Thursday, November 23, 2017

Do you want joy?

Are you a victim or an agent? Do you feel helpless or a person of influence? Do you have enemies or only friends or potential friends? Do you feel unable to cope with the circumstances in your life or have you developed ways of managing your thoughts and emotions in response to those circumstances? Have you developed a wisdom to accept the things you cannot change and the courage to change the things that you can?

A sign of spiritual maturity is the knowledge and awareness that nobody and no things can make you think, feel, and behave anyway that you don't chose to think, feel, and behave. This awareness and practice brings peace and joy which is constant. Nothing can disturb it without your cooperation.

Some people believe that joy comes and goes, but that is not true. True joy is constant because it is based on balanced constancy which is supported by oneness with Creation. Once the center has been found it is difficult to be knocked off balance for long if at all.

The spirituality mature know the difference between pleasure, happiness, joy, and bliss.

The less spiritually mature settle for pleasure and happiness which is fleeting and can change with the winds. As one advances in spiritual development the awareness that joy and bliss are possible leads to a choice about how one wishes to lead one's life. People are afraid of joy and bliss because they are attached to pleasure and happiness and fear the loss of them. And yet we come to realize that pleasure and happiness are ephemeral and as such aren't "real." What is real is on another level and so we must chose whether we will say trapped in the material world or transition to a higher level of living. It is a choice we can make once we become aware of the option. To realize our full potential and actualize it we must say goodbye to the darker side of our nature.

1 comment:

  1. The point about the difference between pleasure, happiness, joy, and bliss is a good one. What is the difference?

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