Few people embark on a spiritual journey, often referred to as the road less travelled. This journey is written about in mythology and legends, many even modern-day films have this ‘journey’ as a theme, and music, both ancient and modern, often have this underlying depth of meaning. It is in fact an internal journey to explore the depth of who I am and how I can attain and experience my highest self. It is a path that sometimes winds and takes detours. It is understood to be a steep path, and sometimes we want to give up. We come to forks in the road and are not sure which way to go, and sometimes there is a tiredness of spirit because the journey seems so long. The journey also has incredibly beautiful experiences of the love for and of God and it is this that keeps us moving forward.
So, what are the stepping stones in front of us when we set off on our journey? There are six stepping stones or stages.
1. Whatever the catalyst for the journey, be it deep unhappiness, anxiety, fear of the future, a life-threatening illness, a near-death experience – something switches us into a different spiritual mode.
2. This is the stage of taking what is often referred to as a spiritual rebirth, or an awakening. It is most often accompanied by an overwhelming feeling of love through a connection with God. This love is the key to the beginning of the journey, and is what sustains us throughout.
3. Our first baby steps make us aware of being the spiritual being within, a soul, and as we practise, we notice a transformation. The habits of eating, sleeping, reading are suddenly easily changed and we actually see the results of our efforts and how far we are heading along the path. The danger of this stage is to become a bit ‘holy’ and judgemental of others who are not on the journey – we may become stiff, serious and self-righteous.
4. The next stepping stone is of growing up spiritually. It is the youthful stage of the journey. We have a regular practice and begin to see how important it was to concentrate on the consciousness of being a soul. We spend time going deeper and deeper into this awareness, unpack all the layers of this consciousness and become less and less bothered or influenced by things of the physical dimension.
5. What happens next, for many, is a kind of spiritual midlife crisis. Even after many years of commitment to learning and growth and of improving the relationship with God, suddenly a lot of rubbish emerges from within. Things about the inner thought processes, that we had worked on before and thought eliminated, come back but with great force. This is when a lot of doubts come to the soul. Can I do this? Am I really a pure soul? This is because somewhere along the line we have been suppressing pain, hurt and negativity and it has to emerge, to be dealt with. The major ones being lack of self-respect, fear and insecurity. This is when we must not become confused – we are not going backwards – it is all a particular stepping stone and part of the journey.
6. Spiritual maturity is the final stepping stone, though not the end of the journey. This is when we have complete honesty with the self.The power to face the things we can truly see that need to change, and the ability to wonder at the truth and beauty within. Spiritual maturity is the ability to see all of this, with clarity and the attain the deep understanding, that the reason for this journey is to emerge in total, the original state of the self – peaceful, loving, benevolent.
We have to constantly have the courage to keep learning. Sometimes there seems like so much to learn, it is difficult to know what to concentrate on. The best way of moving forward is to focus on one particular aspect. For example, it may be that I need to rebuild a stable sense of self-respect, or eradicate a victim consciousness, or some fear or insecurity. By gently noticing and practising, we begin to acquire the confidence that the change is possible. Meditate every day, study every day and during the day, practise changing whatever it is I am working on – this is real spiritual effort. This journey is only possible through the development of a beautiful, close relationship with God. It is this that makes us take the next step of the journey.
Charlie Hogg, based in Sydney, is the National Co-ordinator, Brahma Kumaris, Australia.