Walking the Path
Experiencing Life's Harmony
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Preface
This is a book for those of us who have previously seen what appeared to be a Spiritual path being presented to us – perhaps many, many times before – but we always had a “good reason” why we just couldn’t follow it “then.” However, now the path appears to be more vibrant, more alluring, maybe even compelling. We know that this time, we are going to do it… not just think about it, not just talk about it…. We’re going to do it. We’re going to walk down the new path that is now before us. No longer will we ignore the yearning deep within…. We have decided that we will make our choices consciously. We now choose to experience, on an on-going basis, the sublime harmony that characterizes the magnificent, unified Whole that is all Life.
We’ve had glimpses before… flashes of insight, moments of knowing… a sense of peace and tranquility that transcends verbal description…. Previously, our foray into the “world within us” gave way to our ego-driven fears… including the fear that we might “let down” others or even be viewed as abdicating our “responsibilities” if we allowed ourselves to experience more… to consciously know more. Yes, we may have been afraid we would “drop out” – possibly being perceived as having abandoned those whom we care about… people who might still believe that they need our presence and our support – if we allowed the perfect harmony of Life to seduce us and overwhelm us with joy. What of the people who depend on us, who look to us for… whatever? They probably wouldn’t understand…. Our family and friends would think we were crazy if all we wanted to do was sit cross-legged and chant mantras….
Well, the good news is that you don’t need to become a hermit and sit in cave in order to travel the path to what many of us would term enlightenment. Such “go there and do this so that you can know” type thinking is silly. It’s a fiction based on the erroneous thought that there is something you have to do so that you can be what you choose to be. In truth, what you are being precedes and, in fact, produces your experience – not the other way around. There is precisely one place and one time you can come to fully experience Life’s awe-inspiring harmony and the boundless peace and infinite joy that are the hallmarks of your conscious reunification with All That Is. The place, of course, is HERE, and the time is NOW. There is no other place and there is no other time for your life to unfold. It is going to happen right Here, and it is going to happen Now. Your entire life transpires exactly where you are in each moment, and the only moment that is real – the only moment that truly exists – is the eternal moment of Now.
It is possible to have a “day-to-day” existence and yet stay on a more “direct” path to Spiritual enlightenment. You can have a job and support a family, and yet move toward that state in which you are no longer attached to specific things or outcomes… a state of Being in which you have even allowed your desires to fall away. You can choose to permit the clouds of your mind to part and the veil of your ego to be lifted so that you might see more clearly. You can remain a “productive member of society” and yet willingly accept what is so. (In fact, I believe you’ll find that you are far more productive when you are willing to consistently accept, and no longer resist, whatever is so….) You can adopt a perspective wherein you embrace being Here, right Now, and allow whatever is to simply be. You do not have to revert to the fear-driven perspective of your ego just because such an outlook might be so similar to the viewpoints held by virtually everyone around you.
While becoming a Buddhist monk (or a tribal Shaman or a… whatever) might very well support your Spiritual growth, you do not need to abandon your family and friends in order to shift your perspective and maintain an expanded context from within which you can choose to experience your increasing level of conscious awareness. Granted, you may decide to change some of the people you find within your immediate sphere of influence – you might decide that new friends and acquaintances would be more supportive of what you now view as being central to your life…. But again, you do not have to “drop out” of society so you can choose enlightenment.
I do not suggest you relinquish all of your worldly possessions (although you may ultimately choose to do that), or isolate yourself from the illusory world around us. In fact, I would suggest that in order to experience what you come to know is true, you will want to use the illusions we have all co-created and effectively share what you have remembered with others. You can find it most helpful to maintain, or resume, your place within human society. While you may be tempted to completely withdraw, sitting quietly with your conscious awareness fully within yourself, caught up in the bliss of the ultimate Unity of all Life… ignoring all that is physical, and staying continuously focused on higher planes of reality…. Yes, while you may be tempted to do that, permit me to suggest that you’ll most probably find great satisfaction and a sense of profound value in sharing what you have remembered with others.
While you may, in fact, decide you no longer wish to participate in the society we have co-created, realizing that in so many ways it is unsupportive of Who You Are and Who You Wish to Become… while you may want to “drop out” as you decide you want to accelerate and intensify your Spiritual growth… I think you’ll find that “dropping out” is not only unnecessary; it’s not even desirable. You do not have to forego what you perceive to be your Earthly responsibilities in order to evolve and Spiritually mature. It’s not necessary to renounce your humanity so you can increase your Spirituality and realize further awakening. It’s not “better” to relinquish your presence within the physical realm…. (After all, please keep in mind that you chose to be here – to use this opportunity to experience and manipulate physical reality. You were not thrust here “against your will.” On some level, it was literally your decision that resulted in your presence within our world… and you are here for some specific reasons. There are some things you want to accomplish – some “lessons” to be learned [both by you and others around you] that brought you into this temporal, physical realm.)
Rather than being exclusively focused and concerned with the various distractions and difficulties inherent in your existence on this Earth, I suggest you will find it’s the manner in which you deal with this temporal, physical world – the perspective you adopt and maintain – that will “make all the difference.” Even if you find that you do come to dissociate yourself from the “world” you now inhabit as you proceed down your path… and go very deeply within yourself… I believe you’ll conclude that the cycle can only be completed with your willing “return” and full integration into human society.
You will find (if you so choose) that “normal” day-to-day activities can be extremely beneficial to your Spiritual journey. They can, in fact, become a part of your daily meditations. You may offer every activity you undertake and each thought you have as a testament to your harmonious existence with all Life. You can choose to treat absolutely everyone you encounter – even if they are expressing fear and anger – with dignity and compassion. You can maintain and exude a sense of peace and tranquility regardless of your circumstances. You can provide a clear demonstration to all around you of the incredible benefits of staying on a Spiritual path…. Through your life, lived, you can make a continuing, profound statement to humankind. All around you will see you living your truth. They will see the results of you living your truth.
Please allow yourself to consider the possibility that, in fact, you can arise from your long Spiritual slumber and propel your conscious awareness within yourself to realms you may have never even previously imagined. Permit yourself to believe your Spiritual awakening will take place right Here, where you are Now. Realize you need to learn nothing you don’t already know, there is nothing specific you need to do, and there is no other place to which you need to travel in order to “have it all.”
The work you have indicated you want to undertake can sometimes seem to be extremely difficult; however, it can all be stated very simply. You can come to know Life’s exquisite harmony, the boundless peace and infinite joy of unlimited, eternal and unconditional Love, by allowing your desires and attachments to fall away and by letting go of your perceived need to believe all of the thoughts in your mind. You can examine the beliefs you hold in your mind, and alter or replace those that no longer serve your intentions…. You can change any beliefs you have that do not reflect Who and What You Know You Are. Limitless peace and joy within eternity is incomprehensible to your mind, so let’s not try to think about it. Let’s instead experience the peace and joy of unconditional Love so that we can come to know it’s what is real and enduring.
The journey begins right Now. Are you ready? Will the “part” of me that is expressing as you join me on this most remarkable journey? We are embarking on a trip during which we will go nowhere other than where we are… a trip to the innermost depths of our Being during which we will use the light of our conscious awareness to cut through the fog generated by our minds, lift the veil of our egos, and directly experience the Unity that is Life… All That Is… the Alpha and the Omega… that which embodies First Cause…. Yes, we are going nowhere so that we can become aware of being Here, right Now, and thus remember through our own experience that each of us is, in fact, an aspect, an inherently perfect expression, of the infinite, magnificent, indivisible Whole… a “part” of God.
You will find this book proceeds from a viewpoint that presumes you are already familiar with – you at least have a intellectual understanding of – several basic concepts that reflect an awareness of the myriad illusions we have co-created so that we might have the experiences we choose to have as we remember more and more about Who We Really Are. To begin, it’s enough for you to intellectually understand that things such as separation, scarcity, judgment and ignorance are only illusions we have collectively created in order to use them to help us have certain experiences we choose to have. (Our human illusions provide us with a relative context including What We Are Not so that we can experience – not just conceptualize, but truly experience – What We Really Are.) Even if you still feel the illusions are real, you will find it very helpful if you permit yourself to intellectually understand that your mind is “making it all up” – and the reason the illusions seem so real is because we believe they are. Through meditation and contemplative introspection we can come to know in our own experience the illusions are just that – illusions – and what is real and eternal is the infinite peace and boundless joy emanating from the unlimited and unconditional Love that is within us… that is within the present moment… that is, in fact, what we truly are….
As more and more “parts” — more aspects and manifestations — of the unified Whole that is all Life intentionally come together with ever-increasing conscious awareness, a Power will be felt upon the Earth such as it has not known since Creation. We are so incredibly fortunate to be Here, Now.
Gregory P. Spohr
