Human life is a path into the unknown. How to walk along it and where to arrive. who to choose as travel companions, what to focus on, so that the result of the journey meets expectations and bestows upon us the rewards and gifts we deserve. How to distinguish real valuable life gifts from fake ones.
In this article we will try to reveal the depth of the concept of spirituality and realize that it is the light that illuminates the traveler’s path in the darkness and twilight on the beaten roads of life, the energy that gives him the strength to move on when there are almost none left. We will talk about what riches within us can be illuminated by this light and characterize each of them in order to answer the question: “What is the spiritual path?”
What is spirituality
Whether we like it or not, our life is always a path under the influence of two mutually opposing forces: creation and destruction. Our future, and perhaps not only ours, depends on which of them we give preference to or even choose as travel companions. Each of us has a life-giving source inside, only for some it has completely withered away and is overgrown with tall, impassable grass, for others it gushes with the purest springs, flowing from mysterious unexplored depths.
This source is the most important part of each of us. This is our Spirit - the divine inner flame that gives us the strength to live and realize life in its many colors and forms. The answer to the question of this subtitle is our interaction with him: how much we are able to take from him, having drunk the life-giving moisture of wisdom and love of life, and also what we are able to give him in return with our love, caring attitude towards him and caring for the path , through which not only we can come to his living water. Let's talk about this interaction, and also how we can develop in it.
Depending on the life priorities and moral preferences of people, the concept of interaction with our Spirit that we examine is considered by everyone through his subjective internal prisms. But whatever they may be: adherence to certain religions, philosophies, ideological positions, this concept is universal. It contains the essence of the inner nature of man, since man is initially the essence of the spiritual order, because he is the bearer of the Spirit kindled in him by the one who created him.
This powerful Someone not only produced, but also invested in a person a program according to which both the individual and humanity as a whole moves in the direction of the vector of a comprehensive goal given from above. The All-Wise gave his child the right to choose the path forward. But in order to open new horizons and create radiant worlds, the child must reveal in himself the capabilities and functions of his Creator, returning his original image of the magnificent likeness of the Father.
In other words, a person must come to himself, becoming truly spiritual.
Teachers who are always with us
Are there signs by which one can determine the degree of spiritual level? Of course.
But before we start talking about them, I would like to mention three teachers who are always with us:
- body;
- soul;
- Spirit.
Teacher-body
It teaches us to be careful with ourselves, to value our health, and not to get carried away by what can destroy it. A person always has the right to free choice, including his own destruction.
In this world there are three qualities of matter that bring us:
- true good;
- seduced by passions;
- plunge into ignorance.
Through the last two, the forces of destruction act, and at different speeds, making us realize the harmfulness of the chosen path and return to goodness. Our first teacher knows everything about the body and will help you become a universal master—a connoisseur of yourself and your health. To do this, we need to learn to understand him, because both at the initial level of training and at a more advanced level, he often addresses us precisely through bodily pain.
Teacher-soul
Expands the boundaries of understanding of both our internal and external worlds, teaches us to feel the soul of our neighbor. The soul knows everything about our life program and helps us interact with those with whom we have to intersect in our reality. When we have learned the lessons of the first teacher, the second gradually, if we are ready, begins to reveal to us the tools of subtle sensitivity, resorting to resources of a more subtle plan.
By turning to our soul, we can discover in ourselves what has been dormant until now, sometimes surfacing to the surface of consciousness.
We begin to experience insights more often: big and small. Sometimes we discover the ability to understand people at a glance, sometimes feeling what they want to tell us. Gradually, we acquire the ability not only to feel subtly, but also to sincerely sympathize and empathize, and not only with words. Students of this level are sometimes said to be a sincere person.
The soul is a repository of enormous information about all our incarnations, and sometimes it gives an advanced student valuable hints on how to realize oneself more fully and correctly in this life.
Spirit Teacher
This is the most important teacher in our school of life. He knows everything about life. He knows about everything and everyone. It is he who has counted the number of hairs on every head of any inhabitant of the planet, and not just ours, for he is the spark of the Great Flame of Love, which warms countless souls of an unimaginable number of worlds.
This mentor can be called the Voice of Silence, because he can be heard by those who:
- calmed my mind;
- subdued passions;
- opened my soul to the unknown and what is difficult to express in words.
He is like a light breeze, akin to the rustle of grass by a clear stream, like the subtle movement of springs in a source, to which he leaned to drink the living water of knowledge.
What is the spiritual development of a person? We will try to understand this by determining the signs of his spiritual level and how to develop in this direction, going through a number of important stages.
Signs of human spirituality
Well, now is the time to talk about the signs that characterize the degree of spiritual growth of a person.
They can be listed in order reflecting the degree of spiritual awareness:
- Conscientiousness.
- Ability to build harmonious relationships.
- The desire to be useful.
- The desire to become original.
- Humility.
- Gratitude.
- Enlightenment.
Conscientiousness
The main awakening element of our nature is conscience, through which the Spirit knocks on the doors of the soul, shaking the areas of our brain to protect us from wrong and dangerous moves.
Even in the word conscience itself one can hear: “Common message.” This concept is rather a state when a person’s consciousness is able to merge with a consciousness of a higher level, which, with its harmony, increases its vibrations to the extent where it is already difficult for him to commit inharmonious actions, to make a deal with his conscience, and he is already under its protection.
The spiritual growth of an individual and society as a whole is characterized by the degree of correct interaction with one’s environment. Therefore, the next sign characterizing the degree of this growth is not called that for nothing.
Ability to build harmonious relationships
One gradually begins to realize the value of right relationships with others. When belligerence leaves your heart, you begin to move beyond your inner limitations, accepting the world and the people in it as they are. After all, this world was not created by you, and the one who created it, apparently, had good reasons for it to be so.
By fighting with the world without accepting it, you enter into conflict with its Creator. Think about it.
A society in which there are more such people who have accepted peace reduces the number of claims against their neighbors, be it issues of disputed territories or ideological disputes. Inflamed social abscesses begin to dissolve, pressing issues are gradually being resolved. People realize that mutual cooperation is the way to strengthen both sides.
The desire to be useful
Everyone came to earthly life with their own individual program to develop, working on the most important personal qualities. It's never too late to start improving yourself as a person and spiritual unit. The time comes when a person strives to realize himself by finding a more suitable place for himself in society.
But with spiritual growth comes the understanding that there is too little usefulness just for oneself. A person wants to leave his mark on this world. His spiritual manifestation is expressed not by an attempt to feed a sense of self-worth (so that descendants will remember), but by his selfless service. Remember, as in the fairy tale: “Do good and throw it into the water.” But here it is necessary that spiritual eyes be open, so that, while serving someone or in the name of something, you do not become his slave.
Here you need to feel the degree of your true usefulness, feel the line beyond which an overabundance of useful desire can cause harm - and not only to you. An example is overloved children who, already as adults, continue to be dependent on their parents, who have deprived them of the ability to make independent adult decisions. In this case, there is mutual suffering, but the one who stood at the origins of this problem still gets more.
The desire to become original
Probably, the presence of this sign in you indicates that your development is close to the stage of spiritual awakening. You already understand that you are wearing a lot of extra clothes and masks, put on by parents, school, society, forcing us to act in a stereotyped way - like everyone else, and do - as expected.
The spiritual imperfection of social institutions has led to the creation of an artificial world that uses man as a chicken laying eggs. Beyond this painted world there is another - a real one, but in order to get into it, becoming the true creator of your life, you need to get rid of the faces that have grown together with us, and we mistakenly believe that this is us.
Our original nature is spiritual. And if you are ready to change, realizing that taking off each new mask is a painful process that will be accompanied by a rejection of something important to you in the past, a natural rejection - you are already at the door, be prepared for trials, as well as for miraculous transformations .
Humility
It’s already hard for anger and indignation to reach you; you are slowly but surely approaching yourself, throwing away useless masks one after another. The range of your perception of the world has expanded, in which you try to pay attention to what supports the state of presence of harmony in you, although you do not reject what you do not like in the world. You just don't pay attention to it. Your energy is where your thoughts are at the moment and you enjoy thinking about the eternal.
You are mentally balanced and spiritually strong. Thanks to the spiritual balance established within, it is already difficult to knock you out of the saddle, because your faith in the correctness of your actions and trust in the Spirit is incredibly strong. You begin to awaken spiritually.
Gratitude
True gratitude from the heart not only to our neighbors, but, first of all, to the One who created this amazing life on the wonderful planet Earth - a fairly high level of spiritual development. It is a transitional period before real spiritual awakening.
At this time, you continue to improve yourself as a person, but you are already aware of a spiritual being within yourself.
Enlightenment
You have become what you originally were - a conscious spiritual being. Life reveals to you its secret doors, hidden from the uninitiated. She generously shares her real knowledge with you, because she knows that it will be used for the benefit of others, for the benefit of life itself. It's time to create consciously.
Who can be called spiritual
A spiritual person has high moral qualities. He is kind, impartial, honest. His actions always match his words. He only says what he really believes. Often those who preach equality consider themselves superior to others. They call for a simple life, but they themselves live in luxurious houses, wear expensive clothes and jewelry. A spiritual person will not say anything that does not coincide with his actions. He demonstrates his principles in practice by following what is said.
There is a difference between a scientist and a spiritual person. Any person with a well-developed memory can remember the words of the Holy Scriptures and prove something using logic. The scientist argues his theses by referring to other studies. But moral people are self-realized individuals whose knowledge came from within. They themselves become knowledge because they are united with God.
What does it mean to be a spiritually developed person?
Anyone who devotes himself to something for the benefit of his life will certainly develop and improve in this.
If we want to develop spiritually, we need to understand three golden rules:
- value your life as a great gift;
- do not encroach on someone else’s life, as well as on someone else’s experience;
- be grateful.
Through them, our three teachers teach us by creating certain life circumstances, leading us along the path of personal and spiritual growth. Development consists precisely in following these instructions to come to your original spiritual nature.
A person may become a person, or he may not. Is a person capable of following the path of spiritual growth or is the state of social realization in the awareness of what material wealth and volitional qualities she still lacks sufficient?
Society is the best platform for testing a person’s degree of spirituality.
There is a place for everyone:
- morally flawed and astray;
- advancing in development and degrading;
- simply living and socially realized;
- those beginning their first steps on a long ascent to the heights of the spirit and the spiritually enlightened.
However, no matter what stage of social or spiritual development you are at, life will always push you towards development - often with difficulties and problems. She will mirror people, their attitude towards you, and will also show something that is not at all easy to discern in yourself - the degree of your selfishness.
Hard work on yourself is precisely the most valuable because, having taken control of your egoism, curbing the beast in yourself with its passions and belligerence, you begin to develop faster in the spiritual direction.
Improving spiritually means being attentive to the world, listening to what it wants to tell you: be it the actions of people, their attitude towards you, other phenomena and events. However, it is not only your observation, but also your attitude shown in action.
To be spiritually developed means to work on character qualities that correspond to the characteristics discussed above. It is also the ability to stay at the newly discovered stage of development in yourself, becoming a wise explorer of a new ocean unknown to you.
A person has seven main energy centers, seven internal oceans of energy, located from bottom to top - from the tailbone to the crown. Each of them is responsible for the vital activity of certain organs, body systems, and the work of subtle mechanisms of consciousness and subconsciousness.
By exploring these centers, turning to certain practices, and improving in this, we move along the path of knowing not only ourselves, but also something more in ourselves. Gradually we begin to understand that there is no limit to improvement, that it has a beginning, but no end. Consequently, to be developed in this direction means to continuously improve oneself, focusing on inner harmony.
Examples of the functioning of the spiritual sphere
Almost every person has an internal desire to create, preserve and reproduce products of creative activity, the value of which is not of a material, but of a spiritual nature. Therefore, people generate ideas, found new directions in art, create paintings and literary works , and engage in educational and teaching activities.
In essence, the spiritual life of society involves two types of activities:
- Creation of spiritual values. This is any creative activity, as well as research, experiments and other research aimed at obtaining new knowledge and improving existing technologies.
- Preservation and dissemination of spiritual values. These are all actions that a person can carry out with already existing spiritual values: their preservation, reproduction, dissemination and distribution, assimilation and consumption.
The spiritual sphere differs from the rest in that it is based on selfless aspirations. In all other areas, any activity implies obtaining a certain benefit for oneself. And only in the spiritual sphere does a person create intangible values in order to present them to humanity. And the main reward is usually public recognition of the value and importance of the work done (although this does not at all deny receiving material rewards).
Spiritual development of personality
A person who has managed to become an individual is not immune from the fact that, thanks to willpower and the ability to “step over the line,” he chooses the path of a destroyer rather than a creator.
Even if a person is an individual, his willpower is very great, allowing him to implement large-scale business projects with fabulous profits, but his egoism pushes his mind into the far corner, clearing the territory for the activity of a strong mind; this person is still fast asleep spiritually. And perhaps he will break more than one someone’s life before the law of retribution and justice knocks on his contaminated window of the soul with the most difficult trials, pushing a strong personality to the beginning of a spiritual search, and it does not matter whether he is a man or a woman.
We will try to answer what the spiritual development of the individual consists of.
Why does a person need this?
First of all, in order to evolve and move on. Even if a person has extraordinary strong-willed qualities, has managed to make a dizzying career, but does not really take into account the world around him, often contributing to the destruction of life not only within himself, but also outside himself, it is possible that he is not even standing at the doors of his inner temple . To tell the truth, there is no temple yet; perhaps even the foundation is missing. And even if he donates to some parish, but in his head there is self-interest with the intention of getting solid dividends from the investment - such a “believer” is difficult to rank even among the spiritually oriented.
The path of creation and deep awareness begins with the first step. Inner teachers can first allow a person to go down the road of passions and temptations, allowing him to commit crooked actions, perhaps even large-scale mistakes, and sometimes even crimes. After all, sometimes a person, in order to realize the level of his spiritual fall, needs to repent very deeply.
And sometimes it is with repentance that a gradual spiritual ascent begins for someone who has managed to become a person, but has not yet mastered even the basics of spiritual life.
In our materially oriented world, there are certain patterns for achieving personal growth that are not at all oriented towards spiritual values. And it is all the more valuable for the spiritual development of a person to follow true, enduring guidelines. For only thanks to them, a person will be able to get rid of the ballast that pulls him to the bottom with vicious attachments, destructive habits, obsessions and other burdens of excess materiality.
Where to start
You need to start by rethinking your life, accepting that we are not only the body.
It is necessary to recognize that in addition to our material being, there lives in us a spiritual person, who, perhaps, can become an entity of a spiritual order.
You must not be afraid to take a step forward - towards the unknown and the far shore that has not yet been discovered by you. When the winds of change begin to blow in your life, be prepared for the beginning of trials, because this is where your real development will begin.
Where to start spiritual growth
As mentioned above, first you need to realize your eternal nature, at least at the level of speculative philosophizing. To do this, you can read some inspiring books. It is important to understand that trying to capture the highest truth in books is like trying to photograph the wind. The pictures will show anything but the wind itself. Various kinds of scriptures can show us the path of movement, the direction to which we need to pay attention. But you can feel the wind of truth only if you go out into the field yourself.
Almost all religions speak about the immortality of the soul. There are some disagreements in small things, but basically everyone is united: the true nature of man is immortal and not subject to destruction. The issue of the immortality of the soul is discussed in particular detail in the Bhagavad Gita, mainly in the second chapter.
How to develop spiritually
Personal growth of a person, as well as spiritual growth, does not happen on its own. You need to invest your strength, money and soul into them. What could this mean and how to develop in the direction of this very growth? Usually it is more or less clear to people when they talk about the spiritual formation of personality associated with religion or some other near-religious trend. It is even understandable when they talk about spirituality in philosophy, because philosophy is precisely concerned with the study of the laws of development of life in various forms of its manifestation: nature, society, understanding of existence. Despite the somewhat vague concept, you can find its definition, and more than one. But where to start this very development?
Everyone has their own idea of life, the path to follow it is different, and yet, there are some common ways through which a person moves along the path of spiritual growth. The following can be distinguished.
Finding meaning through books
Sooner or later, a person asks questions of meaning: why am I here, what is the purpose of my stay, why am I doing what I don’t like? He looks for smart books and collects wisdom in them bit by bit. For some, these are experiences of first contact with the unknown, while others find temporary oblivion in this, detachment from vain thoughts and alternating everyday problems. But from this moment, Providence begins to work with the seeker, throwing him catching literature and introducing unusual thoughts into his consciousness.
Self-knowledge
A person continues to be driven by interest - but who is he?
But, even after studying the basics of anatomy and physiology, reading a lot of spiritual and other literature, the interested person does not find answers to the questions that concern him:
- what is thought;
- where does it come from;
- where emotions originate;
- what the unactivated 95-97% of the brain hides;
- how to come to God - preferably quickly.
Immersing himself in himself, he increasingly begins to understand that answers to the questions that concern him can be found not only in textbooks and the Internet. His activity moves into the area of internal search. He had already read about some spiritual practices and psychotechnics, sometimes even tried something. But there was no depth. It's time for a deeper dive.
Charity
When a person has enough vitality to move up the ladder of spiritual ascent, when he has accumulated a considerable potential of internal forces, and he feels that he is able to share them with others without loss to himself, a new qualitative leap occurs in his development. This is facilitated by what is called charity - creating good for others without selfish intent.
Prayers and Meditations
A person strives to meet the unknown in the depths of his essence in order to better understand himself. Resorting to prayer means trying to establish a connection between yourself and the power that, in its unconditional love for you, creates the necessary motives for you, bringing the moment of your conscious meeting closer.
Meditation helps a person mastering the technique of spiritual ascent to expand the range of reality he perceives and the boundaries of his consciousness, concentrate on something important, touch the feeling of omnipresence and multidimensionality, and experience altered states of consciousness. A person begins to feel that the universal oceans of energies inside are incomparable compared to what he perceives with ordinary vision from the outside.
Environment selection
The spiritual evolution of a person, going through the stages of gradation of his personality, leads to significant changes not only inside, but also outside. A person changes in appearance. His eyes may begin to radiate a light of joy. Those around such a person begin to feel a surge of freshness, an influx of causeless joy.
A person’s environment can also change noticeably, because he himself favors communication with those who share his desire for the spiritual. And gradually the spiritually developing person chooses an environment that helps maintain the state in which his spiritual processes take place.
Just live, smile and give thanks
What we are talking about is not only pronouncing the sacred names of God, turning to him, trying to understand him, adhering to common spiritual truths, which are spelled out differently in each spiritual movement, but usually speak about one thing. The level of spiritual formation can be determined by how a person treats simple everyday duties and in what state he performs them. In other words, can a person simply live and enjoy life?
Try to smile more often, thanking God for the greatest miracle of life that he has given you.
This video is another look at where to start.
Impact of the Spiritual World
It's constant. Before the Resurrection and Ascension, it was very difficult for Angels to help people.
The angel who appeared to the prophet Daniel says that he delayed for several weeks because the prince of Persia, that is, a demon operating in Persia, did not let him through. And only when Archangel Michael came to the rescue was the Angel able to come to Daniel.
After the Ascension, the enemy is deprived of its former power and cannot harm a Christian if he goes to God.
Now Angels and saints are constantly involved in the lives of many people. The goal is the salvation of people, the fulfillment of God’s desire: “so that everyone can be saved and come into the mind of truth.”
(Told by Archimandrite Cyprian, abbot of the monastery of St. Cyprian and Justina. Fili, Greece):
“About four years ago we received a call with a request to give the Holy Mysteries to an elderly woman, a widow living in the suburbs of Athens. She was an old calendarist and, being almost completely bedridden, could not go to church. Although we usually do not perform such services outside the monastery and direct people to the parish priest, nevertheless, in this case I had some feeling that I had to go, and, having prepared the Holy Gifts, I left the monastery.
I found a sick woman lying in a poor room: having no funds of her own, she depended on neighbors who brought her food and other necessary things.
I placed the Blessed Sacrament and asked her if she wanted to confess anything. She replied: “No, over the past three years there is nothing on my conscience that has not already been confessed, but there is one old sin that I would like to tell you about, although I have confessed it to many priests.” I replied that if she had already confessed it, she should not do it again. But she insisted, and this is what she told me.
When she was young and newly married, about 35 years old, she became pregnant at a time when her family was in a very difficult situation. The rest of the family insisted on an abortion, but she flatly refused. Nevertheless, in the end she succumbed to her mother-in-law’s threats, and the operation was performed.
The medical supervision of the underground operations was very primitive, as a result of which she suffered a serious infection and died a few days later, unable to confess her sin.
At the moment of death (and this was in the evening), she felt that her soul was being separated from her body in the way it is usually described: her soul remained nearby and watched as the body was washed, dressed and placed in a coffin. In the morning she followed the procession to the church, watched the funeral service and saw how the coffin was placed in a hearse to be taken to the cemetery. The soul seemed to be flying above the body at a low altitude.
Suddenly, two, as she described, “deacons” in shining surplices and orarions appeared on the road. One of them was reading a scroll. As the car approached, one of them raised his hand and the car froze. The driver got out to see what happened to the engine, and meanwhile the Angels began to talk among themselves. The one who held the scroll, which undoubtedly contained a list of her sins, looked up from reading and said: “It’s a pity, there is a very serious sin on her list, and she is destined for hell because she did not confess it.” “Yes,” said the second, “but it’s a pity that she has to be punished because she didn’t want to do it, but her family forced her.” “Very well,” replied the first, “the only thing that can be done is to send her back so that she can confess and repent of her sin.”
At these words, she felt that she was being dragged back into the body, for which she at that moment felt indescribable disgust and disgust. A moment later, she woke up and began knocking from inside the coffin, which was already closed. One can imagine the scene that followed. After listening to her story, which I outlined here briefly, I gave her Holy Communion and left, praising God, who gave me the gift of hearing this...” (Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose). The soul after death. St. Petersburg, 1994).
Saint Theophan the Recluse compares prayer to an electric wire that instantly transmits a current - a signal. This is, of course, an analogy, but the spiritual world continually influences the physical universe.
A girl of about 12 years old from a Sunday school of a certain church in Ukraine told me: when there was a fire in their house, she dreamed of her Guardian Angel and woke her up.
Why do most people not feel the spiritual world? Because people do not live spiritually and brightly. The sinner connects with the dark side of the spiritual world and feels depressed, despondent, and sad.
Stages of spiritual development
A spiritually developing person goes through several stages in his development.
The main ones:
- Sleep mode.
- Spiritual awakening.
- Conscious creation.
Sleep mode
Everything starts somewhere. We make our first spiritual attempts when we begin to do this more or less consciously, but so far only in the mode of spiritual sleep. What is characteristic of this “sleep mode”? Let's take a look by simulating a hypothetical situation.
In our life, everything seems to be set up: a house with all the amenities, a good car, a dacha in a picturesque place, a good job, which I don’t really like, but it pays better here than in other similar institutions. The family is also okay: a pretty wife, two preschool-age children. And it seems like, why grieve, live and be happy. But there is no happiness. Following your mother’s advice, you even went to church a couple of times and tried your best to turn to God. In vain! You begin to blame fate for depriving you of something. Good work begins to bother the boss, who just yesterday looked through you as through glass in an interior door. Something happened to the wife, it was as if she had been replaced, reproaches were pouring in like from a cornucopia, the children began to get sick more often. Life clearly wants something from you, but what?
This means that you have come to the line, and in order to cross it, you need to change somehow. It is necessary to begin to reconsider your life, your attitude towards it, to determine what is a priority in this hectic flow. You are still sleeping, but from now on you have taken the first step along the path of spiritual development.
This wise organism of our material universe is designed in such a way that when some system comes into balance, a force appears that strives to bring it out of this state, thereby pushing it towards its further development.
The same thing happened to you. Life, using the people around you, rocks you, mired in the routine of everyday life, for further spiritual growth. You, reconsidering your attitude towards life, suddenly understand that it is necessary and possible to live differently, greeting every day with a smile, rejoicing in the fact that life has gifted you immeasurably, because there are so many examples of crippled, unhappy destinies nearby. And also - you begin to accept people as they are.
This is the first step, after overcoming which you will reach a new level of awareness, temporarily bringing the shaken system into balance.
Good morning (spiritual awakening)
And so - step by step, step by step, one climbs the ladder of spiritual ascent. At each of the new steps, you will have to discover something new and unusual in yourself for yesterday’s you, because you will begin to turn inside yourself more often - to your soul, to your Spirit.
You will move under the constant guidance of your teachers and assistants assigned from above. In this upward movement, a feeling will gradually awaken within you - what methods are more acceptable for you in knowing the inexplicable and original, knowing yourself, and through the soul and Spirit - God in yourself. Somehow, by itself, your humanity will expand to the size of a family, a street, a residential area, and maybe further. The world will begin to be perceived as it exists, and you will have no complaints about the world, suddenly beginning not only to understand the word “humility”, but also to feel it with all your heart. War in all forms of its manifestation will leave the heart, giving way to love.
But you need to remember that every step is serious work on yourself, your egoism. You will have to make efforts, but believe me, they will pay off with interest, replenishing the treasury of imperishable spiritual wealth.
The pursuit of self-knowledge is a direct path to spiritual awakening. The work of the Spirit in this state changes the scale of human values.
Conscious Creation
So, you have come to yourself, your spiritual awakening has occurred. Now you consciously stand in the service of life and the One who sent you to this world, giving you the opportunity to make your main choice, approaching the imperishable. The door is open. You can enter the worlds of universal harmony.
Continuing to live in this world, but having moved to a new spiritual level, a spiritually transformed person begins conscious creation, continuing to learn wisdom, discovering a source of unconditional love in his heart, pouring out this love on others, contributing to their spiritual growth.
Conscious creation lies in the fact that a person awakened by the Spirit, seeing the causes of the phenomena of this world, which he discovers, coming into contact with their consequences, can bring something amazing into the world with his creativity. This can be that great gift that will contribute to the spiritual leap of a group of people or even humanity, having a beneficial impact on the life of the entire planet. Perhaps, thanks to his great creativity, the priorities leading to the decline of civilization will gradually change to new, creative ones, enlightened by the light of his unconditional love for this world. And people will gradually begin to appreciate what is truly incorruptible.
Hell
Hell is, first of all, the state of the soul of the unsaved, but also a certain place where lost souls are located before the Last Judgment.
God and the saints embrace hell with their love and do everything to ensure that its inhabitants are saved.
Hell is a place where people cannot see each other. Everyone there seems to be alone and there is no one around. This is the ultimate projection and embodiment of human egoism. When we pray for those in hell, they get the opportunity to see its other inhabitants, that is, for the first time they see people in people.
Elder Paisios of Athonite said: contemplating hell, he noticed that only 30% of people in it are in a demonic state and blaspheme God, and the majority want to repent.
The Church’s prayers for the dead are based on the possibility of salvation from hell. On Pentecost, the church prays “for those in hell.” And they get help.
There is a certain antinomy here. The Holy Fathers (John of Damascus) say that repentance is impossible in hell.
But church prayers for those in hell can be effective not from the outside (after all, this is a state of soul, and then a place), but from the inside. And for salvation, only repentance is necessary. This means that you can still repent in hell. Obviously, it is the prayer for someone who has gone to hell that leads his soul to such an opportunity and such a desire, softens the soul, and gives it the strength to repent.
Criteria for spiritual wealth
Let's figure out what it means to be a spiritually rich person. Even the word rich makes it clear that truly rich is the one in whom there is a lot of God. What can be classified as real spiritual wealth, some of which will remain with a person even after his physical death?
This:
- humanity;
- education;
- history of the family and homeland;
- faith;
- awareness;
- unconditional love;
- inner peace.
Humanity
Expressed in a humane attitude towards living beings. Humanism often acts as a lifeline when public opinion reaches a dead end. Continue the war until a victorious end or stop, thereby saving thousands of lives. Even if it means sacrificing something, taking control of your ambitions.
Education and sophistication
A truly educated person already has the necessary qualities for spiritual development: hard work, responsibility for his actions, a broad outlook that will help him not to become a slave, but also not to be a slave owner. And, of course, the desire to create through constant improvement of oneself as an individual and acquiring true knowledge that strengthens and improves not only his life.
History of the family and homeland
Not only the desire to understand oneself, but also the awareness of oneself as part of something larger: a race, a people, humanity. Careful attitude towards the heritage of ancestors, the history of one’s family and the Motherland as a whole. Understanding that we are connected to our ancestors by a long chain of continuity, and that the mistakes of the past can be eliminated not by condemning those who made them, but by not repeating these mistakes in the present and preventing them in the future.
Faith
Not to be confused with religiosity. Faith is not a set of ritual techniques and techniques, it is true knowledge that lives in the heart of everyone. The knowledge that there is something greater than this world itself is all-wise, all-loving, capable of containing everyone, comforting and warming in times of serious trials, guiding one to goodness. And it doesn’t matter what church a person attends, what philosophy he professes, what worldview he is guided by.
The main thing is that he knows: this power can be turned to. She will guide you and advise you, reward you according to your deeds and show you the right path. And here the main thing is not in a person’s faith, but in his trust in this powerful force. Trust arises from knowledge, personal experience of interaction with this force, tested by time.
Mindfulness
Awareness of all your actions and deeds, constant observation of yourself: behavior, emotions, reactions to external stimuli, comparison of yourself yesterday with those who we are today. A deep understanding that we are beings of a spiritual order, a desire for our own internal improvement.
Unconditional love
Love that does not require anything in return, love that does not take, but gives. Not affection, not falling in love, but great unselfish love. This world is influenced by powerful light forces; it penetrates our window with the sun's rays, with which the Sun absolutely disinterestedly warms us.
Inner peace
This is expressed in internal balance or balance of all its internal opposites. A person consists of a complex of mutually opposite energies (anger - kindness, generosity - stinginess, hard work - laziness). If in our life we come at least in some way closer to our internal balance, we will take these achievements, albeit very modest, into the unknown.
Perhaps now it has become clearer to us what true enrichment is.
About finding the meaning of life
The spirituality of a person is always determined by the extent to which he thinks about the meaning of life. Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl argued that such reflections are the spiritual core that distinguishes normal people from those who suffer from any pathologies.
A person discovers the problematic nature of his existence and experiences the ambiguity of his life. During certain periods of life, these issues become the most “acute”, which speaks of spiritual quests.
A deep mental shock can lead to a search for the meaning of life. Regardless of the reasons and the chosen path of spiritual development of the individual, such quests are an indicator of the meaningfulness of life and personal development. The existence of a person is not meaningless, and until consciousness leaves him, he must realize his values and bear responsibility.
A person’s “justification” of his true destiny occurs through experience, through trial and error. The conditioning of mental programs is eliminated when certain experiences and emotions and feelings associated with them arise. Until a person curbs his mind and learns to be aware of the games of the mind, unity with the spirit will be incomplete.
It is equally important to establish a connection with your own body, learn to hear it, develop feeling and purposefully use the mind. These skills will help you get rid of dissonance in feelings and self-perception and help you achieve complete spiritual harmony.
Unresolved problems and conflicts are barriers to spiritual growth
Any unresolved emotional conflict is an obstacle to the development of spirituality and expansion of consciousness. Therefore, such problems need to be solved voluntarily, and we need to learn to take responsibility for our behavior, beliefs and relationships.
In the first stage of emotional growth, a person takes responsibility for his actions, which leads to spiritual development. If a person continues to blame other people for his misfortunes and problems, he cannot resolve his emotional conflicts, as a result of which spiritual blocks are created.
Between responsible subjects and those who avoid this responsibility, misunderstandings, strong tensions, and unconscious reactions arise, creating tense relationships. A person needs to learn to maintain self-awareness in such situations, especially in relationships with loved ones, which will allow them to remove emotional blockages.
Many dysfunctional behaviors and reactions are formed in early childhood and are reflected as unhealed traumas and wounds in adulthood. As a result, concepts such as love, sex and emotional needs can be confused with abusive behavior with a lack of boundaries.
If this dysfunction is not corrected, deviations will distort and define actions and interpersonal relationships. A person with a dysfunctional pattern feels disconnected from the world, unloved, experiences sexual distress, and is unable to satisfy emotional needs for communication and set personal boundaries. Therefore, on the path of spiritual growth, the subject needs to heal his personal emotional traumas, which can inhibit all areas of self-development.
One of the important stages of spiritual development is the creation of a space of Love-Wisdom in your closest environment (loved one, parents and children). Otherwise, the imaginary flight to freedom will further distance the individual from taking responsibility for his life, the ability to manage it and achieving true freedom. In other words, by avoiding pressing problems, changes and transformations in the first main circle of life connections, a person falls even more into mental slavery.
Close communication with parents and their children helps a person learn life lessons. If you do not realize and go through them, it is impossible to achieve a new level of spiritual development. Consequently, personality problems act as a trigger to launch a wave of spiritual quest.
And what's the end result?
What can happen to us if we are diligent in mastering the lessons of our three teachers and develop ourselves comprehensively?
This should lead us to the following results:
- health promotion;
- personal growth;
- happiness;
- the emergence of meaning in life;
- reconciliation;
- self-realization.
Health promotion
Naturally, we will gain good health by learning to put ourselves in excellent physical condition, thanks to the practices and exercises that the teacher-body will tell us. He will help us learn to enjoy our body without any damage to it.
Personal growth
The second teacher will reveal to us the real wealth of the soul, the true diamonds of the inner world, and will teach us to feel more subtly about ourselves and our surroundings. After some time, we will suddenly notice obvious changes in ourselves, thanks to which our personal growth has occurred.
We, figuratively speaking, have become head and shoulders above our former selves. We learn about this from the mirror. It is our immediate environment. It will also be revealed that these changes in ourselves are important not only for us, but also for our neighbors, because their lives have also become better. This may mean that we are learning lessons.
Happiness
When we finally learn to understand our third teacher, turning to him every day - with prayer or just a word, having clearly felt the feedback, we will learn that there is always a place for happiness in this world. We are deeply aware that it can be real, independent of material enrichment: the thickness of a wallet and the brand of a car, the presence of real estate and connections in the government. That it also does not depend on our social status or ideological predisposition. After all, in reality, it is a subtle spiritual state of the presence of inner light.
Meaning of life
Our life will open up to us with other amazing meanings, and our word will become truly alive. In life, a deep understanding of its essence will appear for us, perhaps even our spiritual program of the earthly path will be revealed to us.
Reconciliation
Our heart will become open to the world, there will be no place in it for war and aggressiveness, hatred and malice in any form. We accept him as he is and find our true location with him, in other words: “we reconcile.”
Self-realization
Now we understand what we are truly capable of. The most rational and competent application of our physical and spiritual forces is revealed to us. Our self-realization is the result of painstaking hard work on ourselves. We realize ourselves not so much for our own sake, but for something greater and joyful for everyone.
A conscientious student of the school of life will be able to find his inner balance, without highlighting any of his deepest natures, finding reconciliation with everything and humility in everything. New paths of creation and co-creation will open up for him with those who walk alongside, filling the space with a single rhythm of joy, bringing joy to the One who looks at the world he created from the unknown, as well as from every awakened heart.
