Every now and then we get a glimpse that there must be something more to life. There is a faint memory of a time and place of comfort, peace, security, and well being. People in distress sometimes say, "I can't stand this any more. I can't go on. There are times when I wish I wasn't here."
"Do you have suicidal ideas, " I ask?
"Yeah, I do sometimes," is the answer.
"What keeps you from acting on your ideas," I ask?
"My kids, my dog, my ___________."
"Well, it's a wonder, given how miserable you are, that you haven't killed yourself by now," I say.
"I just can't bring myself to do it. I guess things aren't really that bad. I keep hoping that things will get better."
And it is this hope that keeps the person from ending their earthly life. And what does this hope consist of and where does it come from and how does it work?
"What is it that you are hoping will be different if you go on living," I ask?
"I just want things to be okay."
"Things are okay already if you could see beyond the drama in your life," I say.
"I guess," is the reply.
And there is a glimpse of a vision of heaven and peace on earth which has been blocked out by the workings of the ego. We have to admit that we are not in charge, not in control, not the agent of cure. We have to recognize, acknowledge, and surrender to a power far greater than our own and let go. In the letting go, we paradoxically experience peace.
The idea of the Perennial Philosophy of Aldous Huxley leads one to the idea that God is too big for any one religion. How is it that sometimes people outgrow their religion of childhood? James Fowler, among others, has mapped out a model of spiritual development. Osho says that a person cannot enter into a spiritual life until he/she rebels against childish religious beliefs. Notes On A Spiritual Life intends to explore deeper understandings of an authentic spiritual life.
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The tolerance that human beings have for dysfunction is very high. they often are not willing to change until they hit the proverbial bottom. And then in their darkest hour sometimes the light breaks through the cracks.
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