There are many ways to seek spiritual growth and each of us must find the Way that is right for us. Without regard to specific religions, here are some suggestions.
1. Make it a priority. The material world that we see, hear, and feel is always pounding at the doorways to our senses. The spiritual world is more subtle; it takes focus to notice that it, too, sends messages through our physical senses as well as our inner awareness.
2. Use it to manifest good, not to escape evil. It may seem that to do one is to do the other, but there is a difference in motivation. We develop strong links to what we focus on. If we focus on escaping what is bad for us (which is one of many definitions of evil), we will maintain our ties to it. If we focus on using our spiritual growth to manifest good, then it is our ties to the good that will grow.
3. Dump your baggage. There is a parable that says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. One explanation is that after the gates of Jerusalem were closed at night there remained one small gate that could be opened to late travelers. For security reasons it was so narrow that it was known as the eye of the needle, and a loaded camel could not get through it. To get his camels through this gate, a merchant had to unload all the baggage from them. So must we unload our baggage, our beloved belongings, our sources of victim-hood, our hurts, our perpetrators, our righteous wrath. We must unhook ourselves and be prepared to leave them all behind.Continue Reading