“I’ll be happy when…” is one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves. It is a grave mistake to think that someone or something can give us freedom, joy, and balance. I call this “looking for yourself where you are not.” In truth, an inner journey is required.
Freedom, joy, and balance are not found “out there.” They cannot be given, nor do they happen by accident. They are states of being that are cultivated through the consistent, daily practice of a spiritual program and the search for higher truth over the course of one’s life.
When we look to love relationships, fun times, more money, better bodies, other people, and even spirituality to make us feel happy, we give our power away. That power, our inner strength, is the very thing needed for joy and freedom. To successfully attain the level of consciousness that results in these states of being, two key areas must be addressed: inner connection and outer expression.
Inner connection can be achieved through meditation. Spirituality is based in relationship—the relationship we have with our higher self and its innate wisdom, and the relationship we have with a Higher Power. Meditation allows us to make those connections. It establishes a link between the conscious and unconscious minds, and it is through the unconscious that we intuitively connect with a Higher Power, Spirit, God. We cannot intellectualize God, we can only experience God. Meditation opens the channels.
At some point you’ll notice that you are less reactive/emotional and more wise and calm. You’ll have a sense of inner strength that wasn’t there before, and a broader perspective that allows for more detachment and peace of mind.
Outer expression is about living according to spiritual principles as well as one’s essential nature. Thus, it is the relationship with your inner self and spiritual program, and how those manifest in external life in relationship with others. If you are not acting in alignment with your belief system, no growth can occur. Trying to achieve someone else’s dream or live a life that someone else has determined for you means you are living contrary to your purpose and nature and there will always be a rub. It will never be enough.
The spiritual journey provides an awakening to purpose and essence. The more you explore, the more connected you are with Higher Order, the more easily you can become who you really are and express it gracefully. Life takes on more meaning and you become stronger, more aware, and more self-certain.
Regarding outer expression, the importance of living ethically cannot be stressed highly enough. When we don’t live ethically, we disempower ourselves by feeding the weakness. It creates karmic debt and reinforces negative patterns. Then we have to repeat the lesson until we finally get it, and the lesson gets harder every time. I call that “Pain is Medicine.” It’s the only way for the universe to wake us up. And that’s our job: to wake up.
One last thing. Guilt, fear, and shame keep us from expressing our true self, our higher self, intuition, and innate wisdom. They cause us to have un-spiritual outer expressions: we react emotionally, irrationally, and we behave in ways that are unloving to ourselves and others. Removal of personal issues, negative patterns, and karmic debt is a key component of the spiritual journey and the only way to achieve higher states of being.
The purpose of a true spiritual path is increased awareness, self-certainty, and strength of consciousness that allows us to fulfill God’s plan. Freedom, joy, and balance are natural outcomes of that journey.