Written by John Ashbrook
The path to true spirituality is indeed long and arduous. When we choose to expose and truly face the soul distortions and fears of our lower self, the commitment this requires may tax our patience to its very limits. There are times when we long for results, and those results just don’t appear to be there. It is at these times that patience and gentle acceptance must prevail over self-criticism or judgment. We are not always fully conscious of our progress. Much of the time, the re-education of our lower self is happening subtly on an unconscious level. If we show a lack of acceptance or patience with ourselves through a “beat yourself up” attitude, this will cause inner rebellion and actually impede progress. Mistakes and setbacks along the spiritual path are common but will occur less and less as they are met with gentle understanding and patient acceptance.
The act of learning to ride a bicycle as a child provides an excellent example of how our unconscious mind learns. We all can remember how important it was to learn to ride a bicycle. We had to do it, and we knew we could. So when we fell off time and time again, our pure determination would not let us give up. We had belief, patience, and determination, and despite numerous setbacks and not many signs of progress, we did not give up. We did not take much time to criticize ourselves. We were too busy trying time and time again, and then like magic, on the 20th or 30th try, we were riding! It is pretty hard to put your finger on what you learned each time you fell off the bike. You could say balance, but what were the ingredients of that learning experience? The fact is that each time you fell off the bike, your unconscious mind accumulated a little piece of subtle knowledge, and when enough of these little bits of information were present in your unconscious, they all came together at once, and voila! You were riding. You know what they say about riding a bike; once you learn, you never forget. Just like learning to ride a bike, spiritual growth takes place subtly on an unconscious level.
Picture in your mind an endless series of steps, for the spiritual journey is endless. The steps are long; you have to travel a long time on one level before you can step up to the next. So you go along for what seems like an eternity with little or no obvious escalation, but then boom, you reach the next step, and up you go, on to a higher level of consciousness. The balance of faith and force, patience and effort, belief and determination determines the number of times that this can happen in one’s life.
Let go of the need to judge or control or measure your spiritual progress, and for you, that progress will come faster, easier, and will be more joyful and rewarding.
On Joy….
Stress is not success! When the discipline of work is carried to the extreme, stress and a state of non-joy are manifested. The byproduct of stress is inefficiency – less results from more effort – diminishing returns. We understand the discipline of work, but what about the discipline of joy? Yes, joy is a discipline, and as such, it becomes the balancing force in the creation of real prosperity, abundance, and freedom. Don’t forget about joy, the simple things, a walk by the water, an outdoor lunch accompanied by a soft breeze and an inner smile, for real joy is a trusting peaceful calm. Joy is not the product of success. It is an essential element in the making of success. Real, fulfilling, lasting happiness is the result of balanced living, work, and play.
John Ashbrook
