Spirituality Guide

While you could say my journey to and up the mountain was driven by randomly picking a spot on a map and everything that occurred was just something my own mind conjured up. Yes, you could definitely say that.

I’m not going to dispute that what happens to us in this in life is made up a lot of things we cause. Life is what we make of it and we often reap what we sow, so to say. A negative person is going to find other negative people to be around or is going to be alone, thus enforcing the negativity towards life and others.

However, if you said that about my journey, I would point you to athletes who say that you never truly know yourself until you find your physical limits. You never truly find the person inside until you have breached all barriers of doubt and fear.

So if you are uncomfortable with calling my journey a spiritual one or with me saying I found the peace I was meant to find by going there, then think of it like an athlete thinks: I went hiking.

On that hike I wanted to turn back many times for many reasons, but I kept on because I had a goal I wanted to accomplish. It was only when I stopped wanting to turn back that I felt like I accomplished that goal.

And having accomplished that goal, I feel like a better person.

Funny how so many of us say the same thing, just in different ways…

(I’m posting these in reverse order so you can read them from top to bottom.)

Occasionally we are ‘called’ – or ‘feel inclined’ if you’re not comfortable with the term ‘called’ – to do things and go to places we wouldn’t usually go. Recently I started to become more and more agitated for no apparent reason until it occurred to me to travel to a mountain range to the west. I was still concerned about the journey, but it felt right to go there.

My partner and I didn’t get into the actual mountains until the third day of our trip, but it was worth the wait. There is something about the mountains that helps me to feel connected to things. It also helps me to realize there is so much more than just what is going on in the present and what I have in front of me. The mountains mean so much more and hold so much more than my daily life.

I picked the place I wanted to go based purely on my ‘gut’ instinct. The place I picked had drawn me since I first saw it on the map and I knew it was the place to go. I didn’t know what I would do when I got there or what I would learn – if anything – but I did know that I had to be there. I had to experience it.

When we finally found the place we were meant to go – a nearly hidden walking trail off the main road (if you can call it a road with all the dirt, rocks, bumps, and other difficulties). We got out of the car, took our water and camera, and headed on our way.

(I’m posting these in reverse order so you can read them from top to bottom.)

The journey up the mountain wasn’t as steep as other mountain trails I had climbed, but it was much longer. Climbing/walking up began to become a challenge for me on all fronts – mentally, physically, and emotionally – and I began to wonder why I was putting myself through all this.

The first trial came physically as I began sweating profusely and needing breaks to catch my breath. It was hard not to entertain the idea of turning back, but I squashed the thoughts and kept moving on. I knew that it was a matter of mind over body and that I could keep going.

The next trial brought the mental. My mind began focusing on ‘that next hill’ and how steep the next part would be. I began to doubt myself, wondering how far I could possibly go when I wasn’t exactly in the fittest shape of my life.

My partner and I took a break and I told him that I was starting to defeat myself mentally when it came to this journey. He remained quiet most of the time, making sure I drank water and rested, knowing that this journey was about me and something I needed to do. The mental barriers lessened as I recognized them for what they were – mental and nothing more.

We travelled on and that’s when I began to get emotional. Many times I almost started crying, both at the thought of continuing on without knowing how long the trail was and at the thought of turning back before reaching the end. I began taking longer rests not only to revive myself physically but to revive myself emotionally.

(I’m posting these in reverse order so you can read them from top to bottom.)

Having dealt with the physical, emotional, and mental challenges while on the mountain path, I began talking to my partner about what I had been through and wondering if getting past those challenges was what I had been meant to accomplish at this point.

I rested once more as he went ahead to see if there was any sign that we were close to the end of the trail, and I began to think about what I had told him. The place I rested was a large flat rock with more rocks like it nearby. Nowhere else on the trail was there anything like it. The flat rock was massive, easily taking three of me laid foot to head across it both ways.

Dark clouds became more condensed and I felt the first of the cold rain drops land on my hot skin. I considered further how I felt about having pushed all of my limits and accomplished so much, even though we hadn’t reached the end of the trail.

My partner and I met up, and we found that the trail headed downward once more, with no lookout to be found even though we had been climbing upward for kilometers. We looked at each other and debated whether going forward would be a bad thing to do with the storm so close.

I searched my feelings and that was when I truly felt like I had accomplished what I was meant to accomplish on that trail. No longer did the thought of turning back reduce me to tears and feelings of unease. In fact, I felt revived, peaceful, changed. I had a new burst of energy.

The rain flooded down on us as we descended, washing away all the dirt, sweat, and strain from the journey up. Though cold with the wind and a bit intimidating with the thunder and lightning, I felt the rain completed everything, washing away the grime of the past to leave the slightly newer, changed me.

Yesterday I began talking about something mentioned in The Matrix and got a little off tangent. I apologize for that. It’s beginning to become a bad habit of mine.

Back to the main topic:

In the Matrix trilogy – the second movie, I believe – there is a conversation in which it is said that, basically, humans as they are could not tolerate paradise, heaven, Eden, whatever you would like to call it. Humans define their lives through their suffering.

Is this true? What does it mean for humanity? What does it have to do with spirituality?

Simplified, what your answer is to the first question could just be a matter of whether you are an optimist or pessimist. That’s simplifying it quite a bit, but it works.

With a world with such emphasis put on hard work and working to earn what you need, it’s easy to say that it is true. However, in the past decades, we have shifted into such a world of haves and have-nots that a life of hard work get truly get you nowhere.

So do we truly define ourselves through our suffering or is that merely the biggest label we have been given to define ourselves with?

What does this have to do with spirituality? Think of the mind maps. With the mind mapping you are trying to figure out the inner, subconscious beliefs and where they come from. Now, if a small group of ‘big haves’ in the world are telling you that you have to work hard for your whole life, told your parents that, told their parents that…

If you haven’t seen The Matrix trilogy, I recommend you give it a try. If you can watch it and take a step further into the area of critical thinking, you might just start thinking of some interesting possibilities when it comes to the source of what makes you, you.

In the Matrix trilogy – the second movie, I believe – there is a conversation in which it is said that, basically, humans as they are could not tolerate paradise, heaven, Eden, whatever you would like to call it. Humans define their lives through their suffering.

Is this true? What does it mean for humanity? What does it have to do with spirituality?

To answer the last question first: A lot, actually.

When you define (or try to define) human nature, you then step into the territory of what makes us who we are. That can venture into a multitude of different subjects such as the soul, the mind, the Self, how humans got started out, how life on this planet got started… You can see where I’m going. There are a lot of subjects.

The same goes with the second question. You move into territory like global consciousness, evolution, our future as a species…

Now, perhaps, you can begin to see why spirituality can be so hard to define.

Even the answer to the first question can have a lot of implications. No matter what the answer, why? If yes, is it inherent or learned? If it is inherent, where from? Why?

“Why?” is always the big question, isn’t it?

Which brings me to the next question – why am I telling you about this? What am I on about?
I suppose the first thing (I seem to get in a habit of multi-part entries on this site) I would like to point out is simply all the questions.

If not proof, this should show you that no one knows all the answers. We, in our current state, simply cannot know anything without doubt.

This is where the protests start, but ‘knowing without doubt’ and ‘believing without doubt’ are two separate things – as much as some would like to try to convince people otherwise.

More to come…

Something to know about changing your life, your Self, is that is not comfortable. It isn’t easy, it isn’t a key to automatic happiness (though it can bring you happiness), and there will probably be more than one time that you just want to quit exploring and go back to what you know.

Because, after all, isn’t the evil you know better than the evil you don’t?

This path isn’t always going to be ‘aha!’ and ‘wonderful!’ because it’s likely that you’ll be facing past events and beliefs that are upsetting. You may realize that people you once held close to you are not actually good for you. You may have to leave behind what you used to love.

If you’re not willing to do that, I am not going to judge you. Change is hard. Even if what you have is hell, it’s still hard to pick up and head for the unknown heaven.

Going back to the graffiti on your wall, if you’ve ever tried to clean anything like that, you’ll know it takes a lot of time and a lot of scrubbing. Just remember, though, that all that scrubbing, as hard as it is, can reveal some truly beautiful things underneath.

Why am I warning you yet again? I suppose it’s simply from personal experience. When you start working with these sorts of things, you can often open issues and things that don’t particularly like being ignored once they have opened.

You may experience memory triggers, needing to change your environment, and even needing to change the people you associate with. Not easy, by any means.

But if you’re ready, then best wishes for your journey.

The mind has been interpreted many ways over the thousands of years, a testament to the mystery that is the mind. Where does it truly start? Where does it truly end? Does it ever end? What makes you you?

I have had the mind and how other people explained to me in many ways, but with the previous posts about mind mapping, a new metaphor comes to my mind.

Think of your mind as a blank brick wall when you are born. There is nothing there but brick and everything holding the bricks together. The wall is blank.

When you are young is when people can leave the biggest imprints on your wall. They have an easier time leaving graffiti – their own messages and beliefs from their own walls. People have an easier time making scratches and gouges in the bricks. They can even destroy parts of the wall and build them back up in ways they see fit.

As you grow older, it tends to be (but isn’t always the case) a little harder for people to do those things – especially tearing down parts of the wall. It still happens and your wall can still be completely destroyed, but (hopefully) you have a few defenses to help you.

Of course, depending on your beliefs, you could get into the influences of previous lives what that could do to your wall, but as I haven’t touched on the subject of reincarnation, how about we leave that alone for today?

What does this all mean for you as a person? In terms of the metaphor, it means that people can change. Beliefs can change. But it can take a lot of time and a lot of hard work, especially when it comes to the painful gouges and slanderous graffiti people have left behind.

But it can be done.

Wouldn’t you rather work to create your own wall instead of letting other people dictate what it looks like?

Now that you have your mind map (or web) and may have discovered some associations that surprise you, what do you do with that now?

As always, that is completely your choice. You can choose to move on and make more mind maps. Sometimes it can be fun and interesting to simply continue exploring through various topics.

You can choose to put it away. It may have not been such a fun exercise for you and you don’t want to deal with it any longer.

Another alternative is to use it to change your life. If your subject was ‘love’ and you have a lot of problems with love but aren’t sure why, this mind map could be the beginning of you facing what issues you have with the subject.

For instance, say you underlined ‘love’ in connection to ‘money’. You may have never realized that you associated love with money, but there it was on paper.

You could choose to ignore it, put it away, forget about it. That’s completely your right. However, you can also choose to pursue it. Why do you associate love with money? Was it because one of your parents was with the other purely for money reasons? Do you think your mate might only be with you because you make a lot of money?

These are the sorts of questions you can begin to ask yourself once you have done mind mapping.

Mind mapping is by no means a miracle cure, solution, or answer. However, it can be used as the first step in finding your base beliefs and opening up. Mind mapping could even be your first step in changing your life, for you can’t change your base beliefs unless you know what they are.

Whatever you decide to do, be well. You have my best wishes to you on your journey.

Now that you have your blank paper and pen, it’s time to pick your topic of exploration.

It’s completely your choice as to what you choose to explore. However, I do recommend that you choose something you don’t have passionately strong feelings about on first go. Again, it’s completely up to you, but I believe in gentle probing as one of the better ways into exploring your own mind.

For this part, I’ll choose a topic to use as an example to lead you through the process. If you have never done a mind map before, think of a large web which you use to connect the words you associate with each other. In the middle of the web will be the word/concept/belief you have chosen to explore.

For this example, let’s go with ‘money’.

The first string of associations you might make are alternative words for ‘money’. So your first line of the ‘web’ might look like:

Money – Cash – Dollars – Change

At this point, I would like to remind you that nothing is ‘wrong’ on this map. Anything goes.

Then you might start with money equals comfort. Comfort equals luxury. So on and so forth. You could come up with anything. Don’t censor yourself. Let your subconscious make the associations.

After connecting money to comfort, money to abundance, to a good job, to the lottery…after connecting it to many things, you might find yourself connecting it to something that surprises you. Money equals sex, perhaps, or money equals power.

Any time you start to write something or write something and it surprises you and/or makes you pause, underline it, circle it, or star it. Those pauses mean you’re starting to tap into the underlying beliefs that are ingrained in your subconscious. Those are the things you are going to want to focus on.

You have your mind map. Now what? That will come in part three…

It’s easy enough for me to sit here and advise you that a good first step on your spiritual journey is to identify your prejudices and determine why you have them. By me saying only that, you are left to wonder exactly how you are supposed to do that.

First, we’ll get rid of the word prejudice. Prejudice is an ugly word that often brings negative things to mind. This should not be an exercise in berating yourself but rather identifying ingrained beliefs. That’s what we’re exploring – unquestioning beliefs.

We’re often raised with certain beliefs. Everything from artificial sugar causing cancer to all other religions besides the family religion being ‘wrong’. Sex, money, gender roles – these are all things we learn about not only by observing but by what we are told growing up. This exercise is about mapping out what connections you make to these things.

You might find something that surprises you.

I have been doing a lot of mind mapping lately for this very purpose – to get to the root of what I believe, what associations I make, and why I am the way I am. I am on a quest to find my true self.

You’ll need a blank piece of paper and a pen for this. Unlined paper is better as it encourages you to be free flowing in exploring your thoughts. Then you are going to have to pick one subject you’re curious about.

Do you find yourself looking at disgust with men and wonder why? Write ‘men’ in the middle of the page. Do you have an obsession with money and wonder why? Write ‘money’ in the middle of the page. Perfection? Love? Sex?

You can do this as many times as you want for any subjects. That is the beauty of it – it’s not limited to one subject, one sitting, or one anything.

Now that you are ready to go, stop back soon for part two of mind mapping.

Intolerance of people with different lifestyles, beliefs, and any other little difference seems to be running rampant in today’s world. While fear and persecution all of all that is ‘different’ to those in power certainly isn’t anything new, it’s sad to see so many people haven’t learned over the centuries.

Even so-called spiritual ‘gurus’ who have claimed to have found a higher path beyond the structure of major religions sometimes gather together to form elitist groups who look disdainfully at ‘the unenlightened population’.

As far as I am concerned, if you have that sort of elitism in your heart, then you are not on a true path of spirituality.

Before you start calling me a lovey dovey tree hugging pacifist (smiling), I am not here to preach at you about loving everyone and every thing no matter what they do to you.

In the world we live in, I believe acceptance is more powerful (and more reasonable to expect of people) than forced love. I don’t believe most of us know enough of what love is to ‘love thy neighbor’. Acceptance, however, is a step towards love and is something we can most definitely learn.

Given how similar we all are – we’re all human, whether we decide to have sex with a man or a woman, believe in God or Allah or Amun-Ra, or believe everything has a spirit – it’s not exactly a surprise that we point out the differences to distinguish ourselves from the group.

However, using differences as a way to persecute each other is where we stray from the path of light and acceptance.

A good first step for finding your spiritual path is to identify your prejudices and examine why you have them. Perhaps in examining them you can find and root out false believes and taught prejudices.

Perhaps it is the never-ending questioning of what is truly right and wrong that has brought about the New Age movements and furthered spiritual studies. Or perhaps it is the other way around.

While spirituality, finding Self, and seeking Truth are certainly not new to more of the eastern philosophies, we are at a point where the ‘people of the west’ are exploring more into these subjects.

Why I say perhaps one has caused the other or vice versa is because when a person begins on the path of finding spirituality and self Truths, the journey will be filled with questions. It is very possible you will question every piece of your knowledge.

In questioning, you will find answers. You will often find even more questions, though, as frustrating as that is. But it is in the questioning that we find shades of grey. It is there we realize the beauty and complexity of even ‘simple’ life.

You are reading this post for the first time in this moment. Now that moment is gone. You can read the post again, but never again can you live in the moment that you first read this post.

Simple, and yet complex. Why can’t we go back? Why do humans have a longing to go back? Is there any way to stop the process of life? Is moving ever forward the true process of life?
You begin to see what I mean about questions.

The path to inner peace can be a complicated one but so fulfilling. The path to true spirituality and acceptance begins with an open mind. That is why shades of grey are so important.

Shades of grey belong to the open mind, while the closed mind faces only black and white. The closed mind may have a simpler and more organized existence, but it will never see all the true beauty the world and life can show it.

You’re walking down the street and see a small shop. It’s painted with blues, golds, and purples – much different to the mostly drab shops around it. Curious and with some spare time, you walk inside.

You immediately smell one or more of the incense or candles burning. You see candles, rocks, jewellery, books, clothing, candles, incense, and much, much more.

You have entered a New Age store.

So what is New Age and when did it start? What is it all about?

There is no concrete definition for what New Age is. However, it can be broadly described as large movement towards spiritual exploration and adding on additional beliefs to traditional religions.

New Age encompasses a lot of beliefs, ideas, and activities. It can also touch on a lot of subjects from astral to psychic to even new spiritual movements. Thus New Age isn’t probably something that should be easily disregarded.

The lovely thing about New Age beliefs is that they can often mesh easily with commonly held beliefs of the major religions. ‘New Agers’ often practice mainstream religion along with some of the ‘out there’ practices of New Age.

True, some beliefs go directly against others, but there is no denying a feeling of flexibility and acceptance.

New Age often incorporates some form of the mind-body-spirit awareness. Whether it comes in the form of alternative (or ‘natural’) medicines or the use of meditation for strengthening and focusing the mind, New Age beliefs and practices can offer a lot to any person without causing people to ‘betray’ their religion.

Start with the basics. When you walk into the store, look around. The first step to becoming more open-minded and informed is to not generalize or assume.

It is easy enough to throw around words like ’spirit’ and ‘Self’ when talking about matters of both religious of spiritual natures. However, what are they and what do they mean? What does it mean when spirit is Spirit versus spirit?

Unfortunately, three terms – Spirit, spirit, and Self – can be confusing. Because I will be using them on this blog, I will explain how I will use them to make things clearer.

Spirit as spirit (lowercase) is often associated with the soul and matters of spiritual growth and desires. The Spirit can also refer in the spiritual sense to the unified, universal consciousness.

The Spirit (capitalized) is often in reference to the religious holy spirit or deity. Mother Spirit and Mother Goddess sometimes mean the same thing.

However, the Spirit (capitalized) is also used in the same way Self (capitalized) is used. Self is in reference to you and not your body. The you, Self, that controls the physical body you are in.

Unfortunately, Self is sometimes interchanged with spirit (lowercase). It can get confusing, but confusing is usually what you get

For the purposes of this blog, I am combining the Spirit/Self (both capitalized) into one category. In my personal beliefs, these two words are for the most part interchangeable. When I refer to a god/goddess/deity/universal consciousness, I will refer to it as such.

(If this doesn’t make you frustrated with the English language, I don’t know what will.)

Please don’t try to read too hard into my decision. I like simplicity. That’s all.