Welcome to Spiritual Enlightenment
At some point during my adult years, I looked back on my life and realized I was a fraud. My physical world was drastically out of alignment with my spiritual one. It was similar to cooking an elaborate meal while starving, but not being able to consume it. I grew up in a very strict Christian setting dominated by Southern Baptist doctrines. Church every Sunday, choir, usher board, trustee board, Sunday school, morning service, evening service... the environment was filled with bible-toting scripture-quoting tongue-speaking hallelujah shouting folks! Fortunately, I was exposed to many people of integrity and positive influences that instilled in me priceless values. My parents emphasized education until it was drilled into my psyche. On the flip side, I was fed a lot of half-truths, partial truths, and altered truths by so-called well-meaning people. Ignorance, closed-mindedness, pride, & arrogance are likely some of the causative factors. Therefore, I impersonated what a Christian should look and act like based on deficient information. There was no valid connection between the worldly me and my higher self. I impersonated what a Christian should look and act like, but I had no real relationship with my Creator. I prayed to a God I was told to pray to quoting the prayers I was taught to quote. Like a soldier taking orders from his commanding officer: You do as you are told and trained to do whether you are feeling it or not!
Out of Nowhere
I am not sure what event triggered my self-realization, yet it was life-transforming. The process is nowhere near complete rendering an ongoing journey. A crucial part of my being that was sleep woke up and jolted me to the core. Sadly, many people live their whole lives and depart without recognizing that crucial element. My recognition of that element catapulted my mind to a higher wave length. There was a burst of clarity illuminating my understanding of almost everything.
One major area of enlightenment is human sensuality--the mother of physical intimacy. The religious forums that dominate the media treat it like it is nonexistent (unless a scandal hits the news) or something to shun from discussion. In contrast, sensuality should be celebrated and promoted within a God-ordained context. Consequently, inner eyes open, new ideas blossom, paradigms shift, and higher consciousness ensues.
Spiritual enlightenment brings about intelligence and inner peace. It is not about being a Biblical scholar or expert on religious topics because I am neither--far from it! I started this blog not just to disperse information, but to gain knowledge and expand my horizons. It is truly about making a connection with God who leads us to connecting with deeper aspects of ourselves. Those deeper aspects make up the true self...not our careers, bank accounts, personal possessions, or physical bodies.
Our Eclectic Universe
The physical universe is evidence that the Creator loves diversity. A child of the universe, planet Earth, clearly follows suit with its potpourri of life forms. Within the same life form is remarkable variation ( different species of fish, plants, human racial groups, etc). Does it not stand to reason diversity is expressed on every level of existence/consciousness? It does not matter if you are Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, etc. because you are a different expression of the same universe. Different cloths of fabric are required to construct the quilt. I discovered that all religions contribute knowledge and perspectives that are necessary to complete life's masterpiece. It seems as if everyone has a piece to the puzzle of the universe that may never be fully explained on this realm.
The paths we choose to take to self-realization are possible through the gift from God called free will. I have discovered there are far more similarities than differences between the major philosophies that lend more support of each other than contradiction. Besides, I dare to count the numerous contradictions that exist just within the Christian faith. Historical and present events demonstrate other religions are plagued with the same multiple interpretations/variations. At one time, the news was flooded with horror stories of conflicts between the Sunni and Shiite Muslims...there is only one Quran is there not??? No one, no science, no religion has escaped the divisiveness of multiple perspectives. Conflicting interpretations give birth to confusion, disbelief, and disillusionment.
One will be greatly distracted if not focused on their own inner voice. It's the God inside of you and me. Ultimately, that is the key: Hearing your own inner voice because once that occurs everything else falls into place.
When a seed is planted in the soil of the earth, it eventually grows into a plant, flower, tree, etc., ultimately transformed into a form of vegetation. Life on this planet cannot exists without it. Although the seed is tiny, it holds an enormous amount of energy inside. However, if it is not planted in the soil, it has no foundation to grow. In like manner, if it does not receive sunshine and rain, it has no catalyst to transform the energy from seed to lush garden. As above, so below; As within, so with out. Every thought, emotion, word spoken, and action taken are seeds that carry enormous energy from within our souls. Those cosmic seeds are planted in the spiritual soil (the foundation of everything). Through the universal law of cause and effect (aka karma), the seeds manifest in our physical lives. It is human consciousness directed toward those planted seeds that provide the sunshine and rain hastening the process. The cosmic transformation of spiritual energy becomes our circumstances and multitude of experiences that define our lives on this planet.
Every situation is a harvest that we reap from the seeds we have sown.
The ultimate goal is to learn the lessons each situation offers to move us to the next level, the higher plateau, or the higher self. As we learn the various lessons and gain universal wisdom, the seeds we sow will naturally gravitate toward positive energy resulting in a more positive outcome. The climate of the soul or what most people refer to as the state of mind is the key to manifestation and the harvest. What mainstream religion calls "heaven" or "paradise" is simply a state of mind that transforms one's world. Our state of mind determines the seeds we sow. Therefore, if we have a state of mind operating within a higher dimension, the seeds we sow will be in alignment with that realm and our physical world will automatically restructure itself to accommodate that energy.
Sounds simple enough now doesn't it?
Yes, it is simple in theory, but just as our lives play out, there are obstacles and problems that will surely present themselves. Every problem or undesirable situation should be approached as an opportunity for growth and gaining wisdom. Unfortunately, they have the potential to pull us further from the light most of us seek at the positive end of the cosmic spectrum. The other direction on the spectrum inevitably leads toward negative energy and it exists on a plane of lower vibrations. Yet, our universe could not exists, as we know it, without it.
The law of polarity says that everything in the universe has an opposite version of itself and the energy can be compared to the positive and negative poles of a battery. Negativity is an essential part of the Yin/Yang balance that provides the conditions required for everything to operate within harmony. It is the very thing most people strive to move away from as it distracts and influences us on a continual basis. To add insult to injury, we are frequently drawn toward negativity because it is often packaged in a way that makes it appealing or attractive. However, lowering your vibrations, no matter how attractive it seems, will destroy your harvest and place you further from the light. Bad appearing as good is a common theme in sacred teachings, including the story of Adam and Eve biting the forbidden apple in the Garden of Eden. Whether you believe the story is true or not, it is the underlying message it conveys that makes it relevant. It is crucial to gain discernment in order to identify negative situations that present as the opposite or what is referred to as deception.
Almost every religion and philosophy from ancient times to the present support the universal law of cause and effect...you get back what you put out. As we grow and mature spiritually along our perspective journeys, it should become easier to sow the seeds that yield the harvests we desire.
Do you believe karma is the primary force shaping our life experiences? If not, what other factor(s) do you feel impact what happens to us individually and collectively?
