Spirituality

For many years of my life, I thought the spiritual path had something to do with following one of the major world religions or pursuing an Eastern practice. I even thought it had something to do with morality and ethics.

Today my comprehension of the spiritual path has changed completely. Instead of the complexity of any of the disciplines to becoming a good person, I have found that the path is simple. In fact, some of the greatest atheists have followed it better than many theists. An example that comes to mind is the famous British Philosopher Bertrand Russell, who lived an impeccable life of wisdom, compassion, and grace..

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” That is the spiritual path. Everything else--all the theology, philosophy, and practices--lead you to that singular ideal.

Physically, do you like to be murdered, wounded, beaten, or raped? Emotionally, do you like to be humiliated, disenfranchised, betrayed, abandoned, disrespected, alienated, and cast aside? Mentally, do you like to be cheated, swindled, lied to, vilified or misinformed?

Of course not. In fact, your whole body just cringes at the thought of such mishap.

Yet, this is what we do to others. If we are truly savage, we abuse others physically. If a little more sophisticated, we abuse others mentally and emotionally.

And in this process we abuse ourselves.

In actuality, there is no enemy, for we are all connected at the collective unconscious, and the misperception that “they” are different from “us” has been the historical cause of most human suffering. Often this abuse is perpetuated from the collective rules referred to as ethics and morality. What is ethical and moral is defined by who is making up the rules.

Yet the bell that tolls for another, also tolls for thee.

Why do we act in a way that injures others?

It is because we feel a deep void inside of us and we lash out like a wounded animal. We relate to the world from the wounds of apathy, grief, fear, lust, anger, and pride. By striking out, however, we only deepen our own anguish. Although we are only trying to survive, we achieve only more peril.

A spiritual person, however, comes from a completely different perspective. He or she is motivated by feelings of courage, acceptance, and peace.

What does the spiritual path have to do with good psychology? Everything. A sound mind in a sound body.

Can the spiritual path be defined in an even simpler way? Yes. It can be defined as love.

When you love, love, love--you'll be happy, healthy, wealthy, and wise.

The opposite of grief, misery, and unending travail is the spiritual path. While many disciplines may lead to it, the heart will show you the way. Once we shed our habitual narcissism, then the way to courage, acceptance, and peace becomes possible.

More Articles:

2. Wisdom Quotes Point - Arguments Just Explain By Steven Gillman
"What does it profit a man to have gained the whole world, and to have lost his soul?" - Jesus ChristYou don't need to be Christian to see wisdom in the words of Jesus. Simple quotes from men and women around the world, from present day or milleniums past, inspire and instruct us, regardless of the religious or spiritual tradition they come from. Nor do spiritual and religious people have a monopoly on wisdom. Quotes that touch on the truth of a matter can come from scoundrels, saints, and ord…

3. Apostle Paul-His Cosmic Jesus By Dennis Diehl
Ask one of your Christian friends why the Apostle Paul NEVER quotes Jesus, tells a story about his life, his miracles, his teachings or his example and you generally will be met with a look that says...."that's not true." But alas it is. Paul never knew any Jesus in the flesh. He never spent one minute with him, ate no meals with him, and never sat at his feet being taught by him. EVERY time Paul relates how he got something from "the Lord" we have to realize it was in vision or perhaps be…

4. The Breath of Life By Lois Grant-Holland
The earth is wrapped in a thin, loose shell of gases - which we call the atmosphere. The mix of gases that make up the atmosphere has changed greatly over the eons.A Flemish alchemist and physician named Johann Baptista van Helmont was the first man to discover that the air we breathe is not one single substance but a mixture of substances. In a manuscript published after his death in 1644, he argued, based on his experiments, that an invisible "spirit" curled from every one of the bubbling fl…