I am from Finland. I probably did not get a single spiritual gene from my ancestors. My heritage is a working-class background, with peasant ancestors who did not speak much or have any intellectual endeavors. Could it be just so, that I am not capable of any enlightening experiences? I have never really been in love even, but that does not mean that I do not know love. I recognise love when I see it. I am not unhappy, not simple person and also not young anymore. As far as I know, I have not been a bad person. I have not hurt anyone on purpose. All this new age stuff is fascinating and it is not difficult for me to have synchronous experiences etc. But there are some thought patters (in new age circles) I cannot get over with: 1. “The world is a school, where souls learn and evolve.”: OK. This sounds really bad for someone who has had the most boring and unhappy time of their life in school. If life is a school I would like to tell God, “please home school me, and teach me personally. Do not send me to any institution.” I mean, if God is a pedagogue, he should be the best one, and the best one would never put little souls through this thing called school. Yack. 2. “Universe gives you guidance all the time.”. OK, what if I do not want universe to mess around with everything I do? So my life is some kind of jigsaw puzzle and universe throws a piece in my face at times? Hey, how about just giving me the whole picture, I am not a baby anymore. If the universe can give hints, it can also communicate in clear language. After initial fascination the hint-giving universe starts to be boring. I am just tuned to hints and do not see the real life around me anymore. This is what I mean, I have no genetic or cultural equipment to handle this, like an Indian person certainly has. So what do you say, how about if I just try to find love, and forget everything else? In my background there is not much love, but seeing love feels normal, universe circling around me does not. 3. “Vibes” -talk. I know that now I am sending “bad vibes”, because I am not writing happy-happy words. But you say happy-happy stuff to kids only. Everybody knows that we do not live in a happy-happy planet. Maybe I just believe in another “vibe”, which is called common sense and clarity. I would like to add that vibe to the world more. I think it needs it badly. I want to thank you for writing so inspirational and beautiful books. You have influenced my thoughts and knowledge.
Answer:
No, spirituality doesn’t have to come in a New Age message. And I think you may have more spiritual genes in your Finnish background than you give yourself credit for. I believe spirituality should be practical and experientially based, not simply based on clever or exotic ideas. The test of that practicality is that a spiritual path should be systematically leading you toward becoming a more self-aware, independent, and complete person. That doesn’t mean that every day, in every way, you will be happier, smarter, richer and healthier, but rather in spite of the inevitable challenges and setbacks in life, you know you are still following the light of your own unfolding wisdom.
Don’t bother with the New Age concepts of: life as school, guidance all the time, and good vibrations, if they don’t help you. On the other hand, don’t assume that your understanding of these ideas applies to everyone else, and therefore is of no use to others
The suggestion that we are on this planet to learn lessons has never been one of my favorite ideas either, but it seems you are looking at this ‘earth school’ as a kind of institutional punishment by God, because He is not teaching you one-on-one. Then, you seem to feel that if the universe is offering guidance to you, that must be an infringement on your free will. Furthermore, the universe should spell things out explicitly and not be so coy and symbolic.
These instincts for common sense and clarity on your spiritual quest are laudable, but may inadvertently be limiting your experience of greater possibilities in life. If you insist that spiritual awakening can only come to you in literal, prosaic terms, then you have already presumed to know what it is you are asking to be taught. Do you know what I’m saying?
Our limited ego personality and rational mind works pretty well in helping us survive in the world, but it is fatally flawed in its ability to bring us spiritual freedom. Knowledge of our spiritual truth transcends the confines of a strictly sensory and linear experience of reality. If we demand that spiritual reality must fit inside our limitations instead of us expanding to fill that wholeness, then we are bound to feel frustrated in our journey of self-discovery. This doesn’t mean we need to abandon all rationality and common sense, but it does mean we need to relax our presumptions about what our inner reality is.
You didn’t mention if you were practicing meditation. If not, I would recommend that you begin. Then let your inner experiences be your own guidance and bring in theoretical understanding only as required to stabilize and clarify your own experiences. That way you will not get caught up in impractical New Age theories that are not directly helping your spiritual progress. This will enable you to use your common sense to further your evolution, instead of it holding you back.
Love,
Deepak
