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SelfGrowth.com Founder David Riklan explains the concepts on walking a spiritual path covered in "Water Your Roots: Walking a Spiritual Path," the new book by Ben Willemsen.
Ben Willemsen is The Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to "Purpose of Life". You can read free excerpts from his Human Energy Trilogy by visiting http://www.humanenergy.net.
The impulse or drive to grow, motivating us to seek a path of personal or spiritual development, comes from the deepest level of our beings and is the very same drive that expresses itself in a child's curiosity or, in its most basic form, in the sprouting of a seed. As we age, that drive expresses itself in a multitude of ways, including the desire for self understanding and wisdom, the yearning for knowledge and personal fulfillment, the urges to discover and to create, the wish to help others, the pursuit of spiritual awareness, and the search for answers about life and its purpose.
Walking a spiritual path is a way of discovering and developing oneself and becoming aware of our relationship to everything around us. It is to enter into a way of looking at the world and ourselves that reaches beyond the physical aspect of life. Although spiritual and personal development have many things in common, spiritual development takes us to the deepest level of self while personal development may only address certain issues. Therefore, before we embark upon a path of development, we should be clear on what kind of development we are seeking.
As a seeker, we need to be honest about what we are seeking and why. Is there something we are hoping to reach, or something we are trying to get away from? Are we looking for answers about life, or are we trying to fill a void in our life? Are we hoping to learn about ourselves, or are we looking for compliments and recognition? Are we seeking personal growth, or are we seeking power to control others and elevate ourselves? Are we looking for guidance, or are we looking for someone to look after us?
Running away from something in our life or within ourselves is not conducive to personal growth. We can’t go forward by running away. We first need to accept and embrace ourselves as we are. Like everyone else in this world, we are the sum total of all our experiences and learning and, therefore, can’t be anything else. Regardless of how we feel about ourselves or how much we would like to change, there is nothing wrong with us. Therefore, we are normal. Recognizing this is the first and most important step in spiritual growth.
Imagine different spiritual paths as spokes on a wooden wagon wheel, each one leading from the hub in a different direction and ending up on the same rim. Some people want to explore many of the spokes and spend barely enough time to get a sample of each. They might acquire a lot of information but fail to gain experience necessary for growth. When it comes to spiritual growth, obtaining knowledge is important, but becoming the knowledge is everything, and that can only be achieved through making a commitment and walking a path long enough to have taken at least one full step.
Walking a spiritual path is not the same as following a doctrine or dogma. When we walk a spiritual path, we walk with the teacher, not behind him. We need to make our own steps in order to learn and grow. Spirituality involves acting consciously and taking responsibility for our behavior and, even more so, for our thoughts. When we give that responsibility away to someone else, we risk becoming a follower rather than a genuine student of a spiritual path.
His Human Energy trilogy has been described as a must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about the psyche and healing, the role of the spirit in everyday life, and the challenges of personal and spiritual development.
His third book, Water Your Roots: Walking a Spiritual Path, brings together many of the themes explained in this video, You can view a free excerpt from the book, as well as the other books in the trilogy by clicking the links to the right.
The question Ben asks you to comment on is this: Can we walk a spiritual path without accepting spirit life?
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