Post by lover on Mar 29, 2009 7:58:08 GMT -8
Fantastic book by Deepak Chopra. How to know God.
Start Quote
"Who is God?
Stage One: Fight or Flight Response: God the Protector
Vengeful
Capricious
Quick to anger
Jealous
Judgmental-meeting out reward and punishment
Unfathomable
Sometimes merciful
Stage Two: Reactive Response: God the Almighty
Sovereign
Omnipotent
Just
Answerer of prayers
Impartial
Rational
Organized into rules
Stage Three: Restful Awareness Response: God of Peace
Detached
Calm
Offering consolation
Undemanding
Conciliatory
Silent
Meditative
Stage Four: Intuitive Response: God the Redeemer
Understanding
Tolerant
Forgiving
Nonjudgmental
Inclusive
Accepting
Stage Five: Creative Response: God the Creator
Unlimited creative potential
Control over space and time
Abundant
Open
Generous
Willing to be known
Inspired
Stage Six: Visionary Response: God of Miracles
Transformative
Mystical
Enlightened
Beyond all causes
Existing
Healing
Magical
Alchemist
Stage Seven: Sacred Response: God of Pure Being -"I Am"
Unborn
Undying
Unchanging
Unmoving
Unmanifest
Immeasurable
Invisible
Intangible
Infinite
What kind of World did God create?
Stage 1: fight or flight response: World of bare survival
Stage 2: Reactive Response: World of competition and ambition
Stage 3: Restful Awareness Response: world of inner solitude, self-sufficiency
Stage 4: Intuitive Response: World of insight, personal growth
Stage 5: Creative Response: World of art, invention, discover
Stage 6: Visionary Response: World of prophets,sages and seers
Stage 7: Sacred Response: Transcendent world
Who Am I?
Stage 1 -fight or flight response: a survivor
Stage 2 - Reactive response: Ego, personality
Stage 3 - Restful Awareness Response: Silent witness
Stage 4 - Intuitive Response: Knower within
Stage 5 - Creative Response: Co-creator
Stage 6 - Visionary Response: Enlightened awareness
Stage 7 - Sacred Response: The source
How do I fit in?
Stage 1: Fight or Flight response: I cope.
Stage 2: Reactive Response: I win.
Stage 3: Restful Awareness Response: I stay centered.
Stage 4: Intuitive Response: I understand.
Stage 5: Creative Response: I intend.
Stage 5: Visionary Response: I love.
Stage 7: Sacred Response: I am.
How do I find God?
Stage 1: Fight or Flight Response: Fear, loving devotion
Stage 2: Reactive Response: Awe, obedience
Stage 3: Restful Awareness Response: Meditation, silent contemplation
Stage 4: Intuitive Response: Self-acceptance
Stage 5: Creative Response: Inspiration
Stage 6: Visionary Response: Grace
Stage 7: Sacred Response: By transcending
What is the Nature of Good and toxic?
Stage 1: fight or flight response:
Good is safety, comfort, food, shelter and family.
toxic is physical threat and abandonment
Stage 2: Reactive response:
Good is getting what you want.
toxic is any obstacle to getting what you want.
Stage 3: Restful Awareness Response
Good is clarity inner calm, and contact with the self.
toxic is inner turmoil and chaos.
Stage 4: Intuitive Response
Good is clarity, seeing the truth.
toxic is blindness, denying the truth.
Stage 5: Creative Response
Good is higher consciousness
toxic is lower consciousness
Stage 6: Visionary Response
Good is cosmic force.
toxic is another aspect of the same force.
Stage 7: Sacred Response
Good is the union of all opposites.
toxic no longer exists.
What is my Life Challenge?
Stage 1: fight or flight: to survive, protect and maintain
Stage 2: Reactive Response: Maximum achievement
Stage 3: Restful Awareness Response: To be engaged and detached
Stage 4: Intuitive Response: To go beyond duality
Stage 5: Creative Response: To align with the Creator
Stage 6: Visionary Response: to attain liberation
Stage 7: Sacred Response: To be myself
What is my Greatest strength?
Stage 1 - Courage
Stage 2 - Accomplishment
Stage 3 - Autonomy
Stage 4 - Insight
Stage 5 - Imagination
Stage 6 - Holiness
Stage 7 - Unity
What is my Biggest Hurdle?
Stage 1 - Fear of loss, abandonment
Stage 2 - Guilt, victimization
Stage 3 - Fatalism
Stage 4 - Delusion
Stage 5 - Self-importance
Stage 6 - False idealism
Stage 7 - Duality
What is my Greatest Temptation?
Stage 1 - Tyranny
Stage 2 - ADDICTION!
Stage 3 - Introversion
Stage 4 - Deception
Stage 5 - Solipsism
Stage 6 - Martyrdom
Stage 7 - Beyond temptation
Getting what you want
Level 1 - fight or flight response
You fulfill your life through family, community, a sense of belonging and material comforts
Level 2 - reactive response
You fulfill your life through success, power, influence, status and other ego satisfactions.
Level 3 - restful awareness response
You fulfill your life through peace, centeredness, self acceptance, and inner silence.
Level 4 - Intuitive response
You fulfill you life through insight, empathy, tolerance, and forgiveness
Level 5 - Creative response
you fulfill your life through inspiration, expanded creativity in art or science, and unlimited discovery.
Level 6 Visionary response
You fulfill your life through reverence, compassion, devoted service and universal love.
Level 7 sacred response
You fulfill your life through wholeness and unity with the divine
The Seven Levels of Miracles
Level 1 - fight or flight
Miracles involve surviving great danger, impossible rescues, ad sense of divine protection
Example: A mother who runs into a burning house to rescue her child, or lifts a car with a child trapped underneath
Level 2 (Reactive Response)
Miracles involve incredible achievements and success, control over the body or mind.
Example: Extreme feats of martial arts, child prodigies with inexplicable gifts in music or math, the rise of a Napoleon from humble beginnings to immense power (men of destiny)
Level 3 (Restful Awareness Response)
Miracles involve synchronicity, yogic powers, premonition, feeling the presence of God or angels.
Example: Yogis who can change body temperature or heart rate at will, being visited by someone from far away who has just died, visitatin by a guardian angel
Level 4 (Intuitive Response)
Miracles involve telepathy, ESP, knowledge of past or future lifetimes, prophetic powers.
Example: Reading someone else' thoughts or aura, psychic predictions, astral projection to other locations
Level 5 (Creative Response)
Miracles involve divine inspiration, artistic genius, spontaneous fulfillment of desires (wishes come true)
Example: The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, having a thought that suddenly manifests. Einstein's insights into time and relativity
Level 6 (visionary Response)
Miracles involve healing, physical transformations, holy apparitions, highest degree of supernatural feats.
Example: Walking on water, healing incurable diseases through touch, direct revelation from the Virgin Mary
Level 7 (Sacred Response)
Miracles involve inner evidence of enlightenment.
Example: Lives of the great prophets and teacher - Buddha, Jesus, Lao-Tze
Masking The Soul
Our attitudes hide deeper spiritual beliefs, and when we see through them, beliefs can be changed. A fall back emotion is a coping response. It arises when you cannot resolve inner tension or a crises. It also reflects a sense of connection or separation from God. Every emotion or attitude has a spiritual meaning, despite the fact that society doesn't acknowledge this.
Mask: atheist, cynic, or failed seeker
Attitude: doubt, resistance, ironical detachment, in the habit of mistrust. Fall back emotion is anxiety.
Belief: God cannot be proved: if he exists he has no power over the material world: I am alone, my fear of emptiness is my chief reason to keep seeking.
Mask: leader, achiever, or skeptic
Attitude: Certainty, confidence, self-reliance, in the habit of demanding rational explanations. Fall back emotion is anger or obstinacy.
Belief: I am in control of my life, not God: if he demands surrender I will ignore him; secretly I believe that my own power is greater than his.
Mask: thinker or dreamer
Attitude: Reflective, conciliatory, calm in the habit of assessing situations emotionally. Fall back emotion is depression or resignation.
Belief: God hints at his presence inside me; I will get the message once I stop falling into confusion; God favors inward-looking action more than outward action
Mask: idealist or liberator
Attitude: self-aware, nonjudgmental, willing to be iconoclast or to defy normal expectations. Fall back emotion is detachment.
Belief: God doesn't think I am wrong or sinful; I can only accept him to the degree I accept myself, forgiveness is real.
Mask: artist, adventurer, or explorer
Attitude: playful, emotionally resilient, eager to try anything new, tendency to be highly sensitive. Fall back emotion is fantasy (self-absorption).
Belief: God has made a recreational universe; i am safe following my creative impulses; I am approved of by God.
Mask: prophet or redeemer
Attitude: Humble, deeply forgiving and accepting of others, awed by mystery, able to see to the depth of any person or situation. Fall back emotion is love.
Belief: There are no miracles until you see that all of life is a miracle; God works through me, my greatest joy is service to him.
Mask: no mask
Attitude: immersion in bliss, wisdom, and peace, with no personal attitudes - the viewpoint in universal. Fall back emotion is compassion.
Belief: No personal beliefs, every action and word comes directly from the divine source, a certainty that being human is a blessed state.
Every one of the seven stages can be described as the closing of separation:
Stage 1: I am in such separation that I sense deep fear inside.
Stage 2: I don't feel so separate; I am gaining a sense of power.
Stage 3: Something larger than me is drawing near; I feel much more peaceful.
Stage 4: I am beginning to intuit what that larger thing is -it must be God
Stage 5: My actions and thoughts are drawing on God's force field, as if we are both involved in everything
Stage 6: God and I are almost together now. I feel no separation; my mind is God's mind.
Stage 7: I see no difference between myself and God
Thousands of years have been spent analyzing and watching the mind approach the soul. Here were a few cardinal points.
- Evolution takes place inside. It isn't a matter of pilgrimages, observances, and obeying religious rules. No codes of conduct can alter the fact that every mind is on a soul journey.
- Evolution is automatic. In the larger view, the soul is always pulling at us. Its force field is inescapable.
- A person is required to pay attention. Since the journey to the soul happens only in awareness, if you block out awareness you impede your progress; if you pay attention, you build up momentum.
- the final goal is inevitable. No one can resist the soul forever. Saints and sinners are on the same road.
- it is better to cooperate than to resist. The soul is the source of truth and love. If you try to avoid it, those things will not increase in your life. If you cooperate, your life will be organized with the help of infinite power and intelligence as it flows from God.
- external action still counts. Action is a physical process linked to the mind, the two cannot be separated, so even though this is a journey of the mind, outer activity either helps or detracts.
Identity
Stage 1 - I am small and insignificant, stranded on the the vast expanse of Nature. I hope I can survive.
Stage 2- I can do more than survive; I can compete and fulfill more of my needs.
Stage 3- I am peaceful inside. My inner world is beginning to satisfy me more than outward things.
Stage 4 - I am self-sufficient. Things may not always go my way, but that doesn't shake me anymore.
Stage 5 - I have discovered how to manifest my desires from within. My inner world turned out to have power.
Stage 6 - I am at the center of an immense scheme of Power and intelligence that emanates from God.
Stage 7 - I am.
You can accurately graph a person's spiritual growth on this scale alone. The ego moves from an isolated, helpless state to a realization that it might have power; then it looks for where the power comes from, at first deciding that it must be external, in the form of money and status, but in time realizing that the source of power is internal. More time passes and the difference between inner and outer power dissolves. All of reality is perceived as having one source; in the end, you are that source. Let's try another issue, that of faith:
Faith
Stage 1: Faith is a matter of survival. If I don't pray to God, he can destroy me.
Stage 2: I'm beginning to have faith in myself. I pray to God to help me get what I want.
Stage 3: Faith brings me peace. I pray that life should be free from turmoil and distress
Stage 4: I have faith that inner knowledge will uphold me. I pray for more insight into God's ways.
Stage 5: Faith tells me that God will support my every desire. I pray that I am worthy of his faith in me.
Stage 6: Faith can move mountains. I pray to be God's instrument of transformation.
Stage 7: Faith melts into universal being. What I pray, I find that I am praying to myself.
Notice how strikingly different the same world is in each stage. When people say that they have faith or that they believe in prayer, you cannot be certain what they mean without more understanding. This accounts for why there is such wild divergence of opinion about whether God listens to prayers and answers them. In relative terms, it all depends on your level of consciousness. At lower levels the thoughts behind prayer may be too diffuse to create a result. As separation closes, the gap between prayer and result is closed, every prayer is answered. At the level of miracles prayer has the power to alter outward events. Finally in the state of unity consciousness, there is no need from prayer. Your every thought comes from the soul; therefore you would only be praying to yourself.
There are horizons that limit our vision in the seven stages
Stage 1 - Horizon of Fear
I provide for the necessities and look out for myself. But when I get anxious, I feel lost. Only God knows why bad things happen in this world.
Bounded by anxiety, insecurity, dependency.
Stage 2 - Horizon of Control
I exert power and relish competition as a way of fulfilling my ambitions. But when things get beyond my control, I am totally frustrated. Only God knows why things don't work out the way I plan.
Bounded by guilt, duty, victimization.
Stage 3 - Horizon of Fatalism
I'm at peace with myself and know what is happening with me inside. But I lose my center when nothing makes sense anymore. Only God knows why destiny can be so cruel and capricious.
Bounded by karma, introversion, lack of power.
Stage 4 - Horizon of Self-deception
I navigate through the world with much more intuition and insight than most people. But I can be misled by my inner voice at times. Only God knows why my intuition deceives me just when I need it most.
Bounded by hidden secrets, past conditioning, ego needs.
Stage 5 - Horizon of Fantasy
My inner world is rich with new discoveries, and I have enough awareness to see that my thoughts come true. But some of my deepest wishes stay on the level of unreachable fantasies. Only God knows why this happens.
bounded by self-absorption, grandiosity, playing God
Stage 6 - Horizon of Identity
My whole life is devoted to service, and I can be selfless in the face of great demands from others. But sometimes the suffering of humanity makes me want to escape from this world. Only God knows why I can't lose myself in him all the time.
Bounded by thought, personal ego, traces of old conditioning.
Stage 7 - Infinity - No Horizon
I see no difference between my mind and the mind in all things. My identity is one with all people. Only God knows that I am merged into him in all dimensions at all times.
Boundless
The Power of Intention
I want to find God's presence. This intention is rooted in the discomfort of being isolated and separate. When God is absent, the underlying feeling of loneliness cannot be escaped. You can mask it by developing friendships and family ties. Ultimately, however, each of us needs to feel a sense of inner fullness and peace. We want to be satisfied within ourselves, no matter if we are alone or in a crowd.
I want God to aid and support me. God's presence brings with it the qualities of spirit. At the source, every quality - love, intelligence, truth, organizing ability, creativity becomes infinite. The growth of these things in your life is a sign that you are approaching closer to your soul.
I want to feel connected to the whole. The soul's journey takes a person from a fragmented state to a state of wholeness. This is felt as being more connected. Events around you start to weave into a pattern. Small details fit together instead of being scattered and random.
I want my life to have meaning. Existence feels empty in separation, and this gets healed only by moving into unity with God. Instead of turning outward to find your purpose, you feel that just being here, as you are, fulfills the highest purpose in creation.
I want to be free of restrictions. Inner freedom is greatly compromised when fear is present, and fear is a natural outcome of separation. As you move closer to your soul, the old boundaries and defenses start to melt away. Instead of being wary about the future, you flow with the river of life, awaiting the day when no boundaries of any kind hold you back.
The Ground Rules which Deepak feels will work for many people.
Know your intentions.
Set your intentions high.
See yourself in the light.
See everyone else in the light.
Reinforce your intentions every day.
Learn to forgive yourself.
Learn to let go.
Revere what is holy.
Allow God to take over.
Embrace the unknown.
God lives in the unknown, and when you can embrace it fully, you will be home free! End quote"
Start Quote
"Who is God?
Stage One: Fight or Flight Response: God the Protector
Vengeful
Capricious
Quick to anger
Jealous
Judgmental-meeting out reward and punishment
Unfathomable
Sometimes merciful
Stage Two: Reactive Response: God the Almighty
Sovereign
Omnipotent
Just
Answerer of prayers
Impartial
Rational
Organized into rules
Stage Three: Restful Awareness Response: God of Peace
Detached
Calm
Offering consolation
Undemanding
Conciliatory
Silent
Meditative
Stage Four: Intuitive Response: God the Redeemer
Understanding
Tolerant
Forgiving
Nonjudgmental
Inclusive
Accepting
Stage Five: Creative Response: God the Creator
Unlimited creative potential
Control over space and time
Abundant
Open
Generous
Willing to be known
Inspired
Stage Six: Visionary Response: God of Miracles
Transformative
Mystical
Enlightened
Beyond all causes
Existing
Healing
Magical
Alchemist
Stage Seven: Sacred Response: God of Pure Being -"I Am"
Unborn
Undying
Unchanging
Unmoving
Unmanifest
Immeasurable
Invisible
Intangible
Infinite
What kind of World did God create?
Stage 1: fight or flight response: World of bare survival
Stage 2: Reactive Response: World of competition and ambition
Stage 3: Restful Awareness Response: world of inner solitude, self-sufficiency
Stage 4: Intuitive Response: World of insight, personal growth
Stage 5: Creative Response: World of art, invention, discover
Stage 6: Visionary Response: World of prophets,sages and seers
Stage 7: Sacred Response: Transcendent world
Who Am I?
Stage 1 -fight or flight response: a survivor
Stage 2 - Reactive response: Ego, personality
Stage 3 - Restful Awareness Response: Silent witness
Stage 4 - Intuitive Response: Knower within
Stage 5 - Creative Response: Co-creator
Stage 6 - Visionary Response: Enlightened awareness
Stage 7 - Sacred Response: The source
How do I fit in?
Stage 1: Fight or Flight response: I cope.
Stage 2: Reactive Response: I win.
Stage 3: Restful Awareness Response: I stay centered.
Stage 4: Intuitive Response: I understand.
Stage 5: Creative Response: I intend.
Stage 5: Visionary Response: I love.
Stage 7: Sacred Response: I am.
How do I find God?
Stage 1: Fight or Flight Response: Fear, loving devotion
Stage 2: Reactive Response: Awe, obedience
Stage 3: Restful Awareness Response: Meditation, silent contemplation
Stage 4: Intuitive Response: Self-acceptance
Stage 5: Creative Response: Inspiration
Stage 6: Visionary Response: Grace
Stage 7: Sacred Response: By transcending
What is the Nature of Good and toxic?
Stage 1: fight or flight response:
Good is safety, comfort, food, shelter and family.
toxic is physical threat and abandonment
Stage 2: Reactive response:
Good is getting what you want.
toxic is any obstacle to getting what you want.
Stage 3: Restful Awareness Response
Good is clarity inner calm, and contact with the self.
toxic is inner turmoil and chaos.
Stage 4: Intuitive Response
Good is clarity, seeing the truth.
toxic is blindness, denying the truth.
Stage 5: Creative Response
Good is higher consciousness
toxic is lower consciousness
Stage 6: Visionary Response
Good is cosmic force.
toxic is another aspect of the same force.
Stage 7: Sacred Response
Good is the union of all opposites.
toxic no longer exists.
What is my Life Challenge?
Stage 1: fight or flight: to survive, protect and maintain
Stage 2: Reactive Response: Maximum achievement
Stage 3: Restful Awareness Response: To be engaged and detached
Stage 4: Intuitive Response: To go beyond duality
Stage 5: Creative Response: To align with the Creator
Stage 6: Visionary Response: to attain liberation
Stage 7: Sacred Response: To be myself
What is my Greatest strength?
Stage 1 - Courage
Stage 2 - Accomplishment
Stage 3 - Autonomy
Stage 4 - Insight
Stage 5 - Imagination
Stage 6 - Holiness
Stage 7 - Unity
What is my Biggest Hurdle?
Stage 1 - Fear of loss, abandonment
Stage 2 - Guilt, victimization
Stage 3 - Fatalism
Stage 4 - Delusion
Stage 5 - Self-importance
Stage 6 - False idealism
Stage 7 - Duality
What is my Greatest Temptation?
Stage 1 - Tyranny
Stage 2 - ADDICTION!
Stage 3 - Introversion
Stage 4 - Deception
Stage 5 - Solipsism
Stage 6 - Martyrdom
Stage 7 - Beyond temptation
Getting what you want
Level 1 - fight or flight response
You fulfill your life through family, community, a sense of belonging and material comforts
Level 2 - reactive response
You fulfill your life through success, power, influence, status and other ego satisfactions.
Level 3 - restful awareness response
You fulfill your life through peace, centeredness, self acceptance, and inner silence.
Level 4 - Intuitive response
You fulfill you life through insight, empathy, tolerance, and forgiveness
Level 5 - Creative response
you fulfill your life through inspiration, expanded creativity in art or science, and unlimited discovery.
Level 6 Visionary response
You fulfill your life through reverence, compassion, devoted service and universal love.
Level 7 sacred response
You fulfill your life through wholeness and unity with the divine
The Seven Levels of Miracles
Level 1 - fight or flight
Miracles involve surviving great danger, impossible rescues, ad sense of divine protection
Example: A mother who runs into a burning house to rescue her child, or lifts a car with a child trapped underneath
Level 2 (Reactive Response)
Miracles involve incredible achievements and success, control over the body or mind.
Example: Extreme feats of martial arts, child prodigies with inexplicable gifts in music or math, the rise of a Napoleon from humble beginnings to immense power (men of destiny)
Level 3 (Restful Awareness Response)
Miracles involve synchronicity, yogic powers, premonition, feeling the presence of God or angels.
Example: Yogis who can change body temperature or heart rate at will, being visited by someone from far away who has just died, visitatin by a guardian angel
Level 4 (Intuitive Response)
Miracles involve telepathy, ESP, knowledge of past or future lifetimes, prophetic powers.
Example: Reading someone else' thoughts or aura, psychic predictions, astral projection to other locations
Level 5 (Creative Response)
Miracles involve divine inspiration, artistic genius, spontaneous fulfillment of desires (wishes come true)
Example: The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, having a thought that suddenly manifests. Einstein's insights into time and relativity
Level 6 (visionary Response)
Miracles involve healing, physical transformations, holy apparitions, highest degree of supernatural feats.
Example: Walking on water, healing incurable diseases through touch, direct revelation from the Virgin Mary
Level 7 (Sacred Response)
Miracles involve inner evidence of enlightenment.
Example: Lives of the great prophets and teacher - Buddha, Jesus, Lao-Tze
Masking The Soul
Our attitudes hide deeper spiritual beliefs, and when we see through them, beliefs can be changed. A fall back emotion is a coping response. It arises when you cannot resolve inner tension or a crises. It also reflects a sense of connection or separation from God. Every emotion or attitude has a spiritual meaning, despite the fact that society doesn't acknowledge this.
Mask: atheist, cynic, or failed seeker
Attitude: doubt, resistance, ironical detachment, in the habit of mistrust. Fall back emotion is anxiety.
Belief: God cannot be proved: if he exists he has no power over the material world: I am alone, my fear of emptiness is my chief reason to keep seeking.
Mask: leader, achiever, or skeptic
Attitude: Certainty, confidence, self-reliance, in the habit of demanding rational explanations. Fall back emotion is anger or obstinacy.
Belief: I am in control of my life, not God: if he demands surrender I will ignore him; secretly I believe that my own power is greater than his.
Mask: thinker or dreamer
Attitude: Reflective, conciliatory, calm in the habit of assessing situations emotionally. Fall back emotion is depression or resignation.
Belief: God hints at his presence inside me; I will get the message once I stop falling into confusion; God favors inward-looking action more than outward action
Mask: idealist or liberator
Attitude: self-aware, nonjudgmental, willing to be iconoclast or to defy normal expectations. Fall back emotion is detachment.
Belief: God doesn't think I am wrong or sinful; I can only accept him to the degree I accept myself, forgiveness is real.
Mask: artist, adventurer, or explorer
Attitude: playful, emotionally resilient, eager to try anything new, tendency to be highly sensitive. Fall back emotion is fantasy (self-absorption).
Belief: God has made a recreational universe; i am safe following my creative impulses; I am approved of by God.
Mask: prophet or redeemer
Attitude: Humble, deeply forgiving and accepting of others, awed by mystery, able to see to the depth of any person or situation. Fall back emotion is love.
Belief: There are no miracles until you see that all of life is a miracle; God works through me, my greatest joy is service to him.
Mask: no mask
Attitude: immersion in bliss, wisdom, and peace, with no personal attitudes - the viewpoint in universal. Fall back emotion is compassion.
Belief: No personal beliefs, every action and word comes directly from the divine source, a certainty that being human is a blessed state.
Every one of the seven stages can be described as the closing of separation:
Stage 1: I am in such separation that I sense deep fear inside.
Stage 2: I don't feel so separate; I am gaining a sense of power.
Stage 3: Something larger than me is drawing near; I feel much more peaceful.
Stage 4: I am beginning to intuit what that larger thing is -it must be God
Stage 5: My actions and thoughts are drawing on God's force field, as if we are both involved in everything
Stage 6: God and I are almost together now. I feel no separation; my mind is God's mind.
Stage 7: I see no difference between myself and God
Thousands of years have been spent analyzing and watching the mind approach the soul. Here were a few cardinal points.
- Evolution takes place inside. It isn't a matter of pilgrimages, observances, and obeying religious rules. No codes of conduct can alter the fact that every mind is on a soul journey.
- Evolution is automatic. In the larger view, the soul is always pulling at us. Its force field is inescapable.
- A person is required to pay attention. Since the journey to the soul happens only in awareness, if you block out awareness you impede your progress; if you pay attention, you build up momentum.
- the final goal is inevitable. No one can resist the soul forever. Saints and sinners are on the same road.
- it is better to cooperate than to resist. The soul is the source of truth and love. If you try to avoid it, those things will not increase in your life. If you cooperate, your life will be organized with the help of infinite power and intelligence as it flows from God.
- external action still counts. Action is a physical process linked to the mind, the two cannot be separated, so even though this is a journey of the mind, outer activity either helps or detracts.
Identity
Stage 1 - I am small and insignificant, stranded on the the vast expanse of Nature. I hope I can survive.
Stage 2- I can do more than survive; I can compete and fulfill more of my needs.
Stage 3- I am peaceful inside. My inner world is beginning to satisfy me more than outward things.
Stage 4 - I am self-sufficient. Things may not always go my way, but that doesn't shake me anymore.
Stage 5 - I have discovered how to manifest my desires from within. My inner world turned out to have power.
Stage 6 - I am at the center of an immense scheme of Power and intelligence that emanates from God.
Stage 7 - I am.
You can accurately graph a person's spiritual growth on this scale alone. The ego moves from an isolated, helpless state to a realization that it might have power; then it looks for where the power comes from, at first deciding that it must be external, in the form of money and status, but in time realizing that the source of power is internal. More time passes and the difference between inner and outer power dissolves. All of reality is perceived as having one source; in the end, you are that source. Let's try another issue, that of faith:
Faith
Stage 1: Faith is a matter of survival. If I don't pray to God, he can destroy me.
Stage 2: I'm beginning to have faith in myself. I pray to God to help me get what I want.
Stage 3: Faith brings me peace. I pray that life should be free from turmoil and distress
Stage 4: I have faith that inner knowledge will uphold me. I pray for more insight into God's ways.
Stage 5: Faith tells me that God will support my every desire. I pray that I am worthy of his faith in me.
Stage 6: Faith can move mountains. I pray to be God's instrument of transformation.
Stage 7: Faith melts into universal being. What I pray, I find that I am praying to myself.
Notice how strikingly different the same world is in each stage. When people say that they have faith or that they believe in prayer, you cannot be certain what they mean without more understanding. This accounts for why there is such wild divergence of opinion about whether God listens to prayers and answers them. In relative terms, it all depends on your level of consciousness. At lower levels the thoughts behind prayer may be too diffuse to create a result. As separation closes, the gap between prayer and result is closed, every prayer is answered. At the level of miracles prayer has the power to alter outward events. Finally in the state of unity consciousness, there is no need from prayer. Your every thought comes from the soul; therefore you would only be praying to yourself.
There are horizons that limit our vision in the seven stages
Stage 1 - Horizon of Fear
I provide for the necessities and look out for myself. But when I get anxious, I feel lost. Only God knows why bad things happen in this world.
Bounded by anxiety, insecurity, dependency.
Stage 2 - Horizon of Control
I exert power and relish competition as a way of fulfilling my ambitions. But when things get beyond my control, I am totally frustrated. Only God knows why things don't work out the way I plan.
Bounded by guilt, duty, victimization.
Stage 3 - Horizon of Fatalism
I'm at peace with myself and know what is happening with me inside. But I lose my center when nothing makes sense anymore. Only God knows why destiny can be so cruel and capricious.
Bounded by karma, introversion, lack of power.
Stage 4 - Horizon of Self-deception
I navigate through the world with much more intuition and insight than most people. But I can be misled by my inner voice at times. Only God knows why my intuition deceives me just when I need it most.
Bounded by hidden secrets, past conditioning, ego needs.
Stage 5 - Horizon of Fantasy
My inner world is rich with new discoveries, and I have enough awareness to see that my thoughts come true. But some of my deepest wishes stay on the level of unreachable fantasies. Only God knows why this happens.
bounded by self-absorption, grandiosity, playing God
Stage 6 - Horizon of Identity
My whole life is devoted to service, and I can be selfless in the face of great demands from others. But sometimes the suffering of humanity makes me want to escape from this world. Only God knows why I can't lose myself in him all the time.
Bounded by thought, personal ego, traces of old conditioning.
Stage 7 - Infinity - No Horizon
I see no difference between my mind and the mind in all things. My identity is one with all people. Only God knows that I am merged into him in all dimensions at all times.
Boundless
The Power of Intention
I want to find God's presence. This intention is rooted in the discomfort of being isolated and separate. When God is absent, the underlying feeling of loneliness cannot be escaped. You can mask it by developing friendships and family ties. Ultimately, however, each of us needs to feel a sense of inner fullness and peace. We want to be satisfied within ourselves, no matter if we are alone or in a crowd.
I want God to aid and support me. God's presence brings with it the qualities of spirit. At the source, every quality - love, intelligence, truth, organizing ability, creativity becomes infinite. The growth of these things in your life is a sign that you are approaching closer to your soul.
I want to feel connected to the whole. The soul's journey takes a person from a fragmented state to a state of wholeness. This is felt as being more connected. Events around you start to weave into a pattern. Small details fit together instead of being scattered and random.
I want my life to have meaning. Existence feels empty in separation, and this gets healed only by moving into unity with God. Instead of turning outward to find your purpose, you feel that just being here, as you are, fulfills the highest purpose in creation.
I want to be free of restrictions. Inner freedom is greatly compromised when fear is present, and fear is a natural outcome of separation. As you move closer to your soul, the old boundaries and defenses start to melt away. Instead of being wary about the future, you flow with the river of life, awaiting the day when no boundaries of any kind hold you back.
The Ground Rules which Deepak feels will work for many people.
Know your intentions.
Set your intentions high.
See yourself in the light.
See everyone else in the light.
Reinforce your intentions every day.
Learn to forgive yourself.
Learn to let go.
Revere what is holy.
Allow God to take over.
Embrace the unknown.
God lives in the unknown, and when you can embrace it fully, you will be home free! End quote"