Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Spiritual Growth Is A Great Alternative For Meditation

spiritual growth

It seems that we are in a time of spiritual enlightenment, as more people are gaining an awareness of the value of meditation techniques, yoga practices, and other methods of self-awareness that are instrumental in fostering spiritual growth. However, there are many different aspects of spirituality to consider and often it can be easy to miss some of the most fundamental and simple things. One of these fundamentals that can either help or hinder spiritual development is complete honesty.

Everyone knows that honesty is a good and valuable characteristic to cultivate, but it is not as often recognized as a necessity when seeking out spiritual growth. However, as most people move along through their spiritual journey, most people start to really discover the significance and importance of honesty as it relates to their quest. There are four primary areas where honesty comes into play most significantly.

The first area where one must employ honesty is in facing their human weaknesses and shortcomings. Everyone on the planet has weaknesses, but until a person is able to see their own and acknowledge them, they will be limited in the amount of spiritual growth they can achieve. If a person strives to cover up or justify their weaknesses, then they are basically blocking any hope of spiritual development.

Secondly, honesty is needed in facing up to the realities of your life. You need to be completely honest about the state of affairs of every aspect of your life. Stop clinging to the image that you want to present to the rest of the world, and begin to embrace the true state of your life and your relationships. The problem with clinging to the image, which is most likely "perfect," is that it gets in the way of being able to make real, lasting and significant changes that can lead to real happiness, rather than just an illusion of it. With honesty, one can look at the real truth and then have a realistic place to begin to improve.

Thirdly, honesty is needed to help people eliminate fake personalities, which must be eschewed in order to enjoy true spiritual enlightenment and growth. Most people put an enormous amount of energy, thought, and anxiety into creating and then maintaining completely false portrayals of themselves. They become more like characters acting in a play than real people engaged in real life. In order to have any hope of enjoying true spiritual healing and development, a person must peel away these false personas and be sincere and forthright beings.

The fourth way that honesty plays a role in the spiritual journey is through the use of meditation techniques. When a person begins a session of meditation, they should be aware their flow of thoughts. For most people who are just learning to master their minds through meditation, they will discover thoughts that are filled with false reasoning and justifications. The best way to begin to control this flow of thoughts is to deal with them in an honest and forthright manner, then setting them aside and allowing the more centered and real thoughts to come to the surface.

On your path toward spiritual growth, keep these four areas in mind and continually apply the test of honesty. As you continue to do that, through various stages and levels of spiritual development, you will find that you are more able to truly tap into your spiritual center. Over time, with such practices engaged on a regular basis, you will find yourself evolving to your highest and best potential spiritually.

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