We fear death because we believe we are only a body and a story that ends. The ego is what dies, and when we are identified with it, we naturally fear death. The solution is to experience who you are beyond time, place, and body. This means to let go, again and again, until the fear altogether disappears.
OVERVIEW
Spirit increases your awareness, so you develop faith in the sacred and discover true meaning.
Through spiritual growth, we realize our true Self. This creates a direct connection with the divine, so you may find healing and surrender to life.
If we’re unaware of our true nature, we live in ignorance. We then perceive reality through a distorted lens, and our life becomes utterly meaningless.
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What is the Spirit Area?
Spirit covers consciousness, healing, and surrender. It’s the great mystery of life. The deeper we commune with the divine, the more clearly we understand the reason for our life. Spirit is the force that animates everything in the universe. The Spirit Area is often neglected because it’s beyond the five senses. But the hunger for Spirit is equal to the desire for food, sex, and status.
The sacred has carried many names through the ages. Spirit is the upper pole of spirituality, reached through transcendence: realizing the true nature of the self beyond form, identity, and place. This seat of awareness allows us to recognize the universal truth of all religions. There is a part of divine essence within you that will one day, like a drop from the ocean, return to its source.
Soul is the lower pole of spirituality and is more often ignored. It is reached through inscendence and carries the image of who we truly are as individual parts of this divine presence. The meaning of your life is found both by going beyond the self toward Spirit and by descending into the depths of your self to reveal your ultimate place. Die before you die and realize there is no death.
Losing meaning in life
If you neglect what is far grander than yourself, life loses its meaning. It’s like we lock ourselves in a prison, throw away the key, and then wonder why it is so dark. You must not block the sacred from entering your life. That takes an act of surrender. The small self with its little pleasures will never satisfy the hunger for Spirit. If not fed, it can destroy your life.
There is a living space within us that remains a mystery. When we ignore it, we’ll try to stuff that empty hole with countless pursuits. Status, romance, and work then have to somehow make up for the perfection of the sacred. No achievement or pleasure will ever fill up this void. If God is dead, then man falls prey to his lower nature and becomes directionless.
The mystery is supposed to be there and demands space. When it is ignored, we start to fear death. And sweet death is around every corner, always with us, and cannot be escaped. Empty pursuits of economic growth, war, and destruction are attempts to satisfy this hunger for the sacred. We’re crying for help because we know that without Spirit our life is meaningless.
How to find meaning
Almost all spiritual practices include restraint and abstaining from worldly pursuits. Fasting from food, words, people, sex, substances, and civilization can open the door to altered states. Meaning only arises from direct relationship with the divine. There is a spark within that needs to be ignited. And once aflame, it needs to be continuously tended so it burns well.
The seat of awareness can be cultivated and realized. But because spiritual practices involve multiple areas, one must be very careful. Religion is fundamentally a path toward the divine, but as history shows, it’s easily misused. Yet, structure is important, so find a teacher, practice, or religion through which you can study, progress, and receive long-term guidance.
There are so many pitfalls along the road. This is where teachers and traditions can provide ample guidance. Yet the real guide is inside of you, so let the sacred into your being. For many people, suffering has been proven the fastest and most effective road toward liberation. But one can smooth out the process by showing up to the work and seeking the sacred.
Five pillars of spirituality
Essential spiritual books
The Power of Now
— Eckhart Tolle
A great introduction to presence and meditation.
The Kybalion
— Three Initiates
On the nature of God and universal principles.
Bhagavad Gita
— Anonymous
An ancient and insightful interview with Krishna (God).
The Journey of Soul Initiation
— Bill Plotkin
A roadmap for discovering your soul’s unique gift.
The Untethered Soul
— Michael A. Singer
On the practice of letting go and surrendering.
Common questions
The true Self is the part of you that is not bound by time, place, or personal story. You are not the voice in the head talking incessantly to itself. Behind it lies awareness, which is part of the divine essence. The practice of meditation leads to this realization.
The upper pole of spirituality is Spirit, and the lower is Soul. Transcendence is going beyond the ordinary self and realizing you are a drop in the ocean of Spirit. Soul is developed through inscendence. Coming into direct contact with your soul helps you find the unique image you were born with, your deepest identity. Together they create meaning in your life.
Surrender is letting go of control and trusting that life knows more than you do. It is non-attachment, not to be mistaken for detachment. It’s an active stance where you act without grasping. It’s when you stop fighting what is.
You do not need to be religious to gain spiritual insight. Religion is a map toward the divine, and there are many other ways. What matters is direct experience and sustainably cultivating a right relationship with that which is sacred.
