Spiritual Awakening is a very real goal using rituals

Unfortunately, rituals are considered to be of old-world and not accepted in our current times. It is brushed off as an irrational, superstitious and primitive act. The Church have totally rejected these rituals, quoting them as pagan acts and condemned by the Church. Through these rituals, people get to understand and journey towards spiritual awakening.

In the ancient times there were mystery schools dedicated in discovering and exploring the mysteries of life and therefore touching some aspects of spirituality. These schools flourished in Egypt, Tibet and Persia.

Ancient Egyptians have toning of special chants and sounds which took place during midnight in different locations like the sacred man-made lake and the secret chamber below the Great Sphinx. This chanting and sounds stimulates a part of the head that can open up the brain to universal energy and electrical stimulation. This could unleash or release your psychic gifts and abilities. Once it has been opened, more psychic and spiritual gifts will be experienced by the person. Gifts would include intuition, creativity, clairvoyant abilities, and emphatic abilities.

Aside from that ancient Egypt recognizes the end of the year as the time of reckoning, reflection and engendering towards spiritual enlightenment. Ushet Rekhat or Mother Worship starts with a meditation ritual which strengthen the understanding and devotion of the follower. Meditation would also draw wisdom and health to those who share the ritual.

Homa is an Indian ancient fire ritual which is done with the intention of helping you have goof relationships, find a partner, have children and even remove bad karma or negative aspects in a horoscope.

In Buddhist and Hindu traditions, tantra is used to express and advance spirituality. Tantra is not really a tradition but are rituals that maintain spiritual core. Tantra, the word itself, means web and enlightenment. This has been used in ancient India to attain spiritual enlightenment and advancement. Today, Tantra has evolved into a sexual/spiritual phenomenon. Unfortunately, the ritual which is used to be a path to awakening is now used for sexual perversion and scattered among pornography and prostitution.

Ancient Iran also have a unique way of looking at spiritual awakening and enlightenment. To achieve awakening, it is important to attain spiritual perfection and later on immortality of the soul. Spiritual strength is also important in realizing God.

In Tibet, interestingly the making of the thangkas paintings is supposed to lead to developing attitudes like peacefulness, patience, perseverance, concentration, self-development and spiritual enlightenment. Thangkas paintings are similar to the art of pata chitra, which is very much known in India as early as 1st century. The ancient practices are still being used until today. Whether these rituals are credible and applicable until now, most of the indigenous tribes who have started these rituals are still practicing and believing them until now. Spiritual awakening is not only achievable by undergoing different rituals among different regions, this inner and self-communication should start from the person looking for spiritual awakening.

New ideas can take time to get used to

There is a concept in coaching called seed planting. It means that it takes time for new ideas and suggestions to be embraced. There are clients that take hold of a new idea and run with it, some take a little more time to allow the idea to grow while others can take years before the idea sprouts. Still some clients will never grasp the idea. It will simply lay dormant. It doesn't really matter what the client does with the idea. The purpose is to plant the seed and the client can do with it what they will. Sometimes the idea just needs time to germinate.

A counselor once told me that not to make a decision is a decision. She said not to choose was a choice. I thought she was nuts and went on with my life. It was five years later when I was in the middle of a situation where I was avoiding a decision that her words hit me like a ton of bricks. I literally said out loud, "I get it." It took years for that seed to germinate in my brain until one day it sprouted and grew into a concept I understood. I was finally ready to get it. I wasn't able to hear it before, but with time, I had evolved enough so the concept made sense. New ideas can take time to get used to. When we first hear the idea we may not be ready for it. That is fine. When you are ready the idea will sprout and grow and be there for you.

The other side of this is not to force your ideas and suggestions onto other people. By all means share them, but leave it at that. Seed planting isn't an aggressive act; it is gentle and done with love and compassion. All you can do is plant the idea. What happens to it is up to the individual and what they are ready to hear at that very moment. The idea may sprout right away or it may take years. That isn't your concern. Your job is to plant the seed and move on.

Everyone is at different places in their lives. Sometimes you will understand the new idea right away and perhaps even take action on it in the moment. At other times it will take a while. Don't beat yourself up when you don't get something right away. It just means the idea is in germination. When you are ready the idea will sprout and grow and be right there to support you. Until then don't worry about it and go on with the ideas you are ready for. There will be plenty of idea seeds sprouting at any given time to keep you busy.

There are approaches that may look like faith but lead us in risky directions.

A subscriber recently wrote to me:

A friend of mine is on a fixed income and has maxed out his credit cards (nearing $10,000). He has started a new business, but currently has no customers or prospects.

He is affirming that he is already successful and debt-free. What is the best way for him? Should he write checks to pay his bills as they arrive, even though the money may not be in his account at the moment? Wouldn't these concrete actions demonstrate his faith?

My Answer:
Faith is a wonderful thing - and very necessary. There are, however, approaches that may look like faith but lead us in risky directions.

Please tell your friend that he needs to pay close attention to "real" actions and concentrate on learning to provide a service to other people that they want. (Note the emphasis is on what "they" want.)

Paying bills with rubber checks isn't an act of faith. It's desperate gambling. I know from hard experience that it's nearly impossible to get the right mindset for real faith or confidence when you're circling the drain.

Your friend needs to get his feet firmly under himself with real money -- even if he has to go tend bar or wash dishes for the extra income for a bit. Honest, it's no disgrace (unless he stays there).

Remember that all faith needs feet. If you're in an airplane on its way down in a power dive, you put on your parachute first. And THEN you do affirmations.

The old biblical phrase "faith without works is dead" means just that - belief needs to be connected organically with action. Productive action. If it's not, then it's not true belief, it's only an attempt to con yourself and the gods.

Too many people hope that they can do affirmations or pray or ASSERT, and this will save them from having to make a decision and take action. But that's not the way it works. Action and affirmations must be bonded together as a single unit and support each other like two legs. Neither faith nor action can stand alone.

So you might want to tell your friend that positive thinking is good (and absolutely necessary), but positive action is also an essential ingredient.

Simply put, he'll never pray himself up a hill.

When he's willing to take action, with all the stops out, his faith will bring the lucky breaks, the synchronicities, and the chance meetings with just the right people at the right times to help move him forward. But it's the action that anchors all that potentiality into reality. ACTION.

Otherwise, it's all vapor.

"Willing to take action with all the stops out" ... some folks call that enthusiasm, others call it commitment. But it sure boosts the octane.

It's often hard to get people to see that taking a detour on the way to their goals is not a "wrong turn." It's just another way of getting where they're going. Whatever it takes.

Just remember that you don't have to give up on your dreams and goals when some little thing comes along (or not so little). The goal is what's important, not every little step it takes to get there (as long as we remember to TAKE the steps).

I'd guess that the old gremlin of impatience has killed more dreams than any other single influence. It's so common to think, "If I'm not getting there RIGHT NOW, then that's it; I'll never make it."

It might help to think of your vision of your future as a very penetrating stare. It penetrates anything that may seem to block your path. As long as you keep seeing what's in your future, you won't become stalled by the stuff that crops up in front of you today.

This may all sound trite, but it's true, every bit of it. And I learned it all the absolutely hardest way. I lived through it over and over and over and...

But eventually, even a super-dense guy like me can learn, proving that anybody on earth can do it.