Positive Spirituality

Often my clients ask me, "What do you believe?" It's not a question I can answer briefly, since what I believe comes from different teachers and sources.

However, I have started to put together a basis of these teachings to assist my clients and others. I call this framework Positive Spirituality. It is light on dogma, tradition, and ritual, and emphasizes spiritual practices, such as meditation.

I will expand on Positive Spirituality in further posts.

Positive Spirituality

Basic Principles:

• There is one God of all creation.

There is one God who is the Ultimate Source of all. (though we may reverence to other deities, based on our path.) At the root of all the world’s religions, there is the same Truth. That Truth is: that through mystic traditions, there are methods taught to connect with the essence of the true God. However, this truth has been hidden, condemned, lost and forgotten in many religious traditions. Mysticism, including meditation, looks beyond dogma, scriptures, rites, rituals, and “spiritual authority” to connect our essence with the Source of All.

• Our true self is soul.

Within each of us is a soul, a great spiritual potential created in God's image and likeness. This soul - not the body and mind with which we now identify - is our real self.

• The true purpose of life is to reconnect with our soul.

Life's supreme goal - the achievement to which all saints, prophets, and mystics summon us - is to regain our lost identity as soul. From this experience flows a peace that is not dependent on life's circumstances - a profound peace that is eternal. This experience is the true source of the happiness that we all crave. From this place, we begin to work out and erase karma quickly.

By reconnecting with soul, we connect with God.

When we connect with soul, we are on the path to connect with God. As we become more aware of our True Self, which I have called soul, we continue to gain in awareness of our connection with God, and all that is.

• Meditation is the surest way to spiritual growth.

This goal is not metaphorical or based on feelings or suppositions. It is as a matter of personal, verifiable experience of myself and others. (This personal, verifiable experience is the basis for many mystical traditions. Note that it does not depend on learning or faith in dogma.) The meditation techniques I teach lead to a progressive unfolding of the higher self. The practice does not require rigorous physical postures, special breathing exercises, or an extreme way of life. It is a natural method that can be practiced by anyone, regardless of age, education, or religion.

• A competent teacher speeds our progress.

It's a common sense principle of life: studying with one who is farther along on the path accelerates our learning. However, I am a guide, not a guru, authority, or master. We each are our own greatest teachers. But, conversely, this life is set up so that we also progress faster with the assistance and input of others. That is what I can offer.

• Spirituality is life-affirming.

A healthy spiritual path does not demand that we renounce our families or society. Just the opposite. Our inner lives, after all, are not separate from our outer lives. We teach that we should lead normal lives, striving for excellence in our careers, families, and communities. While doing so, a true spiritual path reminds us that we not lose sight of our spiritual goals. We call this balancing of outer and inner lives Positive Spirituality. As we advance within through meditation and behold God's Light within us, we see that same light shining in others. As a consequence of that realization, a natural spirit of love and compassion becomes the basis of our outer lives.

We believe that Positive Spirituality expresses the deepest values of every great spiritual tradition: love for God, compassion and service for God's creation and others; and, a daily life imbued with ethical values. Positive Spirituality gives us the tools for personal growth, to make these goals a reality.

What I teach draws from different sources and influences, though many of the principles come from the following:

1. Sant Mat, also known as Shabd Yoga, or Rhadhasoami.
2. Sikhism, which also incorporates Sant Mat.
3. Sufism, the mystical tradition of Islam.

This does not mean I am a convert to Sikhism or Sufism in a formal sense, but incorporate many of these principles in Positive Spirituality.