08/10/2020

01

If you haven't read yesterday's post
on the Stages of Spiritual Development,
today's post refers to that, 
so you might check it out when that is convenient.

Nowhere in my experience has there been a group
centered on spirituality
that devotes itself 
to helping people move through
the Stages of Spiritual Development.

Certain types of Yoga practice
make the Chakras the central focus
of their work,
and teach how to harmonize our body
with the energy centers in the body--
and it may be that the physical route
is the only way to spiritual reality.

That makes more sense 
than thinking that thinking
can somehow be the way of engaging
the process of spiritual development.

Spiritual reality is evoked, not thought.
It is not brought forth by reason and logic.
We do no grow spiritually by memorizing
the steps to spiritual development
and consciously adapting ourselves 
to the proper sequence of concepts.

We can think of "Oneness" all our life
without ever experiencing the wonder
of being one with all things.

We can believe all we want to
about anything we are told to believe,
but all our believing cannot conjure up
one little taste of Being Grabbed!

It is the Being Grabbed that comes out of nowhere,
when we are not even thinking about it
and hurls us into some life,
into some adventure
we would have never thought up
as something we would enjoy doing.

It is the Being Grabbed that moves us through 
the stages of spiritual development. 
Yesterday we were thinking like that
and today we are thinking like this,
and we did not think our way into 
thinking differently.

We were propelled into thinking differently.
Our entire world has changed.

We need systems or structures 
that can prepare us to leave our faith
for an experience with the Source of Life and Being.
But how do we structure the unstructured?
Maybe through Yoga,
maybe through engaging silence in a regular way.
Maybe by being told to seek the Source 
of our own Original Nature.
Maybe by talking with people who know
what they are talking about,
who speak out of their own experience of Being Grabbed.
Maybe by talking with artists and poets,
and dancers and musicians.
Or chefs and potters.

Maybe we just start making inquiries on our own,
asking people to tell us about their experience
with Being Grabbed.

I know we cannot for settle for thinking about spirituality
and think we are doing anything thereby.