The Stages of Our Spiritual Journey by Kenneth Wapnick

Author:Kenneth Wapnick
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: copyright 2012 by the Foundation for "A Course in Miracles
Published: 2012-03-24T16:00:00+00:00

Summary

The framework for our discussion has been the spiritual journey, a journey that begins in what appears to be a very non-spiritual place: learning how to live in the world and adjust to it. We embrace worldly values only so that when we reach middle age and are reasonably mature—whatever our chronological age—we can understand that the world does not make sense, and lacks all value because it does not give us the peace of God. If something does not lead us to the peace of God, the only true value, how could it possibly be of any value to us?

The first stage, what Nietzsche refers to as the camel, consists of humbly assuming the burden of being in the world, physically and psychologically mastering the art of survival. This is no mean feat. We do not have to live perfectly, but we need to live with sincerity. A Hindu tradition holds that a man raises and supports his family, and when the children are grown, leaves to pursue his spiritual path. I am not sure where that leaves his wife, but that is another issue. In a sense, this tradition is referring to the camel—that we master living in the world as we develop a sense of self. And then we move on. Thus, as camels, we say yes to the world, believing that it is meaningful and will bring us what we want, only to step back, look at our lives, and then say that we no longer desire its gifts.

The second metamorphosis occurs when we finally open our eyes and realize we are in a desert in which nothing grows, and that there is no hope of anything meaningful occurring here. We thereby declare that there must be another way, another teacher, or another symbol we can relate to. At this point, then, our self (or spirit) is transformed into a lion. What heretofore had been valued is now seen to be valueless. Again, and most importantly, this second stage will make no sense unless we have gone through the first stage.

The questioning of values, which occurs in the mind, can come in different forms. It does not necessarily involve changing our behavior or roles, as we have seen. It does not mean that we walk out on a job, or abandon our vocation and family. This transformation of values might begin by questioning what we are hearing from elected public officials, the news media, or what we listen to in a synagogue on Saturday or church on Sunday. The same words we have been hearing for years no longer ring true. We question our primary relationships—indeed, all relationships—seeing how they were built on bargains of specialness. We begin to realize that something is rotten in the state of our household or business, and increasingly become aware of the specialness values we had embraced, not seeing the ego thought system lurking behind what we thought of as love or duty. Therefore, these relationships were not truly loving

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