Higher states of consciousness are naturally interesting to people because we all inherently know that things are simply easier to understand when we aren’t lost in our usual day to day problems that plague us from day to day.  There are rare experiences when we are able to see the higher meaning of our lives and these moments help us to achieve greater clarity and value in the things we do.

In addition to the higher value and clarity that we can all achieve in a higher state of consciousness, we can also alleviate the negative feelings that come from our normal day to day routine.  Higher states of consciousness transcend all of our negative emotions and leave us feeling as though we were “floating on air” in a perfect state of peace and contentedness.  With such great promise as this, it is a great wonder that these higher states are so rarely reached and that the secret to their achievement often seems so hard to discover.

The reason why the difficulties arise has to do with a fundamental difference between what is called “theory” and what is called “application”.  In “theory”, we know that higher states of consciousness exist and we can talk about them, read about them and think about them to no end. In “application”, however, we find that we must actually begin to do things that are more real and concrete.

Thinking and reading and talking are all very concrete things and yet they often aren’t concrete enough to bring about a higher state of consciousness.  Our thinking and our books can only take us so far until we find that we actually need to transcend ourselves and go even further.  This makes spiritual work seem extremely hard or even impossible for most people.  We often decide to just “give up” and later on we discover that our “giving up” was actually part of the spiritual process which was necessary in order that we approach our task from a new angle.

Having “given up” on spiritual efforts, we discover that there is still a part of us which seeks those same higher states of consciousness that we originally set out to achieve.  With a new strategy and a more open attitude, we reach a proverbial “second wind” which is mentioned in the classic spiritual book The Cloud of Unknowing.  In this book, the anonymous writer explains how an initial effort to reach a higher state of consciousness often fails but that a person who returns to the effort again after years of “giving up” is almost sure to reach those higher states which they first set out to attain.

The basic effort that is required to reach these states has to do with letting go of negative emotions and becoming more aware of ourselves in the present moment.  We can practice these things each day but often find that they are very hard to achieve for any extended period of time.  Letting go of our grief, anger, fear and guilt are all part of what spiritual effort is all about but actually doing these things turns out to be much harder than we first imagined.  Watching ourselves, observing our thoughts and coming to understand ourselves better are also important elements of spiritual effort but these things only come slowly over years of work and long hours of reading, writing and participating in spiritual groups.  The efforts sometimes seem to much for many people after one or two years and they eventually become distracted by something and fall away from their path.

Falling away from the path is a normal part of spiritual growth and can actually be viewed as a positive step forward after some initial effort has truly been expended.  If the person who falls away from their path doesn’t fall too far off course, they can often find a renewed hope in the idea that there is a “second wind”. This second wind is something that often indicates a true spiritual seeker and someone who has come to understand the true meaning of devotion and dedication to spiritual principles.

If you are intent on reaching a higher state of consciousness, it will be important for you not to forget your second wind.  Many people begin on a spiritual path and even reach certain higher states of consciousness in the beginning.  The true spiritual devotee, however, is that person who has come to a seeming end in their path and has actually fallen away for a time to wonder how a higher state of consciousness can truly be reached.  It is only after their second wind that they truly come to see what higher states of consciousness are really all about.  Good luck to you on your path and don’t forget your second wind!

Underneath the surface level of life there is a dimension that we all long to make contact with. This level of consciousness is not bound by the physical world and is much beyond all the boundaries and limitations of ‘reality’. It is this consciousness that we call the spiritual and although there are many views and definitions of what spirituality really is, the one thing we know it is, is that it’s that invisible part of life that affects our life in many deep and often mysterious ways.

What I would like to do here is to present 3 quotes on spirituality that I find deeply insightful. It comes from 3 very influential people; people who have made vastly different contributions to life and our understanding of what it means to be a human being in this world. It’s one thing to receive spiritual advice from a spiritual teacher, but to receive it from someone who actually lived it makes it so much more practical and believable.

The first quote is from Joseph Campbell, a man who spent a lifetime writing and thinking about the mysteries of life. Joseph Campbell is very well known in academic circles for his work on metaphysics and the significance of mystery in our lives. Here’s what he had to say:

“All you can learn is what your own inward life is and try to stay loyal to that.”

In our ego driven world we all tend to look outside ourselves for approval and our peers tend to dictate much of our aspirations. We tend to compare ourselves to others to determine where we are in life and also where we ought to be going.

The great value of spirituality is that it calls on you to look deep within to find your own unique place and path in life. Realizing that you are unique in every way and that on a spiritual level you have a unique journey through life will open you up to a new way of living. When you look within you will discover that authentic spiritual part called your Self through which your entire life is lived. Joseph Campbell tells us to find this part of ourselves and then to stay true to that instead of always looking outside of ourselves for answers.

True fulfillment in life will never come from living up to someone else’s expectations or living your life the way you believe you ought to. It will never come from the attainment of goals or achieving success on someone else’s terms. The ultimate purpose of life is to find out what you are about on that deeper spiritual level and then to live it – it’s about translating your spiritual nature into you’re the life you are living.

So how do we do this?

There are many great insights, but one of the most powerful comes from a ‘little’ unassuming woman who changed the world through compassion. Here’s what she had to say:

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.”

The first quote on spirituality from Joseph Campbell was about finding your own authentic path in life. In this quote from Mother Theresa, she tells us how to do it. When mother Theresa offers spiritual advice I for one am willing to listen.

Mother Theresa shares with us a very profound spiritual lesson – embrace silence. God is the friend of silence and when you quiet your mind, you get to reconnect with God on a personal level. In our crazy-busy world, silence is often frowned upon. Dedicating time for silence and contemplation is probably the last thing on most people’s list of priorities, yet this is where true authentic power in life comes from. When you empty your mind from all the mundane demands and you return to the centre deep within, you are once again connected with that divine power that orchestrates the entire universe.

In a world dominated by new trends and technologies it seems like there is an even greater demand on our attention from every direction. We marvel at the latest inventions and the wonders of new technology, but still it’s all very temporary and only lasts until the next best thing comes along.

Technology is an wonderful part of life and is as much a part of the wonder of creation as anything else. Even when you look beyond all the man-made wonders and venture into nature to observe a sunset, a shooting star or a thunderstorm, there is one thing that is universally mysterious about it all. Even with our technology advances and scientific knowledge, there is still a huge part of life that we simply do not understand and even something as fundamental as ‘where do we come from’ remains a mystery to us. Renowned scientist Albert Einstein spent a large part of his life trying to come up with answers to some of life’s most pressing questions. Here’s what he had to say about it:

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”

Behind all the surface wonders of the world lies a deeper mystery – as if there is a divine hand behind it all that silently orchestrates and organizes it. This is the true wonder of life. At the heart of spirituality is this wonderful and mysterious force that is the essence of life.

Spirituality is about really waking up to life and to develop a higher awareness – an awareness of that mysterious force behind all of life. If you are not absolutely fascinated with life then you simply don’t know enough. It’s ironic that our modern day scientists are becoming more and more spiritual because the more we find out about the true nature of life, the more they are realizing that there is an indescribably force behind it all.

These 3 quotes on spirituality are from 3 very different people, but their message is the same: beyond the mundane activities of life there is something bigger; a higher force that some call God. It is in your nature to know this Force. By discovering your own unique place in the world, by embracing silence and making contact with God you can awaken an awareness deep within yourself that will open your eyes to a whole new way of life. Life truly is a magnificent experience and learning to embrace this mysterious part of life that is also a part of you, you can start to embrace more of life and experience a richness that is much beyond anything else.