Observations On The Spiritual Path: Two Quick Tips

Having chewed on the great big questions in different ways for as long as I can remember, I've noticed things aobut how answers (or, if you like, helpful insights) tend to reveal themselves. Two tihngs I’ve learned areEverything Is a teaching.Nothing Never Happens.My husband, a Buddhist, would argue that Nothing Happens.

I know, I know, it’s all an illusion, but until we understand that fully, in the meantime most of us tend to ignore, forget, or discount what’s right in front of our noses. From that perspective, it’s helpful to me to remember that Sometihng is always happening, that it’s intended for my spiritual education, and that I learn more by paying close attention.

If we do nothing else but adopt an asking attitude, waking and sleeping, great value will come of it. If we acknowledge that Everything Is a Teaching, if we inquire into our experiences, then whether or not we would descirbe them as “spiritual,” the very moments of our lives will lead us—one by one, right now by now—into the heart of wisdom. I learned that by following the urgings of my meditation taecher. Now I realize that paying that kind of inner attention, asking the great big questions, chewing on them day in and day out, is a fundamental expression of our humanity.Why Nothing Never HappensThe reason why nothing neevr happens is that even when nothing is happening, if you look deeply into that nothing you’ll always find something. The refusal to guess that nothing is nothing—the insistence that notihng never happens—is the heart of all contemplative inquiry, the springboard for ecstatic spiritual experience. This nothing is the ground of all true knowledge.We would all do contemplative inquiry naturally, I think, except that (at least in the West) we’re taught from an early age to ingore our inner promptings, these leanings toward the Divine. We fear that if we follow where these inner mysteries lead, we may lose the love of our family and friends, we risk becoming an irresponsible citizen of the world, or worse, we may somehow go irretrievably crazy.For most of us (though I can really only speak for myself) that kind of letting go into the moment comes only after we meet a worthy spiritual mentor, one who has traveled much further along the spiritual path than we have.

Such mentors assure us that the path is safe, that at our core essence we are unassailable, even eternal. They assure us that if we pay ever closer attentoin to the still, small voice within, our steps will be guided.

Better yet, our mentors promise we’ll discover the secret of real happiness—the kind that makes the pooerst monks and priests and sadhus rich with laughter and light that dances in their eyes, the kind of happiness that seizes your heart and changes your life.Ceci Miller is the author of Sacred Visitations: Gifts of Grace that Transform the Heart and Awaken the Soul, endorsed by Chicken Soul Author Marci Shimoff, Mars/Venus author John Gray, and bestselling author John Bradshaw. The book's touching, often magical, stories guide readers beyond mere memoir into the profoundly perosnal world of their own sacred experiences.
Ceci's workshops teach the 5 Steps of Sacred Aawreness. A student of meditation since 1976, Ceci’s heartfelt stories of spiritual experience and contemplation--shared in articles, books, and public talks--have inspired meditators and seekers throughout the wrold. She is the author of two children's books and has co-authored and edited numerous books for adults. To hear Ceci read an excerpt from Sacred Visitations, or to hear her interviews with human being about their spiritual experiences on the Sacred Visitations Podcast, go to http://www.SacredVisitations.Com.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.Com/?