Thousandroads

I'm gonna mention my motivation for pursuing the spiritual journey. I was actually planning a mega entry today outlining all the different paths, tools, and terrains out there...but I changed my mind. It is too overwhelming (still figuring out how to blog)! So, I'm gonna stick with simply answering why I am on the spiritual path.

To recap what I mentioned last time, this path is an adventure in all senses of the word, except that we are exploring ourselves instead of the outside world, and we are pursuing results beyond anything we can imagine. Sages and mystics describe the result of the spiritual path as the achievement of eternal peace, wisdom, happiness, and universal love flowing through each particle of our being -- you may not buy it, but you certainly can't beat it!

People label this state "Enlightenment", "Awakening", "Union with God", Eternal Bliss", "Genuine Existence", or "Ground of All Being". Whatever phrase we use for it, the ones who have centered in it describe it as the highest state we can achieve.

What more could we want, right? Well, we won't necessarily *want* more than this, but we also still have an inescapable impulse to take this "Enlightenment" through our life and environment. So it isn't about sitting around pursuing eternal happiness all day -- it is about sharing energy and wisdom with everyone (and everything) around us.

Now the spiritual path is cool, but what about my other aspirations? I want to develop relationships, go to dance clubs, make a lot of money, start a nonprofit, travel the world, and listen to gansta' rap...you know?

Well, I'll clarify a very important point. Spirituality in the 21st century isn't about denying our "material" or "worldly" interests. In the olden times things were much simpler -- we had a single path, a single teacher, and prehaps a single ideal of God. And we have undoubtedly achieved heights. While a "spiritual path" may still connotate leaving the world and living in seclusion, praying or meditating for years and years, that isn't what it is truly about. Spirituality is really about being genuine, and integrating with the world around us to whatever degree we are compelled to. We are the most broad minded, advanced, and knowledgeable human beings ever in the history of minkind. And our path should honor that.

In other words, spirituality evolves along with society.

So does that mean I can do whatever I want and I'd still be on a spiritual path? Yes, if our intent is genuine. But as we spend more time on the path, we notice lots of activities we do actually don't produce the fruits we desire. Also, we start becoming more sensitive to our actions, how they affect us, and how they affect others. So we naturally do things differently, and even willingly endure arduous practices at times.

In a nutshell: the spiritual path is a path meant to take us to the highest level of happiness, and it benefits the people around us to the highest level possible. Sounds obvious that all of us would want to include some sort of spirituality in life, right? It is to me (hence the blog)!

Looking forward to explaining some of the tools next time....and describe how can we actually practice!