Another excerpt recently written – chap 3. pt. 2

What to do then?

It does not matter too much about a journey, as every experience can also be seen as part of the Divine Learning Experience, and be recognized as totally purposeful. (With no experience needing or any judgement to be added on).

When we accept who we are in Truth we claim our Divinity. We claim our Oneness with the Higher Power, the Divine Goddess. (Or God, if you insist).

When we do this we can also begin to demonstrate in our practical lives more than just survival. We move past fear, addictions, depression, anxiety, and whatever it is that troubles us as a human.

Again we accept those experiences of pain through mental struggles as part of Divine Learning.

But, we move beyond them!

If we continue to choose to deny our own Divinity, we are denying the Divine in all. We remain a human who wants God to fix us, or some other “version” to do so. (The Incarnation, the Guru, the Buddha, the Jesus). We want to be fixed and stay human, so that we don’t have to take on the enormous responsibility incurred when we fully surrender to Truth.

Most religions will not give you permission! (To be Free).

To embody yourself in your true identity is heretic, and certainly you are not given permission, by most of society, to be “allowed” to realize your Divinity throughout your whole physical body. Then it becomes required that you remain in fear. Fear because of separation. Where there is many there is no Unity. When we are one with the Cosmic Being we become fearless.

In a search for the Meaning and the Truth of all life, & regarding choice, we also have this concept of karma. We have suffering and pleasure, and success, and failure in proportion to our previous activities, and then our current activities create new karma. To move past karma it is necessary to find the Realization and Enlightenment that exists beyond. Then what we get is Gyana – knowledge of the essence of the world, which we then see that we used to perceive very differently.

We can be active in life, not needing to be a monk or swami or some renunciate, but act based on Spiritual Truth. We can get into deep meditation, yoga and our specific spiritual pathway without any external suitable circumstances. (Even thought this can be a considerable trial in itself, is still part of a learning process). Then it’s possible to see the Divine, not as a summary of our knowledge or some outcome of prayer practice, but as what is “All and Everything”. We accept Life & the Universe as also 100% Divine expression. (As in the Shakti outflow of the Goddess energy). God cannot be all of creation and not something within creation. Nothing can be excluded.

We need a Light to see through the darkness, & thus generally need a Guru. (Remember “Gu” stands for darkness and “Ru” stands for the piercer of the darkness). The bringer of light.

We don’t need to make a cult of this. Just get the Light, & go on our way. Goodbye Guru! In the light all is somewhat ok to live with. How are you achieve this “level” is up to you, & do it your own way if you want. I’m just suggesting the short cut. Religion of your choice, if you insist. By all means your way may the only way and the only truth for you. The human ego behavior is to do things from so called free-will/choice. It’s usually all driven by desire & delusion. This also involves your service values, and how you treat your others. How you deal with the homeless, the sick and the mentally unwell.

This is not about being like Jesus or the Buddha, as you do need to recognize the Divine in all. (Humans include)!  Remain in your Divine Center, attained by your practice, and the world in any circumstance, will be seen as but emanation of the Divine Energy.

To reach a state of perfect happiness, peace or self-knowledge, requires more application then just sitting in medication for half an hour twice daily. The setting is not too important, although there are optimum environments, diets and guided practices. Do you need religion? Medication? (Possibly both!).

To become the controller in terms of spiritual awareness, one needs the ability to sit on a rather different plane completely.

The philosophy of Gyana or Knowledge, says we are already Divine. (Part of Vedanta philosophy). We already have Divine experiences every single moment, and every single moment has a Divine purpose. However the path of Bhakti, or Devotional path, says that we can’t just be living in a “delusion of holiness”. (As: “I am already Enlightened”). We need the Grace of an external God, a Higher Power, a personal something we surrender to, who then sorts everything out.

The path of Karma or Action, says we need to serve others, including God, guru, or church, to attain a higher state. Raja Yoga, (Kingly Yoga), says we need to control the senses, manage all aspects of daily routine, be able to sit in yoga posture, and control the mind. Food and drink is also vital, because intake forms not only the body, but also the mind. What you get rid of also important.

However the Truth will always be that. It Shines in its own Awareness, regardless of religion, spiritual path, culture, or circumstance. You will then need nothing!

Who AM I? What AM I?

Before the Big Bang: “In the beginning there was the Word”.

If you stay with the sacred sounds, you’re connected with all the molecules in the universe, and are enlightened as a realized human within the milieu that is life. Yes there is suffering, pain, and struggle, but that is life.

Humans have added all the accoutrements of religions and spiritual pathways to the Divine Presence, which is the same for all, regardless of what human add to It. You can believe that there are multiple gods, different gods, and/or it’s possible to have one “better” God than another, and so forth. (As well as being mono-theistic).

So the spiritual practice is being on a pathway that leaves behind the old, and gets the understanding that the body is just: “compartments and bits and pieces”. Separate seemingly from the Cosmic Reality, yet actually not separate.

Where humans have a major strength, it is in announcing ones essential: “Divineness not divine-mess”!

With this strength it becomes possible to divert from, go around, go through, and go over all the human weaknesses, including addictions, mental health problems, relationship distress, and physical sickness. Even financial distress. (Or especially financial distress). This is not a minor undertaking of course

Turning everything upside down on its head, opens the individual to unlimited potential. The ego still wants to have a sway and say, “no, no”. This is my job, this is my partner, this is my car, etc. etc. We can move above the level of identification and limitation and find the Truth and Reality.

We don’t abandon reality, but rather work through it, with it, and understand it. Such that it is not ones essential self that is in the way, but ones ego based life.

So it’s not possible then to say that anyone is ultimately bad, or hard to say something is anything as other than a part of that One Unity. Self-centered judgment is usually based on ego preferences! At some point however life stops being “what you do for yourself”, and the Cosmic Will makes things happen, whether we want them or not. We see this in the chaos around in present times.

If we don’t jump out of the burning house, we will go up in flames. (Unless we put out the fire). If we don’t see the winds of change blowing and except them, we will suffer simply by being dragged into change unwillingly.

It is a choice then to take on board the teachings of the ancient sages and seers, find the sacred and our True place in the universe, align with the divine sounds, or engage in spiritual practices innumerable. It’s always as per individual choice, even if initially this only an impulse to get a taste of some spiritual teachings and pathways.

Even religious “persuasions” may have a role to play!

Realistic Realization

Spiritual surrender is about giving up our attachments? It may be more acceptance, where we accept life “as it is”. Then we don’t “want “so much. Sit in our Realisation and whatever happens is the accumulated force of past karma). Life goes on – that Realistic Realization!

This where you know yourselves, as one with the Cosmic Soul, even as an individual soul, experiencing pain & pleasure. You stop making or seeking solutions to the uncontrollable. So, surrender also is to become aware of the Divine as oneself, with the Higher Power’s energy within, and to accept it. It involves a shift in belief or approach to the spiritual journey, and is about:

Who am I?

This is the catalyst for enlightenment!

Trust, and faith that there is a Divine Force seems to be a pre-requisite for surrender. “I believe that God will help me through this”. Or something similar. This requires some awareness of options generated by the usual mind ego based questioning that goes until a belief in the Divine co-exists with faith in yourself & you spiritual teachers.

Not just: What is this all about?

But also: What do I do (as service)?

The act of surrender requires some practical substance also. Mediation, prayer, chanting, using a mantra etc. (Religion if you must)! A most powerful tool on your spiritual journey is turning your awareness away from normal activity and settling the mind, reconnecting with your inner space. In the silent spaces beyond thoughts, you surrender to a Sound, the Cosmic Sound. Just as there is noise in life, so there is noise in realization. It very different though and can’t be explained, only experienced. (This is what happens in meditation).

You submerge your ego, which remains, but is transformed into identity as the Divine, where there is the bliss of Oneness. (When you can hear then the Cosmic Sound). If all else fails, just pray for surrender. It doesn’t matter who or what you pray to, it matters only that you are willing. The intention to surrender will allow its own release, and who knows what guides/powers will come to help you.  For me it’s the Goddess, but I’m not saying my beliefs are more than yours. Anything to let go of fear and unending desire is worth a try.

The individual “me,” is not capable of dropping its own sense of ego. Sometimes, a “rock bottom” of triggers some transcendence. Something has to change, even you seem incapable. Trust the Divine then the Divine Grace leads from darkness to light.

When participate in this process we are met by the Divine Force halfway. The change occurs when there is willingness to access and seek the Truth. This makes us available to it, & then n stop hiding, and leave the past shames and fears behind. The individual soul can then be healed by Divine Grace.

Maybe medication, therapy, rehabilitation, or other treatments will work. Maybe. Or rather all the healing opportunities in the world may be helpful “to a point’. Maybe

Then we move to another level. Then we go past the human endeavor levels to the spiritual levels of 6 & higher.

This is about being in one’s own Higher Power, being in the Divine Self and experiencing Divinity in human bodily form. We have been claimed by a situations where live fearful human lives, but can still seek redemption, solutions to suffering within and without our personal lives. There come a time of  necessity, or then choice, to move “past the past”. To release all of life in a higher way through the encounter with one’s own Divine Self.

Freedom from self-condemnation, anger or righteous action, becomes grounded and light, and only then is the darkness absent. Some say that the material reality is an illusion anyway, as this is Maya, the delusional dreamlike transitory life experience. The true Maya is that we believe there is happiness in success, money, and even relationships.

 “All life is suffering.”

Maybe. Life and free will at a high level seeks not to totally alleviate personal strife, but to see the Truth of life’s journey as having an ultimate benefit for all. Nothing is removed, only the vision that sees the essential True Stare beyond Maya & the delusions of the ego-self. Cancer is not eliminated. Mental health disorder is not eliminated. Poverty is not eliminated. War is not eliminated.

We just don’t participate from the same angle any more, we have a radically different perspective and understanding of what is the Truth. Which cannot be in separation from anything or anyone. Either this “consciousness” is homogeneous, or it doesn’t exist for a benefit, (as it would not then be anything of spiritual value)!

The ending of delusion, the end of the chase of dragons and dreams, can be then be celebrated.

There are signposts, teachers, and guides to help us. Even that the parts of religion that have not been corrupted can serve a purpose on this journey. It’s all available if we seek it, but more than that it will only work if we make it so.

That is where the challenge of surrender lives!

The Divine ensures that each step is revealed to one who makes the surrender and waits. Answers come with surety as the inner voice that says there is a plan with exactly what we need to be given when we need. Also the questions are answered. Do I leave my marriage? What do I do about my job? What if it’s not true! What if I don’t like what I get? (Due to my surrender). It only makes good sense if it’s a true inner voice. (And not “the voices”). What’s the difference?

            If you feel that you are somewhere that is un-well & not spiritual, then check with mental health professional, especially if one is susceptible to unraveling, or a mental health condition. It’s about sitting in a space where fear and anxiety is alleviated, not increased. Also being in the Divine space, (even if only during meditation),  is not about forceful relinquishing of our desires or even addictions. Needs and wants should disperse, vanish or become less relevant. If the cravings or addictions or desperation increase, then drop down from the intense spiritual practices & go for treatment, therapy, & recovery focused activities firstly. Mental health does need to be stable.

Acceptance then can be simple. That there is enough, and I can share fully what I have got. I don’t have to win to the detriment of others. (Maybe sport is different). Accept the life “as it is”, & have gratefulness for what we have not regret for what we haven’t got. There will be encounters in life that confuse, and cause fear and anxiety, but the Divine Design is that we learn from everything & anything. Desire also, is not always something to fight against. Purposely place desires in a spirit of mindfulness to see their correct position in the scheme of things.

Separation & suffering

 Separation and suffering can never be a permanent state, because it is not real in the first place. It feels very real, but that is only because one is still caught up in illusion. Imagine life is a dream, and when you die, (or get Enlightened), you wake up.

You return to wholeness and see that the material world is nothing more than a dream. Nevertheless, you do not have to die to realize this Truth. You can realize it while you are still alive. I believe this is what our destiny is. Also it is what our Goddess/Higher Power/Deity wants. Heaven is not some far off place where you go when you were good. Heaven can be experienced here on earth, in the present moment. This is also what is referred to as Nirvana or Moksha. But its not bodily/mental bliss. It may even seem to be not much fun! In this Light we make peace with what happened in the past, because we let go of it by not living in tit. Practice this & as time goes on, what you done use/think about fades away. Whether this explanation is true or not, is in a sense irrelevant. It is the only explanation that makes sense to me. You will need to find out if its true or not by your own practice of meditation, mantas, yoga. (Or religious practice – if you have to)!

Maybe Spirituality is is about what we are. Maybe it is about why. We are spiritual beings because we are spirit. We do not then really have to be spiritual or do spirituality. We are already that. Choice or not, what is true is true. The universe and all its elements including there being a Deity or not, cannot be other than what it really is. Your ego based personalities sees something else, and hence choices from that direction lean towards the destructive. The history of mankind. Suffering overtime and today is horrible. There is also what seems to be an ever increasing trend towards high levels of depression and anxiety, with high levels of suicide.

I can be in the body mind, but I am a witness of its activities. When I choose this, I move into another level of vibration, of spiritual being. I am a spiritual being having a human experience. No more true separation – only apparent due to ongoing effects of Maya. We suffer due to just being ourselves as we ego think we are. We are then subject to fear anxiety sadness and reactivity. We then get into dependencies on substances or behaviours or the sense objects in some form, &we can then may experience clinical levels of mental health disturbance. (As well as feeling spiritually lost)

We can in our lifetimes experience abuse, trauma, unhealthy or poisonous environments, poverty, bullying. Then we can become depressed, anxious or even get PTSD from our experience. Add in social media & the expectations of society. We are then driven away from out faith it seems at times. All our spiritual practice seems too slow to work & then we need a quick fix. The distraction take over & separation from the Truth of life increases. We don’t think we are divine in anyway, & start to think we are bad, bad. Often it is not our fault. We are driven to drink or worse. More poison. Poison to cure poison. We become even crazier. Then there is “rock bottom”. Which conversely initiate dramatic change this leads us “onward & upward” Alternatively, to serious levels of medication.

The change occurs when we clean up our act by claiming our birth right.

What does that mean?

I am a divine entity because I am part of a divine world created with our enlightenment in mind. We are here for a purpose, and the ultimate purpose is to return not just theoretically, but realistically do our true nature. Realistic realization, divine enlightenment, or true self-knowledge. We go to a level that is your native natural level. It is not something alien or unattainable. Then Life and the Universe becomes something that you see as like a dream. You do not believe it’s entirely real even know you’re in it and behaving as if it was. Cannot be real because it changes so much & it is so temporary, and so full of terrifying diseases and disasters. That is before we even get to man’s natural stupidity.

You wake up from the dream. You choose to wake up! You do then what is needed to find your way. To find your pathway to the truth, your own divine being. Sounds crazy because if we are divine we will be on a journey to find out ourselves as being divine. We cannot get there through our ego personality driven aspirations or actions. Thus it also requires a degree of Divine Grace or guidance of the one who knows already – the Transcendental Guru. Who is already enlightened, & is also practically enlightened. They can translate what they have into what you need, and they are putting their knowledge of truth into practice in their lives.

Finally, following on from the philosophy of the Vedanta, (or Gnosticism), there is a mantra you can use.

Soham. (So =that Divinity, & Ham = I)

“I God am”.

However the truth in that mantra has been historically claimed by only those who were permitted by their culture to practice at that level. Usually monks, the celibate, who live simply, and certainly did not do “sex ‘n drugs ‘n rock ‘n roll”. You cannot really just say I am God, I am the Divine Being, even if it’s your true nature, because it might be your ego bound lower self-personality saying this, which will then lead you into even greater strife and trouble. You have to be willing and ready and actively transcending your ego. You can believe it and say it and practice it, when you are ready and willing to surrender your life to the Divine Grace, your Higher Power or your deity – your God/Goddess. By all means try your choice of religion, pilgrimages, prayer, and meditation. Find a teacher, a Guru, mentor, Pastor, or your local holy man/woman.

Return to the Light

Depression is a dark experience. A black dog or black hole. Shame and blame then attaches itself, especially if there are episodes of substance abuse. Life can become a crisis. So what is this disharmony of the individual soul and self, and the world?  Why have dark emotions and crazy impulses, and why aren’t we full of positive, harmonious, and peaceful emotions? What wrong with God’s creation & a kind and loving Creator!

There are two elements for the diagnosis of depression.  Anhedonia is the loss of enjoyment for what was previously enjoyable. Alongside that is the second major symptom of significant low mood, which is hopefully not present in a healthy life.  Add other symptoms such as irritability, reactivity, combined with fear & anxiety, & there is a major loss of any chance of a happy life. There may be a feeling of disconnection. Life can feel meaninglessness, and there can be overarching wish that “I was not alive”. A feeling of inner emptiness, being filled with only fear and reactivity to life around.

There is also a concept of the “sick soul”, or for alcoholics, it is a “spiritual disease of the soul”, as per 12-step programme.. People can be born with an inner resilience, which is well balanced from the outset.  Or inherited disorders including “addictive personalities”, throw obstacles in the course to ones chosen career, relationships etc.. Inner conflicts and/or strife in the environment will also disrupr peace and serenity. Then stage is set for mental disorders of depression/anxiety, obsessive behaviors, and so on. The list becomes endless!

Meaning can exist in the depth of the dark places.
The sick soul can find the healing light and receive the Divine grace. A long and painful process can be bypassed with the help of Guides and Gurus. It can be done in this life! Happiness though is something vastly complex, and includes the “dark forces”, because it subjugates then, not eliminates them. Healing and harmony can take place not by denying or ignoring, but by treating professionally when indicated, whilst working to undermine the causative darkness and find a pathway that ensures a return to the Light. It is still what one essentially is, a Divine Being yoked with the Cosmic Consciousness.

Do we commonly make use of religion and spirituality in the therapeutic situation? No!

Spirituality involves belief and often surrender to a Higher Power, or similar. God, who is omniscient, is connected integrally with religion, but not necessarily with spirituality. Our destiny is involved, & what is held to be the purpose of life. Religion has different beliefs, doctrines. In addition to liturgy, or worship, spirituality is present throughout and beyond religion. If religion is fundamentalist and proposes bigotry, it is lost, and is an institution of oppression.  Divisive, as in leading to war. (Google: War and religions). History tells us that this had happened from a lot. A lot of blood has been shed in the name of religion. Religion helps me to practice spirituality, but I am Multi Faith. I take what I need and throw away the rest!

Mental health is not absence of mental illness as we all struggle in differing degrees. We are all a bit crazy. Being well-adjusted sounds good, but there are plenty of high functioning alcoholics. In spirituality it’s more about responsibility for one’s actions, acceptance of uncertainty, courage to take risks.

The Serenity payer says: “Serenity to accept the things, which we cannot change, courage to change the things which we can change, and the wisdom to know the difference”.

Disorders and Truth

My faith in my spiritual devotion to my Deity is my most valued possession. I cannot say never ever give up, because that is what happens in depression, or when faced with many of life’s problems.. Asking for help and then finding the right and effective help is necessary. In my long experience, the mental health default setting has been that we have nothing to do with religion and spirituality. Religious beliefs and even spirituality can even be regarded as “odd or strange’, and the professional are “suspicious”.

Mental illness is also often allied with chronic physical illnesses. Thus a double problem can cause people to search for meaning and look outside to God or Higher Power. Even though they may not be involved in religious behaviors group, (and may say at the same time that they do not really believe in God). What is best – therapy, medication or meditation? Buddhist meditation helps and mindfulness seems embedded in this pathway. Now science approves, & this is becoming mainstream in therapy models.

Mental health issues ere common today, and most get some experience of it in a life time. Some are not able to overcome it and remain in a negative state of mind, and probably will seek medical or psychiatric help. Depression can lead to suicide, and the thinking behind it may seem “logical” to the sufferer. It also may seem to be an escape from life. Religion generally strongly condemns suicide. However it all very well to say that nothing is solved by suicide, but who will provide the services to the sufferer, when they are in dramatically short supply?

When the soul is to depart from the body, the dying person sees, actions done during the lifetime. According to many teachers. It up to your choice how you decide to interpret the phenomenon of death. I hope that that choice turn out to be correct!

In life there are adversities, calamities, pandemics, dictatorship and communism. (And more). Some people love, (some of), them because they strengthen the purpose of life. Spiritually they turn the mind towards God. (“There are no atheists in fox-holes”). How else would we get discrimination and be force us to perform beyond endurance. What is after all “resilience”, (which is the number one preventer of mental health degradation)? Also “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. So, how do you react under adversity or hardship? We may even test ourselves in the work or relationships we choose- deliberately or subconsciously.

However why do we not accept eternal bliss and peace? We pray for it, we want it, but do we really accept it. Is it some process of purification and strengthening that is realistic, or has true meaning? On the other hand, is it an internal spiritual urge for sanity that has become seriously skewed? What is going on, and is there any hint of “blessing in disguise” or even the soul search for meaning?

Hence the need to surrender to ones Higher Power, and seek the Divine Grace.

Om Tat Sat       Om Tat Sat       Om Tat Sat