My Thoughts on the Spiritual Life

I decided to make a rather large post that contains a bunch of notes that I have jotted down over the past 9 months or so.  These notes are on a variety of topics and are some thoughts I had in the moment.  These are unedited, unfiltered and... you get the idea!  Enjoy!

The Purpose of Religion

In this post, I explore the purpose of religion. In the process, I also define terms for related topics, such as the role of love, our basic nature and others. This is a very high-level discussion and touches on quite a few areas. Enjoy!

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Illusion of Control

"Once you learn to operate from your Self, your heart-mind, you are inside the will of God as, in this space, you are merged with the Divinity."

We have a tendency to think that we are in control in life. In fact, this is an illusion we are not. As with most truths in life, there is a paradox here. On one seeming end of the spectrum, there are those who say that life arises purely from our thoughts. Positive thought is like prayer and attracts positive things to us. On the other end, there are those who say we are subject only to the will of God. God alone has control and we must surrender to that. The truth is that both of these things are true.

However, it is easier to look at things from the side of our ego as, when we talk about control in life, we are usually talking about the ego. When I talk of the ego, I am talking about the mind. You are not in control of your life. The you in this case is your self (lower case "s"). To say you have control over your life, is to say that you can predict the future when, of course, you cannot. You do not know what the next second will bring as there are external circumstances that you are not in control of.

The fact that we are not in control of our lives is both frightening and liberating at the same time. We should give control of our life to the Unseen, because we are not in control anyways. Consciously giving up control is admitting that we are not in control.

Once that control has been given up, you are then ready to get it back. It was never lost anyways. Giving your control to the Unseen is also giving control back to your Self. It is from your Self, your heart-mind, that the positive thoughts arise. The affirmations, faith, positivity, and love all come from your Self.

The clencher is that we wait around for the will of God. Yet, do you not see that God is waiting for You? Once you learn to operate from your Self, your heart-mind, you are inside the will of God as, in this space, you are merged with the Divinity. Your purpose in life is then that which makes You happy, the dreams that You have that you gave up long ago. You know you are operating from a centered, eternal perspective when your focus is on co-creating and you are not attached to the outcome. You positively expect that the Universe will grant your every wish yet do not get attached if this does not happen.

The Pursuit of Happiness

"What gives us meaning and purpose in our lives is the journey towards God, the source of all happiness, simultaneously realizing that there is no where to go as we are already there."

There is a seeming paradox in one's purpose for life.  If your purpose is to find happiness for yourself, then that is primarily a self-serving goal.  There is nothing wrong with being happy and everyone deserves to be happy.  Where does the paradox lie?  It is impossible to find happiness by pursuing happiness as outside oneself.  It is only when you let go of the pursuit that happiness comes.  This is because happiness outside yourself is attached to other things that are transient.  You have to dig deeper than self to get to your true Self.  You know you are truly centered when your focus is not on the end result of happiness but on helping others find happiness.

You discover that being happy is part of your True Nature.  You do not have to do anything to be happy; you are Happiness.  Serving others and helping them along on their path is a natural extension of the Joy that arises from within.  What gives us meaning and purpose in our lives is the journey towards God, the source of all happiness, simultaneously realizing that there is no where to go as we are already there.  God is here in this present moment.  The mistake is to think that there is a destination to get to.  There isn't.  The secret is to be with this Truth.  This Truth is that God is present as we strive towards her;  God is in the journey, not in the destination.

So, back to your purpose for life.  In truth, there is no paradox as long as we speak of things in the correct context.  A life built for pursuing Happiness that feeds your soul is one and the same as a life that seeks after God.  There is only one Good in the Universe and that is God.  God alone can provide the only nourishment for your Soul.  A mistake is seeking after happiness attached to temporal objects in this world.  In this plane of existence, such happiness is short-lived as you will eventually encounter its opposite, the associated sadness when that object disappears or changes.  Do what you wish to be happy, without attachment and without expectation of any result.  Follow your soul-inspired dreams and be filled with the everlasting Happiness from God.