sherylraincarter

Spiritual Living In The Modern World cont.

The drive or impulse to grow comes from the deepest level of our being and is also the same instinct that causes a seed to sprout. The impulse to grow expresses itself in many different ways depending on one’s own personal make-up but includes a desire for self-understanding, knowledge and personal growth, the urge to discover & create, the wish to help others and the quest for answers about life and its purpose.

Spiritual living means acting consciously and taking responsibility for our behavior, thoughts, and emotions, as well as our relationships with others and the Natural World in which we live. It is an awareness of the way in which we choose to lead our lives that enables us to Shine Our Spiritual Light as a beacon into the dark recesses of our vast universe and unite as One Spiritual family. 

What has been coined “New Age” is merely a Re-Awakening or Re-Membering of the ways of our Ancestors. Gone are the days of living in the shadows; worrying about being shunned or outcast due to your beliefs or spiritual practices. 

We are engaging with the current shift in consciousness and awareness in mainstream science, philosophy, and religion toward the acceptance of a Living Universe where exists an underlying Conscious & Intelligent matrix of energy that receives and interacts with our thoughts. 

The options available for spiritual practice are as varied as the human species itself, and are useful in adding spice to life; the world would be a very boring place indeed if we had no flavors to chose from. 

Weather you choose to follow a particular doctrine, a specific discipline, a certain way of worship & prayer, or you meditate, chant or practice specific postures and movements are less important than the way in which you choose to walk it. Walking a spiritual practice involves learning what it means to be of service and being willing to give of oneself in the pursuit of growth & learning. This pursuit is making our world a better place to be and is never undertaken purely for the purpose of personal gain. As we follow any path, remaining open and receptive (questioning) is the mark of spiritual living. Learning can and does happen in any given moment. 

Do you need a teacher or a guru to practice spiritual living? As we discussed, living a spiritual life is one in which you remain open and receptive.  Therefore, the answer is simple. If you feel your practice would be furthered by the assistance and experience of an advisor then I say “Go for it”, with one proviso.  When you walk with an advisor, walk beside him or her rather than behind him or her. In this way you are creating footsteps rather than walking in them. Spiritual living is an experiential journey and learning is an individual process, which no one can do for you.

Living a spiritual life is not so much about reaching a specific goal rather growing, becoming and experiencing connection with the Spirit of All Creation. 

If we think of this life journey as a wheel with each spoke representing different knowledge, different doctrines, practices or beliefs, different creeds, classes and colors, different places, scents and flavors then we can begin so see that our journey from rim to rim and spoke to spoke offers a varied and personal way of experiencing and interacting with the life around us. In this way we can also begin to see that each spoke is a necessary component of the wheel of life and without all the spoke the wheel of life would become flat and no longer roll. Therefore, one spoke is no more important than the others, they work in concert with the rim to form the wheel. Just as we operate in concert with the people, plants, animals d elements around is to form the world in which we live.

© Sheryl Rain Carter