Ministries & Spirituality

“How do we reach higher levels of spirituality?” This is the question that I am asked most in my practice. In order to reach higher levels of spirituality we need to throw out limiting ideas and concepts of spirituality as well as the way we look at the higher sources- God/Goddess/Universe/All That Is.

Spirituality is not just a connection to religion, faith or beliefs. Rather, it is an actual way of living, of integrating goodness into our personal, professional and business life. Spirituality is treating other souls with compassion, kindness, respect, acceptance, integrity, and honesty.

When spirituality is integrated into our personal, professional and business lives and we actually live spiritually, our souls advance to higher levels. These levels include awareness of three gifts given by the Higher Sources or Universe. We are all gifted in these three areas and we all use these talents at one point or another.

These spiritual gifts are creative abilities, spiritual abilities in wisdom, knowledge and understanding as well as psychic abilities. All three of these abilities lie within each one of us. Many of us use them. Many of us don’t realize we have them, so these gifts lie dormant within. Some of us are afraid or skeptical of these abilities, yet in time we often begin to realize it is normal to have these gifts.

As we advance in one of these gifts, the other two advances also. One will not advance without the other two. Many times we use these gifts but do not admit to them, or we call them by other names. When we use our psychic ability, for example, we often call it gut instinct or intuition. Whatever name we use, it is the same concept.

Many individuals won’t use the word psychic because of the image, or stigma associated with it. Whether we choose to admit and accept it or not, being psychic, spiritual and creative is within each of us. We don’t see individuals having problems with the word “creative,” but they often do with the words “ spiritual” and “psychic.” It is interesting what we often choose to accept or oppress.

In my workshops and lectures I tell students that spiritual development is the recognition, development and use of each of these three gifts in a responsible manner with understanding and wisdom.

The key to spiritual advancement is to advance all three of these areas and work in unity with other like-minded souls.

The time is coming when these gifts will no longer lie dormant and will be abundantly found and used worldwide. We can fully develop our gifts, being responsible for our actions, words and deeds.

Full development comes with practice and exercise. Prayer and meditation, connecting to the Higher Source, is our vehicle for advancement. Acceptance of abilities and gifts, along with trust in how to develop and use them in a responsible manner, is part of the key to growth.

Spirituality of being psychic is nothing to be ashamed of. It is not something that should be hidden away, for fear of ridicule. Those who don’t understand this deep form of spirituality, creativity and psychic abilities.

If we allow fear to control us, we will not advance and may block connections to the Higher Source. Blockage in one area can also affect the chakras that are within and outside of our body. When these areas are blocked, we may experience bad karma, and we often go through a period of learning hard lessons.

We must accept these situations, learn from them and grow, going beyond to the next point of advancement. In this way we are helping to unblock the chakras. We must look deep into why we are carrying fear or blockage. Is someone trying to guide us and assist us to realize that our actions, deeds or words toward ourselves or others may be wrong or hurtful?

To advance spiritually, psychically and creatively we must take the time needed for advancement. I recommend setting up a specific time if possible at least two times a day, morning and afternoon, to practice, meditate, pray or even chant. Make sure your phone, children, etc. do no interrupt you. Going to a quiet spot outside in nature can be revitalizing. If you can’t get out, go to a room that is reserved for your personal time and needs. Allow at least 20-30 minutes.

When you begin to open your chakras and connect with energy, you must allow time for the positive energy flow to come in and fill your body throughout, reaching every chakra, every organ and every nerve. As you allow this positive energy flow to fill you, and you open your body chakras, the higher and lower chakras outside of the body open allowing Higher Sources and universal knowledge to come through. It takes time and practice, but as you do this you will find your body, soul and mind responding in a positive manner. You will feel calm, at peace and energized. All blockages will be gone and you will be ready to take on life, its forces and situations with a positive attitude.

As you advance take time to be a teacher. Share your information, knowledge and expertise with others but never stop learning or being a student and accepting other information and knowledge that may be different from your own.

We can reach out; opening our minds and our hearts, letting our souls breathe. We can let go and allow God and the Universe assist to us in our development.

In our personal and professional lives, the Golden Rule applies-treat and respect others as we ourselves want to be treated and respected. When we practice our spirituality in our daily lives we find many answers to questions and problems in a timely manner. We will intuitively know the right information to assist us in each situation.



By: Rose Ann Schwab

About the Author:

Introduction

In an age where the super rich invest their wealth in various interests such as football teams, vintage aircrafts etc., Bill Gates stands apart. He has not only pledged a large percentage of his wealth to charity, but has also stated that after July 2008, he will be devoting all his time to charity work.

There are very few people who are able to walk away from their wealth and also devote their time to help society. It is for this reason the Spiritual Science Research Foundation proceeded to find out through spiritual research, the contributing factors behind this noble act and to find out the spiritual factors that contributed to Bill Gates taking this life path.

Information about some relevant past lives of Bill Gates

Bill Gates has had a rich spiritual background in his past lives. He is a seeker of God following the Spiritual ‘Path of Action’ (Karmayoga) which is inherently about practicing Spirituality according to the principle ‘As one sows, so shall one reap’. The knowledge received also revealed that his faith and his efforts undertaken on this path to God, has made him a philosopher with thought-leadership on the Path of Action.

Through spiritual practice he has acquired a place in the subtle highly evolved plane of existence, the Mahaloka (a region which is more subtle and spiritually progressive than Heaven).

He has done spiritual practice for 20,000 years in the subtle plane of existence called Heaven and for 3000 years in the subtle plane of existence called Mahaloka. This amounts to a total of over 180 million years of effective spiritual practice in Earth years before being born as Bill Gates in this lifetime.

What is the purpose of Bill Gates’ birth on Earth?

Bill Gates due to his ample spiritual practice in previous births has already transcended (gone beyond) the attachment to happiness one enjoys in Heaven and has attained Mahaloka, and has taken birth on Earth to ascend (progress) from actual actions of sacrifice to complete renunciation.

By virtue of his merits and spiritual level from previous lives, Bill Gates is destined to lead a life of fame and fortune and hence he has been able to earn so much wealth. As a seeker his spiritual practice is that of offering his wealth for the benefit of others in order to experience renunciation.

As Bill Gates does not have any craving or attachment to wealth, he now has the privilege to experience first hand, the Bliss of giving away wealth and of the resultant renunciation.

Future of Bill Gates’ spiritual practice

The wealth acquired by Bill Gates is a result of his pure thoughts and unshakeable faith in the Path of Action.

Giving away his accumulated wealth helps do away the sense of achievement associated with it. Thus he will ascend from the level of sacrifice (giving away), where there is a sense of achievement of wealth, to that of renunciation where even this sense of achievement is overcome. This is his goal. Thus he is close to achieving his objective and is now moving towards renunciation.

Summary:

We often look at our lives from a very myopic viewpoint i.e. we are born, we live and then we die and there is nothing before or after that. However, according to Spiritual science, our life is but a part of a continuum of many lives from our first birth till we finally realise God or until our dissolution. In other words, we all come from God and finally have to go back to God. Every time we are born on Earth, it is an opportunity to make spiritual progress so as to move closer to our final goal i.e. becoming one with God. From the standpoint of spiritual growth, the opportunity to be born on Earth, if used well, can result in our rapid spiritual growth.

By donating the acquired wealth, one is liberated even from the thoughts of achievement and one makes progress faster. Bill Gates is an excellent example of this. He is an example of a great evolving soul.

For more details about this research, please visit Bill gates



By: Sean M. Clarke

About the Author:

Karen K asked:


I’m 21 and a University graduate student so I consider myself too educated to follow a monotheistic faith. I am interested in Buddhism but I’m worried that it contains the same supernatural nonsense that put me off of other spiritual practices. Is there any supernatural element to Buddhism?

There are not many who give a lot of attention to their spirit; giving most of their attention to the human body and the ego. Just as most people do not think much about their feet, yet are concerned with the condition of their hands.

The individualized human is made up of three parts; mind, body, and spirit. You would not exist in human form without all parts. At birth and for the first few years you are more aware of these parts then at any other time in your life. A baby spends much of his/her time playing with his feet for no other reason than they are there, and he is connected to all things. As time moves on, he becomes less connected to his body as he now focuses on other things around him as he develops preferences; likes and dislikes. Consciously he becomes a two part person of mind and body, forgetting his spirituality; his connection to all things.

Although he is reaching out in his world to explore where he lives and where he does not, his world becomes smaller as his curiosity about the most obvious and most accessible, fades. It is very much like giving all your attention to your hands – the doers – and less on the parts that take you there – the feet. You spirit and your feet take you where you want to go; and where is that – it’s anyplace you choose?

So what’s the big deal about being spiritually aware? Why would you want to bother about it, and what’s in it for you?

Very much like your feet, if you ignore your spirit, over time you become trapped in a box that takes you nowhere; you become dysfunctional and lifeless. If you are cut off at your feet, you become dependant on others and you lose much of your freedom. Spiritually dysfunctional; you will become arrogant and a victim of your own ignorance.

What do spiritually aware people have that you don’t; they have freedom?

When I say spiritually aware, I do not mean religiously aware. Religion is man’s attempt to explain religion in physical terms. You don’t have to be religious to be spiritual. We are all spiritual by nature and therefore everything that we do is spiritual.

People who return to their spiritual paths are curious about themselves and all things around them. They have learned from their experience without feet and have rediscovered them for the first time since birth and it opens up a whole new world. People of expanded spiritual awareness become engaged in their own welfare and development. They start to consider themselves first as the center of the universe. They begin to collect abundance, considering the love of self to be their highest priority. They begin to understand that if they have nothing, they have nothing to give. If they do not love themselves unconditionally first, they cannot love another in the same way. They have discovered feet once again and can now move freely along their destined journey.

Being spiritually aware does not excuse one from the physical life, but it frees one to experience all aspects of it. It is the only aspect of our physical existence that is consistent with our soul’s purpose.

As one becomes more aware spiritually, we begin to be concerned for the welfare of our bodies and our environment; giving more attention to our bodies as the vehicle which allows our physical experience. But it is only our experience of the environment that we need to be focused on. We begin to see our connection to it and understand its relationship to all things. The world is perfect as it is, but not necessarily our impression of it. The illusion of the world as it is can be changed when someone decides that it needs to be. Even in a perfect world there are those who don’t experience it as such. So I’m not talking about the world as it is, but as we think it is. Spiritually aware people are simple people who use the system to create their experiences; they are not caught up in it. They understand their relationship to their environment and to others. They live without fear except for the moments they wish to experience it.

Life in the realm of the spiritually aware is ongoing in this life, and the next. Knowing that one continues on even after the physical body has been released is what unconditional love really means. It is the freedom to screw up your life as many times as you wish and still have as many chances as you need to experience what you want with no penance or repercussions no matter what you have done. In truth, it is not possible to screw up your life, because you are creating it, and “experience” is the true meaning of life. As it is only your experience that really matters; it is natural for you to evolve and move past what you are presently experiencing and create something even better.

It is our parents who guide us through this process, whether the relationship is loving or abusive. It is in this knowing that we choose our parents, our time of birth, and its circumstances before we are born. In hindsight we can see that they are the best facilitators in our early life, and they start us on our journey.

To understand this is true spiritual awareness, and accepting the consequences of our choices puts us in the position of creator, not victim. If you can accept yourself as the creator then you will also accept the power to change anything that you do not like or desire. If you do not understand these things it matters not right now. It simply means you are not there yet. What it really is is another way of understanding who and what you are that helps to explain your experiences in a way that is intentional, loving, and created in absolute unconditional freedom.

Unlike religion, spiritual awareness sets you free because there is no hidden agenda. Awareness of whom and what you are opens the way for evolution and expansion past your current beliefs. Every thought or action takes you away from it and brings you closer to the next. Every question leads to another and there are no definitive answers; spiritual awareness is not about answers. It’s the kind of questions that you ask which reveal your level or place of spiritual enlightenment. The prize or gift of enlightenment is in knowing or experiencing the trip.

The greatest gift in a life of awareness is in knowing that you can do no wrong, that your spirit never dies and you will never be punished. That you have absolute freedom to experience all that you desire and in doing so you will move to a different place of knowing from where you came. The trip itself is not about knowing, but of experiencing. It is your only purpose, it is what life is. In your physical life this awareness is paramount in moving from your present place to a better one. Practically, it makes your physical life easier, but doesn’t excuse you from it. The liberation comes from knowing that you are creating every circumstance of your physical experience. You are not a pawn or victim. You are both the creator and the created, and you are interacting with yourself.

In this knowledge you will find comfort and the joy of living in a physical world which is nothing more than a buffet of experiences that you choose from.

In spiritual awareness, everything changes. The circumstances of your life are known to you and expected. The magic of what the physical experience is becomes addicting and desired. Fear is no longer a part of the equation by choice. The beauty of how the system works becomes visible no matter what the experience and death becomes welcomed, not as an escape but as a doorway to new opportunities and experiences. This little secret will become known to all in the correct time and place as he/she evolves.



By: Roy E. Klienwachter

About the Author:

Being spiritual or not spiritual isn’t an option-you were born spiritual and everything you do is spiritual.

So what is the deal with trying to be spiritual-trying to find your path of enlightenment?

I believe we are programmed to believe we are not spiritual unless we have a religious belief and attend church. For centuries those who do attend meetings have been trying to recruit non believers and convert them to their faith. The bottom line for the church is it’s simply good business and nothing else. Long before there were churches, there were millions of people who were very aware of their own spirituality and they understood the connection between themselves, others and their environment.

Although many of us are not aware of our spirituality it doesn’t mean we are not spiritual. It is spirit which moves the body, that knows it’s alive and its connection to the environment. Awareness of this is what most people are lacking. The benefits of knowing ones true nature or spiritual connection are many.

If you lived in a dry land and everyday was a great effort to find and gather water, would it not benefit you to know that by digging 20 below your feet you would find all the water you could use?

If you were homeless and you spent your days sitting on the same corner begging for food, would it not benefit you to know that there is a free soup kitchen only two blocks away?

If you were in the market for a new car and you local dealer did not have what you were looking for, would it not benefit you to know that in the next town, they have the exact model you’re looking for?

Knowledge is power-the awareness of one’s own spiritual nature is power. The most amazing thing is we do not have to do anything, look anywhere, or kiss anybodies ass to be spiritual. We simply have to know we are already there. The benefits of this knowledge are infinite opportunity to experience anything we desire. Would this knowledge serve you to know you can have abundance, good relationships, love, or anything you desire simply by knowing that you can?

The knowledge of your own spirituality can open doors to places you would never thought possible and it is yours through the simple process of knowing.

The big difference between believing and knowing is in knowing you already have it-you are already experiencing it. In believing or having faith that you will have a thing-it is something that may occur in the future. In knowing you are the spiritual one who will create what you wish to experience-you have access to immediate delivery and it is not incumbent upon the whims of someone or something else.

The greatest secret to the benefits of spiritual awareness is the power that it holds. In the knowing you are spiritual, brings knowing its power and its responsibility-it is absolute. Thinking, believing, trusting or having faith that you are spiritual does not take you there-it is the awareness of being spiritual which makes it so. It’s within the acceptance of being this power that you are able to use it. Humanity knew this a very long time ago, but gave up the responsibility for it because he feared his own imagination and the awesome limitlessness of its capabilities.

Power is non-power unless it’s used. The responsibility for this power was too much for primitive man. Instinctively man still knows his connection to this power it never went away. He chose a life of limited power and a lifetime of trying to find it. The same power that can create universes can also destroy them-man fears this power. Man generally fears to think too big. He is still very primitive in his thinking and his concerns are with himself and his little empire. There are other places, other realms yet to be discovered that will require him to be more powerful. Until he is ready to claim back his spirituality and power he will never leave this earth.

The good new is that you can have it all now through complete acceptance of what you truly are.

Spirituality, what is it good for? It’s worthless until you know its value and place in your own awareness.

As you read this, your creative mind may be thinking this is a lot of bull. And you would be correct. You would also have a greater understanding of why you do not have complete authority over your life or have limited power. You would know why things do not always work out the way you want them to-you have accepted less! Quit simply-you are not ready to accept what is already yours.

If at this moment you may be saying to yourself-my life is the way it is because of “this” or “that” then you already know you are powerless to change it.

That changes when you accept your own spirituality. What is it good for-it is determined by you and your own creativity.



By: Roy E. Klienwachter

About the Author:

There are not many who give a lot of attention to their spirit; giving most of their attention to the human body and the ego. Just as most people do not think much about their feet, yet are concerned with the condition of their hands.

The individualized human is made up of three parts; mind, body, and spirit. You would not exist in human form without all parts. At birth and for the first few years you are more aware of these parts then at any other time in your life. A baby spends much of his/her time playing with his feet for no other reason than they are there, and he is connected to all things. As time moves on, he becomes less connected to his body as he now focuses on other things around him as he develops preferences; likes and dislikes. Consciously he becomes a two part person of mind and body, forgetting his spirituality; his connection to all things.

Although he is reaching out in his world to explore where he lives and where he does not, his world becomes smaller as his curiosity about the most obvious and most accessible, fades. It is very much like giving all your attention to your hands – the doers – and less on the parts that take you there – the feet. You spirit and your feet take you where you want to go; and where is that – it’s anyplace you choose?

So what’s the big deal about being spiritually aware? Why would you want to bother about it, and what’s in it for you?

Very much like your feet, if you ignore your spirit, over time you become trapped in a box that takes you nowhere; you become dysfunctional and lifeless. If you are cut off at your feet, you become dependant on others and you lose much of your freedom. Spiritually dysfunctional; you will become arrogant and a victim of your own ignorance.

What do spiritually aware people have that you don’t; they have freedom?

When I say spiritually aware, I do not mean religiously aware. Religion is man’s attempt to explain religion in physical terms. You don’t have to be religious to be spiritual. We are all spiritual by nature and therefore everything that we do is spiritual.

People who return to their spiritual paths are curious about themselves and all things around them. They have learned from their experience without feet and have rediscovered them for the first time since birth and it opens up a whole new world. People of expanded spiritual awareness become engaged in their own welfare and development. They start to consider themselves first as the center of the universe. They begin to collect abundance, considering the love of self to be their highest priority. They begin to understand that if they have nothing, they have nothing to give. If they do not love themselves unconditionally first, they cannot love another in the same way. They have discovered feet once again and can now move freely along their destined journey.

Being spiritually aware does not excuse one from the physical life, but it frees one to experience all aspects of it. It is the only aspect of our physical existence that is consistent with our soul’s purpose.

As one becomes more aware spiritually, we begin to be concerned for the welfare of our bodies and our environment; giving more attention to our bodies as the vehicle which allows our physical experience. But it is only our experience of the environment that we need to be focused on. We begin to see our connection to it and understand its relationship to all things. The world is perfect as it is, but not necessarily our impression of it. The illusion of the world as it is can be changed when someone decides that it needs to be. Even in a perfect world there are those who don’t experience it as such. So I’m not talking about the world as it is, but as we think it is. Spiritually aware people are simple people who use the system to create their experiences; they are not caught up in it. They understand their relationship to their environment and to others. They live without fear except for the moments they wish to experience it.

Life in the realm of the spiritually aware is ongoing in this life, and the next. Knowing that one continues on even after the physical body has been released is what unconditional love really means. It is the freedom to screw up your life as many times as you wish and still have as many chances as you need to experience what you want with no penance or repercussions no matter what you have done. In truth, it is not possible to screw up your life, because you are creating it, and “experience” is the true meaning of life. As it is only your experience that really matters; it is natural for you to evolve and move past what you are presently experiencing and create something even better.

It is our parents who guide us through this process, whether the relationship is loving or abusive. It is in this knowing that we choose our parents, our time of birth, and its circumstances before we are born. In hindsight we can see that they are the best facilitators in our early life, and they start us on our journey.

To understand this is true spiritual awareness, and accepting the consequences of our choices puts us in the position of creator, not victim. If you can accept yourself as the creator then you will also accept the power to change anything that you do not like or desire. If you do not understand these things it matters not right now. It simply means you are not there yet. What it really is is another way of understanding who and what you are that helps to explain your experiences in a way that is intentional, loving, and created in absolute unconditional freedom.

Unlike religion, spiritual awareness sets you free because there is no hidden agenda. Awareness of whom and what you are opens the way for evolution and expansion past your current beliefs. Every thought or action takes you away from it and brings you closer to the next. Every question leads to another and there are no definitive answers; spiritual awareness is not about answers. It’s the kind of questions that you ask which reveal your level or place of spiritual enlightenment. The prize or gift of enlightenment is in knowing or experiencing the trip.

The greatest gift in a life of awareness is in knowing that you can do no wrong, that your spirit never dies and you will never be punished. That you have absolute freedom to experience all that you desire and in doing so you will move to a different place of knowing from where you came. The trip itself is not about knowing, but of experiencing. It is your only purpose, it is what life is. In your physical life this awareness is paramount in moving from your present place to a better one. Practically, it makes your physical life easier, but doesn’t excuse you from it. The liberation comes from knowing that you are creating every circumstance of your physical experience. You are not a pawn or victim. You are both the creator and the created, and you are interacting with yourself.

In this knowledge you will find comfort and the joy of living in a physical world which is nothing more than a buffet of experiences that you choose from.

In spiritual awareness, everything changes. The circumstances of your life are known to you and expected. The magic of what the physical experience is becomes addicting and desired. Fear is no longer a part of the equation by choice. The beauty of how the system works becomes visible no matter what the experience and death becomes welcomed, not as an escape but as a doorway to new opportunities and experiences. This little secret will become known to all in the correct time and place as he/she evolves.



By: Roy E. Klienwachter

About the Author:

jalady asked:


What is the difference to you between the two, when someone says they are not Religious but they are Spiritual?

Many people believe that new age books are different from spiritual books, even though there are so many books available that are described as new age spiritual books. If we look at the terms new age and spiritual, we find similarities, where spiritual refers to soul or spirit and new age has been described as ‘of or relating to spiritual and consciousness raising movements’. New age books encompass health, medicine, philosophy, religion and the occult. And yet, the term new age was only coined in recent decades, mainly from the 1970′s. So that begs the question – is there such a thing as a New Age?

Many so-called new age books (and spiritual books) that have been written over these past few decades are emphatic that we are indeed in a new age spiritual era that is NEW in every aspect to what has come before. However, researching older spiritual books and philosophy books shows that humankind has passed through eras of high enlightenment before – inspirational times of metaphysical and spiritual awareness that equals or surpasses our current times. So is this perhaps not a new age as such, but simply a remembering of metaphysical, esoteric, inspirational parapsychology and spiritual powers that all of us possess but have temporarily forgotten. If this be the case, then perhaps a more apt term would be Mind Body Spirit.

Which brings us to another so-called new age term … parapsychology. New age parapsychology is the study of paranormal phenomena and the term parapsychology comes from the Greek para ‘beside, beyond’ and psychology, derived from the Greek psyche ‘soul, mind’. So, here we are back to the spiritual again or, as mentioned above, Mind Body Spirit. And yet, some people still insist that spiritual books, new age books and new age parapsychology are totally separate themes. Perhaps that’s why more and more people are coining the phrase Mind Body Spirit in an attempt to mold these various terms into a more unified category.

If we look more closely at the core messages in the various spiritual books, new age books, metaphysical, esoteric, parapsychology, philosophy and even self improvement books, we often find similarities that are sometimes veiled in different terms that could all be better described as Mind Body Spirit. Yes, even philosophy books, which are essentially the belief or system of beliefs accepted as an authoritative account by a group or philosophy school, have similarities to each other and also to the more recent spiritual new age parapsychology and metaphysical esoteric books. The various philosophy books available today, which are scriptures handed down over many centuries that are the core beliefs of the world’s many religions, also have strong similarities in the original message, although the interpretation of these books over the ages has led to contrasting viewpoints.

Considering the strife that such opposing views of philosophy books over the ages has caused, perhaps this new age of parapsychology, with its metaphysical, esoteric and spiritual messages and books will help break down these old belief systems that have divided humanity for so long, particularly when unified under the more acceptable catch-phrase of Mind Body Spirit. The proliferation of self improvement books alone has brought a spiritual awareness to thousands, if not millions, who seek to grow through better knowing themselves. Old philosophy books are being rewritten in more spiritual new age terminology and marketed under various terms, not only new age and spiritual, but also metaphysical books, esoteric books, new age parapsychology, inspirational books, self improvement and even philosophy books. An increasing number of these books are being grouped, on websites and also in physical bookstores, under the Mind Body Spirit label.

The overriding influence of these books is inspirational, encouraging readers to delve deeper into themselves to discover their true spiritual nature and it is encouraging to see so many spiritual new age parapsychology (Mind Body Spirit) books coming out in increasing numbers each year.

Two such books are listed on www.1-inspirational-quote-book.com/ although many readers place them into various categories. They are a mixture of metaphysical, spiritual, esoteric and self improvement books, even though they are based in a sci-fi theme. Above all, they are inspirational, told from the viewpoint of an extra-terrestrial race of Beings who are concerned about the direction we are taking. Regardless of the various viewpoints, they will easily fall into the more generalized Mind Body Spirit category and, overall, the feedback from readers has been fantastic, many of them describing the books as ‘inspirational and thought provoking’. As one reader wrote ”The story slowly engulfed me, drew me in until I was on my own journey. It opened my mind, enticing me to read more. I ask, is this just a novel or a key to our future…?’



By: David Gau-Ghan

About the Author:

Introduction

In an age where the super rich invest their wealth in various interests such as football teams, vintage aircrafts etc., Bill Gates stands apart. He has not only pledged a large percentage of his wealth to charity, but has also stated that after July 2008, he will be devoting all his time to charity work.

There are very few people who are able to walk away from their wealth and also devote their time to help society. It is for this reason the Spiritual Science Research Foundation proceeded to find out through spiritual research, the contributing factors behind this noble act and to find out the spiritual factors that contributed to Bill Gates taking this life path.

Information about some relevant past lives of Bill Gates

Bill Gates has had a rich spiritual background in his past lives. He is a seeker of God following the Spiritual ‘Path of Action’ (Karmayoga) which is inherently about practicing Spirituality according to the principle ‘As one sows, so shall one reap’. The knowledge received also revealed that his faith and his efforts undertaken on this path to God, has made him a philosopher with thought-leadership on the Path of Action.

Through spiritual practice he has acquired a place in the subtle highly evolved plane of existence, the Mahaloka (a region which is more subtle and spiritually progressive than Heaven).

He has done spiritual practice for 20,000 years in the subtle plane of existence called Heaven and for 3000 years in the subtle plane of existence called Mahaloka. This amounts to a total of over 180 million years of effective spiritual practice in Earth years before being born as Bill Gates in this lifetime.

What is the purpose of Bill Gates’ birth on Earth?

Bill Gates due to his ample spiritual practice in previous births has already transcended (gone beyond) the attachment to happiness one enjoys in Heaven and has attained Mahaloka, and has taken birth on Earth to ascend (progress) from actual actions of sacrifice to complete renunciation.

By virtue of his merits and spiritual level from previous lives, Bill Gates is destined to lead a life of fame and fortune and hence he has been able to earn so much wealth. As a seeker his spiritual practice is that of offering his wealth for the benefit of others in order to experience renunciation.

As Bill Gates does not have any craving or attachment to wealth, he now has the privilege to experience first hand, the Bliss of giving away wealth and of the resultant renunciation.

Future of Bill Gates’ spiritual practice

The wealth acquired by Bill Gates is a result of his pure thoughts and unshakeable faith in the Path of Action.

Giving away his accumulated wealth helps do away the sense of achievement associated with it. Thus he will ascend from the level of sacrifice (giving away), where there is a sense of achievement of wealth, to that of renunciation where even this sense of achievement is overcome. This is his goal. Thus he is close to achieving his objective and is now moving towards renunciation.

Summary:

We often look at our lives from a very myopic viewpoint i.e. we are born, we live and then we die and there is nothing before or after that. However, according to Spiritual science, our life is but a part of a continuum of many lives from our first birth till we finally realise God or until our dissolution. In other words, we all come from God and finally have to go back to God. Every time we are born on Earth, it is an opportunity to make spiritual progress so as to move closer to our final goal i.e. becoming one with God. From the standpoint of spiritual growth, the opportunity to be born on Earth, if used well, can result in our rapid spiritual growth.

By donating the acquired wealth, one is liberated even from the thoughts of achievement and one makes progress faster. Bill Gates is an excellent example of this. He is an example of a great evolving soul.

For more details about this research, please visit Bill gates



By: Sean M. Clarke

About the Author:

A sundance brother recently asked my views on the differences between religion and spirituality for possible inclusion in his doctoral thesis. An interesting question, I thought, as the common assumption is that religion is spiritual, that the two terms are interchangeable, even synonymous. To question that is to ask if religions actually lack a true spiritual foundation. This is not only a large topic, but borderline heretical in some circles. To do it justice requires an exhaustive study of the teachings and actions of literally every known religion and every nonreligious, but spiritual practice, including an extensive lexicon, all of which are well beyond the scope of this article and capacity of its author. But so what, let’s consider these two phenomena anyway through the device of some admittedly homemade definitions, loaded with limitation and opinion.

As I see it, all religions throughout time and throughout the world, are human-made constructs that attempt to define some higher power, both temperamentally and attributively, in what are essentially self-serving terms. From this, a hierarchy usually evolves, what we call a “clergy” in this country; professional social engineers. Another common characteristic of corporate religion is to impose itself at large, and sometimes violently as witnessed in the Inquisitions prosecuted by the Catholic Church spanning some 600 years, to the recent exploits of the Talibahn in Afghanistan, to a number of Christian churches gleefully acting as Indian reservation agencies in the late 1800s US. The inconsistencies here of preaching love while advancing war or trampling other cultures under foot are not at all limited to these religions, either. The Pews of History are filled with heroic tales of religious wars, religion-promulgated, influenced, or condoned imperialism to the lesser sins of religious chauvinism, to innumerable ethical scandals.

I think it’s fair to say that virtually all religions have exceeded the bounds of their legitimate purpose, whatever they might claim it to be. How many nations associate themselves with a particular brand of religion, even today? More than we might realize. Some overtly in their constitutions; England and the Church of England, Israel as a Jewish State, and Iran as an Islamic State. Others putting considerable effort into becoming constitutionally mandated; the USA, where religion and state are supposedly separate, yet there has been a steady and aggressive calling to baptize the nation into Born Again status, even before it was born the first time. And it has had an effect: Witness the litmus test of every candidate having to proclaim some form of Christianity to be acceptable leadership material, and what about national holidays founded in Christian mythology; Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter?

In 1993 I interviewed Deepak Chopra for publication. Now, whenever I spoke with the more interesting personalities, there was usually an agenda or two imbedded in the interview. Chopra’s interview was no exception. And so, I asked him if he thought religions had helped or hindered the growth of human consciousness. I honestly had no idea if he would even take on the question, or cut me off short. You decide.



“R

 



C:

 

I think all religions in all times have been the bastardization and corruption of spirituality. When spirituality becomes corrupt, it becomes religion because religion as we have experienced it throughout the course of history, and this is true of Hinduism and Buddhism and all kinds of current religions, have been bastardized into dogma, ideology, and belief systems. And as long as the religion has a belief system, and all religions have one, all without exception, then they hinder man’s evolution. So I think religion is toxic to society, all religions. And that includes the Eastern religions. The Eastern religions, before they became religions, they were spiritual devices or you might say spiritual styles of living with an exact science and methodology to find the truth about one’s own nature. But when they became institutionalized, they became a set of rules and regulations and beliefs and ideas and dogmas and ideologies and there is no religion that I know of, whether it is from Judeochristianity or it is from the East, that has not propagated war and destruction and murder and killing. We have this popular myth in society that Hinduism is a nonviolent religion. Well, the Hindus are burning the Buddhists in Sri Lanka and the Buddhists are doing the same in southern India, so, you know, religion is a very dangerous force, as far as I’m concerned. ” 1…As a very general statement, do you think that modern religions, especially in the United States because that’s what we’re most familiar with, are hindering the evolution of consciousness or are they growing with it and helping to facilitate it?

You have no idea how stoked I was when he stepped up to the plate and gave the answer I hoped he would. Not only did he speak directly to the ubiquitous negative effects of religion, he gives us one of the most eloquent informal definitions of spirituality I’ve heard; “…they were spiritual devices or you might say spiritual styles of living with an exact science and methodology to find the truth about one’s own nature…” To fully appreciate his words, we need spend a little time on the term “spiritual.”

 

In the Medicine Wheel workshop, we define a few terms, two of which are Soul and Spirit. I offer them here for your consideration only. Whether you agree or not is up to you, it is none of my business. But I offer these in an effort to shed light from a different direction:

 

“Soul & Spirit: I recognize we all have our own ideas of what Soul and Spirit mean. I offer the following definitions of them for the purposes of this class. Thinking of them in this way may help you connect with the Wheel on a deeper level.



Soul



Spirit

Soul is the “Being.” Spirit is the “Actions of the Being.” We know the Soul by what the Spirit does. Spirit is Soul in action, expressing in the physical through us. Spirit is the relational link between Soul and all others. Since Soul is part of the Great Mystery, and all Souls are, of all that is, animate and otherwise, all souls are one. Spirit, then, is the Great Mystery experiencing itself through infinite avenues of expression.

Soul is the Center of our being, it is the Cause of us, that which catalyzes life into existence and action, outside the physical Void, outside of space-time. The Skan.

There is no separation between the spiritual and the material, though mainstream society and its various religions would have us think so (heaven in the sky, spirit only accessible in the afterlife, God looking down upon us “from a distance,” that sort of thing.) Without the spiritual, the material would not function as we know it. Do not confuse “spirit” with “religion.” They are in no way interchangeable.” 2

 

(as a verb): That through which the Soul relates to all others, and to the various environments it operates in; the physical body of the individual, the physical environment of the Earth, the environment of concepts, ideas, intention, and thought, the emotional environment, the environment of All Our Relations. The Lakota call it the Taku Skan Skan (dakoo shkah shkah), that which is behind everything that moves. The Spirit is the actor that connects everything to the Soul. It is the energy through which the Soul touches, reaches out to, and communicates with all other life.(as a noun): Who and what we are throughout time and outside of time, from the beginning of time and before. The Void, or Cause of all that we are; in the physical and energetically, the invisible. Part of the Great Mystery.

We need also to broaden our discussion of “spirit” to include its use when referring to nonphysical beings, or the intelligent, self-aware energies we call “the Spirits.” One popular perception of Indigenous ceremonial practice is its reputation for working directly with these Spirits, in real time and real contact. This idea fairly rankles most professional clergy when you get right down to the truth of it, except for certain strains of Evangelical Christianity, a relatively recent phenomenon, and one I’m not so sure was not inspired by or heavily influenced by Indigenous practices. In my lifetime I have heard from more than one pulpit on how the Spirits, what many call Angels, told about in the Good Book no longer talked to humankind, that was then, this is now, they have spoken, end of story. Makes it tough when sincere religious people start having direct contact with the Spirits.

Corporate religions actually deny direct contact from the Spirits, especially by the unclean, denigrating those who claim such experience, the intimidation so aggressive from the pulpit most of the flock will close down to the possibility, thereby taking themselves out of the processional long before the first note is even played. For instance, the whole idea of the “personal relationship with Jesus” actually serves to block out any kind of personal relationship with any Spirit not Jesus, as Jesus is the only approved Spirit, but held in such high esteem that we can never expect that he would actually be present at our next prayer meeting in such a way as to physically reveal himself as do the charlatan spirits of pagans.

Some of you may have heard me say or read it on the website, that the Red Road is not a religion, that in general, traditional Indigenous spiritual practices are not a religion (ancient Aztecs, Mixtecs, Inca, Toltecs, et al excluded). Granted, there has been a great erosion of these ways. Consider the hyper-aggressive imposition of Christianity in the Western Hemisphere, Australia, and New Zealand for instance. When you hear an informed person use the word “religion” when discussing the Red Road, it will be more in the nature of an accommodation to those in the mainstream who are unaware of the differences. In our June newsletter (Ceremony) we touched on some of the differences between ceremony and ritual, the most notable being that religion is primarily ritualistic while the Lifeways of Indigenes are more ceremonial in nature. Further, you’ll recall one of the differences between ritual and ceremony is that ritual tends toward rigid and is usually the exclusive domain of professional clergy. Ceremony is flexible and seeks to include everyone present in its execution.

From this, we see it becomes a question of power. In religion, all power is vested in the Church, Temple, or Synagogue etc., usually what is termed religious (Church) Law, and carried out, or franchised, through its various orders or sects, and their clergy. Spirituality, whether Indigenous, New Age, neo-Pagan, or unaffiliated, tends toward acknowledging Creator is in every literal “thing,” be it animated or not, and that we as two-leggeds are directly connected to all Life, not separate from it, neither above nor below it. Where religions perceive their assorted deities generally in anthropomorphic images, they are also set apart in some fictitious place, such as heaven, which is significant as it underscores the erroneous idea of separation. Indigenous spirituality and ceremonial practice tends toward the mundane, its dominant purpose being to support life right here, right now and with immediate benefits. Unlike most major world religions, there is no Great Payoff that can only be received in the afterlife. And where this idea of perpetual forgiveness doled out by the Church for the same repetitive sins actually breeds irresponsibility (“Hey, I can do this…all I gotta do is ask to be forgiven…again…”), the Lifeways of Indigenes may be a little more difficult in that they require one take responsibility for his or her actions now. In other words, there is no Heaven or Hell at the end of this road, we just keep moving ahead.

As you can see, this is indeed a very large subject. We’ve not even gotten into the geographic foundations of religion or spirituality, of how language impacts whether a culture develops religious institutions or remains centered in a living spirituality (the implication here that religions are spiritually void is intentional), nor have we discussed how exporting religions changes them, of how they shift out of geographic relevance and into a historical archive when that happens, of how merging a religion into government fully compromises any spiritual efficacy it might have once claimed, of how religions are damaged when they involve themselves in economic exploitation, or bind themselves to or even instigate the blind religio-nationalism we see in so many countries today, including the US. In the coming months and years, we may consider these.

1: © Rick McBride, Connexions Magazine, 1993

2: © Rick McBride, Teaching of the Medicine Wheel, 2007

This article © Rick McBride, 2008

be well, Rick



By: Rick McBride

About the Author:

There is a time and place in which the soul begins to seek a path of return to its lost home, and, finding the way blocked or invisible, yearns once again for the sense of peace and love that it remembers as having been part of its deepest longing. In that moment of time, when the soul turns toward the sun of its longing seeking remembrance and reunion, seeking the sense of peace and completion that it believes is possible, a significant step toward the light of Spirit is taken and the soul will never be the same again.

At the same time, if the yearning for home is not realized by fulfillment, if the spiritual longing finds, instead, an emptiness of heart and a lack of response to its prayer for reunion, it can become disconsolate and greatly sorrowful, so much so that it gives up that which it has set its heart upon, and instead turns to other means by which to fulfill its desire for peace and for the essence of tranquility which can only be produced by the light.

These are the conditions under which addictive processes take place within the human psyche. They emerge from the condition of perceived separation from one’s point of origin and spiritual home, and arise when the deeper longing of the soul still struggling to emerge within the human self, seeks its way back to the point of its Source and origin.

They do not arise before this, because before this the embodied soul is fully engaged with life on the material plane. It is engaged both from the standpoint of seeking mastery and a sense of physical comfort and fulfillment, and in the sense of fascination with the many arenas of earthly learning and pleasure that are both sensory and spiritual – though the latter quality may be unknown to the self that pursues them. When the soul begins to find these pleasures and this mastery no longer sufficient to quiet the yearning that grows within the heart and the deeper levels of being, then the soul begins to lose hope that the life of the physical plane will be able to grant the satisfaction that it longs for. Instead, it may seek a substitute gratification that it hopes will steadfastly and surely be able to grant the kind of peace and soul-fulfillment that is desired.

Fundamentally, turning toward addiction is a spiritual act. However much it may be fueled by conditions of poverty, need, emotional instability, immaturity, or any other psychological variable, the replacement of the soul’s yearning for completion and peace with a substitute is an act of spiritual seeking that has taken a turn away from its true destination toward an alternative destination. This is an act that is both an effort to resolve a spiritual dilemma, as well as an effort to grant immediate release from the pain of having to wait for a more authentic source of realization.

The difficulty in waiting for what one longs for but cannot yet have, and the emptiness that occurs in the presence of the heart’s longing that neither mind nor senses can satisfy – these are the dilemmas of the embodied self that seeks relief from longing and a way of resolving the problems of time and of waiting. If the process of choice were engaged in more consciously, with greater awareness of what truly was being sought, it is likely that many more who turn to addictive substitutes could find within themselves the courage to wait through a period of pain and of emptiness. But the choice before the embodied self is rarely that conscious. And although a spiritual longing exists at its foundation, this longing is often not even dimly recognized by the conscious, experiencing self which only seeks an end to its pain – the pain of emptiness and the pain of loss.

When it is discovered through use of addictive substances, relationships, or habits of any kind that a kind of numbing of pain and of distress takes place through the ability of addiction to grant a temporary feeling of satisfaction, then the original impetus to find a spiritual solution to a basically spiritual dilemma is lessened. In such instances the soul must often wander far down the pathways of illusion before it discovers that the promise of peace and of satisfaction that an addictive substance or process seems to give is an illusion. It discovers that there is often more pain involved than satisfaction, and that the emptiness, in any case, never really goes away.

Some who choose this alternate route for easing a hunger of the soul continue a very long time in a state of illusion, until broken, desperate, and despairing, they return with empty hands and an empty heart to face the source of the problem. Others, who see more clearly or who are able to bear pain with greater courage, find that the path of addiction is a path of illusion and seek a change of direction and movement shortly after having embarked upon it.

The problem for many who embark on this road out of spiritual longing and out of a nameless pain that seems impossible to ease by any other route, is that there is no easing of the underlying cause of the pain except by continuing to incorporate more and more of the addictive substance, relationship, or process. This is true not only because the physiology of addiction prompts this kind of accelerated usage in order to maintain the same effect upon consciousness, but also because underneath it all, the awareness of one’s own emptiness still and always remains. Addiction represents the desperation of the hopeless and the yearning who, with a sense of desiring to save themselves, seek a way out of their dilemma by turning to a source which seems to offer a possible way.

In the end, all addictive process whose origin is the state of separation that the embodied self experiences from God and from its true self, must be healed by finding its way back to the center of this dilemma – to the source of its own pain. When this can occur in a more authentic way, that is, when it is recognized that it is spiritual hunger that is fueling the craving for a substitute and illusory peace rather than a real peace, then, and only then, can the spiritual enlightenment of the embodied self begin in an authentic way.

Today, the problem of addiction and its spiritual underpinnings can be viewed in a new light. Because it is the time now of increased spiritual light upon the earth, the underlying truth of addictive process can more easily come to the embodied soul, bringing with it greater clarity concerning inner motivations, longings, and formerly unconscious states. As a result, it is now more possible for the healing of addiction to rise beyond the level of psychological and physical forms of treatment that have proven effective in recent decades, but only to a certain degree, to a new and higher level of healing.

Now, it becomes possible for all addiction to be revealed in its true essence as a spiritual action designed to answer a need that it was believed could not be answered in any other way. With this longing exposed to the light of awakened consciousness, there is hope, today, that what has been a widespread and pervasive problem in both advanced and underdeveloped nations will have the chance of being healed in an equally widespread way at a core level. This new possibility comes out of the increased capacity of the human body and psyche to touch its own spiritual depths in ways that were not possible before. With this contact, the phenomenon of addiction can, in time, disappear as a solution to the problem of the soul’s longing, and a new step can be taken toward the soul’s true destination – the path of return toward its spiritual home.



By: Julie Redstone

About the Author: