We are all here at the Dao because we have some strong element of spirituality in our lives. Each of us brings a unique perspective on this. But what form does it take for you?
What do you believe in and how does it help you in your daily life?
Does it make you a stronger person or does it still leave you with doubts which you must resolve to make sense of your life?
Does you spirituality help you better understand yourself and others?
Is it something that has evolved as you have grown or has it been with you always?
Are you on a journey?
Or are you confused about what, if anything, to believe in?
Do share your thoughts on spirituality with us. If you are a new visitor to this site you can join in the discussion by leaving your thoughts as a comment, anonymously if you wish. We would love to hear from you.
What do you believe in and how does it help you in your daily life?
Does it make you a stronger person or does it still leave you with doubts which you must resolve to make sense of your life?
Does you spirituality help you better understand yourself and others?
Is it something that has evolved as you have grown or has it been with you always?
Are you on a journey?
Or are you confused about what, if anything, to believe in?
Do share your thoughts on spirituality with us. If you are a new visitor to this site you can join in the discussion by leaving your thoughts as a comment, anonymously if you wish. We would love to hear from you.
20 comments:
spirituality is one of the most important things in my life , because it is for me , what makes us human and connects us to all humanity.
when my friend Zoe was dying I spent many months just being with her as she faced her own death ...something we are all doing every day, even if we don't know it's date.....as she became more and more detached from the things of the world ...she looked outward to the higher things, and very near to her actual passing I asked her what she had learnt.
her response was that life was really only about relationships ..about love..the love of others,the dispossessed in society, ourselves nature and a higher power that she knew she would meet.
She was not religious , but her sensitivity to her own journey , and her coming to accept herself, her limitations , and her growing concern for the plight of the world really made a mark on me .
She had been a powerful business woman , and now she had to let all go ....she told me she had learnt to appreciate the smallest things , and she glowed with love...what a privilede to have shared her journey..I'm sure it helped me to gain a great perspective on what is true spirtuality.
My belief is that every interaction, thought, belief and behavior is spiritually based. Everything we look at, smell, touch is God. All the good and all the bad.
I believe our only real purpose on earth is to determine who we are in relationships with humans and things. How I treat another or something shows who I choose to be at that moment. And my soul will always choose to be love. When I am not living my souls purpose things go wrong in my life.
Once I found my God, there was absolutely no turning back! And why would I? ;-) When I show gratitude for all that I have, I receive that much more.
Seems so simple.... And it is!!!
Beautiful topic Bruv. I can talk about this all day long.
With love and gratitude for all on the Dao,
Lynn xo
Hi Fuchsy,
I can very much relate to Zoe's thoughts. When I came out of hospital how fresh and wonderful everything seemed. Just the birdsong and the beautiful trees blew me away. This I believe is because we can easily fill up our lives running after the wrong things and we forget to stop and smell the roses. We realise how important our friends and family are. A get well card from a distant relative had me in tears. Also we realise and appreciate the kindness of strangers, nurses and doctors that we have never met before take such trouble for us. If only we humans could find a way of remembering these sacred joys every day we would realise that we already live in paradise.
And you too Lynn have a similar outlook on life which you probably developed through the adversity of your sister's loss.
I once wanted to train as a counsellor many years ago but was advised that I hadnt had enough trauma in my life to be able to epathise with those I would be counselling. Now I see how true this lesson is and how valuable a growth step we make when we or our dearest suffer. Thank you both for these wonderful posts.
Love Bruv
In case you are all wondering what all the deletions are, its late and my brain is not functioning properly!!
Here it is again
I really don't know where to start on this one as I am not really sure what a spiritual person is!
I do not have a god of my own, and I am really working on myself, and making my life and those who surround me as meaningful and happy as possible.
But I am also doing a lot of soul-searching and am finding out things about myself which are enlightening but also difficult.
To give you an example. I have always put a lot of effort and thought into my relationships with friends and family. But recently I have been feeling really disappointed by some of my friendships and I have come to the conclusion that by having the same expectations of them, I am always feeling somewhat disappointed.
I have therefore come to the conclusion that I cannot expect the same level of 'friendship' back in all cases. Everyone's different, living different lives, with different priorities in life.
This has been an eye-opener for me, but it has really helped me come to some peace and reconcile it in my head and my stomach. Yes, it was hurting! By not expecting so much I am not in pain so much.
I feel that the Dao has been such a great ouverture for me on this journey. I have not always been able to discuss things this openly, and in the past have been quite closed about my feelings. I find this so therapeutic to discuss these matters and to learn from you all, as I do feel that I am just beginning this journey, and you are all well on your way at various stages. Sometimes I have to be honest, that I find it hard to relate to some of the things you say about how you feel about your journey - as I feel so far away from that stage. Or am I? I don't know what qualifies me to be a spiritual person.
I have always felt that people are the most important things in my life, I have always appreciated the most simple things in life, as well as luxurious things which I love too! and I always love spending time with people who are interesting, teach me about life, are funny, are really themselves and can be honest about their feelings and about life.
So I am not sure that that makes me spiritual but I am enjoying this journey very much.
Swan xx
Dear Swan,
Don't worry about the label "spiritual". In the big picture, I don't think that means anything. We are all on the same path, experiencing differently because we need to understand what we chose to learn in this lifetime.
I believe we choose what we want to experience prior to another "life" here on earth or elsewhere. We also agree to give up our memory of prior experiences so that we can learn (evolve) in this new chosen life.
Where you are in this life is "where you are". No better or worse than me. You will ultimately remember what you need to in order to get what you need out of this lifetime. Then your job is complete for now and will return Home.
Swan, this is just my truth. I'm not saying it's the only way to think or live. My experiences have brought me to where I am and I continue to be lifted by my thinking. I am the one in control of everything I experience here, good & bad.
Your examination of friendships is good. I'm doing the same thing frequently. Staying in touch with what we know feels "right" is so important to me. But I didn't know this until a couple of years ago.
From my perspective, you are an all loving person, accepting of differences and sharing your knowledge. You are in touch with the meaning of family and friendship, that clearly shines through in your writings. Thank you, Swan. I think we all need to hear from each other.
Continue being Swan, there is nothing you need to change or become. I feel great knowing you!
With love and warm hugs,
Lynn xo (sharing her opion AGAIN)
oops, sharing her "opinion" again.
Hi Swan,
It was lovely to read what you wrote and Lynn's reply.
I agree with Lynn there is no need to get hung up on the word spiritual. Just treat it as shorthand for meaning 'that which we cannot physically sense'. So as an example, Love is spiritual we cannot physically sense it but it exists and is so important. It also impacts on us physically. So we can see its manifestations in how we act.
One of the greatest sources of spiritual happiness is Acceptance of things as they are. If you can accept yourself as you are, your friends and family as they are, you will be happy. If not you will be unhappy. This is proved by what you wrote:
"recently I have been feeling really disappointed by some of my friendships and I have come to the conclusion that by having the same expectations of them, I am always feeling somewhat disappointed."
Then you say:
"I have therefore come to the conclusion that....Everyone's different, living different lives, with different priorities in life."
So you have realised that acceptance is the key.
Buddha once said do not look down on the criminal, because he may be further along the path than you but he is here to learn a different lesson.
So being non-judgmental is also the key.
We are all fellow travellers and as Lynn says we are back here to learn what we need to know.
The important and wonderful thing in your note was 'I am doing a lot of soul-searching'. This is wonderful because most people just go through life with their eyes shut. Only a relative few ask what does it really mean?, who am I really? Most people put these questions in the Too Difficult box and turn away to buy more happiness in the Fake Happiness Shop. Whereas you are starting to look at things head on. You are questioning. And this is how we all started on our own unique paths towards truth.
To speak the awful truth, when you were younger I never thought you would ever be interested in this stuff and so now I am so proud of you for opening your mind to these deeper aspects of life. We all begin somewhere. Sometimes it is through personal loss that makes us question, sometimes it is just the thought 'Is this all there is to life'.
So how does one progress from the questing start point. Do you follow some school of thought that makes sense or do you strike out on your own. It doesnt matter as long as you test everything and take nothing for granted. When you hear of something new you must challenge it with your mind and only if it passes that challenge do you make it part of you.
Take Lynn's response to you. Although I might have phrased things differently and although we are from two totally different backgrounds, I believe she is a) describing the same fundamental truth and b) approaching life from a position of Love. When I read what Ciariad, Fuchsy, Pinky, Namaste Gypsy and you also have to say, I hear the same fundamental truth and all of them speaking with love in their hearts. So the Dao is a place where we can say what we feel without being judged and we need not be afraid to questions. I am so pleased that you helped me get the Dao off the ground, we are so fortunate to have it.
So dont worry if we sometimes talk about strange things, but do question and challenge.
Put at its simplest, we are all one and we are all made from, and of, Love. Anything else is a complication.
Loads of love,
bruv
Hi Bruv & Swan,
I was reading over my last response and want to make clearer what I'm trying to say.
When I mentioned we are all on the same path, what I mean to say is we are all on the same path to enlightment, but taking different journeys to get there.
And when I say there is nothing you need to change or become, what I mean is I believe our souls are already perfect, we just need to "remember". There is nothing to change or need to become because you already are. This life is all about experiencing who you are and remembering who you are in relationship to everything.
Love always,
Lynn xo
Hi all,
I feel that I have been searching for something in my life from a very early age. I have had a deep need to love and be loved. But I didnt realise when I was young that I had to love myself first.
I thought happiness lay in losing my identity in a relationship with someone else without even considering what I needed for myself. This doesnt mean I am selfish but means that we should always try and achieve a balance between what we need and what is expected by others (Libras seek balance in everything but quite often they end up unbalanced through putting others first.)
On my journey I have found the following truths; I believe we are all connected, I believe in synchronicity (things/people appear when you need them) and not to be judgmental or have false expectations of others or yourself. The mistakes we make are all great opportunities for growth and learning and that life isnt always rosy and you have to be able to live with the good and the bad. And dont forget to keep your sense of humour!
Love Namuality
I find these comments all really interesting and somewhat reassuring, and Bruv, you asked about our journeys. I'd be really interested in knowing the path that you have all taken to get where you are today and the key stages or points where you gained much clarity about your life.
My own path started in earnest when I first went to Iyengar yoga classes in 1987 to improve my balance due to back problems from an accident I had in 1985 (in fact this accident probably was the catalyst for changing my views on life!).
These classes were held at the London Buddhist Centre in Bethnal Green - I loved the atmosphere at this centre and the teacher was very inspiring. I took these classes for 3 years each week and really enjoyed going. As I got to know people, I would go out after with some for a drink and a chat and the conversations were sometimes very illuminating about others' thoughts on life.
As there was some meditation and visualisation involved this also got me interested in meditation so I started weekly classes at the Covent Garden meditation centre, which was ground-breaking. I gained so much clarity about my life and rather dramatically changed my whole life, leaving my partner, moving in with Bruv for 6 months until I could buy myself a flat, and setting up my own business, all within 6 months!
I went to these classes for about 2 years in all and became very friendly with 2 of the monks (one of whom became a TV celebrity on the Heaven and Earth Show!). We used to stay and chat together with a few of the other people on the course and all was well until one started getting quite heavy about me becoming a buddist, and telling me that it would be difficult for me to have a relationship outside of Buddhism. I remember asking Bruv about this as it made me quite confused about the motives of the centre and I left soon after.
From 1990 to 1994 I ran my own business with a partner who started out as a very good friend but who became someone who I could not trust by the end, when our business unfortunately went under.
Having had enough of the commercial world I thought I would train in an alternative therapy and work in this area - much less stressful I thought.
In 1995 I therefore took a course in swedish massage and anatomy at the East West Centre in London, a great alternative health centre where I met some really interesting people who expanded my mind no end, following this, I then took an aromatherapy course and started to practice swedish massage in the evenings. I became very good friends with someone on my course who needed to practice Raiki for another exam she was taking and for a while we used to get together and have good chats, go to evenings on alternative health and she also introduced me to Buddhist chanting, which I always felt a bit of a plonker doing I have to say!
I then took some time out to study for an MA, and on that course I met Fuchsy who opened up other interesting methodologies such as NLP and creative thinking techniques, Fuchsy was, and still is a very positive influence in my life and has taught me a lot about myself with her various NLP and art therapy techniques.
But, throughout my life Bruv has always been there with his theories on life and spirituality from A-Z which I know have rubbed off on me, interested and intrigued me along the way. My dear friend Tammy who I have known since the age of 10 is also a very spiritual person, someone very special, someone who has such great humanity. Tammy got me involved with the Baptist Church at the age of 11/12 and I then re-visited the church with Bruv after my road accident.
And then there's the Dao....need I say more, what an education this has been in opening up my mind, and my voice....thanks to you all for that.
Please share your journeys I'd love to hear them!
Hi Swan,
You asked us to describe our journeys.
My spiritual journey started when I was at grammar school in the sixties. This was at the time when many of us there became hippies. Drugs, Rock, Revolution and Mysticism were all in the air. We wanted to change the world and felt that the establishment didn't have any of the answers, so we turned to alternative ways of thinking and living.
All the while I was reading voraciously. One of the books I read at about 15 was Zen Flesh, Zen Bones by Paul Reps. Another was The Way of Zen by Alan Watts. I did not realise how much these books would change my life until much later. They taught me that there was another way of living, another set of truths.
Only my friend Rick and I discussed these matters. My other schoolfriends were not interested in such things. I became a vegetarian and started to cook and eat macrobiotic food. Mum must have wondered what these concoctions were!
I became a constant companion to another group of hippies, centred around my greatest friend at the time, and unrequitted love, Pauline Iacovides. I started to dress and live unconventionally and spent almost all my time travelling over to see them in Westbourne Grove and Notting Hill.
I ran a hippie stall at the famous Roundhouse Sunday night happenings and gave away all my goods at the end of each Sunday.
I got to the point of leaving home to live the alternative lifestyle but my Dad shook me by saying if you leave home it will break your Mum's heart. So I drew back from heading off to Ansterdam with my friends who were going to set up a commune there.
The world of work beckoned and I had by necessity to start to conform more. But I kept up my reading, exploring Hinduism, via the Baghavad Gita and the Vedas, Sufism, Tibetan Shamanism and many other religions. But the ones which resonated the most for me were Buddhism and Taoism. These I studied in great depth.
As the years went on, I started to practice meditation in earnest and began to develop a degree of insight and understanding. I enrolled and practiced at the Zen Dojo in the London Buddhist Centre at Victoria. I found Zen too austere for me and moved on. I undertook formal meditation training at the Theravadan monastery at Amaravati near Hemel Hempstead. This formal training helped ironed a few things out for me and moved me on to a deeper understanding.
I have to say that the current attitude of 'just take life as it comes and wisdom will develop' will only take you so far on the spiritual path to enlightenment. To progress further, I believe a disciplined approach under a knowledgable tutor or guide is essential at some point. There is only so far we can get to unaided.
I must make mention here of Bernie Wooder who was invaluable as acting as a witness to my insights and providing the guidance I needed to seek further formal instruction. If you can find someone who has travelled the path before you, their guidance can be invaluable. 'When the pupil is ready the teacher will appear' is an old but true saying and Bernie appeared at the right time for me.
I have had three mindblowing spiritual visions, one in my late teens, on in my thirties and one in my forties. Each of these lasted for no more than 30 seconds but each are as vivid to me now as when they happened. They showed me that there is much more to reality than we can ever rationally conceive and their power is ever with me.
I wish here to thank my spiritual inspirations and mentors Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Suriyo without whom....
i also offer my extreme gratitude to Siddhartha Gautama, Lao Tse and Chuang Tsu for their shining words and example.
I will sign off with the farewell poem that the Zen Master Honshin composed on his deathbed:
I came from brilliancy.
I return to brilliancy.
What is this?
Love Bruv
Isn't it amazing how life pans out Bruv, I had no idea about you wanting to set up a commune in Amsterdam. Do you ever think about what your life would have been like if you had taken this path?
Do you have any regrets about not having taken this path?
Did you hear from your friends again about how they got on?
I realise that I do not have the same view of the world as you do, and your post has made me realise more than ever why, you have been interested in spirituality for most of your life that is obviously what this life is about for you.
When I had my astrological chart read recently I was told that in my past life I had been very successful in business and had all the tools in this life to enable me to do this, but that this life was about learning more about my feminine and maternal sides, i.e what it is like to be a mother, a wife and how to be feminine. In conjunction with that it said that I am very curious about my own spirituality and in this life I will commence the path of exploring this.
How did you feel training to be an accountant after wanting to go and live on a commune in Amsterdam? That must have been difficult?
With love Swan xx
Hi Swan,
As you say, I view life differently.
From what I have written earlier and on other posts, you will know that my outlook is based around accepting life as it is. So when you ask if I think life would have been different or if I have any regrets, I genuinely do not think like this.
I never regret anything in my life. There is nothing wrong in making mistakes or taking different paths. As long as we choose to learn from them, then there is nothing to regret is there.
This is part of what Ciariad was talking about when she spoke of me showing her that there is another way of living. A way in which we dont have to beat ourselves up over past things or worry about the future, but can just appreciate whatever comes our way. I dont expect other people to think like this, but I do recommend it as a way to live.
Love Bruv
Well I hope to get there one of these days - if not in this life, in the next.
With love Swanxx
Hi Bruv and Swan,
To add to Bruv's outlook on life, I'd like to say that I believe all of our past experiences bring us to where we are at this moment - in perfect order, just in time, exactly as we needed. I can look at a past experience, one that might have brought me heartache, and if I just just slightly tweak my thoughts about that memory, I can actually change my past. I can change my past by the way I look at that experience and so when reflecting on that time, I now have a brighter memory.
I believe everything is in perfect order, chosen by us, to evolve into who are at at every moment.
Sending love,
Lynn xo
Dear Lynn,
You are so right. We can choose how we look at life. Is your glass half full or half empty. You choose.
Anybody heard from Pinky lately? He seems to not be around.
love Bruv
Dear Bruv,
My glass is ALWAYS half full! I heard from Gary this morning, just briefly. He seems to be busy at the moment. Hope to hear from him again soon.
With love,
Lynn XO
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