Recently in Spiritual Growth Category

Anyway, I was with a group of people (perhaps 50-60) and we were doing a group meditation off one of the trails (Bunny Flats, I think) and during that meditation, we were told to go within and connect with our heart, etc. One of the other things that is important to learn is to listen to the promptings, intuition, feelings, etc that come to us from within. Too many times, we think that our answers have to come from external sources (and many times they do), but we should also confirm those with what we feel inside.

So, after the group meditation, everyone was told that the next experience was a more personal one. Everyone was to separate and go to wherever they were told to go. So, it was quite interesting to see 50+ people just spread out going off the paths to wherever they were told to go. Many people had some neat experiences and I was one of those who did, although I was not anticipating the kind of experience I was to have. I really wanted to have a special experience there and I kept asking, "Where should I go now?" and I would get answers to go this rock, or to that tree or over that hill. I finally came to a place where I felt I should stop and meditate and pray.

As I was sitting there praying, I noticed that there were some large black ants crawling on me, and it was kind of bugging me because they were interrupting my train of thought. It was at that moment that the thought came to me, "Let the ants crawl on you"... I was shocked to get an impression like that. Never, in my wildest dreams would I just let ants crawl on me, if I could help it. But, I thought I should go with that and follow that prompting. So, I just sat there and the ants started to crawl on my legs, arms and hands. I thought that I would get bit for sure, but they weren't biting me. It was still hard to just let them crawl on me. I had some ants crawl into my shirt sleeve and each new area of unexplored territory they found seemed to get my heart racing a little more. Then, I would relax and as the minutes passed, I became more used to it. I'm not saying that I enjoyed it, just that the fear would subside for a while and the fear would be replaced with peace. For about 20-30 minutes, I allowed these ants to crawl all over my body, simply trusting in God that I would not get bit. My fear turned to peace and tears started to flow from my eyes as I gained a greater appreciation and love for these little creatures. There were probably 25 of them crawling all over my skin for that time period, and yet, I did not get bit once. It is hard to describe, but the experience was a transforming one for me and perhaps in some small way, reduced my dependency on fear, replacing it with love.

I recently read about an initiation ceremony that was used anciently in Egypt to help people reduce/eliminate fear. These Egyptians understood that Fear was a barrier that prevented people from ascending into a higher consciousness. So they spent many years training their students until finally they came to one particular challenge to assess where there students were at. This is what they did:

There was a small hole, just large enough to fit one person. Within that hole was water and it was pitch black. The student was instructed to swim down into the hole that was filled with water and find another way out. That was all they were told. As the student swam straight down, there were ledges that jutted into the column of water, so the student had to carefully navigate himself/herself downwards. At about 20 feet, the wall on one side opened up and the student was able to swim underneath it to a section that was lighted. So, as the student enters this area, he/she starts to swim upward and that is when it becomes apparent that there are many alligators within the pool of water. However, because the student is about to run out of air at this point, he/she has to go up in between the alligators in order to get air. What the student doesn't know is that all of the alligators were already fed, so it is unlikely that the alligators would attack the student. Regardless, it would be quite the "Fear Factor" adventure. Then to top it off, the student is told that he/she failed because there was a different exit point than the one they used. So, after more training, the student enters the dark abyss again (knowing that there are alligators) and find the opening at the bottom of the wall on the other side, which is also pitch black and go up through that.

Although I doubt I'll ever go through that kind of "overcoming fear" adventure, I think the topic of overcoming fear is interesting and important in our spiritual development. There are so many fears that we have that can stifle our growth. They say the #1 fear of all people is speaking in public, followed by death. But there are so many other fears, such as fear of germs/diseases, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of opening yourself up to someone and communicating your true feelings, etc.

But rather than list all of the various kinds of fear, I would like to point out an example that I like to think about. Remember when Christ walked on the water? He wasn't the only one who did. Peter also walked on the water (at least for a little while) and then he sunk in the water. And then Jesus asked Peter the question, "Why do you fear?".... So, it is apparent that it was the fear within Peter that caused an abrupt halt to Peter's miraculous feat. Although we would expect Jesus, to be able to perform a miracles such as that, the fact that Peter was able to do it is amazing because it helps me to understand that I, too, have the capacity to perform miracles and fear is the number one enemy that gets in the way of our spiritual advancement. The Egyptians understood this and that is why I believe they were so focused on helping people face their fears and then overcome them. Christ was not fearful, even in the face of death... and if we can even come a little closer to overcoming more of our own fears, we will become more like Christ and only accelerate our spiritual growth. In the next blog post, I'm going to share an experience I had that deal with facing my own fears.

I often wonder about how people come to a knowledge as to what is true and what isn't. It seems like much of what is considered true is simply based on the general (or perceived) consensus as to what is true. For example, if the majority of any group of people believe a certain way, it becomes an accepted belief held by the majority of people. But, history has proven, time and time again, that an accepted belief system held by the majority of people does not guarantee truth. In Christopher Columbus' time, the accepted theory was that the Earth was flat. We look back and think, "yeah, that obviously wasn't true", but the fact was at the time, the majority of the people did believe that. So, here you have someone who comes and challenges an accepted belief, and says, "No, the Earth really is round"... and to me I am in awe of people who seek and find truth, despite the fact that the majority are holding onto a different (and incorrect) belief system.

It takes guts to stand up for truth when you are in the minority. Oftentimes, that one person is ridiculed as a fanatic, whacko, conspiracy theorist, nut job, etc. There are many names given to people who question the accepted belief systems of society. But it seems to me that you would also have to apply those names to any inventor, any person who instituted positive change, in other words, people who have made a real difference in this world. Are they all lunatics too because they didn't "jump on the bandwagon"? These kinds of people say... "Hey, there is a better way to how things are being done, and I am going to find the way"... Then they search and with their searching, they discover a better way than how things were being done before. These are true seekers of truth.

But the question that I find myself asking is whether people are accepting a certain belief system based on what the majority of people believe to be true or do they accept truth based on what they know to be true from within. I believe that we can all know the truth, if we ask and we have a strong desire to find out. However, I think it is important to not let our ability to "know truth" be dictated by the likes of mainstream media or other people who may not be inspired. In the Bible, it says, "Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you". Is that really true? Do you really believe that you can know truth simply by asking a question.

Perhaps you are a hard core "left brain" person who has to have proof in order to believe. What I have found is that many times the proof that you think you are seeking is actually a barrier to being able to accept a truth that is not supported by the majority of the people. The issue isn't the proof because you can always find something that seems to support the incorrect belief that you are holding on to. The issue is the openness of your heart because if you open your heart to God, then you allow truth to flow to you from within... You get to a point where you just know. And that is the greatest proof you can have.

Try letting go of your left brain focus and allow your heart to open up to what is really true. I believe that within the last 10-15 years, people all over the world are "waking up" to the truth around them. The lies that have been told to us for decades & even centuries are starting to become unraveled. Truth is shining forth in a major way. Accept and believe it because you have asked and you have that "knowingness" from within.

Perhaps its just me, but it seems like modern society places an emphasis on doing too many things ..... and by doing all these things, we are somehow better because we were able to accomplish more. We are bombarded with things we need to do. But no matter how much stuff we do, we always have some stuff that doesn't get done. So, we give ourselves a guilt treatment and then we start the next day, doing the same things over and over again. Some days we get a lot done, so we give ourselves a pat on the back. But despite having all the latest gadgets, such as palmpilots, Franklin planners, Priority lists, etc., we somehow end up feeling stressed, overwhelmed, overworked and unhappy. Is that what our life has become? I, for one, believe that the emphasis on doing so many things is overrated. We've got to have balance in our lives and we can't get caught up in the misconception that "doing" a large number of tasks is equal to success or happiness. What I would like to propose is that in all of our doing that we consider what we are becoming... Of course, I am not suggesting that we stop doing things. We have to do things, but based on my experience, I have found myself many times trying to do "too many" things and thereby creating imbalance in my life. There is a time and place for everything... But one thing that helped me to realize this is what is commonly referred to as the "BeAttitudes" in the Bible.... Notice here that they are not referred to as the "DoAttitudes"... The "Be" is there for a reason. I will say it again, "In all of our doing, we must consider what we are becoming"... Is it possible to do good things but not become a better person from it?... Of course, it is.... for example, how many times do we go help someone, but we do it out of obligation and inside our heads, we are really wishing we weren't there... as opposed to having a sincere desire to help that person.

If our focus is on becoming a person who would help someone out of pure Christ-like love, then the "doing" is automatic... and how much you "got done" is irrelevant because your actions stemmed from the Christ-like person you have become... So, when Christ talks about "Blessed are the poor in Spirit, blessed are the meek, blessed are the merciful," He is talking about the type of people we can become, if we choose. Perhaps this can help to ease our minds as we go through the struggles of trying to get our long list of tasks completed.