Signs and Wonders?

 Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.

John 4: 48 ESV

Life is your spiritual practice. Can you handle it?

Michael A. Singer

Two thought streams are flowing through my mind now, as you can tell by the two above quotes.

One thought stream is centered around the need for miracles in order to prove to us that the invisible and often intangible essence of Life, known sometimes as Spirit, is real and the other thought stream is about taking our daily practice out of the mystical and etheral and putting it in the physical stuff we deal with everyday. Two entirely different thought streams or are they? Can they verge into one understanding? Hmm!

The need for miracles?

I seek miracles. Do you?  I am often looking for signs and wonders to support that there is something out there beyond what the five senses can pick up. I want more proof about the existence of the non- physical realm. What can I say?  I have a mind that gravitates toward empirical knowledge and evidence. I want to believe so badly in those that say "I talk to dead people" or "I can talk to angels and spirit guides." or "I was dead and this is what I saw."  I want these individuals  to prove to me that they have done or can do as they claim.  Have they to date? Do I believe them? 

I listen to all with a certain amount of hope laden skepticism. I won't believe just because I want to believe.  I am more likely to believe those sharing their NDE's because it makes sense to my scientific mind that consciousness does go on after body function ceases, that it reincarnates into other physical forms. I listen to some NDEers and I feel a resounding "Yes!" in my core, "This really happened to them or at least they truly believe it did."  I listen to others and hear within me, "They are making this up for ego reasons."  So I go back and forth. Still, I believe without emperical evidence that consciousness is not limited to this body.

If I can believe that consciousness is not bound by body...why wouldn't I believe in psychic, telepathic, and telekinetic abilities? The new division in physics (quantum mechanics) is proving all kinds of things that can support this on some level. I am also a want to be yogi. Yoga teaches about the Cittis...those abilities that can be gained by certain forms of Samadhi that most of us, non enlightened, would call magical.  Ram Dass shared in a podcast I recently listened to (and I am sorry I lost the link) about the abilities of his guru. Do I believe then? I still need more evidence to quench this science thing in me.

I find myself drawn to listening to and watching psychics...the famous ones...and I always walk away disappointed.  I want to believe so badly that they are legitimately reading others, I do...but as I watch I see cold reading, general and vague offerings that they then build upon based on the response of their clients (and the clients so want to believe they tend to jump on these vague things that could apply to many and see them as specifics). Even when I am watching I am saying "Wow! The client sees it as bang on!" until the client eloborates more and you realize just how their response only vaguely applies to what was offered and that hope makes it seem like so much more.  I always feel sad after I watch these things. If I were spirit and I wanted to make sure someone knew I was watching them I think I would be a lot more specific in the messages I relayed. I wouldn't just say, "Do you have something that belongs to that person?" I would get the psychic medium to say"That gold ring with the blue sapphire in the top drawer of your nightstand." Yeah...I don't have much faith in the psychics that exploit themselves on TV.  or who make a lot of money doing what they are doing.

That doesn't mean I do not believe psychics are real.  It is the fairly unknown ones that exist in obscurity...that you find out about by word of mouth, that are not flashy or promoting their gift...they are the ones I am drawn to. They do not even seem happy with what they are doing but feel compelled to do so. I would like to sit down face to face with one of them. I think I would be able to "feel" if their gifts are real or not. Hmm! 

And I am looking for signs and wonders all the time.  I even find them.  I would like to believe that there is something I cannot see surrounding me, supporting me...taking me to where I need to be spiritually.

Life as a spiritual practice

I do believe that my practice is more about how I handle everyday life than it is about what spirit shows me through signs and wonders, or during meditation. I want to be the deepest part of Self but I know I need to work my way through the little self to get there. The little self is still entrenched in my secular life. 

You get to the state where you realize your secular life is not different from the spiritual life...

you have to learn to use what is going on for your spiritual growth.

I still meditate.  I still listen to great masters of wisdom; I still read anything I can get my hand on related to spiritual growth but I know now...what I encounter out there in the physical world is my biggest learning challenge.

Real Life and meditation feed each other...they are the same...they are your path

I know I am not just this body and personality. I am this spirit more than anything. And it is its growth that I am here to support. 

My entire Life is about my spiritual growth. This[whatever unfolds in front of me] will help me go to God."

What do I do when something challenging shows up?  A wise person says, "First, calm down.  Ask if there is anything I can do to stop this from coming/changing this?"  ( serenity prayer). Can I handle the fact that I can't do anything about this happening or having already happened (reality)? If not, I must  surrender to reality. I must accept. 

Surrender is not about doing or not doing...it is about surrendering and accepting reality...surrender the part of you that cannot handle reality.

Then, the person truly on a spiritual mission, even when there are no signs and wonders, asks, "Is there something I am supposed to be doing to assist the moment that is going to happen whether I like it or not. How can I serve this moment regardless of what the lower part of me feels about it?"

And here is where the two thought streams come together.

Michael Singer reminds us that when we surrender to what is, the forces that are will call upon us to respond and they will guide our actions.

Everything guides the unfolding of a surrendered being

I want to be a surrendered being first and then I will embarce, without attachment, any signs or wonders that come my way. 

All is well!

There have been others: Eckhart Tolle and Ram Dass who inspired this entry but I failed to jot down those links...my bad.

Michael A. Singer (October, 2024) Turning Daily Life into a Spiritual Practice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEpEqUVOKYI&list=PLyOuAoSmZkKoESr2acNWwhznusbBkKXsT&index=4