Report 4. Spirituality

A member says ...

Spirituality is good for everyone. It has helped me out of my depression. Spirituality is also a medicine to combat and overcome addiction. A helpful book for me was: "The Secret of Letting Go" by Guy Finley. 

 I will give some quotes from 
< http://www.kajama.com/ > [Go to "Archives" and to the author Margaret Paul and her articles]

(1)

"[...] All of us want a direct line to our spiritual guidance. We need this help in maintaining abstinence and taking responsibility for ourselves. We want to know what is in our highest good, what is the right decision in different situations, how to set appropriate boundaries, and how to manifest what we want. 

"It is the birthright of each of us to have a direct line to God, whatever God may be for us personally. Though few of us have learned how to do this at will on a daily basis, is it surprisingly not hard to do. 

"The spiritual realm exists at a higher frequency than we do here on the physical plane of Planet Earth. In order to access the spiritual realm, we need to know how to raise our frequency. [...]

"So, how do we raise our frequency? There are numerous things you can do to raise your frequency, but none of them will work unless you have the intent to learn with Spirit about loving yourself and others. 

"Our intent is the most powerful tool we have for raising our frequency. There are only two possible intents in any given moment: 

"When you have a true, pure intent to learn, your frequency automatically rises. None of the actions I suggest below will raise your frequency without this intent. However, once you have this intent, the following actions can help to further raise your frequency. 

(2)

"Prayer is a powerful way to open the heart when you are stuck in anger, fear, self-judgment, resistance or depression. When you can sincerely pray for spiritual help in opening your heart and taking responsibility for your own feelings and needs, help is there. Spirit will find some way to support you when you really desire the help. Spiritual help may come through words that pop into your mind, through images, feelings, dreams, or through other people - but it will come. [...]

"There are many other ways of opening the heart, but none of them will work unless your intent - your deepest desire - is to learn about what is loving to you and take action on your own behalf. 

"When our deepest desire is to take responsibility for our own well-being, then many things, including prayer, will help. 

"If you want to move out of your stuck place and prayer just isn't your thing or you just can't get yourself there, you may be able to open your heart if you: 

[...]

"Think of the sad, depressed, resistant, or angry part of you as a little child who is needing love. If you wait for someone else to love that child, you may wait forever. It is only when we are infants and toddlers that others may attend to what we need. As adults, it is our job to take care of our own feelings and needs. If you think of yourself as the parent of this child within - the feeling part of you - it may make it easier to take responsibility for yourself. 

"Happiness, peace and joy are the result of loving ourselves and others, as opposed to being loved. When you really understand this and take action based on this truth, you will find your joy."

(3)

"Lian had been meditating for many years before consulting with me for his depression. [...]

"Lian was suffering from what is called "spiritual bypass." Spiritual bypass occurs when people use their spiritual practice as a way to avoid dealing with and taking responsibility for their feelings. [...]

"In his work with me, Lian discovered that he was constantly either ignoring his inner child - his feeling self - or he was in self-judgment. The combination of ignoring himself [...] and judging himself resulted in his inner child feeling unloved, unimportant, and unseen. Lian saw that if he treated his actual children in the way he treated himself - ignoring their feelings and constantly judging them - they would also feel badly and maybe depressed. 

"But Lian did attend to his actual children's feelings and needs. It was his own that he was ignoring and judging. Lian realized that he was treating himself the way his parents had treated him. He was a much better parent to his children than his parents had been to him, but he was parenting his own inner child in the way he had been parented. [...]

"He discovered that his depression was actually a gift - a way his inner child was letting him know that he was not being loving to himself. With practice, Lian learned to take loving care of himself and his depression disappeared."

A next member speaks

I have been on a spiritual path for 27 years. It started quite suddenly with questions such as "Who am I?" and "Why am I here?” I started to practice yoga. I began to see my thoughts as illusions made by myself, and to grow open for deeper truth. The world around us will disappear if we die, as will our thoughts about it: illusions. We create our world with an aim we should discover and not forget. We have to re-learn what we forgot. So we might find our real path we have to follow.

Next member speaks

For several years, I have been on my spiritual path. I have exchanged views with several Ipce members who did and do the same. Some years ago I even started a "Spirituality List", which has not survived because of lack of messages. 

I have read a lot about Gnosticism. This is very old wisdom, from India, Persia, Israel and Greece, concentrating in Alexandria in Egypt where all these insights and books came together. Regrettably, the Roman Catholic Church condemned this philosophy or religion, forbad all writings and burnt believers such as the Cathars in South-France. Monks in Egypt and the Essenes in Israel have saved some writings in vases and have put them in caves. During the second half of the former century, a lot of it has been found again, and has been translated and published. I have a pile of such books. 

The crux of Gnosticism is that the deity is not far from us somewhere in space, but within us, as 'the divine spark'. If a human is open for her or his inner world, one will experience this spark and one will be able to develop it by following 'the path'. The path is a way to go, a path of inauguration in several steps, usually said to be seven steps. By following this path, one will be able to receive divine energy, or cosmic energy, which is the same. Inspiration from above and inspiration from within are the same. "The Above is the Inner" or "As Above, as the Inner". If one prays, one makes contact with Above or with one's inner, it's the same. 

How does it work? Contact with the inner will give rest, wisdom and energy. Once I prayed for some support from Above. What I got was this idea or thought about Moses. Moses had to free the folk of Israel from the Pharaoh, and had to lead it to the promised country. He got no plane or rocket. No, he got wisdom, insight, ability and patience to fulfil his task. That is the gift from above. No money but mind, spiritual energy. I am sure it helps me with living in this vale of tears in a meaningful way.

The gnosticisms are divided in their view on human sexuality. Some preach celibacy as the best way. Others do not, and see sexuality and marriage as a way to become whole. 

Another member

I have my doubts. Religion might lead to lay responsibility outside yourself instead of on yourself. I don't see a goal in this world. I see a lot of problems. If I have problems, I write them down in my diary, my way of thinking about things. I divide it into small parts, and then take the one after the other. If needed, I search for help - here on earth. So I can go on. Sometimes I switch the button and do nothing, take a pause. A solution might come after that. If not, go on, never run away from your problems. 

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