There is only one Life and that is the spiritual life.
Michael A. Singer
Hmm. To describe my journey towards tapping into the essence of who I really am, I will often use the word "spiritual." Sometimes that word creates an uncomfortable idea in people's minds Maybe, an image of bearded men siting in orange robes on a Himalayan mountain top chanting "Om" will be conjured up ... or maybe one will see others gathered around a table holding hands as it levitates off the ground while they call on deceased loved ones. The connotation of the word "spiritual" can sometimes lead people to walk away from hearing more from myself or others about this path we are on. Sometimes it even gets stuck in my own throat like a dry cracker when I try to explain it.
I have to remind myself often that "Spiritual" , "Spirituality", "Spirit" are just words that have a host of different meanings for different people. We can't get hung up on the word! We can't get so blocked or triggered by words that we refuse to look behind them at what they are pointing to. What the word "spirit" points to is something so beyond our comprehension, it is hard to understand , let alone explain with mere words. Yet, at the same time it is so simple. It is that which is right in front of us...that which we too often do not see.
I agree with Michael Singer. There is only one Life...whether you call it a spiritual life, a practical life, real life or Fred...doesn't really matter. The point is, there is only one life, one reality. Spirituality, then, is reality. What is real, is spiritual. Most of what we call life or living is just a bunch of "mental modifications". We are often so busy living in our heads, thinking about life, that we are not living Life. We may spend our entire lives running from what is real so we can protect the unreal. We are not experiencing "what is". "What is", is spiritual. This moment, right here and now, cannot be anything but spiritual. If we put down our resistance of it and open up to it, we would see that. That would be spirituality.
Spirituality is about letting go of that which prevents us from seeing and accepting, allowing and embracing the reality of each moment, the "suchness" of it. It is about touching the essence of life with the essence of us.
What is in the way of us doing that? The "me" is. The "me" is unreal. It is a compilation of all that mind stuff we created that prevents us from experiencing directly the reality of who we are and what Life is. Without it we would be pure spiritual beings living purely spiritual lives.
A spiritual life then is one dedicated to removing the false layers of "me" so we can get down to the core of who we are. The "me" desires, prefers, averts, judges, condemns, grasps, clings and pushes away what is. Without our preferences, our attachments and aversions...without our judgements, opinions and beliefs...there is no "me" and when there is no "me"...there is nothing covering Self. Self is pure consciousness and awareness. Self is essences and presence. Self is spirit!
Why would we want to painfully tear away all the layers of me and live differently? Because the way we are living now, pretending to be anything but spirit or spiritual, doesn't work!!! We are not actually living...just getting by, disconnected from what is real, therefore disconnected from the only Life there is. We are not peaceful, happy, joyful or blissful, are we? A spiritual life promises all those things. The unreal lives we are living lead us to pursue the non direct route that seldom takes us to this real experience of Life. It leads to non stop chasing of things "out there" that might make us feel okay "in here". It leads to pushing away reality and what it offers becasue it triggers our lack of okayness inside. What is not okay is "me". We feed "me" and "me" gets bigger and we get even more "not okay". We get farther and farther from recognizing who we really are. We don't get any happier. We pull "me" away, on the other hand, and what is not real about us gets smaller and smaller until all that is left is what is real. Life would be much simpler then, wouldn't it be, if we only had to deal with what is real? The spiritual Life is a simple Life.
Man I just want to be rid of all this unnecessary and unreal drama that "me" creates. It creates so much suffering! That is my reason for being on this "spiritual " path. And there is nothing "woo-woo" about that. I do not have to talk to dead people and I do not need to renounce all my worldly desires to meditate on a mountain top, to be spiritual. I just have to let go of the unnecessary, the unreal...and notice, allow, accept, embrace and revel in the miracle of what is real in me and in Life.
Sigh! It is hard to explain.
All is well in my world!
Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe ( May 25, 2023) Using Reality to Let Go of Yourself. https://tou.org/talks/
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