Why You Don't Have a Spiritual Practice

Through continued reflection, I have realized that the development and evolution of my beliefs are a puzzling amalgamation of many subjects. These subjects are sometimes at odds with one another, or at the very least, they don't often fit together. By writing this blog, I’m attempting to clarify this mishmash, first for myself, but also for my children. I want them to have a resource to reference when they are old enough to ponder the nature of reality. And, I suppose, I am also writing this blog for anyone else who may be searching for answers to the same questions I am. In the end, if I can help to illuminate the path to the higher self, and to shed some light on the nature of reality, I’ll feel this to be worthwhile.

As mentioned before, my aim is to analyze the intersection of science, religion, and spirituality, which are different representations of the same, metaphysical reality. These topics point to an inherent spiritual realm in the nature of existence. This realm is all around us, yet many are blind to its presence. We get distracted by our routine, day-to-day experiences. Modern society feeds this and governments and institutions don’t want us to reach this hidden realm. Being able to connect with this higher plane of existence means freedom. Freedom from the confining and self-limiting nature of modern human culture. If we are free, there is no one to conform to societal norms. Modern society thrives on conformity; it's the bedrock on which society stands. Yet, a connection to the spiritual realm is necessary for our wellness. Not only from a spiritual aspect but from a mental and physical one too.

Currently, the world is experiencing a resurgence of secular spiritualism. But the pull of materialism and the negative influences of social and news media are at an all-time high. They relentlessly vie for our attention and block us from the spiritual realm.

The result? A lack of connection with the intrinsic spiritual underbelly of our existence. Shielded from what matters by the alluring draw of the curated unimportant. This leads many to believe that there isn't anything that exists beyond what we can perceive. Until now, modern science has told us that all we can perceive is a physical, materialistic world. One that distills down into machine-like parts, with no evidence of a governing soul or spirit.

I recently read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. By no means is it a new book but is still relevant as ever. In it, he speaks of 'resistance,' an inherent and powerful force that lures us away from what matters to us; from what satisfies our soul. Resistance lurks around every corner and throws endless distractions our way. It also provides us with justifications for indulging in distraction at every instance. Modern society is a resistance-producing machine.

Like Pressfields's resistance, psychic and spiritual teacher Sonia Choquette speaks of ‘blocks.' These take the form of fear (of failure or ridicule), previous beliefs (whether religious or intellectual), and energy (literal clogs within your body’s energetic flow). Whichever way you choose to look at it, barriers on the road to the spiritual self are real. They limit our ability to cultivate a spiritual practice and lead healthier lives on an elevated plane of existence.

Over the centuries, humanity has been led to believe that modern religious institutions were the only available option for spiritual growth. In actuality, mysticism is the true method of spiritual practice. I want to make a clear distinction between religion and spiritualism here. They appear similar on the surface, but that similarity is only skin deep. There are many religious people in this world but that doesn't mean they are all spiritual people. Religious institutions, after all, are just that, institutions. They corrupt, indoctrinate, and lead their followers away from what a spiritual practice should actually be:

a deep, personal, and unique experience.

No one or thing can tell you what it is or how it should be for you as an individual. By all means, learn what you can from the religions of the world; I'm not saying they don't have anything to offer. But the moment you find yourself believing or following along, ‘toting the party line’ so to speak, you are no longer on a spiritual path. You are on a path of conformity. A religious path yes, but a spiritual one? No. As I have alluded to earlier, an important aspect of spiritual practice, the most important aspect, in fact, is its uniqueness to the individual.

You see, everyone has the ability to connect to the spiritual realm. And each one of us also has a different way of doing it. A way that is distinctive to ourselves.

In modern times, the veil of deceit shifted from the responsibility of religious institutions to the heads of industrialism, consumerism, and politics. These systems overwhelm us with business, limiting beliefs, and useless things. Most of it is meaninglessness, other than what it is meant for, to distract us from our inner potential. These deep-seated facets of our society pump out resistance, throwing blocks on our road to enlightenment. They are efficient machines in the production of endless forms of resistance. They do a damn good job at it too. Apart from a small group of spiritual teachers and seekers, society now lacks the knowledge and understanding of how to cultivate the inner self. And becoming your higher self is the only way to experience greater levels of existence.

Most humans fail to understand that we are all a piece of the universe, manifested in a unique slice of existence that is the individual.

As such, each one of us is a composition of the same basic structure of the universe itself. Each member of humanity possesses a unique way of accessing what the universe has to offer. We all have the ability to experience and access, in our own specific way, what the cosmos is. Religious institutions, governments, and corporations have known this for millennia. They have acted as gatekeepers, quashing all other points of access to the higher realms of existence. This allowed them to monetize, monopolize and objectify something that is actually, accessible to all.

"There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true." - Soren Kierkegaard