2. Spiritual Attainment

Spiritual attainment is a prized procession that has fascinated and driven human discovery since the beginning of time.  Attaining the spiritual and understanding human consciousness is a daunting question to ask, because only you can ultimately decipher the answer.

There are many different kinds of spiritual practices and traditions that have intrigued and penetrated human awareness. From ancient traditions and religious holy writings, to modern day meditative practices and scientific breakthroughs, the spiritual quest has remained a popular topic of exploration.  

There are many books, articles and analogies shared by authors willing to explain their discoveries about these weighty matters. What is unique about all such authors or teachers is that their understandings and opinions have been formulated through a life of experience.

To the critical onlooker it’s easy to assert that these elusive contradictory concepts are presented more to impress rather than to convey a specific concrete message. Yet lurking behind all these shared stories, is that these people were pulled or pushed onto their own personal path of discovery. They were triggered internally to explore this higher level of consciousness that we define as the spiritual quest.

This is not to suggest that every author’s ideas are right or that the ideas and concepts presented in this book are right either. This is simply presented as an explorer’s guide to discovering your own path on the spiritual quest.  

OPENING THE DOOR TO YOURSELF

When asking people about their own spiritual journey they are quite likely to share some personal state of attainment or understanding on the matter.  People are usually quick to reply in the affirmative, they agree with these ideas and very few are critical of any spiritual path.

To most people spirituality has a strong pull of curiosity, yet it seems to remain elusive and often an area of fear to explore or critique alone. This journey, like all unexplored areas of life with uncertain outcomes, begins from a place a fear.  Fear is the first spiritual indication that an opportunity awaits for you to grow stronger and more competent to pursuing your own spiritual journey. Think of the most fearful situations you have experienced. It is likely that your personal growth and determinations in life were triggered by those internal states of fear.

Many people today are feeling more and more afraid and worried. This is their internal calling to the spiritual path, opening this door always feels uncomfortable and scary at the beginning, don’t let that hinder you.

Every spiritual journey into self-discovery begins from a place of uncertainty. You are being beckoned and pulled to this path; it likely feels like a deep dark lonely place. Yet once you embrace confronting this fear you quickly come to realize that you are never alone in the spiritual quest. So be willing to open that scary door, it is you being pulled to greater discovery.

THE SCARY PATH OF EXPLORATION

True spirituality is a very personal and introspective journey. While we are all led down the same path of discovery your path is always unique. It’s like exploring alone in the forest, the timing of events and items discovered will vary greatly based on your conscious awareness as you explore and focus on your personal discoveries.

Any exploration into the forest and woods is enhanced when following a tour guide. This book is offered as a tour guide for your personal spiritual journey. So are the spiritual books and stories, the religious practices and self-help gurus, they are all here to help prepare you for the discovery.  From personal experience they tell you what to expect and they can explain what you are likely to see, but ultimately your journey will always be unique to you.

Just as thousands of explorations through the forest and woods have traveled many various routes, the discoveries remain quite similar, yet they are never exactly the same. Everyone is likely to see similar things but each person has unique details to share on their discovery. Some exploration stories can be terrifying and worrisome, but most people who have explored the forest and woods enjoy their journey and are eager to journey again.

When we talk about the spiritual quest we are exploring our own personal internal geography. This journey begins as a small child experiences a fear of the dark. The darkness feels most frightening at bedtime. This internal sensation is often tied to some kind of an external event. It is unlikely to be explained as a spiritual experience to a small child and yet that is exactly what it is.

You can imagine the impacts of such a spiritual experience being completely different to a child raised in a hostile environment where rodents and insect are nightly companions. Compare that to one raised in wealth and comfort who shares a room with siblings or another adult.

If we were to interact with a child during such a fear experience, the ability to comfort the child will likely be conveyed better by those who have had the most traumatic experiences. They are much better equipped by their own attainment, having explored those fear sensations much more deeply. Regardless of how that first spiritual fear experience is assimilated most people are likely to have little fear of dark as an adult. This growth is a spiritual attainment for all those who conquer this first fear.

THE POSITIVE PATH OF EXPLORATION

Most inner triggers of spiritual sensations are amazingly pleasant to children as they explore their world. Sadly, they are not identified as such by a child unless pointed to by an adult acting as a spiritual tour guide. All children begin their lives as empty vessels accumulating physical experiences that make the deepest impressions. Unless encouraged to explore and sense the internal sensations connected to the physical encounters, they are likely to be ignored from conscious consideration. This is why their first trigger of fear becomes their fully conscious connection to spiritual awareness. Fear and suffering is the spiritual sensation that demands that we explore to discover these deep inner states, to avoid triggering them again.

Our spiritual journey is intrinsically partnered with our physical experiences in this world. We cannot separate our spiritual sensations from our physical experiences because they are always connected. We are actively mapping the negative connections because they are the doorways to the spiritual quest.

As humans we have a unique magical spiritual power in that we can explore the spiritual sensations within, without the external physical experience triggers. This is like a magical out-of-body experience and it’s the power of the spiritual path. We can explore within ourselves to discover these spiritual states of inner sensations without the mechanics of an external physical event.  Meaning, like in our forest exploration, we can imagine the fear we would experience if being confronted by a pack of hungry wolves.

WHO IS IN CONTROL OF YOU

This ability to live through imagination was leveraged by mystics and witches to control people by fear through superstition. Today this power has been hi-jacked by Hollywood to provide endless experiences of internal sensations. Storytelling and Main Stream Media narratives are used to trigger these inner sensations without the external consequences. This virtual stimulus robs a person of their own individual consciousness. Instead they are manipulated and controlled by these external forces that distort genuine spiritual awareness.

These are the age-old secrets of magical powers that sadly still control many people today. They have been used to manipulate and control people since the birth of time. They have become the very weapons to oppress people who are not spiritually mature. By connecting to your own spiritually centered inner sensations you are better equipped to avoid being manipulated by these triggering tactics.

Watch out that you do not become hypnotized by the endless digital stimuli encompassing your entire world.  You can watch people being programmed minute by minute as they stare at their digital devices. They are so engaged and yet so unaware of the spiritual treachery being perpetrated on them.  Who is controlling your inner spiritual space?

The truly spiritual person is looking to control and manage their own inner spiritual condition. They monitor themselves through their exploration in self-awareness. By the very definition of the word spiritual, one gets to understand that it is something we cannot see or touch. Thus, the only way we can attain spirituality is by feeling it. The question here is what triggers these sensations and feelings? This is the work we do in the spiritual quest. We discover inside ourselves the tools to manage the optimal life which is spiritually rich with personal experience.

All the things we feel inside minute by minute define our experiences. The most advanced progress we can make on our spiritual journey is in the exploration of areas with the deepest emotions connected to them. All of our internal spiritual sensations impact our life experience. These sensations take on a much more powerful role when we feel them with negative energy. Often people who suffer great personal hardship are much more committed to exploring their spiritual world within themselves.  Those afraid of exploring the negative or who ignore it or seek escape through pleasure experiences are likely to be tormented when these sensations are felt in real-time when their physical experience demands it.    

Most people seem to want and tend to pursue positive experiences. Then is it true that all spiritual sensations are in fact, positive or potentially positive? Here is a secret shared by all those who have traveled and explored the spiritual path in depth. All spiritual sensations and experiences that have a negative connotation associated with them can also be leveraged into positives. Connected to every experience is its opposite, like both side of a coin. Being in tune with ones inner-self provides advanced awareness and better control in advancing confidently in all life situations knowing that everything is fully connected in good. 

The spiritual quest is mastered as you embrace all of these inner sensations and understand that they are a part of your being. Whatever you feel in response to any given situation defines who you are. We are one with nature and we survive as we flow consciously connected with the natural energies and rhythms that encompass our very existence. The quality of our life, we define it for ourselves in every second of our life journey connected to our spiritual experience.

All these inner spiritual sensations and discernments are presented to us in every minute of our lives. They are there to help guide and steer us through life, to become and to experience all that we can perceive. Essentially this is the spiritual path and when fully grasped and embraced is the very point of our life.

In the spiritual quest we do well to recognize and acknowledge them all.  Admit to ourselves that these are special divine tools that empower you. They have been described as magical insights and guardian angels to guide your way through life. You just need to be willing to practice using them on yourself.

YOU ARE ONLY IN CONTROL OF YOU

Everyone needs to respect this one absolute law in nature that we are all unique individuals. Just like no two people in the world have the same fingerprint, no two people in the world have the exact same feelings about anything. They might have the same reactions, they might experience the same outcomes, but everyone will have a uniquely different method of processing what happens in their life.

This same law of nature validates the fact that no two people have the exact same spiritual journey either. When we find ourselves in tune with others we may believe that we share a similar introspection. In the spiritual quest only you are in control of you. All those who walk the spiritual path have chosen to work on themselves, to attain spirituality in an effort to manifest and experience a fulfilling and satisfied life on their own path.

The spiritual perspective on individualism and the importance of diversity is the cornerstone of spiritual connection.  People live all over the planet and certainly present a wide-variety of differences. They look different, they have different cultures and different religions and different ways of doing things.  The perceived differences are always highlighted in our consciousness for clarity. Yet the connections we share in common far outweigh our differences.

Everyone who walks the spiritual path understands that the things which bring us together are just as important to embrace as the things which make us unique and different. When this spiritual perspective is attained one begins to hold genuine love and affection for every person on this planet, regardless of similarities or differences. From the spiritual perspective we are all connected as one big human family. Our unique differences are combined and embraced to the fulfillment and connection of us all.

The spiritual person understands the core concepts of humility, humanity and righteousness. The fact of the matter is that most of us look at others through the lens of what we have attained. We tend to judge based on what we have determined as right and wrong. We look at others through our own societal values and life experiences, making judgments about others. The person who senses they are being judged is immediately on guard. These human animalistic survival instincts need to be over-ridden by our new higher consciousness of spiritual desires for connection. 

The spiritual individual understands that the only way to overcome our own biases is to embrace the environment we encounter with love and acceptance. In a world of conflict, opinions, drama and arguments, what little control we have is inside of us. We really have no control over anything other than embracing whatever we experience with a heart of love and acceptance. The greatest spiritual achievement is connecting and feeling the entire world within us, accepting it as we receive it and being one with our external environment, recognizing that the whole of it is also a part of me.

Chapter 3 Points of View