Philosophy
Why am I here? … to grow, evolve and become whole
A significant existential question that many people hold is "for what purpose am I here", or simply "why am I here in this life". Simply, I would say that "we are here in this incarnation to grow, evolve and become whole." Learning lessons, too often just a mind activity, is insufficient unless it translates into these qualities of growth, evolution, wholeness. Growth and evolution is not just the domain of the spirit, but rather all aspects of who we are.
By facing our challenges responsibly, we mature to the higher qualities of our being and thus live the mystery of the life that is us
A reasonable pair of questions that many people ask are: Why is it that we need to deal with karma (incomplete past energies or intentions)? Why cannot everything be pure bliss and happiness? Basically the answer to this is: to give us an impetus to navigating this journey of growth, evolution and wholeness. By facing and confronting our challenges, in a pure and responsible manner, we are given the opportunity to mature. Maturity - an excellent word for the outcome of growth, evolution, and wholeness - is the most beautiful quality of living a mortal life in time. And as we mature on all levels, we receive a greater opportunity, a gift, of experiencing the higher qualities of life: happiness, bliss, love, understanding, higher wisdom, etc. The key here is not "how spiritual we become", but rather how well we accept and act upon these challenges, these "assignments" that the universe has given to us, with a true sense of awareness and commitment to our responsibilities. Knowing this is not always easy. And the nature of these assignments is that they are not problems to be solved, which implies that they are external to us, but rather that they are the "mysteries to be lived", implying that which is really occurring is within us.
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For the sake of a single verse, one must see many cities, men, and things. One must know the animals, one must feel how the birds fly and know the gesture with which the little flowers open in the morning. One must be able to think back to roads in unknown regions, to unexpected meetings and to partings one had long seen coming; to days of childhood that are still unexplained, to parents whom one had to hurt when they brought one some joy and did not grasp it (it was a joy for someone else); to childhood illnesses that so strangely begin with such a number of profound and grave transformations, to days in rooms withdrawn and quiet and to mornings by the sea, to the sea itself, to seas, to nights of travel that rushed along on high and flew with all the stars—and it is not yet enough if one may think of all this. One must have memories of many nights of love, none of which was like the others, of the screams of women in labor, and of light, white, sleeping women in childbed, closing again. But one must also have been beside the dying, must have sat beside the dead in the room with the open window and the fitful noises. And still it is not enough to have memories. One must be able to forget them when they are many, and one must have the great patience to wait until they come again. For it is not yet the memories themselves. Not till they have turned to blood within us, to glance, and gesture, nameless, and no longer to be distinguished from ourselves—not till then can it happen that in a most rare hour the first word of a verse arises in their midst and goes forth from them
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Rainer Maria Rilke
By truly living our life, our soul purpose shall be revealed.
We each have incarnated with soul purposes. The more we pursue our highest paths, the more this soul purpose shall raise into awareness. Often, what we instinctively do or steps we take through inspiration are based upon our soul purpose even if we have no rational reason for doing it. So it is not about discovering your soul purpose so that you may know how to live your life and pursue your journey; live your life and pursue the path that comes before you, and your soul purpose shall be revealed. "You are the answer!"
As we become attuned to the many levels of our existence, our life becomes enriched.
One's existence in not constrained to a single location, level, or consciousness. We are most aware that we are having a conscious life in the body and that we have a center of consciousness that we see as ourselves. Most are also aware that we have a dream life. But we, as a Being at the level of individual Identity, have aspects of existence "beyond" and "above" the physical plane. And the life we lead during this incarnation is significant not only for that aspect that exists within the physical plane but also for all of the other aspects which reside outside of the physical plane. Thus we have existences on the astral, mental, and causal planes, and within the higher mind, illumined mind, and further. We have, or better stated, we are a higher self, and we have (we are) a god within. As we attune to these other levels of our own existence, life and the experience of life has the possibility of becoming enriched.
To live truly, from the soul, is to transcend living from ideas and concepts.
There are levels of existence in which transcend Identity into states of Oneness. Mostly, this is the beyond the comprehension of the individual Mind. One may have ideas or concepts of such a state of being, but ideas and concepts are not the reality. To live from ideas and concepts is to live from the mind which is in duality; in evolution, one may begin to live from the soul in non-duality.
Creation happens first in the Higher Realms. We have the potential to work in these realms.
In creation, events first occur in the higher realms, such as the mental plane, and then migrate through the different realms, and perhaps bodies, until they manifest in the physical realm. There are levels within ourselves to potentially work within these higher realms, and there are forms of sentient beings that live in these realms alone. Angels are one such example, though some of these have the possibility of traveling to other realms, including the physical.
Within the Universe exist Laws, Higher and Lower. One may work directly with these Laws.
Within the universe are the existence of Laws, both Higher Laws and Lower Laws. These Laws essentially provide order to the Universe. The Higher Laws are the metaphysical laws while the Lower Laws are the physical laws. In the higher realms, it is possible to activate these Higher Laws, and they will work things out perfectly in accordance to all the Laws. An evolved individual may activate these Higher Laws directly, or an initiated individual may have a Power, such as the Angels of the Higher Laws, that has the capacity to activate the Higher Laws. In the advanced Spiritual Development classes of the Spiritual-Arts Academy, class Participants are connected to Angels of the Higher Laws. When working with the Angels of the Higher Laws only karmically correct and higher destiny operations are allowed.
Life has its highs and lows. Both are important and each has its function.
Like the tide, life, by nature, has its ebbs and flows. The art of Astrology is used to observe and predict these in a person's life. Both are important in a person's life. In the high tide, much creation may occur, often in an outward manner. During the low tide, an individual partakes in the inner work of growth and evolution. And during very low tides, which may be seen as times of adversity, inner initiations and huge growth steps may occur. Though often accompanied by physical or emotional pain, this the time that an individual becomes more than he or she was before. The deepest of these have been called "the dark night of the soul".
Each individual has unique gifts which he or she may bring to the community.
The US Native American tradition has an expression called "Original Medicine". Each person arrives to this planet with his or her unique gifts. When each member of the tribe brings his or her original medicine to the circle of the tribe, then the tribe becomes strong. Implicit within the Spiritual-Arts Academy is a philosophy that both recognizes and honors the uniqueness of each individuals own spiritual path, and what each brings to the community.
All true learning is learning through direct experience. Teaching is nurturing direct learning.
We can not really teach anybody anything of consequence. But what can done is to nurture an individual into an experience of learning, and in the self realized experience, the individual attains something consequent. The whole nature of the instruction in the Spiritual-Arts Academy is to enable Participants to have experiences of value.
Gentleness allows for the presence and influence of Spirit.
Gentleness in the activation of the process is vital. No process in forced or induced by any external means. When there is no force, than the individual will not surpass his or her limits, even if the the processing is deep. It is only what the individual himself or herself, as spirit, allows. The less force that is applied, the lower the resistance to the experience shall arise. And without resistance, modest impulses may yield significant movement, but only within the limits of the individual.
Inner abilities naturally arise as an individual evolves.
As individuals grow and evolve, their inner abilities naturally begin to open. So the potential for clairvoyance, clairaudience, and clairsentience arises naturally when the individual is prepared and ready. And this is not determined by some outside person, but by the nature of the individual himself or herself. An individual may be assisted in releasing blocks and repairing the inner apparatus, and may be supported by being with others whose abilities have open, but all appears at the right time.
