InnerSelf

There comes a stage in spiritual development when you will experience the conflict between the fears of the ego and the power of spirit. An ego-based identity seeks only that which strengthens it. All else is seen as a threat. Therefore, in the beginning, as you take the next step in evolution, you will feel a conflict, a division within yourself as a new way of being struggles to emerge.

When we cheer the spirit of the true athlete, what we applaud is a demonstration of all of the significance's the word spirit entails for us: courage, tenacity, commitment, alignment with principle, demonstration of excellence, honor, respect, and humility. To inspire implies filling with spirit...

One of the most startling developments of the late twentieth century has been the emergence within every major religious tradition of a militant piety popularly known as "fundamentalism." Its manifestations are sometimes shocking. Fundamentalists have gunned down worshippers in a mosque, have killed doctors and nurses who work in abortion clinics, have shot their presidents, and have even toppled a powerful government. It is only a small minority...

We who value tolerance sometimes behave as if we think tolerance is the ultimate value of the liberal spirit, a cure for all the ills of society. But what if your next-door neighbors come from a part of the world where their homeland custom demands that the man...

Most of our spiritual traditions tell us that, as humans, we are miniature reflections of God and that we have been created in God's image. If this is so, then it would follow that a more direct way to look upon the face of God would be to sit and gaze at an actual person, a real flesh-and-blood human. If you can truly see another and be seen by the other, you begin to see that he or she is an embodiment of the Divine, and you begin to feel...

If I'm having difficulty opening my mind to a new perspective, I often find it helpful to look at how much value I'm placing on my old ways of seeing. Sometimes we invest very heavily in our old perspectives, without even knowing it. On one level, we want our minds to be healed...

We all know from experience that we cannot be a better person, a more loving individual, let alone a fully realized being, simply by intention alone. Spiritual seeking is a commendable activity in and of itself; it brings many rewards such as greater clarity, peace of mind, and serenity, and keeps us from mindless and destructive pursuits. But spiritual seeking that is undisciplined and aimless will not bring any improvements to our condition, nor will it be truly rewarding.

by Del Kyger. Since childhood, Mildred "Billie" Steves has felt the loving presence of God. So when Billie began to receive communications from God following her morning meditations, she was quite at ease and did not see these events as out of the ordinary...

And on the eighth day, man created God. Who else but man would donate only a mere three letters of the alphabet to the power behind the universe? Three letters do not bear much weight in light of a God who is attributed with creating a world, saving its people, and providing a life everlasting. Many would profess to say that God in fact is not the name they would use at all to depict their own conception of a higher being. Nature, the Great Spirit, Allah, Buddha, Goddess, Jesus Christ, no Christ, the earth, so many names...

Like many people on their spiritual path, it was some time before my spirit guide revealed his name to me. I must admit I thought it rather curious when he told me his name was Joe. I asked if he were an angelic being, or perhaps a saint, but he said I could just address him as Joe. Being a no-nonsense, down-to-earth kind of a person myself, I reasoned that was the type of guide I would attract. As you may have noticed, many metaphysical people tend to ask one another...

It is of interest that the current spiritual reawakening is mainly happening outside the carefully patrolled borders of our organized religions. It appears to be cutting across socioeconomic levels of achievement and status, and is transcending cultural, political, and ethnic boundaries as well. Although it's possible to do this in the church or the temple, the zendo or the mosque, the challenge is to accomplish it out in the world at large

Divine Love is the needed energy for our planet to heal itself. There are so many well intentioned people and factions who think that they have the only right answers. They are often willing to fight and be mercilessly cruel to prove that they are the most Holy. Sometimes it's necessary to stand up to...

by Matthew Fox.

Compassion is the way we treat all there is in life -- ourselves, our bodies, our imaginations and dreams, our neighbors, our enemies, our air, our water, our earth, our animals, our death, our space, and our time. Compassion is treating all creation as holy and as divine... which is...

Although I am primarily a Christian, a Catholic contemplative, my heart and life are now totally open to wherever and whenever mystical graces take me. My inner journey has prepared me to appreciate the importance and possibility of a universal approach to mysticism because...

Once upon a time there was a Lodgekeeper who managed a mountain resort. Many people visited the area to hike and enjoy the natural splendor of the mountain. One day, a guest checked in and after getting settled, he told the Lodgekeeper he was going out hiking. The Lodgekeeper advised him to...

Those are the letters on several trucks I see being driven on Long Island highways. No, they don't stand for GOD...rather an acronym for Guaranteed Overnight Delivery. Even God can't match that speed. I know, because many people pray to God daily and hope for instant delivery from problems. Usually, they are very disappointed and lay full blame on their Creator...

Many people don't think about their spiritual lives until they're faced with a crisis such as a life-threatening illness. Then they decide to embark on spiritual practices such as meditation or prayer. Are you ready to turn "later" and "someday" into "now" when it comes to attending to your spiritual life?

If we can begin to understand how the Spirit operates continuously in our lives, then our daily existence will become less stressful and more relaxed, filled less with drudgery and more with enchantment, and we in turn can become more creative and begin to enjoy a new sense of purpose, fulfillment, and enthusiasm.

How can you find some of that inner peace you hear the saints of old attained? Train your heart to function and perform and you will find that you can more easily handle day to day stress -- which leads to the ability to not lose your peace of mind. This is a great secret. Your heart is a transforming device. It will turn negative energy into positive loving energy...

by Rev. Dr. Marcus Braybrooke. Over one hundred years ago, Charles Bonney, who presided at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago, ended his closing address like this: "Henceforth the religions of the world will make war, not on each other, but on the giant evils that afflict mankind." Sadly...

To be 'in service' in today's world is regarded as demeaning no matter whether the service is given freely, or for hire and reward. A misconception exists that by the very act of serving someone you are placing yourself in a position of subservience to the person that is being served. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Karma is a strange word. No matter how many times I talk about this issue, people are still convinced that karma is something they're working through with another person. No -- you're working through your own karma, which means your own experience.

Each of the major religions has the same goal: to provide us with a way to know and experience God. The only difference lies in the instructions for accomplishing this knowing. It's very hard to know where to focus my attention to find peace. I am sad to discover that I can't find it in my morning New York Times.

When we are faced with a variety of spiritual teachings and practices, we must keep a genuine sense of inquiry. What is the effect of these teachings and practices on myself and others? In his last words, the Buddha said we must be a lamp unto ourselves.

Ever since I can remember, I have known two worlds. The concrete, day-to-day physical world -- deadlines, desks, dinner -- the world of manifestation; and another world, the spiritual world of mystery, the world of God. I could touch and see things that were not there, at least not there in a normal, everyday sense. I would sit in meditation for hours, watching my breath drop to nothing, and feeling my body fade far away as I left my constantly arguing parents and this confusing world behind to draw closer and closer to God.

Before we decide to follow a path of spiritual teaching, whatever the culture or creed from which it came, it is necessary to investigate our motivation for doing so. The main reason we become interested is because we want something different in our lives from what we see around us.

by Lee Mosby. Go forth on your Path in life with honor and dignity and do whatever good you can. As long as it lasts, life can be full of wonderful memories if you wish. Everyone is unique and changing and all have the right to reach their full potential in all their abilities. Peace, love and truth are the absence of fear. As you live your life, try to gain human understanding and learn from the successes and failures of other people.

by John Randolph Price.

I've heard people say that they learned the truth of health and wholeness by being sick, the reality of abundance by suffering lack, the beauty of harmonious relationships by witnessing first hand the ugliness of discord. If that's the game plan they have chosen, fine, but doesn't it remind you of the old joke about someone who hit himself on the head with a hammer so it would feel good when he stopped? Many of us...

Our real existence is as Spirit, and only in the degree that we perceive our real existence as Spirit, do we drop the false sense of life as material. Then we see that the structural life of man, animal, and plant is but the false sense of existence; that our concern for the so-called necessities of material living has been unnecessary...

I was born in 1960 and my formative years were spent worrying about the Vietnam War, race riots, and the nuclear threat. My earliest memory is John F. Kennedy's assassination. Sadly, my daughter was about the same age on September 11, 2001 as I was on the day JFK died. Will she be haunted by the continuous Technicolor loop of doom and destruction that appeared on our television screens for what seemed like months after the event of September 11th?

Have there ever been times in your life when you needed some guidance?... some direction in life, or a bit of help making a major decision? Where did you turn? To a trusted friend? A family member? An astrologer or psychic? Maybe you found some helpful direction from these sources, or maybe not. Did you ever wish that there was a higher source of wisdom and guidance you could turn to?

by Joan Borysenko.

Without learning to manage your mind, inner peace is impossible. The key to making your mind your ally, rather than your enemy, is to become aware of how you produce and direct your very own cinema of the absurd. Then you can choose to...

Whatever kind of body we have, it is our vehicle for realizing inner light. Our bodies are the matter in which the light of our soul temporarily resides. It is common to imagine that the soul resides somewhere deep within this mass of matter, and will be liberated when our bodies die. Yet our bodies are vehicles for not only growth and development, but also the realization and expression of ourselves as soul...

by Bobby Lake-Thom. Years of ongoing shamanic and spiritual training have taught me many lessons. Perhaps the main lesson is that life is a never-ending learning process. Although we reach a certain level in our growth and development, there is always something new to learn, to experience...

by Ron Leifer, M.D. The desire for happiness is the universal wish of humankind. On this, everyone would agree. Yet everyone suffers and dies. The basic fact and the basic tragedy of life is that every human being longs for peace and happiness, yet everyone is haunted by the specter of suffering, unhappiness, and death.

by P.M.H. Atwater. No matter how many psychics you consult or how many readings you have, only bits and pieces of one's personal path is ever revealed. The rest remains your mystery -- for you to solve. While I cannot tell you the why of your life, I can briefly offer spiritual and mundane viewpoints to consider...