A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

Aug 15. 2003

When I talk about spiritual reading, or make a statement about my own spirituality; I come up against statements like, "Who are ya gonna believe?" "Does anyone know what they’re talking about?" "Everybody has their own opinion," and other similar phrases you may have heard.

   New, on the path of spiritual enlightenment; I to have waded and weeded through volumes of books, tapes and videos; looking for something I could call my truth, my belief; even though I was brought up in the church.

   For the last two years I have read over 150 books on spirituality. I have read the best sellers and other books that never made it. I have read books by known and unknown authors. I hold a wisdom circle at the local library and many subjects are brought up. What is the truth? Who knows what they are talking about, why should I believe any of them? Is there some way of knowing?

  I have listened and paid attention. There seems to be two basic truths or beliefs that come filtering through; that are common and universally accepted by all. I believe that if you use these two truths diligently when you are reading and listening; you will develop your own truth. When you hear the truth you will feel it in the pit of your stomach as a physical thing. It will be there and you will think, yes that’s it, that makes sense.

   Think of these two truths as a coin sorter. When the coins are put into the bin, they automatically fall into their appropriate slots. In my coin sorter there are only to slots; if the coins don’t fit into them; they are rejected.

   The first guide, truth or filter that is universally accepted or taught is that "We are all One," the creator is all there is, he/she is omnipresence; there is no one else. The creator is in and around everything that is.

   If I were to hear or read a statement that says there is the creator (God) and the Christ (Jesus); that is a dualistic statement that ignores the omnipresence of the Creator and therefore does not fit into the slot of "We are all One." I would consider it a false statement. It the statement does not lead back to the Universal belief that "We are all One," I would reject it.

  The second guide, truth or filter universally accepted is that "God is unconditional Love." Unconditional love is unconditional freedom. The words are interchangeable and synonymous with each other. There are "no conditions," we have unlimited freedom to create\think as we choose. There are no conditions to returning back to the "all that is." An awareness of who we are is all that is required. In itself this awareness is not a condition.

   If I were to say to you that you cannot return to the creator (go to heaven) unless you follow the 10 commandments, tithed the church and were born again; would they not all be conditions. Would the process create a contract with conditions that had to be met before you were allowed access to unconditional love? Using my guide, I would reject the above statement. The guides I use, work very well and always lead me back to the two universally accepted truths; "We are all One," "God is unconditional Love."