Spirit Gems provides practical steps for discovering how to live more freely, deeply and peacefully. The authors write beautifully whilst covering essentials such as living in the now, facing our fears, finding unity with all and harmonising the whole of ourselves. Both share profound insights for immersing our lives in spiritually and mediumistically centred-living and for discovering creative realms of development. Their down-to-earth wisdom weaves skilfully through various levels of individual unfoldment and enriching realms of transforming experience.
Steps to Openness and Freedom by Santoshan (Stephen Wollaston)
Have respect for all spiritual traditions – any belief, practice or philosophy that helps humankind to become more open, caring and compassionate.
Any belief, practice or philosophy that encourages and embraces openness, equality and unity deserves respect. If we are prepared to look for good and the variety of ways that our true spirit Self manifests and expresses itself, we will overcome barriers between us and others. This will lead us to discover more spiritual truths and harmony with humanity and the natural world around us. Most tried and tested spiritual traditions have great value and show ways in which we can be more deeply in touch with and manifest our true nature.
There are many paths that have been used to awaken individuals to their true Selves and free them from limiting conditions, such as the path of selfless work and service for others, the path of insight and knowledge and the path of devotion to the Divine in all. It is debatable whether these can be practised in total isolation from one another. For we cannot love God unless we have a certain amount of knowledge of God’s ways. Similarly, we cannot perform good deeds unless we have a certain amount of compassion and love for others. A holistic approach involves healthily integrating all levels of body, feelings, mind and spirit.
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Investigate and welcome all lines of thought that will inspire and help you to grow and develop.
We should not limit ourselves only to one view, but realise that growth is brought about by acquiring receptivity to new knowledge and experience whereby we look into the mysteries of life and the secrets of nature and begin to live and understand the deeper implications of a spiritual life.
Knowledge that we possess today might be right for where we are now. But we need to guard against holding on to views that may eventually stop us from developing further and seeing life from wider perspectives. The sign of a healthy and mature mind is to be able to accept a variety of opposing views and possibilities. Truth often unfolds and changes us gradually – we would probably not be ready to accept its deepest implications otherwise. If we are open to investigating life and new ideas and discovering what truths can be found within them, our development will unfold naturally and lead us onto higher ground. But we must be careful of chasing knowledge that only stimulates our intellect and realise that truth does not confine itself to concepts. This does not mean there is not a level of truth to be found within them. Life is the finest teacher and can help us to find the greatest wisdom within.
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Seek the company of those with an open mind and sound knowledge of spiritual unfoldment and let their influence encourage you in your search. If you cannot find such people in the flesh, then search for them in the many books that have been written on development.
In the early stages of unfoldment, the company we keep can affect us. Those who live the spiritual life to the full can inspire us to be more spiritually aware and persistent in our search, whereas others who have limited understanding of such matters can weaken our commitments. This is why reading spiritually inspiring books is beneficial as it opens our minds to wider possibilities of spiritual growth.
It is only once we have strengthened our spiritual consciousness that we will be less affected by negative company. But it should be noted that our judgements about others may be more of a reflection of our own minds and characters rather than of the people themselves. It is not uncommon for individuals to start out on spiritual paths without knowing anyone to turn to for advice, but as they continue in their search, good people often appear and point them in the right direction. The synchronistic law of attraction comes into play and often draws those of like minds together. There are however people who can mislead others, individuals who may have closed views or wrong motives. This is where we have to rely on our own wisdom and intuition and make independent decisions about our growth, as responsibility for it lies in our own hands.
Discernment is required in order to discover what is right for our needs, nature and unfoldment. This applies not just to people we may encounter, but also to our environments and life in general, as well as any knowledge that we discover. There will be times when things seem to strike a chord. Something inside us often profoundly recognizes and responds to truth when it is found. It may be simply a feeling of wanting to unfold better qualities and to contribute more to life and find ways to help others. A young friend wrote after reading something that triggered this response within him and the following extract demonstrates this clearly: “The writer wrote with conviction that seemed mysteriously to reassure me in a way and refresh my direction. It certainly made me introspect and say, ‘Yeah, I could be trying harder, be kinder and more thoughtful’.
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Paperback and hardback 128 pages
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