Many people claim to be spiritual but are either fooling themselves or fooling others and this can be extremely damaging to someone who is honestly trying to find serious answers to their most important questions.  This is a collection of the characteristics of a true spiritual person which will make it easier for you to check your best intuitions and make sure you aren’t being fooled by someone who is really just out to serve their own ego.

One of the first things you can look for in a spiritual person is whether they are saying something that has always been true from the beginning or whether they are giving you a version of truth that is dependant upon certain conditions and circumstances in their own life.  What they are saying should be something that includes everyone and not just a certain “sect” of people.  Their ideas should be open to all people and there need not be any “secrets” or “mysteries” about what they are trying to convey to you.

The next important characteristic to look for in a true spiritual person is the willingness that they have to offer their ideas free to others, at least in part.  Although teachers often have to charge their students for book printing, advertisements and travel expenses, it should become apparent if they have something to gain besides the simple joy of spreading their message.  Oftentimes, truly spiritual people will charge for some of their lectures but they will also offer some free sessions as well.

Another characteristic to look for is that they should not be seeking power for power’s sake.  Oftentimes, a person who appears to be fighting a particular ‘cause’ is actually caught in a power struggle with their supposed “enemies” and this actually represents a limited position in life.  True spirituality recognizes the dominion of peace over all other forms of power.  A spiritual person does not need to ‘fight for a cause’ because peace is its own end and its own reward. Peace does not have any needs or desires except in as much as it seeks to share itself with others who seek its same sovereignty. This does not require ‘fighting’ for anything external.

A true spiritual person places no demands, requirements or controlling rules and regulations on anyone else and only offers suggestions to those who wish to find that same peace within themselves.  Peace is an inside job and others should be free to come and go around a spiritual person and do not need to be persuaded, coerced or intimidated into believing what someone else says.  Spiritual people already are total and complete in and of themselves and don’t need to gain ‘followers’ or adherents to their truth, although this may happen of its own.  Spiritual people remain non-involved in world affairs and, even when the world seeks to pull them into its theatrical, glamorized arena, they remain non-attached and peaceful.

The characteristics of a true spiritual person are that they have no need to change the world and see all of life as deserving of absolute reverence.  This is God’s world, although the ego may sometimes tell us otherwise. Spiritual people seek to avoid the things which are unhealthy rather than trying to oppose those things. They see the simple beauty and perfection of all that exists and feel a compassion for all life rather than an emotional involvement.

Although a true spiritual person is often respected by others around them, they reject any special treatment and remain humble. They do not depend on the authority of any other person, place, institution or historical document in order to maintain their spiritual qualities but merely espouse certain teachings or teachers as a way of affirming the truth which they are already know within themselves. Truth is the same no matter who speaks it or at what time or place in history. If it is true that a person should ‘love his mother’ then it is true regardless of whether anyone says it or not. Spiritual people know what is true and don’t require the need to ‘prove’ their awareness to others.  They are content with merely knowing that truth and then living it according to the way it has worked for them. These are what the characteristics of a true spiritual person are.

“The true value of a human being can be found in the
degree to which he has attained liberation from the self.”
- Albert Einstein

The mind – body – spirit analogy is probably the most widely accepted model for representing our understanding of humankind and what constitutes our being. These three distinct parts of the Self seems to encapsulate our entire experience of ourselves and our lives. For decades now most of the analysis about human consciousness revolved around some version of the body – mind  - spirit model. But there is another way of analysing the self (one of many) that is equally valid and in many ways more useful as a way of understanding more about our spirituality and how we can live a more conscious life.

Looking things in a new way can be mind opening. We tend to get so stuck in accepted ways of looking at things that we rarely stretch ourselves to new level of understanding that often comes from looking at something from a new perspective. With this in mind, let’s take a look at spirituality from a different angle – from an angle that will help you in your everyday life and in consciously growing in both your understanding and in your evolution of your spirit.

Each and every one of us have two distinct aspects about ourselves. These two aspects are our constant companions on life’s journey and no matter how hard we try, we cannot escape them. Together they make up your consciousness and your very experience of your Self and your life. The first aspect represents our appearance and the face we wear in this world. It’s called the ego and it that part of you that represents you to others and to the world at large. The ego is like a mask you wear, a mask that is necessary for your spirit to be able to ‘live’ in this life. The second aspect of You, is your spirit or your higher self. It is that part of you that’s invisible and that quietly lives in that inner space deep inside your consciousness.

Try and think of these two aspects of your Self not as two people living inside you, but rather as two sides of the same you. Like two faces of the same coin they are inextricably connected to each other. Both are part of the life force, the one primarily concerned with where you are while the other is primarily concerned with where you came from and where you are ultimately going back to.

Although ego and spirit are so closely related, they have vastly different demands on both your conscious and your unconscious attention. Your ego is primarily concerned with maintaining it’s importance in the world. It always wants to be right and is convinced of the fact that it is separate from everyone else. It’s always in competition – always wanting to be better than everyone else. Ego always strives to have more, to be better and to dominate. The ego’s value is determined by comparing itself to others to see how it stacks up – the ego’s point of reference is always outside of itself.

The world is filled with ego driven people. One of the key characteristics of more spiritual people is their ability to focus more on their spiritual aspect. In many ways the needs of spirit is almost the exact opposite and is not interested in any of the demands that dominate the ego. Spirit’s primary need is to be at peace and being right and conquering others is of no concern to spirit. Spirit has no need for more because it knows that it’s value comes from itself and not from what it gains, what it wins or what it collects and accumulates.

Much of our own inner conflicts arise from a conflict between these two aspects of ourselves. It presents us with two vastly different and conflicting sets of demands. Living a more spiritual life with a greater sense of inner peace and personal fulfilment is primarily about placing greater emphasis on the higher self and on giving the spirit a greater prominence in your life. It’s not a process of slaying the ‘evil’ ego, but rather about learning to subdue the ego and it’s demands in favour of the higher self’s demand to be at peace.

The real question is who you are allowing to run things in your life. Is it ego or is it spirit? If your life is driven by having more, being better than, being right and dominating; then ego is in charge. If your life is driven by having a sense of inner peace, by being compassionate, reaching out to others and giving - then you allow spirit to take over. Living from your higher self is about living in harmony with the flow of goodness of the universe and you will rarely encounter any conflicts. Ego on the other hand thrives on conflict – it’s a chance to proof it’s importance and dominance over other people and circumstances.

Renowned scientist Albert Einstein’s quote above reflects beautifully what we are talking abut here. What he meant with his statement is that we will discover a higher value in being human when we learn to free ourselves from the demands and expectation of the ego. The ‘self’ that he is referring to is the ego. The question is who is running your life? Is it ego or is it spirit? Learning to break through the facade that your ego upholds you can live a more peaceful, joyous and fulfilled life.

The 3 Spiritual Dimensions Of Living An Enlightened Life is a self study course that hones in on more of these ideas and looks at some revolutionary ideas for making spirituality part of who you are and helping you to create a richer experience of life. Click Here… For More Info
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(continues from part 1)

In part 1 we looked at some key ideas about inner peace and we defined inner peace as an inner sense of harmony; a feeling of bliss that we feel deep down inside. In part 2 we will look some of the barriers that we all encounter towards living with a greater sense of inner peace.

1. The Ego
Your ego is that part of you that’s like a veil to your spirit. It’s the external façade that we all wear in order to operate in this world. Your ego constantly reminds you about your separateness and how you have to proof yourself by being better than, faster than or stronger than everybody else. Your ego is the source of most of the conflicts in your life. These can be conflicts with other people and even with yourself because the ego is fixated on being the most important person. Much of the anger, resentment and frustration in your life come from the ego’s demands on you

Having a sense of inner peace allows you to be in harmony with everyone and everything. The effect of inner peace is a sense of unity and you start to see both your environment and your fellow human beings as being connected to you in some invisible way.

Although you cannot rid yourself of your ego, you can go along way in subduing the ego’s demands on you and focusing on living from your higher self instead – making a conscious effort not fall prey to your ego and all the millions of demands it places on you every day.

2. Living In The Future
It’s important to realize that wherever your mind is – there you are. If your attention is in the past or the future, then that is what your experience of life will be. So many people waste away their precious time living their lives in a time other than now. Wallowing in the past serves no purpose and no matter what you do you cannot change that which is over. Worrying about what might happen in the future will only cause you to feel an inner sense of turmoil. Worry tends to consume your entire mind, removing you from feeling at peace.

One of the key spiritual realizations is to understand that the only ‘time’ you really have is now. Where your thoughts are now is where you are. If you think that one day when you have enough money or when the right person comes along or when you are fit and healthy THEN you will be happy – think again! Divert your thoughts and your energy to the present moment instead and give up everything that’s over and done with and let go of everything that might be.
 

3. Spiritual Ignorance
There is an aspect to each and everyone of us that is invisible, yet very real. This higher self, your spirit is who you really are. You will continue to feel unfulfilled in life until you recognize and nurture the seeds of divinity deep within you.

It is this spiritual part of you that seeks to be at peace. When you recognize and nurture your own divinity you can start to listen more to your Self and less to the demands and expectations of the world. Knowing what brings you a sense of inner peace is the essence of living a more peaceful life.

By becoming more aware of these three ‘enemies’ of inner peace you can start to make a more conscious effort to stay connected with your own spirituality and live a more blissful life. An inner sense of quiet and tranquility is a very important part of being happy in your Self. Make it your goal in life not to achieve or have more, but instead to be at peace and reorganize your priorities to create an environment within yourself where your spirit can thrive.

Without inner peace no person can survive. Almost daily we see headlines of super ‘successful’ people having to turn to drugs or alcohol just to cope with the inner turmoil they are experiencing. It’s a challenge that we are all faced with and with every experience of life you have the choice: Do you choose peace or do you choose turmoil? Do you choose to win, to be better, to have more, to proof someone else wrong…OR do you choose that which will bring you inner peace?

“People are born for different tasks, but in
order to survive every one requires the same
nourishment; inner peace.” – SRI SAI BABA

What exactly is inner peace? What does it mean to be at peace? People go around using the word peace very loosely and in our current world circumstances for many the word peace simply means to be free from war and conflict. However, peace has a much more profound and much more significant meaning than mere freedom from war. As Sai Baba pointed out to us – inner peace is the very thing that nourishes our spirit.

Although it’s quite hard to define what inner peace really is, we all know what it feels like because we’ve all had times in our life when we experienced it. For many inner peace shows up in their lives as fleeting moments of bliss and more often than not it is something that they cannot really hold on to. One of the greatest blessings that comes from living a more spiritually conscious life is to cultivate a greater sense of inner peace.

Any form of conflict that you experience removes you from that sense of inner peace. Inner peace is a deep inner sense of ease – a sense of inner comfort and stillness that is both joyful and calming. Inner peace will free you from many of the demands and expectations that drive most people over the edge. By living your life with a greater sense of self awareness you can start to cultivate a sense of inner peace and live life with a greater sense of clarity and perspective. A life of turmoil is characterized by immediate demands and shortsighted gains and like a wildfire you can never quite get the best of it.

Living your life with a sense of inner peace is not so much a conscious pursuit as it is the result of living your life in a certain way. It’s not so much in what you do as it is what you don’t do. Your nature – your own spiritual essence (your soul) comes from a place of peace and it’s ultimate pursuit is to be at peace. The challenge that we are all faced with is that our everyday lives tend to distract us from a sense of inner peace.

In part 2 we will look at 3 of the biggest barriers to inner peace. These are some of the biggest things that cause most people to disconnect themselves from this sense of inner peace. (read more in part 2)