| |
| |
|
Spirituality Information |
|
|
|
Why Would You Want to be Enlightened?
Yesterday, a marketing guru asked me a question that left me speechless. I had retained Bob to review the copy on my Mystic Warrior website from a sales perspective. He asked about reader reactions. As we talked, I told him how some readers felt compelled, while in the midst of my book, to put it down and meditate. In several cases, they described tingling sensations on the crown of their head and of receiving "downloads of energy and information." I told Bob they were "attuning with God" and how this is a step towards enlightenment. That's when he asked me the question that left me speechless. He asked, "Why would you want to be enlightened?" Bob wasn't trying to be funny and he wasn't questioning whether this would benefit people. He asked me this to force me to think about the question in a more fundamental way. (You might say he was acting as a "devil's advocate.") When I first heard his question, I couldn't respond. Going through my mind were the thoughts, "Isn't this what everybody wants?" and "Isn't this the reason for living?" But before I could even speak, I realized this wasn't true. A belief as an idea that you accept as true-regardless of whether or not it really is. Many times a belief operates subconsciously and is never examined. This is what happened to me. My belief seemed self-evident and yet, it wasn't true for most people. Not everyone wants to become enlightened-at least not consciously. So I pondered, "Why would you want to be enlightened?" This is not a simple question to answer. "Why would you want to be rich?" is easy to answer. "So I can buy a new BMW M5." "So I can travel throughout Europe staying at the finest hotels." "So I can help others less fortunate than me." The reason it's easy to answer is that being rich only satisfies a physical, emotional or intellectual desire. Striving for enlightenment is not a physical, emotional or intellectual quest. It arises out of a yearning from deep within the soul. It's beyond emotion or intellect. It's a craving to return to God, a desire to be completely and totally one with God. Throughout the ages mystics have described this experience. Regardless of what formal religion the individual might practice, the experience almost always includes: a sense of being beyond time or space and connected to everything, joy, knowingness, paradoxicality, ineffability, and transiency with permanent changes. Anyone who has ever approached such an experience never forgets it. Thereafter, nothing else compares. Consequently, you are no longer content merely with great food, awesome sex, mind-blowing entertainment, or extravagant material goods. You want enlightenment. But the fact is, not everyone has this craving or is even aware it exists. So short of sitting in the presence of an enlightened master, how do you awaken it in people? Does it trivialize it to say it will improve your life, that you'll lead a happier, less stressful life? Does it cheapen it to point out that as you move towards enlightenment and eliminate the veils (beliefs) that hide the true nature of God, that you'll begin to develop your inner senses, often referred to as psychic abilities? Do you mention all these benefits when someone asks, "Why would you want to be enlightened?" Or do you simply say, "Because nothing else matters." Edwin Harkness Spina is the author of the award-winning spiritual thriller Mystic Warrior. Receive a free copy of Mystic Secrets Revealed when you sign up for the Mystic Warrior Newsletter with mystical techniques to improve your life and expand your mind.
MORE RESOURCES:
Spirituality - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Discipline of Prayer: Always Connected Every workday, five days a week, I take the light rail into downtown Dallas. Only last week, this routine finally taught me a lesson about prayer. The Healing Power Of Forgiveness Forgiveness breaks all bounds of repression and depression. It liberates the psyche from bondage to the past. 10 Interesting Facts about Archangel Gabriel 1. Gabriel means: "God is my strength" or "God is mighty. Pray Off Your Debts in 10 Days or Less - A Short Case Study Last Friday night, I met a Christian at a prayer meeting. He was rescued from war-torn Sudan and brought to the U. Spiritual Surrender: Living a Peace Filled Life Are you at a crossroad in your life where you want the after to be better than the before? Do you feel as though your life is not on "purpose"? Are you scared of what the future may hold for you or angry at what has happened in the past? If any of these themes ring true for you, than I would ask you to let go, and surrender.I am often asked what the term Spiritual Surrender means. I Think Ill Just Go Fishin I said something last week I haven't said in years. Where it came from, I really don't know. The Healing Hand of God "Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Garden of Agony (Part 1) Eden, the garden of ecstasy is no longer available to us. We left it in sin and shame and it cannot be regained. Petitioning for Your Needs Human beings are blessed with a unique gift: the gift of prayer or petition to the Infinite for our needs. A religious person would call it prayer; others may call it petition or meditation. Picture This (Part Two) In part one, I described an existence that is absolute, and a being of perfection that only the creator would know, this is the source of all that is, this is what many would call God.In the physical world about as close as we could get to imagine the same reality as the creator would be within the "White Room," experiment. Did You Use Your Sword Today? It's real easy to look at the physical world around us and not see swords being used. To even find one it is often necessary to go to a museum. If You Want Healing Step Out of the Boat Did you happen to see the made-for-tv movie, "Jesus," that first aired in 2000? I especially was moved by the scene of Peter stepping out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus.It was during a storm in the dark of night. The Great Battleground Being a Christian does not exempt us from having to fight daily with the problem of sin in our lives. We know that being saved does not mean we are perfect. White Sun - Who Are We? Human beings originally have three forms of existence. The first one in Heaven, the second on Earth and the third in Hell. Healing Your Life You have everything you need: a miraculous body, a phenomenal brain, and a vast and powerful subconscious mind. Now it's just a matter of focusing them in the right direction. Alone in a World Filled With Only Me We come into this world alone, we experience physical life alone and we die alone.As I gain more experienced and become even more aware of my physical and spiritual lives; I realize that I am here alone. Miracles It is my personal view that the reason we call things that we don't understand "miracles" is because we are trying to understand them within a very limited framework. This framework is that of our beliefs which have been based largely on scientific inquiry and also exclusively on the use of our intellect or rational mind. New Every Morning I have almost died twice in my life. The first time was from pneumonia when I was 4 years old. Unfinished Business (Part 1) Most of life can be said to be bad, or problematic, or painful, or sorrowful. Every great religion acknowledges this fact regarding life. Linear Unidirectional Time Is An Illusion! In a recent article entitled "Our Virtual Reality Reality" I discussed how with a powerful new healing modality called the Mind Resonance Process(TM)(MRP) many individuals have now the awareness that what we call the "past" never actually existed.How can this be so you ask? Well, its a difficult thing to describe because one actually has to experience it.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
