Walking a conscious spiritual path is truly a choice. We can sit and read about insights and experiences of others, but that doesn’t move us forward on our journey unless we take the time to meditate and contemplate and finally internalize the truths that arise in the silence or in spiritual literature and other spiritual experiences.
Mystic Joel Goldsmith said of the spiritual path, “Make no mistake, this is the most difficult of paths; this is the most difficult life there is.” He believed that it is far easier for a person to become famous or wealthy or to accomplish anything in the human world than in the spiritual world, because in the spiritual we are called upon to “die” to attain what we seek.
This death of which many mystics speak is not a physical death. It is dying to the personal sense of self. Enlightenment occurs only when the revelation of God incarnated as the Self is fully realized. There is no longer “I”, “me” or “mine.” There is only God and Light, which sustains Self. There is no past, present or future. There is only now.
Some scholars believe that everyone is already enlightened. It is our humanness that blocks the recognition of our true Self. To attain Enlightenment, we must become aware of the Voice that guides us and the Spirit within us. We must also be willing to release our attachments to the body, our nationality, our race, all things, our sense of separation from others and this world. This is a tall order, yet this is what the Great Mystics show us. They also give us a glimpse of the commitment one must make to walk the spiritual path to Enlightenment.
Over the years, there have been many ups and downs in my spiritual journey. There still are, but I can feel the change in myself. There was a time that I never thought of God or Spirit or even the Universe. Many years later I had an awakening during an illness. At first I was only aware when I was in the peaceful flow. Today I am more aware of the times when I am out of the flow. That affords me another great opportunity to watch how my ego tries to pull me out of peace. This awareness gives me a chance to detach and to look at the situation without judgment so that I can identify those old behaviors and beliefs, understand them and, at some point, to transform them.
I believe that each one of us is a mystic. To become conscious of who we already are and walk the path as an awakened mystic, we must become aware of the Self that lives within us and recognize that we are meant to live by the Laws of Spirit. We must be willing to compassionately serve every day. We must also be prepared to die every day so that we can ascend out of the personal sense of self and into the experience of life lived as the Divine.
No matter what our earthly life has been thus far, this path is open to those of us who are willing to rise above the limitations that we believe we have. Spirit will touch everyone at some point in life. We may not be aware at first, but each time we recognize our connection, we grow in the awareness needed to move forward.
I encourage you to consider adding meditation and prayer to your daily activities if you have not done so. The Divine works through us as often as we allow. When we are ready to awaken to the truth and to receive that glimpse of grace that may come, we must be willing to first surrender the attachment to the past and future and live in the now. It is the greatest commitment we will ever make.
Fr. Bede Griffiths wrote in Christ in India: “What Gandhi saw so clearly is that this detachment was not a way of escape from the world but of a freedom from self-interest, which enabled one to give oneself totally to God and to the world.” This is the way of the Mystic. Hopefully, many more of us will be willing to see beyond religion and awaken to the truth of who we are.
With Love and Blessings
Rev. Dr. Barbara Rasp
“The first sign of awakening is usually a growing reverence for life. You find you are immensely appreciative of being alive. Life itself is revealed as a wonder or a miracle. In your reverence for life you delightedly value the lives of others and of yourself…What is life? Who can say? But you, the awakening aspirant, wholeheartedly treasure being alive and love to watch that life force animating each person; indeed, you admire all living creatures.”
Graham Ledgerwood
