About Practical Spirituality

"There is an indefinable mysterious power that pervades everything, I feel it though I do not see it. It is this unseen power which makes itself felt and yet defies all proof, because it is so unlike all that I perceive through my senses. It transcends  the senses." 
Mahatma Gandhi

The physical world around us combined with our relatively consistent ability to predict it's daily behavior, contribute to our certainty that reality exists as it appears. Yet, we still sense a greater power that directs our universe. Synchronized and intentional, it is governed by timeless principles that bring us either healing and love or pain and suffering according to our use of them.

These timeless principles are not subject to circumstances. Being aware of them allows us to stay present with more uncertainty and fear and still be able to listen to the impulse to move, to change, even when we do not know where it leads.  Spiritual development refines our ability to listen deeply to the natural movement of life's energy.  It strengthens our intuition, our ability to trust and act in accordance with the evolution of life itself.  When enough people live this way, there comes the possibility to create a society that no longer needs a crisis in order to update itself. Simply put, this is the meaning of practical spirituality.

Crises of all sorts whether emotional, health-oriented, interpersonal, social or political, usually indicate the disintegration of old, outdated structures to allow for movement and change.  Often, we need this pressure because we didn't heed the call to evolve.  As biological human beings, we are naturally motivated by the need for stability and safety while change is perceived by the automatic brain as something unfamiliar and dangerous to our survival.  Thus, when the impulse to evolve meets the resistance to change, we encounter all sorts of crises.

Spirituality can be described as revealing the inner light whereas the mechanism is a process of purification & refinement.  In Hebrew, the word "refinement" and the word "glass" are sourced out of the same root.  It is also a synonym for purification. Glass, because it transfers light.  As people who are engaged in practical spirituality, we are called to purify muddy thoughts, muddy feelings and clogged energy in our bodies. When our thoughts, feelings and bodies become refined, we are able to transfer a lot more light meaning, reveal more of the highest qualities of the creative force out of which we are all sourced. One of the consequences is that we become better conductors of dense energy. Practically speaking, we are able to host in our space energy (emotions, opinions, difficulties of someone or something) which we previously rejected.  The more we can host what has previously threatened us and which we could not stay present with, the better the chance that this issue, thing or person can be transformed. 

A person engaged in such spiritual work, understands how the manifested reality around him corresponds to the inner matrix of thoughts, feelings, memories and ideas and thus, takes responsibility for his reaction, emotions and thought patterns.

One of my teachers, Dr. Michael Beckwith describes spiritual development in 4 major stages: 

1. "To Me" - the stage where the person is still caught up in victim consciousness.  His experience is that everything happens to him; He is a victim of circumstance; External forces and interests are causing his suffering and he feels powerless to change any of it. His first awakening is to the awareness that he has power and that the universe is intentional.
   
   

2. "To It"— the stage where the person begins to realize there are laws that govern the universe and that he can learn how to use them correctly. He finds out how patterns of thoughts and feelings participate in birthing the reality around him.  He is certain that he can manifest what he wants and directs his life according to conscious choice. This is the stage of personal development through cause and effect. 

3. ״Through Me"—A deep yearning is awakened within the person to live a life full of meaning.  He feels that there is a power greater than himself that wishes to express through him and he  commits to bring forth something that is above and beyond his material needs. We tend to call it, mission.  the person develops tools and avenues through which he can influence reality for the better. 

4. "As Me" - The person is awaken to the highest level of consciousness realizing unity with the Source.  This is not a mere belief or understanding but rather a direct and authentic experience of enlightenment.  From this unity consciousness, he can transform fear to love and manifest something from seemingly nothing (in Hebrew: "Yesh Me-ayn").  He reveals the nature of God as inseparable from the human spirit

Rev Dr Michael Beckwith Talks about the 4 stages on SuperSoul Sessions

Personally speaking, Spirituality for me is the matrix of life, the web of interconnectedness.  It is the connection to meaning, essence, mission and purpose. It gives me the fuel, the inspiration, the willingness to continue my refinement, to becoming more and more precise, to improve and to act for a world where higher virtues come to fruition in reality