Spiritual?

What does it mean for something to be spiritual? For me spiritual involves the practices that I do internally to clear away misbeliefs and obstacles to a deeper connection with All that Is. My concept of spiritual does not include outside things or worldly things, although I may use such things as catalysts for my internal practice.

For instance some people would consider contact with angels or spirit guides spiritual experiences. I consider such things mundane and worldly. On one hand, if such contact is dedicated to deepening my awakening to ultimate reality then it would be spiritual to me. However, if my contact is meant to cure an illness, find insight into my career path or a relationship, or perhaps help me locate a desired person or job I would not consider the contact with heavenly beings to be spiritual. Such contact is no more “spiritual” to me than talking with a friend or counselor about such worldly things. And talking with a friend of counselor could be deeply spiritual if my intention was to remove obstacles to awakening.

lake Merritt

View of Lake Merritt in Oakland from the window of the Harmony Center for the Joyful Spirit

Yesterday, I gave my talk on unveiling. The audio is available here. And the video is here. The Harmony Center for the Joyful Spirit is made up of an amazing group of people and I enjoyed the discussion that continued for hours after the talk. If you are living or traveling through the Bay Area and are looking for simple and profound people, this is the group for you. Check them out!

One of the things that came up after the talk is the idea that “we are spirits having a human experience”.   Many people pick up this identity after they discard the one where they thought they were stupid, flawed, and not enough. This is a step in the right direction, and while there is some truth to it, it is not ultimate truth. We are not beings of light because ultimately we are not beings.

Angels, and beings that have not reached enlightenment, are just as trapped in the “world” (or perhaps we should say “realm”) as regular ole’ humans. Sure, it is a more pleasant existence, but it is not permanent and is subject to change and ending. When such an “existence” ends the next phase will either be more pleasant or less pleasant. What I’m interested in, is making sure everyone knows that there is a permanent freedom from the ups and downs of this realm. That solution is called enlightenment and it is the permanent experience of no-self – which is the unending experience of non-duality and permanent cessation of mental afflictions.

Jewell, a member of the Harmony Center, and I spent a great amount of time discussing spirituality after the talk. Jewell is a talented author and song writer. I recommend you read her book.  She holds a broader view of spirituality than I do, but most people do, as my view is quite limited.

We talked about the creative process. She explained how she would suddenly be humming a song that she had never heard before. Then the words would follow. The final creation didn’t seem to come from her. She would just marvel at it. That is how it is with my art. When I am creating a picture, I set the pen down from time to time to sit back and marvel at how lovely it is. Then I get a sense of what color to pick up next and the picture changes again. For her this is a spiritual process. For me it is a marvelous, but worldly process. She feels that the divine is expressing through her. I guess I just think that I am the divine and this is the way it works on the physical plane. Many things people are doing are amazing and creative. I have found the more present I am to my process, the more enjoyable it is. And the more present I am, the more I can feel the flow of energy.

I think the key thing is not what we call spiritual and what we don’t, but that we don’t get attached to any one experience.  As I said in the talk, “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him,” meaning don’t get stuck on any idea or ideal.  Stay open and dwell in the mystery of what the divine is –  the mystery that is unknowable but that we can evolve to be.  And keep on reveling in the amazing and miraculous mundane world of phenomena.

Unveiling

Next week I will be visiting the Bay Area and catching up with friends.  On Sunday, August third I’ll be speaking at the Harmony Center for the Joyful Spirit.  To go along with my talk I suggested the movie Kumare be played at their Friday night movie get together.  It is a documentary about a fellow from the East Coast that comes to Phoenix and pretends to be an Indian Guru.  Once he has collected together a group of followers and indoctrinates them in his spiritual path, he does an unveiling where he reveals his true identity.

movie kumareIt is an interesting and complex film.  Kumare’s message is that we all have the answers wtihin us and don’t need external teachers to tell us what to do.  This is my philosophy as well and “the answers are within” happens to be the title of one of  my books.  The talk I am giving is called Unveiling and will go more into the process of uncovering or revealing our true identities.  (Video of talk.)

We all have an identity. In fact we all have multiple identities or perhaps it would be better to say, we all have a multifaceted identity.  Our identity is made up of the stories we have about ourselves.  Many of us on the spiritual path of awakening have noticed how our identity has changed as we’ve progressed.

For me, I was largely unconscious of my identity in the beginning.  As I became more aware, I began to recognize certain facets of my identity and then I began to question them.

For instance, I called my self “insensitive” for many years in my teens and twenties.  Then I realized that I was actually overly sensitive and had built up a wide variety of strategies that protected me from overwhelm.  One of those protective mechanisms was insensitivity.  So one of my identities changed from “insensitive” to “very sensitive”.

These days the question is, “Am I very sensitive?”  And the answer is no.  If I can say, “I am ______”, then I am not that thing.  The truth is that I am not anything that I can say in words.  All labels and description are just constructs.  I am not a construct.  These things are my identity but they do not come close to expressing what I truly am.

I have found the process of unveiling is more like an elimination process.  I never can see or express who I truly am, but I get close to knowing who I truly am by finding out what I am not.

During the unveiling process, I may have first thought I was stupid or fat and then I realized I wasn’t stupid or fat.  I replaced that identity with the idea that I was smart or shapely.  Finally I realize that I’m not smart or shapely either.  If I was smart and shapely then who would I be if I get old and no longer can think and my body is falling apart.  So, I am not smart or shapely.

Similarly I have found that I am not anger or sadness, I am not my reaction to anything.  I am not my form.  If you remove my eyes, I still seem to exist. So I am not my body parts.  If my brain stops working (I’m in a coma.) people point to me and call my name.  I still exist – so I’m not my brain.

There are many paths to enlightenment and here is another tool:  See if you can find what you are?  The easiest way is to eliminate everything you are not.  Tell me what you end up with.