Click for audio: Understanding the Spiritual Journey
Part 5 of 6: Navigating from the Complete Soul
When we think of a journey, we generally think of moving from one point in space to another, a process that takes time. If I want to travel from Grand Junction to Denver (name your own starting and finishing points), for example, my starting point is Grand Junction and I will follow I-70 for approximately 4 hours to reach my destination.
The spiritual journey is quite different. If we state that our destination is spiritual enlightenment then we may assume, based on where we think we are in our current understanding, the time it will take us to arrive is years, maybe multiple lifetimes. Placing the spiritual journey on such a timeline, however, assures us that we will never reach our goal of enlightenment.
How can I say such a thing when so many of us feel as if we are not even close to the level of spiritual enlightenment we suppose is possible? Easy. Using our illustration, the enlightenment we seek is not found in Denver. It is found right where we are, in Grand Junction.
The single element we seek that constitutes enlightenment is the experience of our soul. Where is your soul? In Denver? Is your soul at the end of a very long trek into the hazy horizon of a perceived future? Where on earth can you go where you are not? Wherever you go, your soul is with you every step of the way. As Meister Eckhart pointed out, “That which you are looking for is that which is doing the looking.”
What barriers stand between our soul and our present awareness? There are no natural barriers. There are perceptual barriers only. Our spiritual journey is not about moving to some other place, even in spiritual knowledge. It’s about the willingness to release perceived barriers that prevent us from experiencing the fullness of the soul that is available to us at this very moment.
Now I’m not suggesting that you are going to experience the full blast of spiritual illumination based on a simple message like this one. I am suggesting that you begin to reconsider the nature of your spiritual journey in a way that opens you to the possibility of an authentic revelation right now. God is omnipresent and your point of contact will never be any closer than it is right now.