The Power Of Being Human: Elements Of Spiritual Growth And Development

By Ron Tay

Spiritual growth and development is that inner movement toward knowledge and wisdom, where we learn to ultimately address, resolve, or transcend our most challenging questions and heartfelt problems. We approach honest self-understanding and self-realization. We c

• Language: English
• Publisher: Muir, James & Cicero
• Release date: Oct 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781737412410

Book preview

Most of us will agree that life is engaging, with potential for growth, development, and realization.

But it is also deep and complex. And that depth and complexity result in much that remains vague and unexplained; if we look too deeply in those directions, we are apt to feel subtly confused or lost. Naturally, we tend to do things – rather automatically, instinctively – in order to minimize those uncomfortable feelings.

Most often, we willingly agree to not see life in its complete, abstract, or subtle proportions. Instead, we simplify things. Sometimes this means we routinely back away from the parts of life that confound us… we hold our most challenging issues at bay… we ignore or avoid them in one way or another. At other times, we choose to live only in relation to what we can quickly identify, understand, or grasp… we give our attention mostly to that which we can easily see… we favor blunt, uncomplicated motivations and values.

That is, we shrink the size of life to make all seem more understandable – and therefore more predictable and less threatening. We may engage in life as though it were a game, a money- and power-grabbing shuffle… as a time to prove we are superior to others… as a dance with self-indulgence… of getting, of having, of possessing. Or, we may see existence as a tightly looped, repetitive chore of merely surviving from day to day, while living for the hope that things will be better for the next generation.

When we dull ourselves to the depths around us… when we artificially diminish our view of reality… we also limit the meaning, purpose, scope, and ultimate value of our life experience – and our development in general.

Still, we often wrap ourselves in the usual commonplace, middling approaches. Even though we know these approaches are too shallow, they give us a sense of stability; they help us feel less uncertain, more anchored, and perhaps more capable.

And, as time passes, the force of habit exerts itself upon us. We feel even more inclined to oversimplify – and to avoid looking toward the complex depths of life. We become more certain that our current perception and understanding is sufficient. And, although we desire broad, all-encompassing understanding and realization, we become more set in the notion that we must live without it.

Still, we may stand back from time to time and wonder what is occurring at a deeper level of life. Is there anything beyond day-to-day survival? Beyond increasing one’s wealth and power, or setting and accomplishing other goals? Is there an approach to dealing with life in its full complexity, such that we do not unnecessarily narrow our vision, our thought, our perspective?

Is it possible to look toward the depths of life – below the ordinary surface issues, concerns, and distractions – so we can benefit more from what our experience inherently offers us? Is it possible to experience the complexity – the boundless expanse – of life and reality without sheltering ourselves within the mundane? Can we allow the winds of the infinite to blow through us without withering in fear of the unknown? Is it possible to achieve a more refined perspective, with subtle and wholly constructive points of reference? Can we provide ourselves with a more insightful way of looking and a more balanced and wise foundation for doing?

What causes things to occur in our lives? How much do we create, and how much is really beyond our control? Some say that we determine everything that happens to us, that we choose every experience. Others say that the only will is the will of God, that we can either obey or disobey. But what is the truth of the matter? What is the scope, extent, and depth of our personal authority and power? What can we create or change, and what must we learn to accept – or merely endure?

Also, what is the truth of morals and ethics? Can we come to know the truth, beyond the opinions of man and the limitations of culture? Where is the elusive dividing line between real spiritual truth and wisdom, and the customs and traditions handed down by culture? Can we free ourselves from those conventions of thought, feeling, and behavior that fetter our vision? And, if we can, then how shall we live; according to what standards shall we measure ourselves?

Furthermore, isn’t it so that we often run from the depths of our own presence? It remains that our first and most important relationship is with ourselves, but this is often an awkward area to work in or refine. Why do we have difficulties with self-rapport and self-understanding? Part of the problem is that we, our essential selves, extend to much more subtle ranges and complex depths than we usually have the skills or dexterity to navigate.

We commonly get lost and confused within our own intricacies. Rather than pursuing self-realization, we instead settle for trite opinions, judgments, and conclusions about ourselves – about who we are, what we are doing, and why we do them.

Spiritual growth and development is that inner movement toward knowledge and wisdom, where we learn to ultimately address, resolve, or transcend our most challenging questions and heartfelt problems. We approach honest self-understanding and self-realization. We come to understand the nature of our primary creative power and how to direct it constructively. We develop our perception of the ultimate nature of life, the meaning of existence, and the qualities of Spirit, God, Intelligent Infinity.

Meanwhile, without the benefit of that forward motion – toward spiritual understanding and realization – we remain unable to understand the deep sources and causes of many of the troubling elements of life. We find it impossible to move beyond paradox and dilemma, pretense and fabrication, avoidance and denial. We also remain unaware of the possibility of deep, constructive approaches to their management. Therefore, we continue to reduce life to only its most practical and plainly visible elements…

And yet we also continue to sense the trace reflections of the deep, the intangible, the mysterious, the enigmatically abstract.

We live within a physical world, where the sky is blue, water is wet, and rocks are hard to the touch. But there is much more to reality than our obvious and familiar surroundings…

Reality is dynamically complex, with many levels of depth and increasing degrees of subtlety; and, in simple terms, the spiritual is the most rarefied facet of reality. Although the spiritual is ever-present, it allows itself to be obscured by the more conspicuous, obvious aspects of life and matter.

The aim here is not one of attempting to prove that the spiritual aspect of reality actually exists, nor is there a desire to promote belief in it. Belief does not make the truth, or reality; it is the truth that sets us free, not our beliefs.

Belief is not required; in fact, belief, in itself, is not necessarily constructive. In place of belief, one may consider it a thought-provoking possibility… that the most subtle aspect of reality – the spiritual – can be understood as that unquantifiable, absolute, infinite something which underlies all else, including time and space.

It may be regarded as the invisible river that runs through all… as the foundation and essence of reality… as an eternal, ongoing integrated entirety. It can be thought of as an ultimate actuality… as presence/beingness… as wholly unpretentious, and of purely constructive, meaningful, growth/development-oriented qualities – including intelligent awareness, balance, wisdom, love, integrity, freedom, responsibility, conscience, accountability, and justice.

And yet it cannot be wholly or accurately described using language; nor can it be encompassed with ideas, reduced to mental concepts, or held within symbols. Our feelings and imaginings also readily lead us elsewhere… so it is most difficult to apprehend, to grasp with clarity and sufficient depth of understanding.

It must be directly experienced to be known. Otherwise, we have nothing but mental pictures, feelings, and beliefs to stand in place of real understanding.

Without direct experience, we also tend to externalize the spiritual. We often presume it is somewhere, somewhere else, somewhere other than where we are. But it is not over there, is not separate from us, and does not have to be reached in a complicated or esoteric procedure. Spirit, God, Intelligent Infinity is there/here, just beyond the silence… on the other side of emptiness… and within the silence and emptiness, too.

Of course, since it exists independent of words or ideas, it cares not what it is called nor how it is named; it has no need of naming itself. It has been referred to as The Nameless, All-That-Is, God, Spirit, The Infinite, Intelligent Infinity, The Presence, The Great Spirit, Divine Spirit, Divine Presence, The Essence, The Source, The Center, The Ineffable, It of Itself. Every culture has its own customary and familiar terms, which point to that which exists beyond the common realm of objects, ideas, and symbols.

Our spiritual selves are each a unique, individualized, personalized, fragment or piece of Spirit, God, Intelligent Infinity.

Arising from that source, we share many of its qualities, such as infinite opportunities for growth/development and existence independent of time and space. Just as Spirit, God, Intelligent Infinity itself is more subtle than our usual points of reference – such as physical reality, thoughts, and feelings – so too are our spiritual selves. As a result, we are often unaware of this region of selfhood, of personal identity.

Our spiritual selves can be understood as an individualized particle of God, Spirit, Intelligent Infinity… learning, developing, and maturing. That is, we are not meant to exist passively or to undergo human experience as though we were mere spectators or tourists.

Although our spiritual selves arise from the spiritual depth of reality and thus are infused with a latency of our own perfection, we are not perfect in our expression, in our creative interaction with experience, or in our ability to consciously reflect and act in accordance with the whole and complete depth and wisdom of Spirit, God, Intelligent Infinity.

This relative imperfection is intended, as it serves the purpose of being ushered forth into existence and experience for comprehensive awakening, refinement, deepening, and further development of personal identity and capability.

That is, our spiritual selves are not accidentally imperfect; we are perfectly unfinished, so to speak, set for growth and development through experience.

We move forward in relation to rather subtle inner experiences and processes, such as awareness, perception, learning, understanding and realization.

While the outer world must be responsibly considered and addressed, the inner nature of our spiritual growth and development means that it does not depend upon or occur in direct relation to outer events, circumstances, and situations. It occurs quite independently of the outer appearances or features of our lives, such as social position, political connectedness or clout, financial status, popularity, or similar common measuring sticks. We do not make spiritual progress by joining particular groups or organizations. And we certainly do not have a right to exalt ourselves because we happen to belong to a specific culture, speak a certain language, or observe certain customs or traditions. These are all part of everyday human life, yet they do not denote or indicate anything having to do with spiritual growth or maturity.

Spiritual growth and development is entirely noncompetitive. Furthermore, it is perhaps the only phase of life where our ability to move forward has nothing to do with personal traits and characteristics such as beauty and physical attractiveness, intelligence, social skills, or athletic ability. It is similarly impossible to equate spiritual development with the state of one’s health, one’s energy level, one’s charisma, one’s focus or determination, the size of one’s ego, one’s job, career, skills and talents, one’s ability to articulate or express, or one’s apparent saintliness. (While our personal attributes generally have nothing to do with one’s current state of spiritual development, they usually do tie in with our growth and development; they often represent personalized resources, tests, challenges, and such.)

Spiritual growth and development is the province of the individual; we exist as individual spiritual beings – personalized facets of Spirit, God, Intelligent Infinity – because we are valued and needed as individuals. It is of interest that each of us is distinctly unique, due to our singular experiences and intrinsic spiritual character and constitution. Individual uniqueness is intended by God, Spirit, Intelligent Infinity. We are not destined to become the same, but will always retain our individuality. We need not believe that our task is to conform, or that self-purification requires leaving behind or rising above any personal or individual aspects of expression.

Rather, each of us develops our own depth of understanding and realization… each of us learns to stand within our own refined perception, knowledge, wisdom – and it is this inner growth and development which will eventually resolve the most difficult philosophical, religious, psychological, and social problems besetting humankind.

Although spiritual growth and development may seem to be a haphazard or disorderly process, it is more accurate to say that it is complex and multidimensional – and involves a great measure of limitation, of traveling as though with blinders on.

How do we ultimately find our way forward, despite these difficulties? In essence, we pick ourselves up by our own bootstraps.

It is to the point that we are spiritually active and creative – we possess spiritual choice and volition. We have the power to develop discrimination, judgment, and wisdom… and thereby gradually free ourselves from illusions, misconceptions, and false limitations. That is, we each have a spiritual right – and the internal ability – to find our way through, into perceptive realization.

In sum, we are not spiritually sentenced to live forever within sleep or ignorance… nor are we expected to simply and endlessly put up with – or allow ourselves to be blindly pushed around by – our various complex and problematic experiences. We are not here to just get by, to merely survive, or beget the next generation; we are not here to be entertained, to pursue empty self-indulgence, to be mindlessly corrupted by any passing influence, or to be eternally blown about as a dry leaf in the wind.

Spirit, God, Intelligent Infinity exists beyond time, and the same is true of our spiritual selves: No matter how confused or lost we may feel at times, it is known that we will not be destroyed. Although we are presented with many tests and challenges, we are stronger than experience. We will eventually see our way through and make constructive use of all we have encountered.

Within our innermost depths there resides enormous strength of purpose; when we feel that nudge, that inspiration, to keep going, no matter what, even if all we can do is hold still for the time being and wait… we are receiving entreaties and support from the spiritual, and we are also remembering that we have the strength – no, are strength, beauty and awareness – and are traveling in a long arc of spiritual growth and discovery.

It is interesting that growth and development are infinite; there is no last, concluding level of development, where one finally arrives at a terminal destination or exists within a permanently fixed state. When it is said that God is infinite, that Spirit is infinite, this is part of what is meant: that opportunities for growth and development are infinite.

Meanwhile, we are embraced in freedom, spiritual dignity, and perfect respect. As we increasingly move forward into our own growth and development, we also become more creatively involved in choosing more enlightened responses to the problems and irritations of life; we come to progressively manage the difficulties and complications of life experience with greater and more refined balance, wisdom, and justice… and become more whole and integrated in the process.

And, of course, our perception deepens. Our habitual opinions, conclusions, judgments, and beliefs, which so often severely limit the scope of our vision… all come to be gradually refined, replaced by an increasing perception of finer aspects of actual truth and reality, along with more subtle understanding and realization.

There appears within the individual penetrating insight: that there is something more real, permanent and meaningful than many commonly accepted values reflected today: that truth and reality can be manufactured, marketed, and sold… that the truth is simply that which most of the people will agree with or consent to… that life is merely an endless series of power struggles, a contest of wills, a battle between businesses, religions, cultures… that the only reality which matters is that which we can obviously manipulate… that it is acceptable to abuse one’s power and authority to make life wretched for others and more pleasurable for oneself… that the unrestrained indulgence of whimsy and caprice does not accrue consequences.

Growth and development are inherent to our spiritual selves; this implies, at least to some extent, that we exist for the express purpose of growth and development.

And our experience? It is a necessary part of the process – an indispensable ingredient. There can be no forward movement or development without personal experience; we build understanding, clarity, and freedom in relation to – as a result of – our experience.

In fact, it can be said that experience exists wholly for the sake of our growth and development.

Life, in essence, is composed of nothing but experience; our conscious awareness, perception, hopes, dreams, fears, concerns – even our memories – are experiences…

And experience is an opportunity for deepening ourselves; our life experience serves as a background, a dynamic space in which we can spiritually grow. We can learn to be more spiritually present, expressive, and creative.

However, it is also true that experience is that thing which brings much which cannot be easily understood or resolved… much which cannot be manipulated, controlled or wished away… much which can produce a general sense of disequilibrium, or gradually drown us in a sea of unnerving uncertainty. Such ordeals can, in turn, cause us to struggle with experience in a way that more or less freezes our forward motion; we find ourselves feeling stuck in place.

Life experience is naturally complex and challenging – and it is worth noting that our puzzling issues, perplexing concerns, confusion, consternation, uneasiness, and such arise from two basic directions.

We face outer-world problems: dealing with practical demands, such as securing food and shelter, dealing with external threats and dangers, and managing the politics of human