“The process of awakening is not one in which a definitive threshold is crossed and one is then enlightened, transformed, or ascended. Spiritual growth is not focused on a destination, but rather, on the journey itself.” Oneness, Rasha
Do you feel you are enlightened? Do you believe that your spiritual journey is on-going or that there is a goal you hope to reach? How do you stay connected to your spiritual self?
I’m the sort of person who keeps lists and enjoys checking items off when I complete them. It reinforces my sense that I have accomplished something. I often wish that my spiritual journey were that neat – that there were various levels at which I could clearly see what I’ve accomplished. But it just isn’t like that.
Remain Open to New Experiences
Enjoying the on-going journey of life requires us to remain flexible and open to new ideas and new experiences. The reality is that even driving across country following a plan and a map we may have to make adjustments and take detours. A rock slide, sink hole or flooded river may force us to find another route – to try to drive through this disaster would be insane. So why do we think that our lives and spiritual journeys must follow a neat, unchanging pattern?
Many Practices Can Awaken Us To Oneness
If the journey is on-going, and by virtue of being a journey, it requires movement, how do we manage that? Oneness states, “Know that the truth you seek is within you.” Some find that connection through meditation, prayer, chanting, experiencing nature, or any number of spiritual practices. All these practices can lead us inward to our own center where we are One with Oneness or Spirit.
Separation Is An Illusion
Of course, we never are separate from Spirit. That separation is an illusion created by our egos when fear intrudes, and for the moment or for months we may lose our sense of connection unless we have a daily practice that keeps us tuned to the inner frequency. But when we do lose that connection, finding it again is part of the journey too, and it is especially challenging in our busy world.
Looking down from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Craggy Gardens. Photo taken with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 in Yancey County, North Carolina, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway, near my home, requires travelers to be flexible, especially this year with the torrential rains we’ve had. Areas are often closed due to rock slides or portions of the mountain sliding onto the roadway. There are often detours – the straight path is just not always available. So, we have to travel alternative routes and eventually we are able to get back on the Parkway. In the meantime, we see towns and landscapes we’ve never seen before. We may find that those routes will lead us to other places we would like to go that we were not aware of before we took the detour.
A Spiritual Journey Leads Us Deeper
Our journey is like that too. We have to be willing to embrace change when it appears in our lives. If I were to draw a diagram of my journey, it would resemble a series of spirals intertwined. I explored the mind/body connection through dance, meditation, how to release my fear, Unity and Science of Mind principles, and I’ve always been close to nature. After exploring one area, practicing it, and finding the value in it, I would reach a point where there was still a longing for more or a question that could not be answered.
There were also moments of depression. I would think, “I’m practicing the principles. Why aren’t they working?” But with time those principles became a part of me, contributing to my wholeness, becoming another piece in the puzzle. There were many experiences of losing jobs, loved ones, and security. Each experience forced me explore my core and go inward once again to the places where I knew I needed to do my deepest healing. And when it seemed nothing could alleviate the sadness or disappointment, I would once again have to let go of my expectations and be willing to let go of what was not serving me and face the unknown.
Oneness Is Always At Our Core
But at our cores, Oneness is always there whether we are aware of it or not. Because of that, we can always return to it. We have to let go of our busy routines, our anger, our hurt—any resistance that keeps us from just being, because it is only when we are just being that we can truly find Oneness and heal ourselves in that silence and love. These moments are the rest stops on the journey that renew us. They are the moments when we are finally still enough to hear the guidance that has been trying to get through to us so that we know what path would be most beneficial.
Life is a process just like Nature. The seasons change; each brings a different experience, and each experience brings us a new opportunity to learn, to explore, and to journey where we have never been before. Where we are now is merely one experience of the journey, and there are many more to come that will bring us a broader and deeper understanding of our spiritual lives.
© 2013 Georganne Spruce ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5
Related Articles: How We Can Grow Through Spirit, Edgar Cayce and Oneness, Oneness by Rasha
Awakening to the Dance 