Wind of the Soul

The idea of maintaining proper perspective is vitally important along any spiritual path. Exploring our inner nature without paying close attention to the alterations which may be occurring to our perceptions can be problematic. These alterations can aid us immensely; taking our conscious awareness into new states of mind and being which enhance our physical lives.

However, when we allow these same alterations to consistently take us away from a balanced center, they have the potential for being detrimental. It’s similar to having access to a hammer- if properly employed (along with many other tools and supplies); it can construct a beautiful home. Yet, if we turn around and wield it improperly, that same hammer is capable of destruction.

Coming to a better understanding of our spiritual nature, even from a very mystical point of view, is about positively augmenting our lives. It’s about enriching who we are internally and then projecting that enrichment outward as it blends with our external experience.

While these forms of enrichment and their specific details are unique to each person (and no one can tell anyone else how they should experience this); relatively speaking, they will always be uplifting. They should only increase the joy in our physical lives; never detract from it.

My ideas regarding spirituality most definitely encompass mystical philosophies and experiences, yet for me, it’s imperative I find a way to incorporate that knowledge in a grounded manner. While attaching physical labels to such experiences never does them justice; trying to keep one foot in both “worlds”, or worse- both feet solely in that world, doesn’t cut it either. I feel I want to find a way to acknowledge and learn from things like my own out of body experiences and altered states of consciousness, yet practically apply what I learned “there”, back here, in my real life.

Many individuals are living a life of escapism through their so called spiritual endeavors. They’ve convinced themselves spirituality is about following dogmatic practices or seeing through social constructs, all for the purpose of eventually being rescued from this world. Many even claim to have received channeled messages informing them of the exact date and time this will occur. The “rescue me” mentality breeds a detachment from physical reality. The purpose of this post is not to judge their actions, but to illustrate a shifting of that metaphorical hammer from constructive to destructive.

Spirituality is about seeing through constructs (social or otherwise) and understanding why those constructs are there in the first place. However, it’s not about educating ourselves for the reward of being removed from physical life by some religious deity, super “entity”, or supposed enlightened extraterrestrial civilization. It’s about seeing through the veil to enrich our physical lives, right here and now. The sooner we quit trying to escape our perceived problems, whether physically or metaphysically and we actively start working our way toward our own emotional/psychological “salvation”, the better.

Now, I’m not saying there aren’t other intelligent civilizations throughout the Universe or religious avatars residing a dimensional shift away. I’m saying some people have a tendency, once they begin experiencing metaphysical or mystical encounters (or believing in the experiences of others), to lose touch with their center.

There is absolute legitimacy to mystical experiences, but that legitimacy resides in another “place” or as Jane Roberts called it- “an inner order of events.” And often times, this inner order cannot be literally translated into our outer physical circumstances. Some force the issue anyway, never realizing the potential problems associated with doing so. As they try to overlay it entirely on the physical structure, they can begin losing rational semblance of physical perception.

In my opinion, spirituality should never stunt any area of our lives and it’s definitely not an either or thing- meaning were either spiritual beings or physical humans. I believe we’re both, simultaneously, and because of this it’s important to find a way to merge the two while keeping our feet on the ground.

It is definitely a delicate balance, but for all intents and purposes, I feel, spirituality should always lean toward a more practical application in our lives. Spiritual growth is about staying open, along with exploring and intelligently applying what we’ve learned, but it’s also about always maintaining and enhancing the connection to our physical life experience, while we still have it.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 5:28 pm and is filed under Altered States of Consciousness, Interpreting Reality, Spiritual Empowerment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.