For spiritual growth to take place in your life, you must change. You must let go of some areas in your life and personality -- especially the areas that are not working well or are out of balance -- and allow them to heal. This process of change and transformation is not always easy and often takes courage -- but the rewards are more than worth the effort.
The following are four areas of spiritual growth that have proven to be valuable.
1. TRUSTING IN HIGHER SELF
The Higher Self is that part of God which is looking out for you. It is present to help you and, having all the resources of God to work with, is able to do so in many powerful ways.
The Higher Self knows all about you. It knows everything you have ever done, in this life and in all your past lives. It knows everything that has ever taken place in the past, everything that is happening now and everything that will happen in the future. It is fully aware of all the resources that might be useful to you now, and the best course of action to achieve any worthy goal. It is entirely positive and is always present to help you.
The Higher Self loves you more deeply and completely than you can imagine and, because it is part of God, the Higher Self is actually the source of Love itself. All miracles that have ever occurred have come from the Higher Self. Since it is all knowing and all powerful, it can be a source of absolute protection, healing, and guidance.
Learning to trust the Higher Self for guidance is the most important step you can take in your spiritual growth. The Higher Self is completely aware of your unique life and what you need in order to progress spiritually. Once a working relationship is developed and maintained, the Higher Self will guide you unerringly to fulfillment.
2. SOLVING PERSONAL PROBLEMS
Many people want to ignore their problems and pretend they do not exist. Yet, their life would be easier if they would simply see them from another perspective, accept them, and be willing to do something about them. They are not something to ignore or avoid, but something to accept, understand, and master.
In fact, you might say that spiritual growth involves being willing to look directly into the areas of life that are not working, or are out of balance, and realize that these situations actually contain the lessons you came into this life to learn. They are situations you chose to have in your life to help you progress.
The universe is always in a state of balance. A problem cannot exist without its solution existing at the same time. By dealing with your problems directly and asking the Higher Self for help in solving them, you will be brought into contact with the solution and in the process, learn important things about yourself and about life.
3. RECOVERING LATENT TALENTS
Having lived many times before, you have had experiences in past lives that could be useful to you now. Research indicates people have had hundreds of past lives. For most people, it is just like having a book shelf with several hundred books on it and only having read part of one of the books -- your present life. It is possible to gain access to all the books on the book shelf and start using the valuable information from your past lives that they contain.
People have had many experiences and developed many talents and abilities in past lives. Often they have been more successful in past lives than in their present life -- the reason being that a block was developed around the talent that prevents them from using it now. (Sometimes the talent was misused or negative feelings became associated with it such as guilt or fear or pain, so the person has a subconscious block that prevents them from accessing the talent now.)
These valuable past life experiences are just below the level of conscious awareness and through the use of past life therapy, a person can quickly release the blocks and begin using past life talents now.
4. DISCOVERING YOUR LIFE PURPOSE
Just before this life, there was a time when you were contemplating and planning what you wanted to achieve in your present life. Often you had help, perhaps from your guides or a special council. You could look forward in time and actually choose from a number of possible life times, knowing in advance who your parents would be and the major events of each possible lifetime. During this process, you chose your present life and you knew what your purpose would be.
It is possible through a process of guided meditation or self-hypnosis to go back in time to when you were planning your present life. During this process, you can remember what happened and rediscover your life purpose.
Knowing your life purpose and acting on it will give your life direction and is a necessary step in achieving true happiness.
When you look at your life, perhaps you will find value in the thought that it is not so much what you think that is important or even what you do, but what you become. Create your life so that each day you become a clearer expression of your own Divine Self.
Reprinted with permission by William Lee Rand
from his anthology, Spiritual Development in the New Age.
Book by this author:
The Reiki Touch: Complete Home Learning System (DVD, 2 CDs, 30 cards, and 100+ page workbook)
by William Lee Rand
Reiki master William Lee Rand combines the advantages of video, audio, reference cards, and written instruction to provide a comprehensive set of tools for uncovering Reiki's most potent secrets. Provides the essential keys to Reiki for beginners and advanced practitioners alike.
About The Author
William Rand has a broad background in metaphysics as a hypnotherapist, a Rosicrucian, a Reiki healer, an astrologer, and a certified NLP programmer among other talents. He is the founder of the International Center for Reiki Training, the author of Reiki, The Healing Touch and over forty articles and tapes on Reiki. You may reach him at http://www.reiki.org
