grace in our lives; it is a way of being conditioned to a much more limited and limiting existence. And, this is, of course, what happens over time, life after life. We are conditioned to living without a conscious connection with the Divine, without a conscious way of connecting or knowing what is truly right for us, and then suffer the consequences, which some people call the "lessons" of the soul. We take strong issue with that idea.

If you have a spiritual nature, and you have a desire to come closer to a place of truth, love, and light, then the best way to do that is to simply move in that direction, not away from it. Our greatness and dignity as human beings is not our capacity or willingness to move away from the Divine, or to be more and more limited in our spiritual expression, but our capacity to move towards the Divine.

No matter what lessons, or how many lessons, or how valuable the lessons, you imagine you are learning on Earth, they are ultimately an illusion. You don't need to learn to be who you already are. And, forgetting who you are — and living life that way — does not teach you how to be more of who you are; it only conditions you to accepting life divorced from your true self and Source.

If you have a true spiritual purpose, it must be in terms of coming closer to who you truly are, and your true Source. It cannot be in terms of catering to endless illusions, including illusions about who you are and what life is about. Purpose must be based in truth, reality, and connectedness with our true self — who we are in God, and who God is in us.

Life is movement; movement means action towards an end. Ask yourself: what purpose is your life fulfilling or accomplishing? Are you really seeking — and settling for nothing less than — your highest good? What if you could have that now?

7. Spiritual Flow

There is a spiritual flow to life, a way in which your life works, on a deeper level. The more you experience connectedness, the more you experience flow. Flow does not mean everything in life becomes easy, you experience no problems, or suffering disappears. It simply means that the movement of your life experience proceeds from a more subtle, spiritual, fulfilling place within you, rather than being a more gross reaction to everything outside of you.

Flow comes from connectedness. But, it is important to discern what you are connecting to. All sources of energy and power are not the same, of equal value, use, or potential harm. In a simple analogy, there are unseen hot and cold water lines connected to a washing machine. Hot water can shrink many clothes, and cause the colors to bleed, but cold water will not; but hot water can help to wash the oil and grime off of clothes, while cold water may not. So, hot water may have a negative effect in one way, and a positive effect in another. We have to be discerning in what we choose each time, determine the proper flow, and not just "turn on the tap."

Life is like this. We make choices all the time as to what energies to flow with. Just opening up the faucet doesn't necessarily mean we are discerning as to which energies are coming through. That is a very fundamental and necessary choice we need to make: to connect with and bring through the right energies for us. This is what we mean by true spiritual "flow." We choose the energies that we allow to flow within us and through us, into our lives, in a positive way. A habit of familiarity, or a pattern of doing something a certain way because we learned how to do it that way, is not really discerning what is really right, here, now.

There is a quality of effortless action when we experience being "in the flow." It is almost like doing nothing and having everything done; you get yourself out of the way, and let it happen for you. Realize, this is different from habitual ways of living that create a false sense of "going with the flow." The extreme example would be addicts who go through the same routine repeatedly, and just give in to the pressure to abuse themselves with drugs — this is not being "in the flow." Or, another way of looking at this is: it is being in the wrong flow, one which is rushing inevitably toward a place the person really doesn't want to wind up, or can't even imagine winding up. This is living in denial, ignoring or suppressing the experience of truth, true inner-directedness, and conscience. It might be easy to ignore conscience, truth, or reality, but that doesn't make such behavior a "flow" experience. It is nearly the opposite.

What we may refer to as "flow" in our modern language may be what was called "the Way," a long time ago. There is a Way in which we connect with, experience, and move with a Greater Reality. It is a connection with truth, peace, love, and light. There is a natural benefit in aligning ourselves with the proper Way; it brings us closer to the True Source. Ignoring, resisting, or reversing this connection causes the benefits which might otherwise flow to us to no longer do so. If we lose the inner qualities of truth, love, and simplicity, our outer life becomes more delusory, unsupported, complicated, and problematic.

So, there is an upward spiritual current or flow, and there is a downward one as well. One leads us higher, spiritually; the other, lower. We choose our direction, within us. And, we can clear anything and everything out of the way of Divine flow in our lives — especially the lower ego-emotional nature, attachments, illusions, false desires and needs, and self-limiting patterns of behavior. We can see what the flow of our life really is, and make better choices.

Exercise Two: You will need about five to ten minutes of quiet space to do this exercise, without interruptions. First, take a few deep breaths, relaxing on the exhale, and sit comfortably. Be aware of any changes you need to make in your surroundings, to have a quiet space, without interruption, including turning off your cell phone or other media.

Take a deep breath, relax, close your eyes, and picture where you are in your life. See or feel or get a sense of your life as a flow, a larger movement containing many smaller movements, tasks, activities, goals, and desires. Get a sense of what is organizing or moving through your life, the larger factors that may be driving you, motivating you, or inspiring you. Look at what moves you. Consider what touches you on a deeper level. What allows the simple, creative expression of who you are, in your life? What does not allow that; what interferes with or disallows you being who you are, and being happy, at peace, and fulfilled?

Next, consider what is the song of your life, what is the movement, what is the dance? Gently move your arms, your hands, your body to get a sense of your own inner movement. If you wish, you can get up and move, too, but keep your awareness within you.

Now, take a deep breath, relax in your seat again, and picture yourself floating along in a river, the river of life. What does that river look like to you, and how are you doing? Is it a rushing river, or a quiet and peaceful one? Are there rapids, boulders, obstacles? Are you moving swiftly or slowly, or are you just floating in a tide pool, waiting to resume your flow along the river? Are you paddling upstream? Are you in a boat of some kind, or are you floating along, trying to keep your head above water?

When you are ready, you may open your eyes. Write down what you experienced, what you noticed about your life, what came to awareness, what images came to mind, what thoughts or feelings came up. What is the flow of your life like, now? And how might it be better, easier, more fulfilling, more free?

Flow is about being receptive to creative energy or higher inspiration. We need to be open to receive it, and we need a way to express it. Flow needs to move, to create the space for more flow. Whatever restricts flow in your life is like a crimp or knot in a hose; the proper flow needs to be restored. Realize, energy and spirit — your inner essence — are far more subtle and flowing than anything in the physical world, including water. But, the flow of water is a good analogy to remind you of the eternal movement of spirit, and the need for that in your life. You may wish to do the above exercise at various times, to get more in touch with the flow in your life.

8. The Way You Live

You can either adapt yourself to the world around you — which is what most people do, habitually, unconsciously — or you can get free. Realize, that is a choice you have the power to make, here, now. If you do not know how, you can learn.

The way you live is a direct result of who you are or who you know yourself to be, the values you have, your sense of spiritual connectedness and flow, the inner resources you may draw upon, and whether you are led by spirit or shaped by the world-at-large. You make a choice, in each and every moment, either going along with the way things are — believing things are as they should be, or the way you have been taught or told — or seeking something more.

First, it helps to know that you have a soul, rather than thinking of yourself as only a physical body. And, given that you "have" a spirit or soul, it is helpful to identify yourself with your spiritual or higher nature, rather than your physical or lower nature. Of course, you don't have to know or believe that you are a spiritual being in a physical body, to live a spiritual life, but it helps.

It also helps to know that other living beings have something in common with you, on a deeper level. If you wish to honor spirit or soul, within you, it helps to honor the same in other people. There is the ancient "Golden Rule": "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." You may find that you more fully live in a place of truth, integrity, peace, love, and light — within you — when you practice living that way in relation to others. It is simply a truer way of being.

This is about you, the real you. It is about the inner being, the one with origins in Light. It is about the true self, the authentic self, who you are beyond the role you are playing or the traits you chose when you came here or the vehicle you came in with. You can live from the surface of who you are, a superficial life, or you can live from the depths of your being, and have a more deeply rewarding existence.

You act as a superficial personality or as a more deeply spiritual being — they are very different ways of being. Your personality has been shaped by the world outside you; it is what you have most likely come to think of as your "self." Personality is a product of everything outside of us, the way we learned to "be" so as to be approved of, accepted, valued, or "loved." But, personality is much more superficial than soul, and even further removed from Spirit. We are a lot more than our worldly personality.

A better way to be is to realize who we truly are. It would be absurd to think, "I am an accountant," as your defining experience of who you are; it is far too superficial. It is a label, a role you may play, or what society values and rewards in you, but it is not the real you. Similarly, you are not your race, religion, ethnic background, sex, nationality, education, economic status, or any other worldly labels. Those are also, like "I am an accountant," too superficial in realizing who you truly are, within you. You are not any label you wear.

A better way to live is to return to a place where your life reflects the highest qualities of Spirit — the essence of the Divine — rather than serving as a means of adapting totally to the world. Be aware of the difference: you can move closer to, and identify more with, either Spirit or the world. They are on opposite sides of the continuum.

Living with soul means questioning how you are living, why you are living that way, and what better choices you can make. Why are you the way you are, with yourself or with others? Don't just take it for granted that you are that way. Ask the question. See what might be different from what you think or believe, what might be more true to who you really are. Living with soul does not mean accepting everything as it is, as the way it should be. It means questioning.

How do you treat others? How do you treat yourself? How do others treat you? There isn't necessarily a direct cause and effect between how you are to any given person, and how they are towards you. You might be kind to someone, and they might be unkind towards you. But, overall, the way you act towards others creates a sense of how you wish to be treated, what you feel is appropriate, respectful, and honorable behavior.

Be more aware of how you are in relation to your self.

Do you talk badly about yourself, in your own mind? Do you judge yourself? Do you accept the judgments of others? Do you fall into guilt, blame, or self-negating thoughts, feelings, or behavior? Can you see how that doesn't give your spirit a chance to shine through, how it may instead diminish the flow of Divine energy to you? Do you have resistances to simplifying your life, reducing distractions, moving beyond addictions — which capture your awareness, control your behavior, or limit your options? Would you like to learn what it means to live a spiritual life, and be free?

There is a better Way of living the life you are already living. It does not require a lot of radical changes or ideology; it is much more simple than that. It is about coming from a place in your heart, and being true to yourself. In this way, you can learn to recognize and move beyond the programming or conditioning which may separate you from others, or cause you to judge them, put them down, or try to prove you are better than them. Maybe you simply need to learn to not judge your self.

Would you like to experience spiritual alignment with what is right and good for you, and live that Way in your daily life? Would you like to have more soulful relationships, more deep and meaningful, true companionship and sharing on your spiritual journey? This is what it means to live with soul or spirit.

9. Honoring the Divine

Honoring the Divine does not mean holding the illusion that everything and everyone is perfect. Illusions honor no one. There is no such thing as a "oneness" in this world or this universe, in which everything no longer has its own essential nature, qualities or effects. Things have different sources, causes, and effects. In acknowledging and honoring all that is good, we need to discern between illusion and Reality, truth and falsehood, right and wrong, good and evil. There is a difference.

You will not find anything in this course to support the belief in a mean, angry, or vengeful "god." That is not the Supreme Being, or the loving God we wish to know. It is better to honor the True God with love than to have a relationship with a destructive image of "god" which requires your fear, complacency, and submission. If you haven't already learned to do so, you may wish to begin to think of the Divine as that which is only interested in your highest good, which holds the deepest love for you, and wishes you to move beyond all suffering.

If you have suffering in your life, you need to know that it doesn't come from God. It comes from something else that is in the way of God. You do not need to respect, honor, or love God less because of the troubles you have; they do not come from God. And, do not respect, honor, or love yourself less, because of problems you may have. God does not, so neither should you. You don't have to solve all your problems to have God love or accept you. You are not judged for the problems or suffering you have taken on. You are loved for who you truly are.

Our concept of honoring the Divine means surrendering all our worries, doubts, and fears, all our problems and difficulties, all our pain and suffering, to God, asking that they may be dealt with in the best way. That is what "surrender" means to us: connectedness to our True Source. It is not forsaking dealing with our own problems as best we can, living in a state of spiritual denial, or holding an illusion that everything is "perfect." Nor is it submission of our will to any absolute, authoritarian dogma or ideology, out of fear of eternal damnation; or taking a place in the pecking order of a hierarchical organization which determines our spiritual "worth" or worthiness, from a place of ego and self-aggrandizement.

We prefer to believe in a God of Love, Peace, and Light. That is the God we honor when we seek connection with the Highest, when we wish our lives to reflect the goodness and grace of the Divine. The true God is the Source of all good, and only wishes the highest good of all.

Honoring the Divine means acknowledging the differences between things, and honoring the Being which is beyond all of those differences. So, who or what is God, and in what way is God beyond this world of differences and opposites? There is God, the ultimate creator, that which is created by Divine energy and intention, and that which is not. God, the artist, is not the painting; God, the director, is not the movie; God, the sculptor, is not the clay. Those who "see God everywhere in everything" are only seeing an illusion, not the ultimate spiritual Reality. And, they do not really honor the Divine by saying the clay is the same as the sculptor, or the earth is the creator.

We are seeking a much Greater Reality and Truth, and spiritual Source. There are false spiritual teachings which say things like "God is everything, so there isn't anything you need to do to find God; you can worship God in your kitchen table." Nonsense. Spiritual realization requires discernment of Truth, not the ignorance which passes for great wisdom in this world. You cannot come closer to the true Source if you live in a state of spiritual denial, refusing to see the truth because you are holding a better illusion.

You will do far better in coming to the Divine, if you begin to see the world as more of an illusion than the ultimate Reality. Merely labeling illusion as reality will never make it so.

Whether or not we see God in our daily lives, we can still move toward God by honoring the Divine. We can live as though God can see us — in a kind, loving, concerned, good way, not being judgmental or critical. We can have greater hopefulness, inspiration, peace, and comfort, and not be invalidated by guilt, fear, or self-doubt. We can have things in our lives that are sacred, holy, or spiritually uplifting. There are many things we can do to bring the Divine more into our daily lives, in a personal way.

For example, we can make our home a sacred space, a place where we encourage peace, love, truth, and goodness. This means learning to live with — and come from — that place in our heart. In other words, we can make our home a spiritual place, but even more so, make a home for God in our heart. We can move from a place of appreciation or worshiping of the Divine outside of us, to a place of surrender to the Divine within us.

Think about it. Have you found the highest good in your own life, in you?

Exercise Three: Take a few deep breaths, relaxing on the exhale, close your eyes, and sit comfortably. When you are ready, place your right hand over your heart, toward the middle of your chest, and ask these questions: "If the Divine were with me now, and closer to me than my own breath, what would God want for me or of me, now? What would be the highest good for me, for the greatest good of all? And, in what way do I need to open to receive it?" See about maintaining a more spiritual, rather than materialistic, focus.

Let your awareness be in the area of your heart, in the middle of your chest. If you wish, you may repeat to yourself, silently or aloud, "God is closer to me than my own breath, now." Or just keep asking, within you, "If the Divine were with me now, and closer to me than my own breath, what would God want for me or of me, now?" And listen, see, know, or feel the answer within you, if it comes to awareness. Allow yourself to be with the question, quietly, patiently, for a little while.

When you feel you are ready, gently open your eyes. Write down what you experienced, what you noticed about your life, what came to awareness, what images came to mind, what thoughts or feelings came up. What seems to be your highest good, now? And how might it come to be in your life?

Pause for a moment and realize, the more attention you give to what you feel is right, good, and true for you — in your own heart — the closer you may come to the Divine, and the closer the Divine may seem to be to you.

10. You Could Be Magnificence

Have you found who you are in the Divine, and who the Divine is in you? Do you know that you could be magnificence? Or has the highest part of you been invalidated, disallowed, or rebuffed by the world-at-large, by others, by your circumstances in life?

Have you ever thought that you could have, within you, the essence of what it means to be magnificent, and not know it? You may look at yourself in the mirror, see your reflection and your daily behavior, and think that you are far from magnificence. You might think that isn't being "realistic." You might be caught up in all of the outward criteria of worldly value, status, success, appearances, and self-worth, and miss realizing who you are, within you.

You may be caught in an illusion of who you are. What is more real and true is that you are, in essence, magnificence. You may not know it, see it, believe it, experience it, or live from there, but, we are going to show you how to do that.

It isn't a matter of ego, or imagining that you are better than everyone, but rather a matter of understanding things of a spiritual nature, unfolding your greater ability to experience things of a spiritual nature, and living in accordance with your spiritual nature. In other words, it is in your very nature to be magnificence. If you haven't been living that way, then something has gotten in the way of your doing so. The world has somehow blocked, inhibited, misled, or subjugated you. It has made you think less of your self, and you have come to act that way.

We are going to help you to change all that.

Realize, you are not the role you are playing in this life, or the labels you have been given. You are not just a body with a given sex, age, ethnicity, race, religion, nationality, or daily activity. You are something more than that. You are not the labels you wear. You are not your beliefs. You are not what you may have been led to believe you are; you are not what you think, or what you feel, or what you want. You are not what you do. You are not your personality. You are not what you have done in the past, or what you will do in the future.

You are something much more fundamental, unchanging, deep, and real than all of that.

You are a being, an enduring consciousness, soul or spirit. And your existence transcends life and death as we know it in this world.

You — the real you, the essence, the spirit — are not going to die at the end of this life. You will merely drop the shell of the body, the vehicle you have been using, and continue to live on another level. It will be as if awakening from a dream.

Whether you believe that or not, you need to realize that all of the fears, doubts, worries, problems, angers, upsets, and guilt that you have carried with you as you walked on this earth, will become irrelevant when you leave here. So, why not learn how to let go of them, or get past them, here, now? You can.

You can reconnect with who you truly are, and get beyond the gross illusions and hardships of this life, even while you are here, without waiting to leave your body. There are many teachings about enlightenment and salvation — realizing who you really are, experiencing a greater reality, knowing a greater truth, having a higher consciousness, and living it, here, now. Many of these teachings have been distorted or misinterpreted over time. But the essence of truth is still there.

Exercise Four: Close your eyes and imagine your best self, your highest self. Imagine yourself as everything you have ever hoped to be. Go beyond the things you have in the material world, and the role you are playing. Think of the noblest qualities of your inner spirit, the goodness, love, peace, and happiness to be found on the deepest levels of your being. See yourself as all you could be. Feel what that would be like. And realize that is who you truly are, on the deepest levels of your being. Realize, that is who you already are. Get a sense of that; feel it in your body, know it in your heart, accept it in your mind. When you are ready, you may gently open your eyes.

Open your eyes, see the truth, and your spirit will soar free.

You don't need to become magnificence, it is what you already are. It is not a matter of being transformed from a caterpillar to a butterfly; you are already the butterfly — you are just dreaming that you are a caterpillar, bound to the earth, unable to fly.

It is not merely a goal, desire, or fantasy to fly free, spiritually. It is the truth of who you are, and who you can know your self to be.

This is about truly knowing who you are — not about believing you are "god," or imagining that "god" can only learn in a human body, or that everything you experience is divine, good, right, or true. You are not going to be told that "you are God" here. But, you will come to see that the essence of what it means to be Divine can dwell in your own heart, as your own essence. You need to know that this is not just a possibility, it is a certainty.

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