As indicated in the Ah-Man Newsletter, during the month of January, I will be discussing the four critical questions that one asks on their spiritual journey through life:
- Who am I?
- Why am I here?
- Where am I going?
- How do I get there?
Each of these questions has had books written about them. So attempting to discuss them in my blog in any comprehensive way is almost impossible. Nevertheless, I want to spend time on each question to provoke thought and reflection.
Who are we? That’s a pretty deep question.
Since this is a blog about spirituality, I trust that we all understand that we are much more than our bodies. I hope that it’s safe to assume that we understand that our bodies not only consist of our outer coverings, but also the mind, senses and ego. Our physical bodies cover that which we cannot see with our human eyes, nor understand with our empirical knowledge. On a scientific level, the body is a truly amazing phenomenon. But we are not only our bodies. We are much more.
I am not here to prove that there is a soul, for a couple of reasons. First, if you are someone who doesn’t believe in Spirit and/or someone who cannot feel the Spirit that moves us, no amount of explaining will ever convince you otherwise. Nobody can understand with empirical knowledge that which transcends such knowledge. Second, there are many others who can do a much better job of explaining the difference between spirit and matter.
So let’s say that the body is the house of the soul. The soul is the very essence of Spirit. Spirit is the essence that we are given to become whom we are to become while in this human form.
If we refer to life in the material world as "The Divine Play," as Master Paramahansa Yogananda does, it might be easier to understand.
Discovering who we are is part of the journey; the play in life. As we journey in life that understanding changes, depending on our understanding of the “play” at that time.
Most of us experience a good part of life before coming to a point of questioning. Is this all there is to life, grow up, get an education, find a good job, marry a wonderful spouse, buy a home, have children, get a bigger house, send children to college, downsize to a smaller house because the children are grown up, etc.?
To some, this is a fulfilling experience, and that is fine. Others of us notice that every time we have that carrot in front of us and we reach the desired destination (a bigger house, new job, kids in college, etc.), the feeling of fulfillment after dwindles as time goes on. Then we’re off to the next adventure, seeking more external fulfillment until we start to ask a crucial question: Is this all there is to life?
Or sometimes we experience something tragic in life that rocks us to our core. We lose someone or something we were so tied to that now we no longer know who we are without that person or thing.
Some of us knew from very early on in life that there was more to life then what we considered the “rat race.” You know, when we saw society/life being on the gerbil wheel, i.e., constantly moving but getting nowhere. But somehow over time, we got caught up in finding a job, marrying, having children, providing for your family, etc., and before we know it, we felt like that gerbil running all day and getting nowhere.
That’s because deep inside we know that we are more than our bodies or our ethnic designations, genders, professional positions, or whatever our minds tells us (e.g., I’m great, I’m a failure, I’m handsome, I’m fat, etc.). We are more than great husbands and wives, more than hard workers, more than good parents. So who are we?
We are part of a greater whole. We are part something much bigger than the human race. We are part of the very essence that creates all this is. We are Divine and part of Divinity Itself.
We all play our role in the Divine Play of Life. Next week, we will talk about your role in the Divine Play.
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