What are the benefits of being spiritual?

[Ahriman]

Originally Posted by disconnected

there are no benefits of being spiritual being there is no such thing... it's all hogwash... don't believe the hype

Have you ever felt good when performing an altruistic act? I would say that's pretty spiritual.

[Baile]

Originally Posted by Ahriman

Have you ever felt good when performing an altruistic act? I would say that's pretty spiritual.

Read his other posts, he says spirituality is hogwash. Pretty sure he's not here to discuss things that deeply, lol.

[Dargor]

Originally Posted by Greenslade

I get the feeling you haven't found the question you're looking for. You are the answer so what's the question?

No idea what you're talking about... I simply asked a question whether or not self love is really necessary and Wanderer answered it.

[Baile]

Originally Posted by SlayerOfLight

No idea what you're talking about.

You asked what the benefits of spirituality are. There's one right there. Greenslade took the time to respond to your question, to try and help you out, yet this was your terse reply. Spirituality will teach you that "No idea what you're talking about" is a reflection on you alone, and has nothing to do with your implied suggestion that Greenslade's post was obscure and incomprehensible.

[Dargor]

Originally Posted by Baile

You asked what the benefits of spirituality are. There's one right there. Greenslade took the time to respond to your question, to try and help you out, yet this was your terse reply. Spirituality will teach you that "No idea what you're talking about" is a reflection on you alone, and has nothing to do with your implied suggestion that Greenslade's post was obscure and incomprehensible.

Ok ok whatever you say, I thought he was refering to my other question regarding self love. Just a miscommunication then, no need for any further fuss between us.

[Dargor]

Originally Posted by Wanderer

I'm sorry to hear that last bit, it sounds like it would be tough to be in your position.

Perhaps there might be some truth to that, but in all honesty it wasn't really my intention to give you that impression though. So my apologies if it looked like I tried to victimise myself. Only just wanted to say that self love is a big issue to me.

Originally Posted by Wanderer

I think that some people may have an easier time (in terms of length of the journey and difficult choices they may face) on their spiritual journey. And I certainly agree it can be difficult for someone dealing with physical or mental illness to develop that self love and appreciation for life. I also believe that for those people that have a tougher journey, the journey and destination itself can be that much more rewarding for them and others around them. I would also add though, that someone who outwardly appears to have everything they desire, may be far off from "spiritual enlightenment", or that their journey may have been just as difficult as someone who physically or mentally dealt with significant issues.

Funny you should say that, I remember someome telling me that I was trapped in something called ''dark night of the soul'' and that I need to get out of it and start loving myself, and if I do that she said there will be some big reward of some sort, but I have no idea what kind of reward she was talking about. Whatever reward it is, it better be something life-changing then.

Also, I do believe that people who have everything in life they could ask for and whether or not they are spiritually enlightened, should have nothing to complain about (but that's just me, I can be harsh in my words) because in the end imho spiritual enlightenment is less important than your/my life itself. So to me those two different journeys aren't really comparable. I'd rather live a life where I am outwards succesfully and spiritually ignorant.

Originally Posted by Wanderer

There are many possible reasons why this occurs, depending on what a person believes. Some believe it is karma from past lives, or certain things that haven't been resolved (again from prior lives). Others believe we came to Earth with a "soul contract" where we choose to experience certain things in our lives. Whatever the actual reason is, right now there's no one universally "true" explanation for it. Just another thing we currently have to swallow until a later date when things might be revealed.

I am more willing to believe it is something related to past karma then. If karma exists then I was most likely a nazi (or something like that) in my past life and that would at least explain why I am seemingly bothered without end by all sorts of bad karma in this current life. However, I don't think it has to do with soul contracts. Knowing myself, I would never willingly get myself into this kind of trouble that I know I wouldn't be able to deal with. And then there's still the possibility that I got into a fight with the higher forces involved with me and got sent here again as punishment. Must be one of those three, but I suspect either 1 or 3.

Originally Posted by Baile

You asked what the benefits of spirituality are. There's one right there. Greenslade took the time to respond to your question, to try and help you out, yet this was your terse reply. Spirituality will teach you that "No idea what you're talking about" is a reflection on you alone, and has nothing to do with your implied suggestion that Greenslade's post was obscure and incomprehensible.

Wouldn't it be nice if a few more could figure that one out?

[Shivani Devi]

The benefits of being spiritual....

You don't get asked "why aren't you saving your money?" anymore.
You get to say "I just don't worry about it now" and other people just shut up.
You get to release your 'inner child' without anybody saying you're being childish.
"I gotta meditate" becomes a great excuse for getting out of doing something you don't want to do.
You don't have to explain why it is you're acting so aloof and indifferent at the drop of a hat.
You can get out of mowing the lawn by saying "wait until I stop watching the grass grow all by itself".
You can get out of having a shower because your body is a 'breeding ground for friendly bacteria'.
You can go to the supermarket, notice that all meat is like $20- $30 a kilogram and go "it's a good thing I don't eat this anymore".

Yeah...yeah...

Originally Posted by SlayerOfLight

No idea what you're talking about... I simply asked a question whether or not self love is really necessary and Wanderer answered it.

Okay, to keep it simple it seems as though you're dancing around the real issue. I've looked through some of the answers given and quite honestly, it makes me wonder. Pretty much all of them have been - IMHO - attributed to Spirituality and are not because of. Spirituality doesn't give anybody anything. It might bring something out that you didn't know you had, it might point you in the right direction or you'll find people who can help. But it doesn't give you anything you don't already have or you can't find for yourself.

Attributing Spirituality as being some kind of saviour isn't clever, it's giving away your authenticity.

Originally Posted by SlayerOfLight

So my apologies if it looked like I tried to victimise myself. Only just wanted to say that self love is a big issue to me.

Be honest with yourself, it's usually the first step in doing something about it. It's been said that religion is for those at are afraid of going to hell and Spirituality is for those that have been there. I would think that more people have turned to Spirituality because of their issues than most would imagine. Me included.

Originally Posted by SlayerOfLight

Funny you should say that, I remember someome telling me that I was trapped in something called ''dark night of the soul'' and that I need to get out of it and start loving myself, and if I do that she said there will be some big reward of some sort, but I have no idea what kind of reward she was talking about. Whatever reward it is, it better be something life-changing then.

In ways you wouldn't believe, but as Gandhi said, "You have to be the changes you want to see."

Originally Posted by SlayerOfLight

So to me those two different journeys aren't really comparable. I'd rather live a life where I am outwards succesfully and spiritually ignorant.

The two Journeys are one and the same, and seeing as how you don't like airy-fairy Spirituality there is no Journey. The past is memory and the future is anticipation, now is all that exists. Journey also implies an ending but the only conclusions are the ones we come to. There's a kind of freedom in being able to navigate a number of perspectives.

Originally Posted by SlayerOfLight

I am more willing to believe it is something related to past karma then. If karma exists then I was most likely a nazi (or something like that) in my past life and that would at least explain why I am seemingly bothered without end by all sorts of bad karma in this current life. However, I don't think it has to do with soul contracts. Knowing myself, I would never willingly get myself into this kind of trouble that I know I wouldn't be able to deal with. And then there's still the possibility that I got into a fight with the higher forces involved with me and got sent here again as punishment. Must be one of those three, but I suspect either 1 or 3.

Do yourself a favour and forget all this Past Life stuff, putting more dust on top isn't going to help. And that kind of Karma is a misconception - who is judging what is good or bad? If you're going to do Past Life then do it properly or not at all, anything else is dangerous.

You have Free Will so while you know yourself enough to say that you wouldn't get yourself into trouble here you are just the same. Or is there no Free Will? You are able to deal with the trouble because here you are trying to find a way out of it. And that's the question you're looking for. The Universe doesn't give us any more than we can handle so before we're getting it we can deal with it. It might not be sunshine and roses but you've got to earn those.

The Universe is a reflection of you, not the other way around and when you resolve your contradictions the Universe won't be contradictory any more.

How do you get out of it, this prolonged dark night of the Soul? How do you start Loving yourself? Where do you find what you need? Or pick another, but make sure it's a good one and it's relevant because if not your answers won't be either.

[shadedragon]

Hmm, there are many aspects of spirituality, and depending on what you would like to know, there are different things that will occur or that you'll learn. Some of us have become quite loving and open due to our experiences and the knowledge we have acquired. Some of us have come to terms with ourselves, other of us have gathered a toolbox over time to assist us in whatever situation we happen upon.

One of your posts mentioned here in this thread had spoken on not seeing the world as a reflection of yourself but instead yourself as a reflection of the world you experienced. Both are correct in a way. Your own behaviors are your choice, and they tend to go along with the behaviors you learned through experience, those people treating you that way also learned it through experience and passed it on, you being a reflection of that knowledge and experience your life gave you. The people who respond to that behavior are who you interact with for more than a brief moment, enforcing this, and us reinforcing this to them as well. We notice things that are most like ourselves, and tend to surround us in such. The other parts that we notice are that which we do not understand and/or that which is unlike us. We tend to avoid such things and thus never fully understand either side. An overly friendly stranger to you may seem manipulative, or easily manipulated, you may smile and wave back, but you'll move forward shortly after and will be forgotten oftentimes. What you think, grows.

I myself became overly loving because I found that as I shared that love, I attracted many positive things in my life. When I was overly critical, I allowed myself to be influenced by other critical people, and moslt yinteractwd with them because it was those people I resonated with. When I was in my artistic phase, I would be drawing in public and around others, and those people would step forward from the dark and be curious, allowing an interaction to occur that otherwise would've never happened. While I was researching spirituality initially long ago, some people bumped into my notes. Those unfamiliar, paid no heed and carried on. Those who recognized them, would strike up a conversation.

An old friend of mine used to wear all the things she liked on her buttons on her backpack in college. When we would sit in the cafe, some people would approach and mention one and we'd all have a new friend to chat with about the subject. Those who had no interest in any, moved on, and those who may have had interest in some, may have been to shy to say anything. More often than not though she found many new friendly folk looking for people to talk about those things.

Like going fishing with specified bait to catch certain fish. If people put out just a hook and expect fish to take it, you are more likely to catch things you don't want (twigs/seaweed/random stuff that just catches on the hook. If people throw out a hook with good general bait, they will get something a bit random, the randomness controlled by where you fish. You won't catch a animal activist in a puppy mill except to protest it, you won't find many hunters in vegan meetings.

People's behaviors and who/where/how thet spend their time is similar to a moth to a flame, but what that flame is/what they are drawn to, is determined by that person. People drawn to the same flame will see each other and interact much more than those drawn to other flames. They will build each other up, or tear each other down depending on the flame drawn to.

Hopefully I worded things well enough there to make sense. You don't need to love yourself to explore this subject or gain something from it, but here you can find a way to, if you so choose/want/need.

Also, the subject is diverse enough for anyone imo, though from what I hear from your initial post, you might want to explore manifestation and visualization, and how the law of attraction works. there's a lot to spirituality, take things with a grain of salt and keep an eye out for what you need, the universe will send a lot and will keep on sending so long as you keep asking, just pause when you find what you are looking for to make sure you catch it before it continues on. The more clear you are about what you want, the easier it is to find what you need.

Anyways, sorry for the long post, found myself rambling toward the end and tried to wrap it up xD