What about spiritual experiences?

[CrystalSong]

Originally Posted by SparkPlug

So does having a "spiritual experience" make one "spiritual" or is it just that they are aware of the existence of a "spiritual" component outside of the understanding or day to day regular life? And on the concept of "Higher Self", and "the rest of what they are", can there be communication there as well?
Thanks

Yes, at a certain level of heart openness there is communication 2-way with our eternal aspects. At lower levels of openness it can also be perceived often as 'gut-instinct' or body knowledge' or 'a feeling'. As we increase in awareness and ability to block out mental thought and commentary and just be OPEN the more we can receive not just from our Higher Selves but from all consciousness which has interest in communicating with us.

Note I'm using words like Awareness and Consciousness and not spiritual just so we have a nice clean flow of conversation and not getting lost in definitions and what composes what. At some level it is all the same thing.

[CrystalSong]

Originally Posted by SparkPlug

So CrystalSong, how many of us "eternal souls" are there then? And what is our purpose?

I know my dad reached out when he died and woke my (sensitive) wife up from a deep sleep, then the phone rang informing us. He hung around a while after that too, made his presence quite known to all of us and not at all bashful about it, what's up with that?

Thanks

Consciousness is eternal. Body's come and go, but Awareness itself, our eternal component continues without end. It is energy and energy can not be destroyed it just changes form.

[SparkPlug]

"Conciousness is eternal", I am sure you mean that to be encouraging but it doesn't have that effect for me, I have lived this life to the full, seen great possibilities, built many "castles in the sand", watched them wash away, and learned many lessons along the way, but the thought of going through different variations of the same learning, the same great joys, and devastating defeats, I have been there, done that.

I can believe there is more than just this physical life, I don't even need the glory of becoming something better, I don't know if I would want to pursue that, so, does this model have other options, can we just stop after this life is done?

Sorry for my heresy, but the greater you love in this life often means the greater you hurt and despair, and what happens in the lives of those I love is not all up to me. I am older and know when I am gone they will likely remain and I will be powerless to help them, or so it seems to me anyway.

Thanks for your considerate replies!

[WabiSabi]

Originally Posted by SparkPlug

"Conciousness is eternal", I am sure you mean that to be encouraging but it doesn't have that effect for me, I have lived this life to the full, seen great possibilities, built many "castles in the sand", watched them wash away, and learned many lessons along the way, but the thought of going through different variations of the same learning, the same great joys, and devastating defeats, I have been there, done that.

I can believe there is more than just this physical life, I don't even need the glory of becoming something better, I don't know if I would want to pursue that, so, does this model have other options, can we just stop after this life is done?

Sorry for my heresy, but the greater you love in this life often means the greater you hurt and despair, and what happens in the lives of those I love is not all up to me. I am older and know when I am gone they will likely remain and I will be powerless to help them, or so it seems to me anyway.

Thanks for your considerate replies!

My philosophy is pretty simple. Be the person that you want to be, and believe that you can experience all that you desire. That's pretty much it.

[SparkPlug]

Ok, I have all that covered, so now what?

If I had grown up believing in multiple lives I might be more inclined but I grew up knowing much death, that life was short and to live it full. I have never been one to play by others rules, I chose to hurt no one and take the path that had love and truth, and the price was not an issue.

I may ask tough questions granted but I get good outcomes, and it's all I really know how to do. I just don't need to live again to reinforce what I already know, love is our hope, but it is often a long hard road that leads there.

What pieces of this puzzle am I missing?

Thanks for your tolerance.

[WabiSabi]

Originally Posted by SparkPlug

Ok, I have all that covered, so now what?

If I had grown up believing in multiple lives I might be more inclined but I grew up knowing much death, that life was short and to live it full. I have never been one to play by others rules, I chose to hurt no one and take the path that had love and truth, and the price was not an issue.

I may ask tough questions granted but I get good outcomes, and it's all I really know how to do. I just don't need to live again to reinforce what I already know, love is our hope, but it is often a long hard road that leads there.

What pieces of this puzzle am I missing?

Thanks for your tolerance.

I cannot tell you what you are missing. You must figure that out for yourself.

Are you seeking a spiritual experience? Is that why you started this thread?

[SparkPlug]

No, I have had them, I was asking about them and the implications and purpose of our spiritual and this physical journey that one must accept when confronted with this reality. Just trying to understand.

[WabiSabi]

Originally Posted by SparkPlug

No, I have had them, I was asking about them and the implications and purpose of our spiritual and this physical journey that one must accept when confronted with this reality. Just trying to understand.

All I can say then is what I myself have experienced, which is that my revelations have all come to me when I needed them most. Beyond that I cannot say, and I am not sure that anyone here actually knows for sure.

[Crystal Ambassador]

SparkPlug, thank you for asking questions I hadn't considered before. You asked if there was an alternative option to continuing to evolve spiritually, and I hadn't considered the possibility that someone might not want to. At this point I don't believe it's possible, since it would be similar to stopping yourself from experiencing and learning anything in this Current life. Yet, your question gives food for thought and I'll have to think about it to see where my beliefs of that are founded.

From the things you ask, and what you share, it sounds to me like you're feeling a bit.. apathetic. Weary. I am aware that this often happens in the later years of someone's life, and spiritual life isn't exempt. It's a big part of why people choose to temporarily forget a significant portion of their past life experiences when they reincarnate: experiences are much more vivid to fresh eyes than they are to ones to who have done it a hundred times. Where you are at is a crossroads of choice. It's a junction I've been to before, with depression. When every experience felt well-trodden and old, offering nothing new, every thought a variation of "what's the point? There's nothing I haven't seen before", I had to make the choice to see new things. I chose, in a way, to forget that I already knew everything about those paths. I won't claim it to be one I did easily, and I struggle with it daily. What I do say is that the choice I've made has given me small pleasures by asking my mind to look at details. The way a robin builds their nest, the type of fabric a person likes their clothes to be made of, what type of music plants are most responsive to. Little things that I dismissed before as irrelevant. And in that, I began to understand something else. I began to understand that the smallest action - a gentle smile at a stranger, donating a lamp rather than throwing it away, planting an apple seed in an empty lot - can have a major impact. Everything leaves an imprint, whether or not it's so clearly apparent. That smile may just be what a stranger needs to make them rethink whether or not they want to hurt themselves or someone else. That lamp may become an icebreaker for two people at a party who later fall in love. That seed may grow into a tree that produces fruit for a homeless person and helps ease their hardship. I don't know at the time when I do it, and chances are I'll never see the result of those actions. What I do have is the observation that details become major events over the course of time, and I have faith that the positive things I do will continue to produce positive results. So too do yours. Your words and actions will continue to stay with your family long past your death. The way you helped them overcome challenges before taught them ways to do it in the future, and they'll remember that when they again encounter those challenges. They can pass those on to their children and grandchildren. The love you gave showed them it was okay to be loving to others, and that too will branch out. The memories they have of you will inspire them, give them stories to tell that ensure they and their children feel connected to their family, and that's amazingly important. So many people feel lost and disconnected, and what you've done has guaranteed that members of your family will feel that sense of belonging again.

[SparkPlug]

In my case I have a grandchild who is an old soul and in a tough spot, this child is as close to any "angel" I could ever conceive of or any theology would ever write about, and it rips my heart out to see them not treated as I would do, but I know I would also "spoil" them, I do that. But it is not apathy you hear in my words, it is love and heartbreak together, and it is not so crucial to me how many lives I have left to live or lessons to learn, my concern is with this child and now, and I am not concerned with anything beyond that, I believe it sure, but it is not my immediate concern, this forces me to stop and ask these questions.

Thanks for your kind words.