Thousandroads

This blog I'm compelled to address one of the incorrect notions we have about spirituality.

A good chunk of us associate "Spirit" with blind belief or irrationality. That comes from the current stage our society is in -- traditional rational thinking. There were stages before it, and will be stages after it, but for now, the majority of us in the West fall into this stage of thinking.

Traditional rational thinking, as it exists, comes with the notion that everything that we can measure is real, and everything we can't measure is either imaginary or to be left out.

Of course we can't measure "Spirit" the way we measure, say, the distance to the moon or the temperature of the sun. "Spirit", by definition, is a quality that precedes everything. "Spirit" precedes our measuring tools.

So how do we see Spirit? Well, we turn our awareness the opposite way -- instead of looking out, we look within. When our awareness is turned inwards, we can see Spirit. Many of us have had such a fleeting glimpse without identifying it as such...usually we've had some form of a peak experience where time stands still and we feel at one with everyone, and at complete peace. Lots of people describe feeling this during childbirth, or when winning a major sporting event, or making love with a connected partner, or in a beautiful natural environment.

The most common practices to actively and consistently experience "Spirit" are through meditation or contemplative prayer. A meditation practice retrains our awareness to point inward instead of outward (paying attention to our sensations or internal voices for instance, instead of our environment or surroundings). At initial stages, we glimpse of how our body or mind are behaving. At later stages, we tune into the witness inside us that we call "Spirit" within us. And that glimpse is profound.

It is impossible to get into a discussion of spirituality on traditional rational terms. As we discussed, we can't point at or take a picture of "Spirit". However, by those who've experienced it, the experience of "Spirit" is more "real" than any traditional rational claim or argument.

So ultimately what do we need to do? We need to expand the way we rationalize to accommodate both external and internal inquiry. Then, we can all move to the next level of thinking!

Posted by Ranjeeth Kumar Thunga at 12:54 AM | Permalink

Today I'll talk about probably the most important aspect of spirituality--the shadow.

Along with all the wonderful joys of the spiritual journey, we also have a shadow that follows right behind, tricking, sabotaging, undermining our every step. I strongly feel that understanding the shadow is key to spiritual growth, more than anything else we learn.

So what is this shadow? Denied aspects of ourselves. Could be jealousy, or lust, or exhaustion, or desire, or passion, or greed, or self-centeredness. It includes underdeveloped qualities -- maybe we aren't as intelligent as we'd like to be, or attractive, or secure, or developed, or disciplined, or eloquent, or simply good. Whatever -- if we are hiding or denying who we are, in some way, we create a shadow. (As a note, shadows can be positive traits too, but I'll deal with these "golden shadows" in later posts.)

On a spiritual path, shadows are usually created when we take what's called a "holy" path - a very bad idea! Here are different things someone on a "holy" path might say:

-"Aahh the spiritual path is just so good...the insights, the joys, the bliss, positive experiences, continuous improvement, and purity of mind are amaazing. Life is just wonderful, always a gift."

-"I will meditate and pray even more, do even more good deeds, be extra kind to my neighbors, love everyone around me. Try even harder -- 110%. Always."

-"I am doing the right thing in life. I would never even consider stealing, lying, cheating, or having sex. People who do these things are immoral and reprehensible. I actually need to teach others a thing or two, I really know that they are messed up and must be helped."

-"I am always happy and joyous...but there is a little something about myself that is bothering me that I can't put my finger on."

Well THAT little something is a shadow, and is NOT that little at all. And the more "holy" our path, the stronger our shadow can become. Eventually, it can get suffocated off and disowned to the extent we don't even know we have a shadow...except that we crash and burn time and time again, and do things progressively more deviant and harmful to others without even realizing.

Shadows are tricky, because they are invisible by definition. I know many trained psychologists and spiritual seekers completely oblivious to their own shadows (including I know myself). The best way to recognize them is by noticing what upsets us in other people. These are 95% of the time reflections of our own shadow. I'll be talking about the shadow quite a bit in my blog, and how I am learning to recognize and acknolwedge them. It's funny that the world around us is one big hall of mirrors...the realizations sometimes are so profound and hilarious.

So then, what is the spiritual path about anyway? Well, the spiritual path ultimately isn't about being good or holy, but it isn't about being bad or evil either. The path is about finding what's genuine within ourselves. And by tuning into what is genuine within ourselves, we can get closer to God. And that's the conclusion I'm coming to, after a lifetime of shadow fighting.

Next post, I'll start sharing some anecdotes (may the stories begin)!

Posted by Ranjeeth Kumar Thunga at 10:40 PM | Permalink