By Russell Scott

Throughout the ages to the present time there have been many reports of a new form of consciousness arising in individuals. This form of consciousness has been called by many names. A few of these labels are "awakening", "enlightenment", "illumination", "transcendence", "self-realization", "kensho" in Zen, "anubhava" in Hinduism" and "unitive consciousness" in modern psychology.

Upcoming Talks, Retreats, Events and Trainings

Coming Home Retreat - May 14-18, 2020, Ecology Retreat Centre near Orangeville, Ontario

Deep Calling - Finding Your Life Purpose  TBA

Inner Sovereignty - TBA

Coming Home Retreat - November 11-15, 2020, Ecology Retreat Centre near Orangeville, Ontario

ClearMind-PureHeart New Year's Meditation Retreat - January 3-5, 2020 at the Ecology Retreat Centre

Last week I had a long conversation with an individual in a religious movement. When he suggested that I was a fool for not accepting his beliefs that were embraced by millions of followers for thousands of years, I ended the conversation. This often happens with people in a fundamentalist path. When they cannot convince others of the veracity of their religion they resort to insult.

But this did bring up an important question. Is a religion true because of its popularity for thousands of years?

Are the words of God true in a religious book because millions of people believe in it even though it’s been translated and altered by men over a 100 times? Am I more spiritual because of the way I dress because the founder of my age-old tradition says so? Will I go to heaven if I kill the infidels because thousands of people believe this is true?

Ever notice what happens when you ask a child to do something they don’t want to do? Their energy just suddenly seems to vanish and they drop to the floor and whine:

“I don’t want to do the dishes. I’m too tired”.

But when you say:
“Okay how about after you do the dishes, we go on the internet and download that Harry Potter movie you wanted to see again?”

Notice how suddenly the energy is back.

Where did it vanish? How did it come back?

The secret…
Its always been there.

It comes and goes depending on our interest.

It’s the same with us.

When we are doing something in life we don’t want to do, the energy fades.
We have to push ourselves to do it.

If we push over and over again, we have to find external ways to get that energy back…

5 cups of coffee, double cream, double sugar.
Lots of vitamins
Protein powder
The whatever-hour energy drink
 

Then we have to take something to relieve some of the despair.
Maybe alcohol
Extra sleep
Lots of TV
Junk food
Too many healthy dark chocolate bars (I speak from experience here)

The body can start to breakdown forcing it to do what is deflating the soul.

We get stuck in believing life is just a "dirty ritz a-frats" meaningless game.

But out of this pain comes a turning point. 

We start to search.

We  decide to find to out what our lives are really all about, what really turns us on, what we should be really doing i.e. the BIG QUESTION:

Why am I here?

We find when we get clear on our life purpose, something really funky happens... our energy comes back. It’s what's called inherent motivation i.e. the impulse to create our life arises from the inside.

Not the outside.

Its magic.

Where there wasn't energy...now there is.

Hope returns.

Having a purpose is just naturally satisfying because we are magnetically drawn to want to accomplish it. It excites and energies us.

We become more engaged. Life has meaning as we see that we consistently accomplish the steps toward our purpose. The best parts of ourselves emerge to face and overcome the barriers that have defeated us in the past. 

We become more of who we truly are.

“He who has a why to live for can bear any how.” Frederick Nietzsche

I don’t know about you but to me one of the biggest regrets is to live not knowing why we are really alive. Imagine a person realizing this on their deathbed?

When we know our purpose, life can become a project worthy of our passion not a huge problem to avoid, 

Hey and we can save a lot on those energy drinks!

If this in some way relates to you check out the Deep Calling retreat:

DEEP CALLING

Most people on the spiritual path want to achieve inner peace.

For years and years we have searched for it on the outside only to find that external happiness never lasts. The great tasting meal is temporary, the beautiful fashion changes, the gorgeous hairdo grows out, the great job goes sour and the wonderful relationship breaks-up.

Inevitably, through our lifelong failure to find this happiness, we arrive at the conclusion that inner peace is really in ourselves. So we begin to look there. We take courses, read books, learn to meditate and attend yoga classes and eventually discover that this inner peace is found in the most obvious place. It is so obvious we overlook it: it's in our awareness itself...

When I was in my late teens I was a hippie (or at least I tried to be one.) I thought I was rebelling and I put on a good act but underneath the act, I really did believe in Truth, Love and Peace and I was intensely examining the basis of our culture and society.

Now as a parent I have gone through three 3 teenagers. I've concluded that the adolescent rebellion that many parents experience is not really seen for what it is...it's much deeper...

It's really a search for self.

You see them trying on different ways of being: the preppie, the jock, the rapper, the punk-rocker, the nerd, the whigger, the emo, the hippie, etc. They become part of a little tribe of individuals trying on different "clothes". They really don't know who they are, so they look outside themselves trying on a way of acting to see if it fits. They become part of a little hub of kids with a certain protocol of acting. What socks in the pattern, is one thing: acceptance. They get love and acceptance from their group.

Unfortunately they get stuck thinking that the way to be themselves is to be a reasonable facsimile of someone else, the first step in their socialization. They learn that their happiness is outside themselves in adopting an act, a persona or a mask, even if that mask is the rebel.

After that, the next steps are logical, continue to get socialized

About 20 years ago when I was on ClearingPractitioner training course in California, I went out for a meal with some of the students. There was a Mexican couple waiting at their table for lunch with their little son. While they were waiting for their meal I observed their little boy get up and wander around the restaurant.

He would stand in front of some tables silently watching people talk. When no-one noticed him he would go and do the same thing in front of other tables. But no-one paid attention to him. Perhaps they imagined he would interrupt their conversations.

He came and stood in front of our table and I decided to pay attention to him.

When I looked at this 5 year old boy I could see that he was so inquisitive and so excited about his life. He had the deepest brown eyes and was so amazingly open, innocent and loving. He reminded me of the way I used to be when I was his age and the state of being I was in then. I was trying in my spiritual growth to get back to that state but only with more self-consciousness.

I playfully looked in his eyes and said "I see you".