We know the commandments and church teachings – what we should do and not do, and how we should behave toward others and towards God. We are instructed to pray and attend masses, observe church traditions, be baptized, go to communion, be active in religious activities and engage in apostolic and charity work. All religions advocate certain other practices that if followed, will supposedly bring us closer to God and confer eternal life on those who observe them.
But can our observance of these conventions really produce the results promised us? If not, then what purposes do they really serve?
How prayer can work for you
Prayer is a two-way method of communication with the Divine. To petition God for favors is harmless but really needless. Christ tells us that God already knows what we need. We don’t have to ask Him, at all. He will provide for our every need. So instead, we should rather dispense with asking God all the time and listen more to what He is trying to say to us – and follow, accordingly.
Focusing on the important
By celebrating mass, reading Scriptures, attending spiritual studies or simply obtaining guidance from our religious teachers, priests and pastors, we can learn and be reminded of God’s teachings and commandments. By keeping the traditions, even though so much of them are presently irrelevant and useless or inconsequential, we can nevertheless retain our focus and interest in things, spiritual.
Baptism, confession, communion and true absolution
Baptism fosters a sense of belonging and instills in us a common purpose with our chosen religious group. To many, it is much easier to continue to walk the Path to God in the company of others, rather than to go it alone. Moreover, the ritual being merely symbolic lacking true substance, it does not actually purify us, at all. Our purification and eventual perfection depend entirely on our full compliance with the divine instructions and they cannot just be conferred on anyone who has not proven himself worthy.
Going to communion and doing penance, neither the administering of Last Rites, do not and cannot absolve us of our sins. True absolution is only possible for one who is able to realize his mistake and is truly repentant. And he must resolve not to commit the same mistake, again. He must also effect full restitution for his offenses in this life or the next; it is not enough to do the penance prescribed by his confessor-priest. However, through this interactive process, we are afforded the opportunity to receive more personalized spiritual guidance from those who are supposedly, though not in every instance, highly qualified to offer us guidance. All these duties and observances can help to keep us on course and avoid harmful distractions.
Many religions, just One and the same God
Apostolic work while emphasizing the benefits of adopting one’s religion should at the same time also recognize the oneness of all religious teachings and lay stress on love for all and charity as a way of life. No one religion can do it all for us. In the course of our many incarnations, we will make the rounds of all of them, learning from each of them the unique aspects of the Truth they alone can teach best. All religions are one. All paths lead to the same God.
Living it easy the right way
Now more aware of the true meanings and implications of the mentioned concepts and conventions, our perfect compliance is nevertheless still not possible considering our present stage of development. Not yet perfect, everyone will continue to commit mistakes, over and over again. But regardless, every student is required to exert his best efforts. The right attitudes need to be developed and persistent strivings exerted in order to finally succeed in the end.
Photo credit Doug Scortegagna via Foter.com / CC BY
Life can be fraught with difficulties but some guide rules and suggestions should help.
1. Always be practical
So many people believe that the dogmatic religious are inflexible, narrow-minded, even fanatical and beyond reason. I couldn’t agree more. However, the truly spiritual person is always reasonable and practical. Because he is more aware than others of many spiritual truths and acts accordingly, he often can be misunderstood and may appear not to care about many things, mundane. Focused on the true spiritual nature of things, he realizes that many things should simply be left alone to serve God’s divine purposes. His mind uncluttered, he attends only to those matters that are really important to Spirit and largely ignores most purely worldly concerns.
After conducting a thorough study and analysis, weighing all sides, he comes to his considered conclusions and decides on the best course of action, following it through wherever it leads.
2. Attend to your every need
First things first. The material or physical needs have to be addressed first even before most spiritual considerations. When we are hungry, we must eat. If thirsty, we must drink. Our worldly needs and desires must also be satisfied, all of them. Wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony, all the 7 deadly sins and more must be personally experienced, all aspects of them. How else can we come to realize that they are not good for us unless we enter the experience of them and benefit or suffer their consequences?
Experience all things. Don’t avoid them, not until you’re done with them. Learn all about them. They will continue to be part of your life until you come to realize what they really signify and how they affect you, good or ill.
Abstaining or depriving oneself very often leads to perversion. So instead, we should pursue our every ambition and craving until we attain them and satisfy all our desires to the point of satiation. Experience alone brings learning. Just like innocent little children will eventually tire of their toys; so will we. It would be best to allow the progression to proceed most naturally without need of forcing matters even if it should be slow in coming. Only after, will we be able to redirect our efforts toward more spiritual objectives and things.
So everything is best pursued in moderation.
3. Self-realization self-corrects automatically
Many people find it easier to look at themselves in the mirror and tell themselves lies, instead of owning up to their faults and weaknesses. But no one can advance in his development unless he first accepts hard truths.
Building character and reforming oneself is not achieved easily. It will take time to attain to spiritual perfection. But we don’t have to beat ourselves up doing it. We can take things more easily, gradually.
Just follow the correct procedure. Analyze your every thought and action, dispassionately and impersonally. Be true to yourself. Don’t make excuses. Accept your mistakes and deficiencies.
After one is able to self-realize his shortcomings, then correction will not be far behind. But do be more aware of the opportunities provided to you daily to do better than before. And avail of them as best you can.
4. Practice detachment
It is always easier to judge of things when one is, himself, not personally involved. Prefer to look at things and do look at yourself from a disinterested third person’s point of view. Not personally affected, ego absent neither defensive, we can be more dispassionate, truthful and rational.
5. Displace your negative thoughts with positives
Try to ignore or not think of something. Difficult, isn’t it? Instead, think of some things pleasurable and positive. And keep on thinking them, enjoying. Soon, the negatives will be cast out of mind. Do displace all those negatives with positives. Practice until it becomes second nature to you. A positive change will follow, as a matter of course.
6. Follow the Middle Way
After experimenting with extremes of good and bad, and abundance and deprivation, the Buddha came to the realization that moderation in all things is the best way to live one’s life. True spiritual perspectives, the correct directing of our strivings toward spiritual goals, reasonable efforts, nothing forced – Natural is best.
Aware of the operation of the principle of Reincarnation, the Buddha knows full well that we will have continuous and repeated opportunities, as much as we need, many lives to live and all the time to do our thing and do it right. So we should maintain our composure under pressure, not be too lax or try too hard.
Easy does it, every time.
7. Simply choose the best alternative, the lesser evil
If we live long enough, we will come to realize that more often than not, our options are less than satisfactory or ideal. We just need to choose the best among them, the one that offers the most good, or is adjudged to be the lesser evil. And we can rest content.
8. Break everything down into small easy steps. Live one day at a time, today only
Life is complicated enough. Best to simplify as much as is possible. We should simply learn to prioritize. Determine which one among the many needs to be done first. Tackle that one thing first before taking on another. Leave those that need to be done later for later. Reasonable efforts make for more efficient and effective performance and results.
Christ advises, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow’s needs shall be met even as tomorrow comes. Life is difficult enough as it is without our having to complicate it further. Therefore, it is sufficient that we resolve our problems as they arise and live one day at a time.”
9. Keep focused on the Way – Love and service to our fellowmen
To love and serve our fellowmen is to love and serve God. This is the only passkey that opens up the gates of heaven. This is the only Way to God. Serve those in need, not God Who does not need it.
Furthermore, having harmed no one is not a sufficient reason for us to be allowed entry into heaven. In order to advance spiritually, we need to render more services, do more good. If an employee only does the work assigned to him and what is expected of him, then he deserves to remain just where he is. He really does not deserve to get promoted. But those who aspire for more must give more.
Be more proactive instead of just being reactive. Don’t wait until you are asked but instead, actively seek out your opportunities to help and serve. Volunteer more and be enthusiastic in your service work. Be not complacent or timid. All mistakes, sins or offenses can be offset by good works or through our rendering compensatory services if not to the actual persons we have harmed, then to others in their place.
“What you have done for the least of your brothers, you have done for me.”
From: Secrets of the kingdom: The Holy Spirits will guide into All Truth
