There are steps we can take, beyond the obvious ones, that deepen our spiritual awareness. They are subtle steps, personal steps and very individual choices. But where to begin?
Create regular quiet time
You can’t do inner work unless you are quiet and listen. That can mean walking in the woods, closing your eyes and taking some deep breaths, or sitting in meditation. Do you arrange for quiet time? Do you consciously set aside time to contemplate, absorb, and listen to your inner voice? Start there. Choose your method. Set a time. Be quiet.
Get to know yourself
Learn to understand what you need. What drives you? What do you long for? What’s keeping you separate? Journaling helps you understand yourself. Mind maps sometimes uncover inner messages.
Accept yourself. Love yourself. Be patient with yourself. Shape yourself into a more open and receptive vessel. Accept that you are Tao, the All-That-Is, the Great Nothingness, as is everyone else.
Study what calls you
Your spiritual life is totally personal. It’s up to you to explore and examine and try on concepts to see how they feel in your life. I’m learning a lot from Taoism. I love to identify with the cycles of nature. I love the idea of letting life unfold and simply shaping things as they come. I love the idea of learning to simply “be.” But it all takes practice.
Deepen your place of service
We are in service by our mere existence. Even our casual interactions have impact. When we make conscious choices to walk beside someone in service, we have a far-reaching effect. How are you in service? How far-reaching is your impact?
Dissolve all concepts of duality
Here’s the big one. We need to stop seeing ourselves as separate. A quote I’m working with is from Rumi, “Live in the nowhere that you came from even though you have an address here.” I’m working on that to see and feel and experience all as one. There’s no “you”. There’s no “I”. There’s but one all-encompassing energy. How do I experience that? How do I understand that? How do I know that?
It’s easy to feel close to someone you like. It’s a lot harder to feel oneness with someone who’s quite different. You may feel close to the cat on your lap, but less close to the lion stalking through the woods.
I can feel the nothingness when I meditate. I have moments in meditation when my whole body seems to disappear. At times I become so totally absorbed in what I’m doing that my physical surroundings cease to exist for me. Is that the “nowhere that I came from?”
Practice “being”
My conscious step toward feeling this “nowhere” is to deepen my awareness of my own presence in every circumstance. I pause to listen to the sound of silence. I consciously merge my energy with my cat as he sits on my lap. From the crystal I hold, I invite energy to enter my body. I feel the flow of energy in my Qi Gong practice. “Being” is subtle. It needs your awareness. But it’s a place to begin.
Is there a teacher?
The only physical-plane teacher I have are my personal experiences and my ingestion and absorption of the spiritual philosophies with which I resonate. The fact that I write to figure out these ideas is one way I learn. I’m deeply tuned in to the phrases and concepts that resonate. They show up at all moments of my life. My inner voice says, “write about that.” I write for my own clarity. I search to encourage my own spiritual expansion. I’m traveling my own journey.
Just as you are.
You are the only one who can deepen your spiritual awareness. How are you doing that?
To Sing a Deeper Song consider:
How to Walk Beside Someone in Service
I Am You
We Are Part of a Larger Spiritual Order
Your Work as You
18- How Your Light Illuminates Paths of Darkness
21-How to Share a Piece of Your Soul
