One time a minister in a somewhat interfaith organization told me that the spiritual ministers usually didn’t make it as successful ministers.  That statement and the truth of it says something in itself, I think.  Spirituality is not a good thing when it comes to maintaining buildings or systems, which are basically the little units of power that everyone needs in order to be able to function in a power-over society.  Spiritual people draw on another source of power that is shared by everyone and everything.

One can have a great career working within a religious institution trying to sneak in spirituality and ways to connect every once and a while to those who are interested , but one is not often  oneself. One´s own spirit runs dry and this can lead to much despair, corruption of the soul, and even physical and psychosomatic illnesses that lead to death.  Worse than this, it can lead to a shift of thinking and a hardening of the heart that can lead to spiritual death.  It is important to understand the difference between religion and spirituality.  If  one is religious and becomes spiritual, he will quickly be given a lesson that demonstrates the difference.

If this New Year you would like to attend to your spiritual needs and be free of the chains that so easy beset many of us in this material power over society, it is important for you to begin a spiritual, not religious journey.  It is important to seek and find what suits you best to enhance your spiritual life.  This only comes from having and open mind and being around a supportive group of people who are spiritual.  If you are around a lot of people who are as bad off as you are socially or spiritually I doubt they will be helpful. As a New Year resolution you may need to spend some time away from such people in order to save your eternal soul.

I am not talking about joining some strange cult, or fasting until you can´t walk, or drinking poison Kool-aid, I am talking about using well proven techniques to find the God within, to commune with that God within, and to ultimately connect with and merge with that God.  This merger comes as a result of letting go of the false ideas of self and realizing who we really are.  It is easy to do this in the head, but practices like meditation and contemplation help us realize it in our hearts and make it a reality.  If you want to make a New Year resolution why not go all the way.  Go for enlightenment and spiritual freedom not only in this life, but for all eternity.

It is written that you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.  Where shall we find this truth?  We, like the one who made the statement, are the truth, the way,and the light.  When we transcend the ego and realize this, entering deep within and allowing our divine, wise self to reawaken, we will be free and free indeed.  The beginning step is to seek.  Repeating actions the same way only brings about the same results.  It is time, if you would like to live, to die to the old things and take a journey into the new Kingdom of Heaven that resides within.  If we cannot find love, light, hope, God and the Kingdom ruled by love within us, we shall never find it.

Om Prakash John Gilmore is a spiritual director and healer.  He teaches Tai-Chi, Chi-Kung and martial arts.  Om Prakash has written many books on how to free the human soul and is the founder of the DSWellness Cyber School and the Universal Cyber Circle of Creation Spirituality.  From his website http://www.dswellness.com there is a link to the school and Cyber Circe where you will find free courses and a religious service based on mysticism and spiritual principles.  You will also find a free Journal of Practical Spirituality and the descriptions and previews of some of his books for freeing the human soul and reclaiming your own identity.

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- Henry David Thoreau.

Deepening what you know about your spirituality, and deepening your spirituality per se, are two different things. Deepening what you know about spirituality is relatively easy; just read everything you can get your hands on, go to lectures, talk endlessly with all kinds of people, and soon you will deepen what you know about spirituality. You might even become an expert and know everything there is to know about spirituality! Trouble is, knowing and being are two very different levels. We can know all there is to know about spirituality, yet not be spiritual at all.

Many people these days want to deepen their faith, but they haven’t a clue how to do it. They may pick up some hints, such as it requires solitude and a one-on-one relationship with that which is sacred, but this is rarely talked about in our congregations, because we need to congregate! None of this solitary business, how would the church pay its bills?

That leaves us pretty much on our own to find our way, and the way can have many twists and turns. For instance, it’s difficult at times to see any progress being made; it seems that the deeper we go, the more we see how awful we really are compared to that which is sacred! It’s as if we are going backward most of the time, and after awhile, that old congregation begins to look good again!

Henry David, an expert on the woods, says that you must wait – for something to happen. That’s the key – waiting patiently. Waiting with such resolve that we are willing to wait an eternity. That’s what it takes. Waiting just beyond that moment we can wait no longer. Waiting so long that all of our ideas and opinions, all of our thoughts and our dreams are stilled. Waiting beyond all hope.

That which is sacred is waiting as well, waiting to see if we can out-wait our selves. During our quiet times, we observe carefully all that disturbs our silent waiting, all that comes between us and that which is sacred, and we become ashamed that such frivolous thoughts drag us into our selves and away from our Source relentlessly. When will we make the decision to go all the way? It is really up to us.

Eventually, we will decide to sit in our woods, silently, in anticipation of that which is greater, that which few come face-to-face with. Why is it that the contemplative saints of Christianity; St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila squirreled themselves away and devoted their lives to deep prayer and meditation? Did they know something we don’t, as we scurry here and there in pursuit of our everyday ideals that vaporize like the mist on Thoreau’s pond?

Why do Buddhist monks meditate night and day in the forest to find enlightenment? Why are common people finding themselves asking questions about life, and wanting to know for themselves what lies beyond?

We can only do what we can do, and we can’t make quantum jumps from our heads – all big leaps come from the heart – and if our heart begins to ache for that which is sacred, nothing else will satisfy us again. That’s just the way it is. Try as we might to make things relative and normal again, the energy for those things is quickly exhausted, and we soon find ourselves back in the woods, wondering what happened.

There is no set roadmap to your particular truth; it is your solitary, unique journey to map out yourself. Just remember to wait in the woods. This may help.

E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the       Southwest Florida Insight Center, http://www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-eight years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers.  Visit http://www.AYearToEnlightenment.com

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