Being involved with a spiritual group has many tremendous
benefits over going it alone, but it can also have many pitfalls.
On the one hand, you have the benefit of interacting with people
of like mind to your own. However, on the other hand, you have
the many frustrations and challenges that come with participating
in a group of diverse individuals, each with a separate opinion
of what constitutes a correct approach to the spiritual path.
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
One danger we can very easily fall prey to is that of comparing
ourselves to others. Of course, each of us has spent a large
portion of our lives making endless comparisons of just about
everything. However, when this is applied in a negative fashion
to the spiritual arena, it can have dire consequences.
Many people quietly ask themselves, "what's wrong with me?",
and can make themselves very depressed by doing so. It seems
that other people are making good progress in their spiritual
growth, but when you look at yourself in the mirror, not a lot is
changed. This problem is also magnified by the fact that many
individuals in spiritual circles like to parade their supposed
achievements, sometimes subtly but often quite blatantly, and let
everybody know just how advanced they are. Hence, sensitive
souls, who insist on comparing themselves to such people, can
undermine whatever growth they have achieved. Indeed, they can
even cause themselves psychological problems in the process;
depression being the most common of these.
This is why it is often best to keep your counsel. Spiritual
work is best kept secret and personal. It is not intended to be a
beauty competition. Otherwise, there is a tendency towards making
negative comparisons. At the other extreme, it is also possible
to develop spiritual pride and boastfulness through some imagined
superiority of your own.
Neither extreme is of any benefit to your spiritual life.
Therefore, if you give away some money to a worthy cause, keep it
to yourself. Should you one day see a vision of Christ or
Krishna during your meditation session, only you and your
spiritual diary should know anything about it. if you do share
your insights with another person, ensure that you only do so in
order that the other may benefit, or because you are genuinely
uncertain about your experience and need clarification from
someone further along the path than yourself.
Comparisons can be most valuable if used in the correct way. By
comparing yourself to those who have attained what you seek, you
see where you are lacking and are given a role model whom you can
seek to emulate, however imperfectly at first. Thus, Christ,
Krishna, Buddha, and others have been used as role models to the
great benefit of those who have done so. By studying the lives of
such people – by pondering on their thoughts, words and teachings
- you inspire yourself to want to be more like them, and actually
accelerate the process of doing so.
Actions do speak louder than words in the context of
spiritual society. Words are cheap and easily spoken. They are
no measure whatsoever as to the spiritual progress of the
individual speaking. Mere head knowledge of the esoteric is no
guide either, since books are plentiful these days and anyone who
wants to can rapidly obtain a "spiritual Ph.D" in esoteric
chatter! Sadly, the spiritual arena does attract many
psychologically maladjusted individuals, whose greatest pleasure
is vaunting themselves up on the good opinions of others. It is
important that you are not easily fooled, and especially that you
are not depressed and discouraged, by their antics and claims.
However, actions that are sincerely motivated speak clearly of
what lies deep within the heart. There is a lot of hypocrisy
going on within spiritual groups. You may find one person making
all kinds of spiritual pronouncements, and yet this same person
will quite thoughtlessly walk past a beggar in the street without
even thinking of helping in any way. Here is an actual example
of this kind of behavior. A yoga teacher was preparing to send
cash donation overseas to a worthwhile charitable course. She
mentioned this to her class and asked if anyone else would like
to contribute too. The silence was deafening!
As you observe spiritual people in such groups and communities,
you will see many such examples. However, the point is not to
become judgmental or regard yourself as superior. Rather, you
should observe and be aware. Guard against falling into the same
trap yourself.
It is also vital to respect your spiritual teacher, and listen
sincerely to the teachings, without crossing the line into
worshipping your teacher or regarding him/her as having descended
from heaven. This can lead to tremendous disappointment, and has
done so for many followers in many different places and times.
It is always wonderful to find a perfect teacher giving perfect
teachings. All too often though, the teacher you end up with is
just as human and fallible as the rest of us. Moreover, the
greater the degree of advance, the greater the distance there is
to fall, should it happen. Spiritual teachers have been known to
"come off the rails" and get involved in sexual affairs, or other
such behaviors which their disciples would regard as improper.
Others engage in ashram/temple politics, apparently for their own
self-aggrandisement.
Hence, it is always a good idea to use discernment at all times.
If the teachings are valuable and true, then heed them. However,
if the teacher should ever bitterly disappoint your expectations
one day, beware of throwing out the teachings with the teacher!
This is what many disappointed aspirants do. They give up their
practice and drift away disillusioned forever.
If you are a teacher in a spiritual community, it is quite common
to find people in the group who do not respect you, and who seek
to undermine your authority, or belittle you in subtle ways. In
such instances, it is wise to remember that in any spiritual
group, there will always be sheep, as well as wolves in sheep's
clothing. It is not your job to sort them out. Rather than become
discouraged, or get into a bickering contest, focus instead on
always giving of your very best, regardless of praise or
appreciation. Your chief point of comparison should be yourself,
and how well you are holding to your own values. Let the world's
opinion come and go.
Spiritual groups can truly be a wonderful place to grow, and to
meet other people of like mind. If used in this way, they can be
a tremendous spur to your inner development. However, it is
always wise is to remember that no group is perfect. You are
dealing with real and fallible people, no matter how they might
like to represent themselves or be thought of. Therefore,
rather than focus on the imperfections and get distracted by
them, approach the spiritual group or teacher with realistic
expectations. Since the whole point of a spiritual community is
to aid growth, it should never be a cause of disillusionment
and sorrow. By working within a group in this manner, and by
never neglecting your own vital individual practice, you set
yourself up for success and steady advancement upon the spiritual
path.
Copyright Asoka Selvarajah 2005. All Rights Reserved.
_______________________________________________________________
Asoka Selvarajah is a writer on personal growth and spirituality, and the author of "The 7 Golden Secrets To Knowing Your Higher Self". His work helps people achieve their full potential, deepen their understanding of mystical truth, and discover their soul's purpose. You can subscribe to his FREE ezine, and get his FREE ebook "Inner Light Outer Wealth" at:
http://www.aksworld.com/AspireToWisdom.htm?imk=Blog _______________________________________________________________
You have permission to reproduce this article in your ezine, website or offline publication as long as you do so in its entirety, and include both the copyright notice and the resource box at the bottom.
Filed under General, Metaphysical, News, Personal Growth by 
"…if we look upon Evil as a force to be reckoned with, and
therefore requiring to be studied, we are in effect creating it;
while if on the other hand we realize that there is only one
force to be considered, and that absolutely Good, we are by the
law of the creative process bringing that Good into
manifestation."
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
Judge Thomas Troward, "The Dore Lectures On Mental Science"
_________________________________________________________
Are you afraid of a terrorist atrocity somewhere near you? Do you
think the world is a more dangerous place since 9/11?
After all, every day we see new kidnappings, videos of masked
men standing over hostages with a timeline for execution,
horrific bomb incidents across the planet, and more. The world
seems to be a darker place, and our governments struggle
heroically on our behalf to combat this seemingly endless menace.
But is all this really so? Is this the objective truth?
If you think about this a bit more, you might see it a different
way. Just ask yourself a couple of questions:
(1) After all of the government initiatives against terrorists
across the world in recent years, including a couple of major
wars, are terrorist organizations stronger or weaker since 9/11?
Answer (a) Stronger, (b) Weaker
(2) Is the general level of fear about terrorists and terrorism
higher or lower since 9/11?
Answer (a) Higher, (b) Lower
For most people, their answers to these two questions will
present something of a paradox. They would agree that terrorist
organizations MUST logically be (b), weaker after 9/11. After
all, consider the billions of dollars and countless hours of
manpower committed to anti-terrorism since that date. Yet, their
level of fear of terrorists is nevertheless (a) HIGHER! How can
this possibly be?! It defies logic….
Perhaps before 9/11, we were blissfully unaware of the danger,
and after it, we are better acquainted with the truth? Maybe.
However, another argument presents itself…
Terrorism is a collaborative effort. It does not just come from
so-called "terrorists". That is just the first part of the
equation. For you to end up being terrified, there is a specific
process involved. It goes something like this:
(a) Some form of highly negative act is committed. This may be a
kidnapping and subsequent execution, a terrorist bomb, and so on.
(b) Permission has to be given by someone for that information to
be broadcast to the world through the media.
(c) The media must choose to broadcast the information and then
do so, giving to the bare facts whatever interpretation they
choose.
(d) A feeling of "escalation" must exist, i.e. that the situation
is out of control, directly threatens your life, and requires
immediate urgent action.
(e) You have to choose to focus on what the media and government
are reporting and believe it is accurate true reporting.
(f) Having chosen to engage in (e), you have to absorb yourself
in these events to the point where it adversely affects your
emotions, thoughts, and mental state. You must ALLOW yourself to
be terrorized. It does not just happen. It's a choice.
If any one of these steps is missing, there is no "terrorism"
because nobody is terrified! So, let us examine some of these
steps in order to understand what is really going on.
Looking at step (a), we must also acknowledge that many other
negative acts occur in the world that do not slightly bother us.
There may be a serial killer in the jungles of Borneo, killing
off tribesmen on a daily basis. Does it bother you? No. Why?
Because it's happening in some country you don't care about, and
you don't know about it anyhow. OK. So why would terrorist acts
in Iraq – a country you will almost certainly never visit in your
entire life – bother you so much? Indeed, why are they even being
reported to you so constantly on a daily basis? Good question…
With step (b), we come closer to the truth. The dissemination of
this frightening information serves the purposes of "somebody",
or else it would not be released at all. It would not be ALLOWED
to be released. Here is a classic example of such a news freeze.
After all the hype about the search for Saddam Hussein, what did
he have to say for himself after his capture? The answer seems to
be… nothing. We were shown some cynically crafted shots, taken
in unguarded moments when he was unaware of what the footage
would be used for, and specifically designed to humiliate him in
the eyes of the world. Yet, beyond that, nothing. Not a single
word or image!
Why? Was nobody in the world interested in what he might be
saying or doing? Not at all. Public interest was very high
indeed, thanks to the media frenzy about the hunt for Saddam.
So what suddenly happened to the news flow, when he WAS captured?
The answer is, government intervention. That's what happened.
You saw and heard nothing about Saddam because it did NOT serve
the US government's interests for you to know what he might be
saying. The reason was that he might say things that would
embarrass them severely (perhaps regarding his previous amiable
dealings with them in the 1970's during the Iran/Iraq war);
embarrass them because it might just be TRUE!
Contrarily, you see carefully controlled images of the menace of
terrorism because it DOES serve the governments' interests to
show these. Hence, the media are allowed to do so.
When the media broadcast these events, they are making a
deliberate choice as to how to fill a given time slot. There are
many other equally valid things they could be showing you in that
time. Believe it or not, there are MANY GOOD THINGS happening in
the world, RIGHT NOW! Amazing, scarcely believable, but true.
However, the media instead focuses on, and incessantly analyzes,
highly negative unhelpful events. They give the impression that
the menace is constant, the world is a terribly unsafe place,
that we are in constant mounting danger, and must depend upon
our caring, heroic governments for our long-term survival. This
promotes the feeling of "escalation" that we discussed in step 4.
What if the media chose NOT to broadcast the home-made videos of
masked gunmen standing over helpless hostages, dictating their
demands and giving their deadlines? Could terrorism even continue
to EXIST if it received almost no media attention? Why do we say
we will not negotiate with terrorists to save hostage lives, but
we WILL televise every terrifying home movie they ever make? In
the former instance, we swear blind NOT to further their cause,
and in the latter we do so without the slightest hesitation.
It happens because it serves "someone's" private purposes for
manipulation of the masses. That "someone" is your government. If
it did not serve them, you would not (1) see these terror images,
(2) remain on a constant state of alert, or (3) even hear about
these events (e.g. the post-capture Saddam 6-month silence).
There would be no state of terror in the world.
In other words, a state of terror exists in the world because
your government WANTS IT TO EXIST (however much they claim they
don't)!
Finally, step (f): for a state of terror to exist, you must
choose to be believe the truth of what the media says and allow
it to agitate your peace of mind. You must believe in imminent
danger, even if it does not actually exist. In the US in recent
years, there have been constant states of "red alert" and "yellow
alert". People are being put constantly on edge and the fear
grows each day. Yet, did anything actually HAPPEN since 9/11?
The answer is, no. So, if the security services are doing their
job properly (which is what you are supposedly paying them to do,
and which they definitely did NOT do on the day of 9/11), why
don't they just get on with it? Why should YOU be constantly
agitated by all these red and yellow alerts?
In the US, there are now plans afoot to introduce MORE levels of
alerts, i.e. different alerts for different areas of security
threat (e.g. airports, power stations, whatever) In Britain, the
goovernment have just released a booklet to 25 million homes,
detailing what to do in the event of a terrorist attack.
What purpose can all this possibly serve? Or could it be that the
hidden purpose of keeping the population on edge is precisely to
engender MORE fear, not less? Perhaps again, we see an example of
it serving "someone's" purposes to keep you in a state of terror.
Here is what metaphysician Thomas Troward had so say about this
sort of thing nearly a century ago:
"…the fallacy that good is limited by evil, and that you cannot
receive any good except through eliminating the corresponding
evil by realizing it and beating it back. In this view, life
becomes a continual combat against every imaginable form of evil,
and after we have racked our brains to devise precautions against
all possible evil happenings, there remains the chance, and much
more than the chance, that we have by no means exhausted the
category of negative possibilities, and that others may arise
that no amount of foresight on our part could have imagined. The
more we see into this position the more intolerable it becomes,
because from this standpoint we can never attain any certain
basis of action, and the sources of possible evil multiply as we
contemplate them. To set forth to outwit all evil by our
knowledge of its nature is to attempt a task the hopelessness of
which becomes apparent when we see it in its true light"
Judge Thomas Troward, "The Dore Lectures On Mental Science.
So much for the "war on terrorism". Can you now see the folly of
this venture?
In esoteric teaching, we are told that "what you focus upon
EXPANDS". That is the whole basis of the science of success
elucidated by Napoleon Hill and others. We also learn that there
are only two forces at work (in truth, just one, since the second
is merely the absence of the first): Love and Fear. If you choose
to focus your efforts on Fear, it will GROW and its causes will
MULTIPLY!
So, "terrorism" is not nearly so simple a concept as it seemed at
first. The "terrorists" are only one active factor in the
equation. You play a passive part in the process, through your
willingness to be conned and terrorized, and your government
plays an extremely active and highly culpable part.
So why would your government – supposedly your friend – do this
to you? Well, the sad fact is that they are NOT your friends and
never have been, but that is a subject far too large for this
article. However, this trick of terrorizing the masses with a
continual stream of brainwashing propaganda is as old as the
hills. In Stalinist Russia, they had their "capitalist wreckers"
and in Maoist China "Western Imperialists"; all supposedly
working to undermine the State and the happiness of the people.
It all serves to create an atmosphere of subservience, dependence
and unquestioned compliance to the aims of the government.
This is the hidden agenda behind the "war on terrorism". It has
more to do with ultimately limiting your freedoms, tagging and
bagging every citizen, tracking every cent of YOUR money so that
it eventually ends up in the right place (i.e. the governments'
sweaty hands, rather than somewhere offshore etc.) than it ever
has to do with your freedom and your safety. Before you know it,
you are walking around in an open prison, "free" to agree with
everything the government tells you to say and do.
America is now effectively a police state, and it will become
ever more so as the years go by; all for your own safety, of
course. Whether consciously or unconsciously, structures are
being set in place for a totalitarian dictatorship, which can
declare indefinite martial law and engage in the very same
excesses we have seen throughout history, all for the
"protection" of its citizens. We may soon see neighbors and
foreigners being denounced as spies or terrorist sympathizers,
and government initiatives encouraging you to do this very thing.
All this will could happen within the next 20-25 years unless the
poisonous ideology that has been set in motion within the last 3
years in the US is firmly uprooted and hurled forcibly into the
depths of outer space, never to return. Happily, there are
many voices of sanity in America today, who are determined to
achieve this object, while it is still possible, and while the
structures of democracy remain largely intact to be able to do
so. Hence, there is cause for much optimism and NOT fear.
However, having read this far, please never let yourself be
confused or conned about the realities of terrorism. Hopefully,
you have now caught a glimpse of the self-serving motives behind
the daily media force-feed of Terror & Fear. The committers of
terroist acts are just a small part of the total equation of
Fear. If they received no publicity, terrorist acts against the
innocent would almost certainly )be decimated worldwide.
Always remember: it serves someone's purposes. That is all you
need to know to break free of the cycle of mental terror
paralysis that they seek to impose upon you.
The world is a wonderful place. It is no more or less dangerous
today than it was before 9/11. Anybody who tells you different is
deceiving you for their own self-serving purposes. The facts
simply do not bear out all this negativity and fear. You do NOT
have to be terrified, in order to unwittingly serve someone
else's private agenda for you.
You can just choose to live in the world, accept it as it is, and
just BE.
Copyright Asoka Selvarajah 2005. All Rights Reserved.
_______________________________________________________________
Asoka Selvarajah is a writer on personal growth and spirituality, and the author of "The 7 Golden Secrets To Knowing Your Higher Self". His work helps people achieve their full potential, deepen their understanding of mystical truth, and discover their soul's purpose. You can subscribe to his FREE ezine, and get his FREE ebook "Inner Light Outer Wealth" at:
http://www.aksworld.com/AspireToWisdom.htm?imk=Blog _______________________________________________________________
You have permission to reproduce this article in your ezine, website or offline publication as long as you do so in its entirety, and include both the copyright notice and the resource box at the bottom.
Filed under General, News, Personal Growth by
There are very few great men we can point to in recent years.
However in Pope John Paul II, it can safely be said that there
was greatness in abundance.
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
Despite anything that might be said in criticism (and there are
some valid criticisms), there is more than enough in Pope John
Paul II's life that qualifies him for greatness. He did things
that no other pope in history has come close to doing, or might
even have dared to do. Many frontiers have finally been rolled
back for good.
Here are just a few of the acts that the world can be grateful
for:
(1) Pope John Paul II was instrumental in the fall of Communist
dictatorship and oppression throughout Eastern Europe, but most
especially in his home country of Poland.
(2) His huge number of international visits finally took the
leadership of the Catholic Church out of the walls of the
Vatican, and brought it directly to the people all over the
world, where it was most needed.
(3) Pope John Paul's work towards achieving reconciliation with
the Jewish people, and his prayers at the Wailing Wall in
Jerusalem, are truly remarkable and praiseworthy. Let us hope
that it is built upon.
(4) Pope John Paul was the first pope EVER to set foot inside of
a mosque, let alone offer prayers there. Again, a truly wonderful
and praiseworthy act, especially since it was done when he was so
very old.
(5) He was a fearless advocate for peace, and always stood
against war. In the most recent Gulf war, he was did not hesitate
to criticize "The Bush" publicly, which was the correct thing to
do.
(6) In his death, Pope John Paul displayed tremendous heroism,
dignity and a never-failing sense of duty to his flock. He faced
his final departure bravely, calmly and with full consciousness,
preparing himself fully for the realm before him. This is a
tremendous example to us all.
Yes, it may be true that the figure of an ancient stooped man,
crippled with Parkinson's disease and Arthritis, might seem to be
an inappropriate image for the dynamic eternal spirituality that
the Church wishes to stand for. And yes, it is true that in some
issues – such as the Church's attitudes to women, towards
contraception, and towards tackling poverty in South America – it
might be justifiably said that he did not advance matters at all.
However, there are so many outstanding achievements, only a few
of which have been numbered above, that we should all be happy
and grateful to witness such an excellent example of how to live
and die well, as we did with Pope John Paul.
Pope John Paul will be missed. Let us hope that the new pope can
build on the promise and the legacy that he has left the world.
Copyright Asoka Selvarajah 2005. All Rights Reserved.
_______________________________________________________________
Asoka Selvarajah is a writer on personal growth and spirituality, and the author of "The 7 Golden Secrets To Knowing Your Higher Self". His work helps people achieve their full potential, deepen their understanding of mystical truth, and discover their soul's purpose. You can subscribe to his FREE ezine, and get his FREE ebook "Inner Light Outer Wealth" at:
http://www.aksworld.com/AspireToWisdom.htm?imk=Blog _______________________________________________________________
You have permission to reproduce this article in your ezine, website or offline publication as long as you do so in its entirety, and include both the copyright notice and the resource box at the bottom.
Filed under General, News, Personal Growth by
