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Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Spirituality & Beliefs > Spiritual Development

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  #1  
Old 30-01-2021, 10:57 PM
Raven Poet
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Doing the work ourselves and spiritual leaders

Hello SF family! It's been a while!

I've come to a conclusion that seems fitting for me - that spiritual leaders/gurus are helpers but ultimately we have to do the work ourselves.

When I first began nurturing my spiritual self, I assigned absolute power to the spiritual leaders who came my way. Big disappointment when they turned out to be human! I learned (for me) that this is a "normal" phase in SD (spiritual development) - assigning absolute power to spiritual leaders. I understand that yes, there are people who have put in more time/effort into SD and can offer guidance or coaching.

But the big "aha" for me has been that ultimately, my SD is up to me. I have to be the one to make the connections and learnings for my own understanding. I've been disempowering myself by giving too much authority to others instead of doing the work myself and learning about who I am and what this life means to me.

When I first came to this conclusion I felt disillusioned and defeated. But now I realize that this is just part of my own SD.

Can anyone else relate? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!
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  #2  
Old 30-01-2021, 11:21 PM
JustBe JustBe is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 3,251
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I’ve never latched in to people because I was very self reflective/aware from a young age. In saying that, their were learning periods of understanding unhealthy atrachments in myself, so it makes sense to what your saying. Even so, breaking through those always returned me to myself. So in the process of unravelling I was never going to stop that undoing or shift back to self. It’s a natural turnaround the more you open. At the point of understanding, I’m my own best teacher, I still listen to others who might build more understanding, learning in me. Only difference being, I know what fits me regardless of those offerings.
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Your trials did not come to punish you, but to awaken you - to make you realise that you are a part of Spirit and that just behind the sparks of your life is
the Flame of Infinity.
Paramahansa Yogananda
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  #3  
Old 30-01-2021, 11:52 PM
inavalan inavalan is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 5,089
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raven Poet
Hello SF family! It's been a while!

I've come to a conclusion that seems fitting for me - that spiritual leaders/gurus are helpers but ultimately we have to do the work ourselves.

When I first began nurturing my spiritual self, I assigned absolute power to the spiritual leaders who came my way. Big disappointment when they turned out to be human! I learned (for me) that this is a "normal" phase in SD (spiritual development) - assigning absolute power to spiritual leaders. I understand that yes, there are people who have put in more time/effort into SD and can offer guidance or coaching.

But the big "aha" for me has been that ultimately, my SD is up to me. I have to be the one to make the connections and learnings for my own understanding. I've been disempowering myself by giving too much authority to others instead of doing the work myself and learning about who I am and what this life means to me.

When I first came to this conclusion I felt disillusioned and defeated. But now I realize that this is just part of my own SD.

Can anyone else relate? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!
I want to make two points:
1. I believe we can't develop spiritually using our intellect. Intuition, inspiration, imagination can help.
2. I believe we should follow neither gurus nor dogmas because there is no way to pick the right one. The only way is for each one to turn inwards and tap into their own inner-source-of-knowledge-and-guidance, leaving aside all their beliefs and expectations of what they'll find.
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Everything expressed here is what I believe. Keep that in mind when you read my post, as I kept it in mind when I wrote it. I don't parrot others. Most of my spiritual beliefs come from direct channeling guidance. I have no interest in arguing whose belief is right, and whose is wrong. I'm here just to express my opinions, and read about others'.
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  #4  
Old 31-01-2021, 12:37 AM
iamthat iamthat is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Golden Bay, New Zealand
Posts: 3,580
 
Most spiritual leaders/gurus are signposts. They point in a certain direction, but we still have to start walking in that direction. If we simply sit and admire the signpost we will not get very far.

And sometimes we discover that the direction leads to a dead end or somewhere we do not want to be. That is OK - it is all part of the journey, and there will always be other signposts.

And eventually we discover that the destination we seek is already within us, and that which is looking is That which is sought.

Peace
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  #5  
Old 31-01-2021, 01:48 AM
Miss Hepburn Miss Hepburn is offline
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Location: Southwest, USA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Raven Poet
Hello SF family! It's been a while!

I've come to a conclusion that seems fitting for me - that spiritual leaders/gurus are helpers
but ultimately we have to do the work ourselves.

Can anyone else relate? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!
Welcome back.
And congratulations!
__________________

.
*I'll text in Navy Blue when I'm speaking as a Mod. :)


Prepare yourself for the coming astral journey of death by daily riding in the balloon of God-perception.
Through delusion you are perceiving yourself as a bundle of flesh and bones, which at best is a nest of troubles.
Meditate unceasingly, that you may quickly behold yourself as the Infinite Essence, free from every form of misery. ~Paramahansa's Guru's Guru
.


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  #6  
Old 06-02-2021, 03:07 PM
Unseeking Seeker Unseeking Seeker is offline
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Location: Delhi, India
Posts: 10,936
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Possibly, the practices through strict discipline engaged in by some have resulted in ‘gains’, so it is for them to affirm their level of satisfaction on progress perceived or self assessed.

Speaking for myself, all I can say is that by prioritising internalising attention and then ‘letting go’, in as much as able, self imposed resistance arising from attachment to habit patterns rooted in mind body, slowly falls away, layer by layer. This facilitates a vibrational centeredness, to put it symbolically, allowing magnetic electricity to osmotically penetrate the energy body, in a manner cognisable to us.

As such, the more ‘empty’ we become, the more space we create within ... or we may say, we are tuned in or aligned relatively better, to imbibe the divine energy.

The universe assists us at every step. The gurus, mantras, telepathic guidance ... all are made available automatically at the optimal moment. As such, the ‘seeking’, implying a doer doing is counterproductive, in as far as the path (if we can call it that) applies as of the journey I have been on. But as I said, what applies to me may be different from someone else. If striving is called for, to test resolve or perhaps as the way itself, then so be it.

Comparing notes with friends who are forthright about their spiritual journey, I have found that each unfoldment occurs in a different way. All is grace. So we should be receptive, meaning ego/identity takes a back seat. In all the cases I know of, the actual progress has been bestowed by God upon our surrender, rather than obtained by force of will by the entity (us) employing any x-y-z procedure.

So gurus ... well, if it is meant to be, they will appear on their own. Possibly, if we employ our lower mind to evaluate the guru, we are off track.
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The Self has no attribute
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  #7  
Old 06-02-2021, 03:45 PM
linen53 linen53 is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 14,332
 
You are absolutely right Raven Poet. Our leaders can't do it alone. We have to role up our sleeves and get our hands dirty. We have to look into the darkness and bring light. We have to, in our humanness, take on the task of helping our fellow neighbor, or stranger, or child. In so doing, we become more spiritual, more in tune with our Creator.
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