Spiritual Identities and Traps
We’ve all
heard – nobody is perfect… and we all know that is a true fact; identifying
with being perfect is often associated with the ego and I can understand that,
but I am also questioned sometimes about certain people’s choices, relating to
their (new) spiritual identities that
look like they have fallen into certain traps
or stereotypes. Spiritual identities and traps can easily enter your (new) life
when your awakening does not come in from your own spiritual calling, but is
just imposed by wrong beliefs or practices.
Many
spiritual teachers lead on the belief that once you are awakened you have to
lose your ego, or be at war with it.
Humans have
a physical body that needs the ego to identify with that same body. Each
individual person is comprised of the mental, physical and spiritual selves. Each person is invited to develop their
mental, physical and spiritual beings, as they please through any activity they
so choose. Some are more oriented towards the development of their mental while
others to the physical or the spiritual. There are even others (fewer) who
dedicate themselves to be balanced through their whole - mental, physical and
spiritual states.
The idea
that as the “world turns” and evolves, many more people are awakening and
beginning to step away from the “physical- ego-consciousness” to a spiritual enlightened
version, and we begin to see ourselves as spiritual beings having a human
experience is wonderful but may be also deceiving! We must remember that our life purpose
on Earth, whatever the personal one might be, is primarily, to have a human physical experience, so why
should we be called to “cancel” the ego? If we wanted just a spiritual experience
we wouldn’t have incarnated, we might as well have stayed in the afterlife
realm!
This is one
of the spiritual traps – the ego trap!
I personally
need my ego, but I need it balanced with the other parts of me. I don’t need an
inflated ego; I need to be able to look myself in the mirror and see myself as
I am – no more, no less – I need to have a good clean mirror to see myself as I
am - I need to see my beauty as well as my flaws.
When you
awaken you are often lead to believe you must do something to follow a certain
path, or engage in certain activities like yoga, meditation or some esoteric
practices, and some become intimidated or scared, thinking that if that is the
condition, then they must be doomed because they do not want to follow any of
those. These beliefs can actually block deeper experiences of each one’s truth;
they may truly endanger or delay the actual awakening.
This is another
one of the spiritual traps – the rule
trap!
Once you
know your truth, live it - according to your standards – nobody else’s. Make
your own rules and regulations, the ones you know should be followed, the ones
you need, the ones you want to practice. There is a huge difference between
knowing the path and walking the path and the theory about spirituality is –
there is no theory!
Confusing “spiritual”
with a specific religion dogma or creed is part of a doctrine belief - a
judgmental belief – “mine is better” that serve only the ones involved inflating
their ego, while confusing others.
This is
another one of the spiritual traps – the
religion trap!
Spirit has
no religion, follows no dogma, creed or gods, and being spiritual means you are
using one part of your being! If you choose to follow the teaching of a certain
religion, this does not make you spiritual per say – it’s only a preference!
I followed
with certain amazement, the revelation of a certain person, I prefer not to
reveal the name, a renowned spiritual teacher and many times best seller author
that she no longer was a spiritual teacher because she was a “born again Christian”.
She said she read the Bible for a year and no longer believed in the things she
had taught in the past which she entitled them with “New Age” stuff. She has
since then, preached the opposite of what she taught in the past. To me, this
example is just one, another to affirm my idea – learn from everyone, follow no
one! I did learn from her in my beginning, when I searched for information I needed
to understand certain concepts in order to build my own. I thought it was kind
of “strange” to my own perception; she changed her way of dressing for
instance! She used to dress normally in her early videos, then she started
dressing like a like a “fairy” and now she dresses normally again! But as I mentioned,
she was only an example. There are many others that adopt new ways like, for
example, they shave their heads, dress differently, change their names, their
religion or become vegan and so many others think this is the way into being
spiritual.
My motto: Learn from everyone, follow no one!
The idea
that the awakened or the spiritual people are always in a “Zen” state of being is
wrong and deceiving! Everyone has “bad moments”! Unless you have chosen to move
into a Monastery in Tibet and do nothing but meditate, eat and sleep, you are
bound to have “life” happening to you and give you some not so good moments.
Luckier or maybe smarter are you, if you have learned techniques to shift your
not so good moments into better ones, but completely annulling them from your
life is just a fallacy.
I have read
many a questions that are completely misleading which make me question myself the
following: in this era of information why are so many people being mislead? Why
is fantasy preferred instead of truth?
I have read
questions such as – “How can I open my third eye”? “How can I experience my
Kundalini”? “I have meditated for six hours and still don’t feel happy, what
should I do”? Having the courage to be honest and tell the truth when answering
questions like these is not a problem of mine as that is my way of being; but
the acceptance of the truth is not always well received or well accepted as
these people are expecting an delusional answer I am not going to give.
This is
another one of the spiritual traps – the
game trap!
Being awakened
and walk in a spiritual path is not like playing a game, where people play the
part they feel like it, and figure they are entitled to a “forever happy life”,
forgetting there is also a life to be lived! With the example of the questions
I cited above, certain (many) say - I followed the rules - “I opened my third eye
chakra, I raised my Kundalini, I meditated for six hours, and now what? I am
not feeling any different yet”, what should I do?
The thing
is – there is no script – there is no game to be played.
The
important lesson to learn is that the awakening is not scripted and neither is
living in a spiritual mode, sort of way.
Taking my
example for instance, where I’ve chosen to follow my path of being a Reiki
Therapist, among other alternative therapy healing techniques, I have chosen the
path to service others, but I’ve also chosen the path of surrender to the will
of a higher power in my life, and this surrendering gives me an absolute need
to be balanced in my whole being (physical, mental and spiritual) in different daily
dosages. The amount of time I meditate one day, might be different on the next
day; some days I even have to meditate more than once. The healing method I use for one person might not
be the best for another, or even for myself.
Life is unfolding,
life is happening with me and for me, not to me!
Life is unfolding,
life is happening with you and for you, not to you!
Lastly, the
concept or phrase “be in the now” is often confused and could be a trap as
well. To be in the now, you have to focus on what you are doing now, and there
is nothing wrong with that… the problem is the misinterpretation.
This is
another one of the spiritual traps – the
“be in the now” trap!
I love to
see and savor the views while I drive in the rural areas, sometimes they are
breathtaking and make the trip seem much shorter; there are people who travel
the same road and don’t see the same view, and ask – what view? We are all different,
so when we say to these people to “focus or be in the now”, we have to be very
careful how we explain this concept.
Being in
the now should be explained as simple as to be focused on what you are doing
and nothing else! Whether you are driving, cooking, washing the dishes,
writing, painting, eating, running, or whatever other activity you might be
engaged in, you should be devoting all your attention to that and nothing else!
There is a problem with multitasking, for instance, as it takes you out of the
moment involving several moments in one. I often hear – I can multitask – as a
plus, but if I were to give a rating I would rate it a minus, as it takes all the
perception of the moment.
Be in the
now is to be present 100% in what you are doing and nothing else.
The trap many
take you into, thinking that you have to breathe deeply and go into a sort of
meditation state to be in the now is ambiguous, as in reality this is only
asked if you go into meditation or hypnosis state, because for everything else
you just need to focus on what you are doing and nothing else.
It’s kind of
easy to slide into any one of these spiritual
identities and traps, as you go along searching for information that is truly
useful for your awakening. Having compassion and humility along with patience is
necessary and helpful into better focusing yourself in your path, your journey,
and your own personalized spiritual schooling, where you learn from everyone and follow no one.
Much Love
and Light!