There is an old story of a wise Sage who was working in his garden one day when a spiritual seeker came to him and asked how to become enlightened. The teacher pulled an onion out of the garden and said dig a hole over there for this onion where the soil is rich and fertile. The student did that and in that moment had an epiphany, an awakening.
I'll explain this to you in just a minute, but this story is typical of many of the stories like the parables in the Bible that have a meaning that can be understood at different levels.
This short story speaks to the nature of the spiritual path and that is to remove blocks, pain and struggle while revealing the deep truth of love, light and peace within. Digging up the onion is parallel with detaching from the many things that prevent us from discovering and connecting with our inner soul truth, and replanting the onion is learning to grow in the fertile soil of our inner nature.
The complication we experience with life is that we are established citizens of two worlds and we live in both simultaneously. Jesus said you are in the world but not of the world. We interact in an outer world with our physical needs and the demands of our families, friends and careers, and we also have an inner world of emotional experiences, intellectual discoveries, and spiritual awareness.
Our spiritual journey is about learning to effectively live in both worlds, and for this we need methods that support us in both.
There are many things we learn from books, lectures and our interactions with others, but in the spiritual realm we must learn to have our own inner direct experiences. Reading something in a book is not sufficient for the shifts in consciousness that are necessary for our spiritual evolution. Books can certainly help, but spiritual transformation is a process that takes place within. What we experience in this way is different in quality and effect from what we accumulate outwardly from reading, watching or listening.
This can be illustrated with a more modern mystical story of a sage living in a modern city, but who was also living a deeply spiritual life. One day he went to a bank to cash a check and the teller says that in order for the bank to cash the check each person must provide 2 different forms of identification. The sage reached into his wallet and showed the teller a driver's license, which the was accepted as valid identification, but then when the teller asked for a second identification the sage pulled out a mirror and looked carefully into it and said, "Yes, it is me."
Besides being amusing this story represents two different types of knowledge. When we depend on indirect information about ourselves it is like relying on the mystic's driver's license to define him. The information may be valid, but it certainly doesn't show who we really are. Our spiritual practices are like the mirror which allow us to examine ourselves and discover who we are. They provide first-hand experiential knowledge and realizations that reveal ever deepening insights into our nature and truth.
We discover who we really are through inner attunement in meditative states which takes us beyond the realm of the thinking mind or reacting emotional triggers. This is a process rather than a single event and we call that journey self-discovery. Self-discovery leads to self-realization which leads to a life that expresses in way that are significantly different from the way most people live day to day.
To walk the path of that journey without a teacher and guide can be quite frustrating and lead to many disappointments, but a good teacher can make the journey much easier and more enjoyable. Do yourself a favor and find someone you value and trust to be your spiritual mentor and guide. You do not need to travel alone, and why would you want to make the journey more difficult than it need be?
Jonathan Parker is the founder and director of Quantum Quests International. For over 30 years he has been a counselor, workshop facilitator and author of one of the largest self-development libraries in the world. It is his voice you will hear on more than 1,000 CD programs he has produced. The are listed on his website and in his free print catalog. There are free articles, videos, blogs, and more at http://www.QuantumQuests.com
Jonathan has university degrees in Education, Chemistry, Theology, Counseling Psychology, and Human Behavior & Development, but his life-long relentless quest for unraveling the many questions and mysteries of life also led him on a broad journey into comparative religion, quantum physics, clinical psychology, Huna, Theosophy, botany, astronomy, Sufism, nutrition, music, hypnosis, psychic phenomena, NLP, energy medicine, meditation, and metaphysics. His website is http://www.QuantumQuests.com
His outstanding TV programs, "Mind Power," "Self-Empowerment" and "Winning at Weight Loss" have brought his results-oriented approach to millions. You can view some of his videos on his website.
His work has earned him a high standing with many companies, clinics, schools, universities, prisons, and health professionals who regularly use his programs. Olympic athletes, doctors, judges, and the clergy of many denominations and faiths have also used his programs. To date people in more than 75 countries around the world have benefited from his programs and workshops.
Jonathan Parker has been ahead of his time with many innovative applications of accelerated learning and personal transformation techniques. His wide spectrum of programs tap the deepest reservoir of human capabilities and inspire success in achieving the highest of human potentials. His programs have touched the lives of millions lifting them to achieve personal excellence and financial success, as well as realizing their dreams of vibrant health, winning performances, and reaching the heights of the human spirit!
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