What is your end?

[skaroop2]

Dear All,

We all come to the spiritual path seeking one thing or another and that thing may change over time. For some it is Enlightenment itself, for others, simple peace. Some want to be a better husband/wife/father/mother/son/daughter/person, and some want to experience divine love. Some want to know how they can change the world -- and finally some are just curious to know what lies beyond the bounds of ordinary life.

What brought you to the path? How has what you've sought changed over the years you've been walking it?

[tribunalofmercy]

I'm new here, skaroop, so I'll say Hello and Welcome

I do wonder what it is that brings others to their spiritual paths - surely there must be Something, at some point, that calls the soul to awareness of a Need to make a "journey" of some sort...as you say, if only to Better oneself, or to find out what it's all About! The more books I read the more I am Sure that is a truth: that 'souls' are Called from deep inside themselves, and from the Universe that is God, to Seek a Greater Truth than we have been aware of.


I have no memory of Not being "aware" of greater Truth, but I lived Many years under the impression it was "just" because I was mentally ill, and that my feelings, my experience of Longing to Live in that Truth, was just an overactive brain glitch that was a source of Shame and not an actual Reality in any way.


There are So many moments in life I could capture and express as "defining moments"...both supernatural moments and Everyday moments that became Life-changing for me. *sigh* I've never been "satisfied" with this life, but only recently have I Truly embraced Acceptance of who I am, and found knowledge of WHY I am Here. And finally I feel like it's not all been a dream, or a delusion, but that everyone Else is sleeping, and I must help Wake them Up.

Namaste, skaroop -


Mary Anne

[tribunalofmercy]

...and you know, since I have understood my "purpose", that is not the Highest reason I am here..I may feel more of an Urgency to help awaken others, to Prepare them, but my Purest reason for being here is simply to Be Love...laying aside Everything else, to walk before others Focused on the Truth of Love...which is both the easiest thing, and the hardest thing, I will ever do.

[gruntal]

I first became aware something was "fishy" with conventional wisdom when I heard a lecture on the Great Pyramid of Giza. To say there was a rational explanation for everything was a self fulfilling prophecy and that became less and less convincing. Now instead of finding answers I just push the boundaries of the inexplicable even farther. So I am not making much progress yet. The answers are there but they just don't exist in our preconceived reality.

There is also of course a practical connection to everything. Which suggests isolation is not the best method to get involved. It would seem involvement is inevitable. I think the ultimate end is to become join and become involved.

[lionl]

Hi skaroop.

I was brought up as a logical and scientific atheist.  The logic and science are still with me but the atheism is long gone.

When I hit my teens I felt a 'pull'; an urge from 'somewhere' to seek a spiritual truth.  This led to a 20 year study of all the major religions and mythologies/beliefs and New Age things.  The most interesting thing I found was the plethora of NDEs.

I didn't discover the 'truth' but I did find out that, from its beginnings, mankind has sought a greater reality than this we can perceive with our 5 everyday senses.

So, to answer your question, I was brought to a spiritual way of thinking by an 'urge' from an unknown source which I like to think of as 'God'.

[beverley]

As far as I can remember (it was a long time ago) a friend started me off by "introducing" someone from the world of Spirit to me.
in a way that gave me proof that the seen is not the only life. Over the years, I looked at all the major religions and decided Spiritualism was the one for me.
It was by no means plain sailing, the biggest difference in me is I can honestly say that I think I am a better person than when I started out. Oh I still have times when I have to have give myself a good talking to etc but hey it's better than it could be, I'm good with that.

[sparklekaz]

I can relate to everything everyone has said. From a very young age I have always been very 'aware'. Sensed, felt the layers beneath everyday life. Have always felt the 'urge' to explore, question and learn. So much of what spirituality is though is not gained through 'knowledge', though knowledge has opened the world to me, the beauty and wisdom of other spiritual paths. For the main part our spiritual life is highly personal and unique, and yet the same. A glorious paradox.

Each of you said something that jumped off the page for me. Skaroop said "We all come to the spiritual path seeking one thing or another and that thing may change over time. For some it is Enlightenment itself, for others, simple peace. Some want to be a better husband/wife/father/mother/son/daughter/person, and some want to experience divine love. Some want to know how they can change the world -- and finally some are just curious to know what lies beyond the bounds of ordinary life." For me spiritual and emotional growth has been the driving force. I wanted to be a better person. The paradox is that at times, it has not always worked out that way. But through my mistakes and poor judgement, I hope I've grown a lot.

Mary Anne said "I have no memory of Not being "aware" of greater Truth, but I lived Many years under the impression it was "just" because I was mentally ill, and that my feelings, my experience of Longing to Live in that Truth, was just an overactive brain glitch that was a source of Shame and not an actual Reality in any way." My heart goes out to you Mary Anne. How sad to live in a society where a connection to the divine or awareness of the higher self and spiritual reality is deemed as, not being normal. Or only seen as a result of some mental glitch. In other societies, this type of connection would have been understood and respected. Sometimes I do wonder if we are born in the wrong places at the wrong time.

George said "Now instead of finding answers I just push the boundaries of the inexplicable even farther. So I am not making much progress yet. The answers are there but they just don't exist in our preconceived reality. There is also of course a practical connection to everything. Which suggests isolation is not the best method to get involved. It would seem involvement is inevitable. I think the ultimate end is to become join and become involved." How wonderful to get to that point where we accept that the answers are out there, but that we simply cannot see them yet. Or understand what we are seeing from our current perspective. But open to the possibility. So many just close off to anything that cannot be rationally explained. And I agree George, I have found it to be truth, that it is through interacting with others that I see so much more clearly. That it is in our relationships and sharing that a shift in perspective can occur. I believe that God, the divine or inner spark, sometimes needs to be re-kindled or lit by another person. When we view the world through our narrow vision or set boundaries, 'it' could be right under our noses and we wouldn't see it.

Lionl said "When I hit my teens I felt a 'pull'; an urge from 'somewhere' to seek a spiritual truth. This led to a 20 year study of all the major religions and mythologies/beliefs and New Age things. The most interesting thing I found was the plethora of NDEs. I didn't discover the 'truth' but I did find out that, from its beginnings, mankind has sought a greater reality than this we can perceive with our 5 everyday senses. So, to answer your question, I was brought to a spiritual way of thinking by an 'urge' from an unknown source which I like to think of as 'God'." Everyone speaks of this 'urge', 'pull', and I can totally relate to that. I often liken this sensation to feeling a 'homing beacon' or 'magnetic attraction' that we cannot 'but' follow. It's a sensation we cannot resist. It is more than just that mankind needs a spiritual life or it is some kind of affect left over by our highly superstitious ancestors. The truth is out there, and we are 'in spite' of ourselves inexplicably drawn to it.

I trust in the journey. I've learned that awakening is very personal and the whole process must happen naturally. We cannot 'awaken others' no matter how much we want to. To try to bring them to this point before they are ready is futile, and would indeed rob them of the opportunity to naturally discover this 'urge and pull' within themselves. But we can be open, loving and ready to share our own journey's, when asked.

Love and light
Kaz

[Ishtahota]

Oct 14, 2014 14:48:03 GMT skaroop2 said:

Dear All,

We all come to the spiritual path seeking one thing or another and that thing may change over time. For some it is Enlightenment itself, for others, simple peace. Some want to be a better husband/wife/father/mother/son/daughter/person, and some want to experience divine love. Some want to know how they can change the world -- and finally some are just curious to know what lies beyond the bounds of ordinary life.

What brought you to the path? How has what you've sought changed over the years you've been walking it?

I want all of the above and more.

[mojomojo]

Always knew as far back as I can remember, that this was not it, never quite happy until I entertained spirituality, life only made sense when I did, now, trying to escape the madness of the ego.