Making Spirit Real in the Physical World

One of the keys in effective spiritual work is to make your spiritual existence as real to you as your current everyday physical reality. Nothing is more important than remembering how to connect with your “higher self” or “wise self,” that part of you which exists in the non-physical dimensions. If you are not yet comfortable with the concept of a “higher self,” you can think of it as the voice of your intuition, or your gut instinct. Whatever you call your higher self, the goal is the same: rediscovering your ability to connect with ways of knowing and perceiving that are beyond your physical senses. Since we as humans were designed to function in both the physical and spiritual realms simultaneously, we need learn to access both the physical and the spiritual ways of perceiving and understanding the world.

If you block the spiritual reality of your existence out of your conscious awareness, your focus will invariably turn to the issues and problems of the physical life. You will naturally use people and resources in ways that advance your power and material success. Your life focus will likely not be on the needs of others, but instead on your own needs, and you will make your decisions accordingly. This is the predominant approach we see in the world today, and while it has created prosperity for many, it has also contributed to many diseases of the soul: loneliness, depression, anxiety, abuse, addiction and a deep inner void that can never be filled with the things of the world. The environmental degradation of the Earth and the myriad forms of social problems such as the struggle for basic human rights and economic justice are examples of the inevitable outcome of a purely materialistic, ego-based mindset.

On the other hand, it is also true that many spiritual traditions have focused almost exclusively on the needs of the spirit without paying sufficient attention to the needs of the physical body and its material existence. Teachings that focus on finding the bliss and peace of the spiritual dimension without helping you ground your spirit in the physical reality of existence can fail in their quest to make Spirit relevant in the modern world.

Our primary goal should be reconnecting with the truth of our being and living our lives on Earth with a deep understanding of our spiritual nature. This is the place of spiritual alchemy. Our collective lack of conscious awareness of spiritual truth has led us into patterns of conquest, injustice, prejudice and ignorance – these patterns can be transformed into an understanding and appreciation of new patterns of harmony, cooperation and peace that are necessary for life to flourish in all its forms. Over time, our appreciation of the sacredness of life and our search to find a balance between our own needs and the needs of others will lead us to create a world that is loving, positive, genuinely interconnected, and socially and environmentally conscious. This is the spiritual vision for our future.