Criminal law and spiritual law sometimes coincide, but oftentimes not. In a spiritual sense, you’re free to do what you want; the ultimate test of whether or not a given act or behavior violates spiritual law is if it hurts you or another person.

“The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.” Ayn Rand

Below we outline circumstances that clarify what is a crime and what isn’t-from a spiritual standpoint-based on our long-term findings.

1. White-collar thieves, such as boiler-room operators, think they are clever. They insist on their innocence and blame “naive” investors who should know better before investing without doing their due diligence. But consider their intent-does the boiler-room operator willingly take the investor’s money, knowing that the investor will likely lose his or her money, and is it the operator’s intent to defraud the investor? If yes, then such actions incur negative karma.

Imagine the number of lifetimes it takes to balance the negative karma incurred by stealing millions from hundreds of pensioners, for example. It’s no wonder most criminals don’t believe in karma and predetermination.

2. Precious gem and diamond heists such as the Schiphol Airport diamond heist, surely earn the perpetrators serious negative karma. “At Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport on February 25, 2005, four men in a stolen KLM cargo vehicle ambushed an armored truck carrying jewels bound for Antwerp’s diamond district. Brandishing guns, they forced out the drivers before speeding away. Since many of the gems they filched were still uncut, it’s unclear how much the booty was worth-though some estimates have put the figure as high as $118 million. That would make the Schipol crime, which remains unsolved, the largest diamond heist in history.”

That’s quite a heist, but sometimes the karma is much more complicated than it appears; the four guys with guns may not be the sole villains. For instance, consider the following: the owners of the gems in some heists may be involved in the crime in a complex insurance fraud; the guys with guns could have a high profile organized crime backer, which then earns dozens of culprits bad karma; even the security consultants and their superiors, or the insurance company (or select employees) are sometimes involved in such a heist; the owners of some stolen gems may have stolen them in the first place.

3. People who vote for politicians who support oppressive legislation, such as laws against freedom of speech (e.g., in the U.K. it’s illegal to criticize a certain religion on social media) incur negative karma. The same is true for people who lobby for unjust laws, or who trample the rights of others to promote their agenda. Feelings aren’t an excuse to limit freedom of speech. Any criminal law that takes away individual freedoms is in direct violation of spiritual law, thus those who impose it on others incur negative karma.

“He who allows oppression shares the crime.” Desiderius Erasmus

Earth isn’t the only place to balance your karma. “… researchers have calculated that billions of the stars in the Milky Way have one to three planets in the habitable zone, where there is the potential for liquid water and where life could exist.” It’s feasible mass slavery is the norm on some of those inhabitable planets, offering those who incur nasty human rights karma (including agenda and propaganda pushers, politicians, and the voters who give them power) on Earth the opportunity to balance the scales elsewhere in the future.

https://earthsky.org/space/most-stars-have-planets-in-habitable-zone?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=6fd5a540e3-EarthSky_News&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-6fd5a540e3-393863541

Considering there are two trillion galaxies in the universe, including ours, the Milky Way, it’s estimated there are trillions of inhabitable planets in the universe. This is enough to include an incredible variety of difficult life circumstances and situations to accommodate even the worst karmic offenders. The infinite number of available planets on which to incarnate lends credence to the theory that you have probably had more lifetimes than you may think. A wise person said your current lifetime is just one word, of one sentence, on one page, in one book, perhaps of several volumes.

4. Those in the U.S. Congress (or any other legislative body) who continually put their personal monetary gain ahead of the will of the people, such as through allowing crooked lobbyists and special interest groups to dictate their voting record, earn enormous amounts of terrible karma. It’s difficult to fathom how much bad karma is generated by irresponsible governing, policies that harm millions of citizens.

“There is no distinctly American criminal class – except Congress.” Mark Twain

“We don’t seem to be able to check crime, so why not legalize it and then tax it out of business?” Will Rogers

The perfect crime, a term used to describe crimes that are unsolvable or undetected, doesn’t exist in a spiritual sense. The eyes of truth (i.e., law of karma) are always watching, so ultimately nobody gets away with anything.

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Spiritual health is generally an overlooked aspect of wellness and healing. However, it is actually the ultimate goal of holistic medicine, and leads to a heightened awareness of the Divine Spirit referred to by all religions. It doesn’t matter what name you give it. What matters is that you come to know and attune yourself to its guidance in all areas of your daily life. Doing so will reduce your feelings of fear, and provide you with a greater capacity for loving yourself and others unconditionally. It will also help you reconnect to your special talents and gifts so that you can use them to fulfill your life’s purpose.”

Being consciously aware of the role Spirit plays in your life, being spiritually healthy also means being intimately connected to your spouse, partner, family, friends, and community, resulting in social health, as well. Spiritual and social health are interconnected, since it is through our committed relationships that we find the greatest opportunities for spiritual growth and for learning how to receive and impart unconditional love.

The observance of spiritual and religious traditions, working with spiritual counselors and support groups are common methods of creating spiritual and social health, as are the opportunities afforded us through our friendships, marriage, intimate relationships, and parenting. A variety of self-care approaches, including prayer, meditation, gratitude, and spending time within nature, can further deepen your awareness of yourself as a spiritual, socially-connected being, and are increasingly being recommended by conventional and holistic physicians alike.

The five most important rituals to create spiritual health is: Prayer, Meditation, Gratitude, Forgiveness, Spending time in nature, including near fire and water.

Prayer: Prayer is the most common form of spiritual practice performed by most Americans, and the majority of people who pray report a greater sense of well-being than those who don’t. Harvard researcher and mind/body medicine expert Herbert Benson, M.D., author of The Relaxation Response, has found that regular prayer or the repetition of spiritual phrases such as “Shalom,” or “Hail Mary,” triggers relaxation and reduces stress.

There are many effective ways to pray, both for yourself and for others. Many people find great benefit using the prayers from their religious upbringing. Others make prayer a time of personal conversation with God, stating their need or concern and asking for divine intervention. Others find taking a walk in a place of natural beauty to be a form of prayerful worship.

Simply taking the time to acknowledge all you have to be grateful for and giving thanks for that which you desire. Giving thanks for that which you desire is more effective than asking for what you desire, God knows what you need before you need it and has already sent it to you–therefore giving thanks acknowledges what you haven’t seen yet. Choose the form of prayer that feels most comfortable for you, and then establish a regular routine of repeating your prayers daily.

Meditation: Meditation has been scientifically researched and proven to have physiological benefits for decades. Besides its physical benefits, which include stress-relief, improved immune and cardiovascular function, relaxation, and decreased pain, the regular practice of meditation can lead to new insights about life issues (often resulting in the healing of past emotional trauma), heightened creativity, inspiration, greater compassion for others, and a greater connection to one’s own inner guidance.

There are a wide variety of meditative techniques to choose from and, as with prayer, choosing the one that you are most comfortable with will provide the greatest benefit.

Meditation can be performed while sitting, lying down, or while walking or jogging. Some people also prefer singing or chanting a word or phrase that has spiritual significance to them. What all meditative techniques have in common is conscious breathing (see above) and a focus on what is transpiring in each present moment, until the mind becomes empty of thoughts, judgments, and past and future concerns.

A simple way to meditate is to sit comfortably erect with your eyes closed, while paying attention to your breathing. Observe yourself inhaling and exhaling, allowing whatever thoughts you have to pass by. In the beginning of your practice, you will find your mind wandering. Each time this occurs, gently refocus on your breath. To improve your concentration, you can also silently repeat a word, or mantra, such as love, peace, or Jesus.

Eventually, you will experience longer periods of silence between each thought, although it may take months before this occurs. Be patient and don’t force matters. Sit for 10 to 20 minutes once or twice a day, but if you find yourself too distracted or pressed for time, end your session, instead of sitting restlessly. With commitment and consist practice, the benefits of meditation will become apparent to you, and you’ll realize your efforts are well worth it.

Gratitude: Dr. Robert Anderson describes gratitude as the Great Attitude. “Gratitude produces feelings of joy and self-acceptance, and is an attitude that anyone can choose to have, just as we can choose to see the glass half full or half empty” Dr. Anderson says. “Being grateful for what you have, instead of worrying about what you lack, enables you to let go of negative thoughts and attitudes more easily. This can be difficult at times, especially if you are feeling a great deal of fear or anger, but if you make the effort to release these painful emotions and choose to be grateful, instead, positive benefits can be achieved.”

One method of cultivating feelings of gratitude is keeping a gratitude journal, as outlined above. A variation of this technique is to close your eyes before bed and mentally review your day, taking an inventory of all the things that you experienced for which you feel grateful, silently giving thanks for them. “By making gratitude a regular part of your daily experience, you set the stage for living more deeply connected to spirit, Dr. Anderson says, In the process, your life will be transformed into an increasingly joyous adventure.”

Forgiveness: Forgiveness is power and empowering. Forgiving is an act of cleansing your mental field. Forgiveness cleanses false perceptions, and elevates you to a higher vibration. Forgiveness is a shift in perception, which removes a barrier to the awareness of who you truly are and of Love’s presence.

Humans have the power to charge every experience with an opinion and then decide whether it is ‘good’ or ‘bad’, ‘right’ or ‘wrong.’ When you claim something is ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’ you have simply removed yourself from the opportunity to transform that experience, claim it’s good and use that good as a lever for your ever-upward movement in the glorious spiral of becoming who you truly are.

Pause now. Ponder the poignancy of this truth. When you are unwilling to forgive you are stopping your ever-upward movement in the Universe’s energetic flow – the glorious upward spiral of becoming who you truly are. Who you are is a loving, caring being – a human being having a spiritual experience and a spiritual being having a human experience.

Many people mistakenly believe if they forgive the ‘wrong,’ it let’s the other person(s) off the hook. Yet, this is a miss understanding. Buddhists know the Universal Laws function in a spiral of energy.

This spiral of energy moves in a circular motion – what goes around comes around. Buddhists call this phenomenon Karma. Therefore, whether you forgive the seemingly ‘unforgivable’ act, you are the only one suffering now. The aggressor probably does not know they committed a ‘wrong,’ or if she/he knows, does not believe his/her behavior was ‘wrong.’ And you continue to drink the poison of anger and resentment expecting him/her to die. Allow the Universal Laws to manage the Karma she/he created for her/himself.

You can merely remove the negative charge, shift your perception and the good that is ever-present in your life experiences can make itself known.

Spending time in nature: The most visible manifestation of spirit is nature, where we most fully encounter and interact with life’s primal energies in the forms of earth, water, fire, and air.

Taking a walk in a park or hiking through the woods are easy and practical ways of reconnecting with nature and the earth, as are gardening, bike riding in the country, and camping and boating trips. By making it a habit to spend regular amounts of time outdoors within a natural setting, you enable yourself to better appreciate the rhythms of life, including your own.

We need to recognize that cities and other industrialized areas can prevent us from living a life of balance. Spending time in nature helps restore that balance, while also deepening our connection with Spirit.

Spending time near the water can also be a spiritually healthy experience, due to water’s higher concentration of negative ions, which can contribute to feelings of well-being. Swimming in the ocean, lakes, or rivers is a great way to benefit from this life-enhancing energy. Soaking in a mineral hot spring can provide therapeutic benefits for a variety of ailments, as well.

Exposure to fire around a campground or before a fireplace can also have health benefits, according to Leonard Orr, who has found that fire cleanses the bio-energy field of negative energies, and can be a powerful aid in curing physical disease. Orr recommends spending a few hours each day before fire for people who want to experience such benefits. Fire is also an important component of the vision quests undertaken by Native Americans to connect with the Great Spirit and discover their life purpose.

Of all nature’s elements, perhaps the closest expression of Spirit is the air. Clean, fresh air is essential to health on all levels, and practicing conscious breathing as outlined above is a potent self-care method for restoring energy and making you more aware of the power of Spirit as it flows through you.

Regular exposure to each of these four elements can help you become more conscious of how Spirit’s loving intelligence sustains the world, while more deeply recognizing your place within it.

Many people claim using the law of attraction can help reach goals. Does it always work? No, because there are other spiritual laws, some that supersede the law of attraction, you need to be aware of in order to have an advantage in life.

Law of Universal Order

Examples of this law include planetary motions, tides, and the change of seasons, and why comprehensive astrology and numerology can accurately interpret personal fate. You can use this tool to predict and prepare for future life events.

Law of Soul Over Personality

Your personality might want to be incredibly wealthy or famous, but your soul might have chosen a different path before you incarnated. Fortunately, the more you calm your mind (like through meditation, exercise, or art), and unblock your energy (through Spiritual Detox or other clearing methods), the easier it will be to perceive your best path. When you are on your highest path, the efforts of your personality will be more likely to match the plan of your soul.

Law of Subconscious Dominance

The subconscious mind stores everything that’s ever happened to you, in this life and previous lives, and it has a lot more power over you than it seems. Phobias are an example of this; someone who has a fear of flying can tell himself he is safe, be assured the pilot is experienced, and so on, but his body and mind will still react like a crash is inevitable as soon as he steps onto the plane. Another example is someone who has a fear of poverty; she might become a workaholic, and won’t be able to slow down even when it works against her and other parts of her life suffers. Fortunately, hypnosis and past life regression can be used successfully to find and release the root cause of these and most other fears. You can also use hypnosis or subliminal MP3s to give suggestions and direction to your subconscious mind to help achieve any goal.

Law of Reincarnation

According to Pew Research, 67% of Americans don’t believe they’ve lived past lives, but that doesn’t stop their soul from incarnating again and again. This type of amnesia isn’t a bad thing, since it helps everyone focus on what’s most important: the present. Still, you can use your past lives to your advantage by going back to a past life when you were very skilled at something, for example, and bring forward that talent, discipline, or drive.

Law of Intent

When your conscious intent is different from your subconscious desires or fears, you’ll encounter more conflict. You can minimize this by acknowledging your faults and working to improve them.

Law of Projection

You perceive the world as you are, not as it is. However, the more you understand yourself, your defenses and fears, and the more you try to see others and situations without bias, the better off you will be.

Law of Destiny or Fate

Your destiny and fate began before you were born, after your soul (not your personality) agreed to the specific lifetime that included the physical body, family, and related experiences. The karma of your soul, from many lifetimes, also contributes to your destiny and fate, or what you experience in this particular life.

Due to the unseen force of destiny and fate, you cannot manifest and maintain something major that isn’t at least somewhat conducive to it. But the more you are in tune with yourself and your highest path (through centering and unblocking), the less likely you’ll be to waste time taking the wrong exits on the freeway of fate.

Law of Karma

This one is quite simple; don’t do anything to others that you wouldn’t want done to you. All actions, words, and intent really do return to sender, and usually not in this life. This includes good karma too. However, not all “bad” experiences are due to negative actions in the distant past. Sometimes they’re just part of the path your soul chose for various reasons.

Law of Free Will

Fortunately, you have free will to react to fate and karmic situations. If you don’t like something in your life, you can use your free will to change it, within the confines of your destiny, or at least learn to accept it.

Law of Asking for Help

So much protection and guidance is available to you from the spiritual dimensions, including hints about your next step for any goal, but you must ask for it and then pay attention. We recommend asking guides of the Light, (your) God, your Higher Self, and any other energies of the Light you pray to. Do not mess with the dark side, or you’ll regret it forever be indebted to it.

We hope that by understanding how spiritual laws influence your life, you’ll use them to your advantage and experience more love, happiness, and success.

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Though it is often considered just a fortune-telling device, Tarot cards are actually part of a much larger, centuries-old spiritual movement devoted to the discovery of the Higher Self. This movement, called the Western Mystery Tradition, encompasses and explores the many deep spiritual pathways found outside established western religious institutions; the treasure sought is an ever-deepening perception of our own humanity and relationship with the Divine, achieved by the process of understanding and transforming our own selves. Because of this approach, the Western Mystery Tradition is inclusive, rather than exclusive; it views all religious systems, including Tarot, as symbols and metaphors for the same Truth. Its wisdom is taught mainly through books and private meditation, and in small mystery schools around the world.

As with most esoteric spiritual systems, the goal of the Western Mystery Tradition is to lead us to higher levels of awareness, culminating in awakening or enlightenment, or, to use the Western Mystery Tradition term, “Initiation.” Tarot, therefore, as part of the Western Mystery Tradition, is more than a fortune-telling device – it is a legitimate spiritual path toward Initiation.

The early history of Tarot cards is not well-documented, which has given rise to many interesting but erroneous Tarot myths. One such myth claims the deck was created by a group of adepts who met periodically at some undisclosed location to discuss philosophy, magic, natural science, etc. Hampered by the lack of a common language, they created the Tarot deck to serve as their means of communication. Other myths place the origin of the cards in Egypt, India, China, Morocco or Mount Sinai. The word “Tarot” is thought to be Egyptian, Latin, Greek, Hebrew or, best of all, a mysterious anagram whose meaning has yet to be discovered.

The unromantic truth is that Tarot probably started out as a simple card game played in northern Italy during the early 15th century. The oldest Tarot cards still in existence are lavishly hand-painted decks that employ images familiar to Medieval and Renaissance European court life – kings, knights, fools, jugglers, etc. The word “Tarot” probably comes from the Italian Carte da Trionfi (Cards of the Triumphs), later called Tarocchi. The German form of the word is Tarock and the French form is Tarot.

The role of Tarot in spirituality began in the 18th century, when Comte de Mellet linked the 22 Major Arcana of the Tarot cards to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Hebrew letters play an important role in the ancient Jewish mystical system called Kabbalah, which uses the Tree of Life as its main symbol. The Tree of Life is a metaphoric diagram that maps everything from the maturation of the self, our journeys from birth to death, and the progress of our souls toward Divinity. The Tree of Life has been studied for centuries; the earliest known reference to it is found in the Sefer Yetzirah, an ancient Kabbalistic text which may be almost two thousand years old.

This connection between Tarot, Hebrew letters and the Tree of Life was pursued by other students of the mysteries such as Eliphas Lévi in the 19th century. In 1909, Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Coleman-Smith, both members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and practicing Kabbalists, published the now-classic Rider-Waite Tarot deck, which is still the most popular Tarot deck in the world. Eventually, each Tarot card in the deck was assigned a place on the Tree of Life.

As a result of the classical education, research, study and devotion of esoteric scholars such as Levi, Waite, and Coleman-Smith, the Tarot deck was elevated from a simple plaything to a highly condensed symbolic learning device. By synthesizing a variety of traditions such as Kabbalah, astrology, alchemy and mythology, the Tarot images express spiritual truths that underlie much of western culture. These spiritual truths, expressed via iconic symbol and imagery, help build bridges between our conscious, subconscious and Higher Self. The secret of Tarot’s enduring popularity over the past several centuries is the way these simple, archetypal images communicate truths and deep meanings to all aspects of the self so directly.

The spiritual path of Tarot involves taking steps to incorporate the deeply felt meaning of each card into our everyday lives. Reading books about the cards is a good first step toward understanding these meanings more consciously. You might also select one card to be your companion for a week, keeping it with you as you go about your daily routine. Meditating on the images is also important. If this card could speak, what would it say to you? What aspect of your self is reflected in the image? What events in your daily life might be understood differently with the card’s message in mind? It’s a good idea to keep a journal of your thoughts, insights and personal issues as they arise throughout the week.

In addition to studying the cards themselves, understanding the sequence of the cards teaches us a great deal about the joys and sorrows of the spiritual path. For example, the Major Arcana chart a path that begins with The Fool, which represents the beginning of the Divine’s descent into physical reality. The next several cards teach us about the process by which man creates his world. Surprisingly, The Devil is the beginning of the path to Initiation, because it helps us see through the mask worn by the physical world. The next step is The Tower, which graphically demonstrates the pain and fear we experience by relinquishing strongly held opinions and worldviews. The cards that follow symbolize further stages on the path to full enlightenment or Initiation, symbolized by The World.

The Tarot’s Court Cards represent aspects of our own personalities that help and hinder us on our paths. The Minor Arcana represent aspects of the Tree of Life, which swing back and forth between positive and negative, male and female.

The depth and relevance of the wisdom and personal insights available through the Tarot is surprising. Once the symbolic bridge has been built, these cards actually seem to speak to us; the more we study them, the more they reveal. Because the symbols hidden in these cards derive from the history, myths, meaning and structure of western culture, Tarot is a powerful and appropriate practice for anyone on a western spiritual path.

Barrier # 1 So Maybe I need to Think About it

Many people have good intentions about creating their Spiritual Legacy for their grandchild. The Bible tells us in numerous places to tell the next generations what God has done for us.

However, procrastination seeps into our lives. Creating a Spiritual Legacy ranks high on the “can wait until later” list. In full disclosure, I will admit that I am a member of the “Procrastination Club” in many instances.

Faithbooking just doesn’t have a high priority ranking in the daily lives of many people- at least not like, cooking, washing clothes, and doctor’s appointments.

Every day God gives us a special gift. That gift is “time.” Each one of us receives 24 hours in one day. Along with that precious gift comes another-the freedom to use our gift in the way we choose.

Don’t you love to spend some of your time chatting about your grandchild and showing off photos of him/her? Most of us would do most anything in the world for our grandchild. But would you really do anything?

Would you be willing to give up just a little teeny bit of your time (say 24 minutes a day) to invest in your grandchild? That’s less than 2% of your day. In less time than it takes to watch one episode of “Wheel of Fortune” you can start a spiritual keepsake for your Grandchild.

There’s only one way to get through the procrastination barrier and it is simple. The only way you can quit procrastinating is to start. The best way to start is to pick out a time and go for it!

Do you believe God is stirring in your heart about leaving your Spiritual Legacy for your grandchild? “Teach what you’ve seen and heard to your children and grandchildren.” Deut. 4:9 (MSG)

When do you think is the best time for you to start? How much time do you feel you can invest in the spiritual life of your grandchild each day? 15 minutes? 24 minutes? 45 minutes?

Write down the amount of time you will invest daily or, if not daily, on which days? Monday and Wednesday, or the weekends? Be specific about your intended schedule.

Write your goal. This is my goal: “I will invest at least 15 minutes a day Monday through Friday for the Spiritual Legacy for my grandchild.”

Barrier #2 But Which Steps Do I Take and When?

Don’t despair! Faithbooking is something that is best taken in baby steps.

So if you are ready to start investing a few minutes for the Spiritual life of your grandchild, I’ll give you three simple actions to start on right now.

* Pray and ask God what He wants you to do. “… if you want to know what God wants you to do–ask Him, and He will gladly tell you… ” James 1:5 (NLT)

* Start sifting through your photos. If you’re like most of us Faithbookers, we have tons of photos-some in boxes in the closet and some digital ones saved on computers and phones. But don’t get discouraged! And don’t dread the task. Please don’t plan to put all of your photos into your Faithbook. You’ll get yourself all knotted up with overwhelm.

* Decide which of your photos you’d like to use first. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and have yourself a personal memory-savoring good time. As you peruse your pictures, save out some special ones with the intention of placing them in your spiritual legacy book.

Barrier #3 I Do NOT have a Clue which Types of Supplies and Tools I Need to Get Started.

When a non-artistic person (like me) wants to begin a Faithbook, it can be frustrating. You may not know which tools or supplies you need. To further complicate things, you may not understand the language for the craft.

So how can you fix this barrier? As you look at your piles and piles of photos and realize there are so many scrapbooking supplies you know you are submerged in a new area–one in which you need help.

Again I suggest whisper a prayer. “When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you.” PS 143:2 (MSG)

Not to worry! A little bit of training will go a long way- I Know. I took several beginner classes. With each class I learned-techniques as well as tips and more of the language.

* You can often attend classes at local scrapbooking or craft stores. Call around to find out what may be available.

* Sometimes, you can find classes online. You can learn a lot about the tools and techniques. An excellent place for this is http://www.Scrapbook.com. You will find classes as well as a wonderful gallery.

* Some churches offer Faithbooking classes. With this option, you have to check around in your community. Take a few minutes to call around to neighborhood churches to see if they conduct classes. Also, ask your friends about their churches.

“But now is the time… Today if you hear God’s voice speaking to you, do not harden your hearts against him… ” Heb 3:15 (TLB)

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible ©1971 Usedby permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, IL 60187. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked (MSG) are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson, 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

We find narcissists everywhere—in our boardrooms, with spouses, ex-spouses, family members, bosses, co-workers, friends. Most of us don’t expect to discover them among spiritual mentors and gurus. A number of years ago the great sociologist, Christopher Lasch prophetically announced: “In a dying culture, narcissism appears to embody—in the guise of personal ‘growth’ and ‘awareness’—the highest attainment of spiritual enlightenment.” Many of us make the assumption that if an individual has theological credentials or training in spiritual disciplines, he or she is authentic. Some of the most insidious forms of narcissism are perpetrated by spiritual teachers and gurus.

There are as many styles and levels of narcissistic spiritual gurus as there are spiritual movements. They range from the itinerant preacher type a la Elmer Gantry to the most educated, highly trained individuals who create worldwide movements and success through their foundations, seminars, numerous books, dvds, cds, and media appearances. Being respected in the world does not mean that an individual cannot be a narcissistic spiritual guru who brings psychological and monetary injury to others.

The narcissistic guru (male or female) is often dynamic and charismatic. He magnetizes individuals to him with an irresistible persona that conveys that he possesses unique spiritual gifts and has access to secrets that will lead to higher levels of consciousness. The skilled narcissistic guru assesses which individuals will be receptive to joining his spiritual circle. He fixates his attention on the prospective member, communicating to him that he is special and indispensable. These gurus use riveting eye contact. Their gestures, tone of voice, all of their nonverbal cues are focused on their target. Narcissistic spiritual gurus are superb actors (who often believe their own performances). They appeal to that part of us that is emotionally vulnerable, feeling deprived or unworthy. Some of us are seeking a magic key or formula that will lead us beyond suffering—that ego voice that wants to feel all powerful, without limits—godlike. All of those who fall under the spell of the narcissistic spiritual guru are not ignorant or naïve. The high-level narcissistic spiritual teacher possesses dynamic and intuitive powers that seduce and fool many people. Despite their allure and tempting promises, there are warning signs that a spiritual teacher is more dedicated to making himself powerful and affluent than helping his devotees:

1. Pay attention to the money barometer. Does the guru charge exorbitant fees for his services?

2. Is there continuing pressure placed on members to sign up for ongoing expensive programs? The not so hidden message here is: the more courses you take with us, the holier you will become. This can be called a pay to pray or pay to be holy spiritual scheme.

3. Another observation is that devotees often venerate the guru, reflexively obeying him. Having been deluded by their charismatic leader, they are no longer capable of independent thinking.

4. The narcissistic spiritual guru often uses his closest followers as servants who perform free labor: going on special errands, cleaning their residences, arranging public events. The loyal devotee considers these requests as a privilege and evidence that they hold an honored place in the guru’s hierarchy.

5. Narcissists play favorites. They pit one member against another to maintain ultimate power and control over their members.

6. Devotees are often mistreated. The slightest mistake can cause ugly scenes of humiliation in front of other group members.

7. Followers who question the spiritual leader or are considered dangerous rivals are excommunicated from the group.

8. The narcissistic guru behaves very differently in his personal life than among his devotees. He is often extremely self indulgent, materialistic, greedy, and in some cases, uses drugs and alcohol to excess. He might engage in sexual exploitation with compliant devotees who are emotionally dependent and vulnerable and psychologically fused with him.

Becoming more spiritually awake and heart centered doesn’t cost money. It requires devotion, discipline, and perseverance despite all the obstacles that come in our path. It’s not a short trip; it’s an adventurous journey.

Rev. Dr. Michael Gross’s new book The Spiritual Primer offers readers a fascinating look at how the universe operates, God’s role within the universe, and perhaps most importantly, their own purposes on earth.

Dr. Gross has spent years learning and teaching spiritual principles. One day, while in a deep meditation, he came in contact with a being that revealed itself to him as “The True Source.” When Dr. Gross asked this being whether it was God, it explained that some people call it God, but it does not like that word because of how it has been misused by so many people. As a result, for the sake of clarity, Dr. Gross calls it “God, the True Source” throughout the book. In the book, Dr. Gross shares his many personal experiences as well as information that God, the True Source has given him about how the universe operates. Dr. Gross is now offering this information to readers so they can reconnect with their spiritual natures to experience love, joy, happiness, and purpose in their lives.

The book is divided into three sections: Part I: The Twelve Spiritual Laws, Part II: Discovering Your Place in the Universe, and Part III: Questions and Answers. Also included is a bonus section of Important Affirmations to Enhance Your Life.

The first section is filled with information necessary to understand how the universe works. It is divided into twelve chapters, one for each spiritual law. Among the laws included are the Law of Love, the Law of Manifestation, the Law of Karma, the Law of Non-Judgment, and the Law of Perfection. I found this entire section incredibly illuminating. While I had a good grasp on the Law of Love and the Law of Manifestation (also called the Law of Attraction), I found that while I thought I knew what karma was, there was much about it I didn’t understand-primarily that it is not about being punished for something bad we did, but rather, Dr. Gross explains how we make agreements before we come into this life to take on karmic debts so we can learn from them. I won’t go into detail here, but I think anyone who reads this book will come away understanding karma much better and also realizing just how well the universe works and how everything is in balance within it, so karma is actually a great blessing for us.

I found the Law of Perfection quite a surprising law, but it also made me better understand how the universe and everything within it evolves, continually expands, and continues to perfect itself. Dr. Gross illustrates this point in the following passage when the True Source encourages him to look at a rosebush that had been beautiful the year before but seemed even more beautiful now:

“That’s when I understood the definition of perfection. The rosebush believed itself to be perfect last year, and that thought of perfection in its energy fields caused it to become even more perfect this year. In essence, perfection means ever-growing more perfect. In other words, we never achieve perfection because it is an ongoing process. Something may seem perfect, but then ways are found to improve upon it.”

The second section of the book explains specifically about what it means to be a human being within the universe. Dr. Gross describes how human life came to be on this planet and he explains how we have been “star-seeded,” agreeing to come to this planet to learn. A lot of this section is about past lives and reincarnation. He makes the point that it is not important whether you were a king, queen, or president in your past life because your past life’s experiences do not change what you came to accomplish in your current incarnation.

Dr. Gross also talks about the Great Gathering, which is an explanation of the different beings or “Created Resources” that exist, including guides and master guides, angels, archangels, and guardian angels. In the chapter on “Spiritual Partnering,” he explores how we make agreements in life to have relationships with different people and also to work with our guardian angels and other Created Resources to accomplish our missions in life. Dr. Gross goes into great detail in explaining the differences between twin souls, soulmates, spiritual spouses, and even made-in-heaven miracle mates.

Throughout these first two sections, Dr. Gross also offers meditation exercises, mantras, and scripts to use to bring about the changes in your life you seek. You can even learn how to find your own made-in-heaven miracle mate if you like.

The final section is composed of frequently asked questions that Dr. Gross receives and his/the True Source’s responses. I found this section just as fascinating as the others. Among the questions Dr. Gross answers are:

• What was Jesus’s purpose (mission and goal) on earth?

• Why is there so much fear on this planet?

• How do we learn what our karma is and how do we release our karmic debt?

• Why do we have to have karmic experiences if we have free will and free choice?

Many of the answers to these questions, and there are many more, have surprising answers. Before this section is over, you’ll know what the Akashic records are, learn how the Universal Band of Knowledge works, and also come to have a better understanding of good and evil.

I know some readers might be a bit skeptical at first about Dr. Gross’s ability to communicate with the True Source or about some of the information he provides. I admit to being an open-minded skeptic myself, but what Dr. Gross reveals in this book sounds logical and feels intuitively correct to me. While people may not agree with everything in these pages, I have no doubt that if they open themselves to the book’s message, they will come away enriched, with a deeper understanding of life and their purposes on this planet, and a strategy for how to create beneficial changes in their lives. I hope you will give this book a chance; your soul deserves it.

Believe it or not, all human beings have a spiritual overlord. A powerful being who is capable of any feat, nothing is too difficult for this being. Folk tales have been rife with tales of superior powerful beings who helped their wards, eg, fairy godmothers, genies. etc. Though we might consider this tall tales, remember there is no smoke without fire. Investigate the story behind the stories and consider that there is truth in this myth of genies and fairy godmothers. Take for example, the concept of prayer. All religions and adepts pray either to the One God or other gods, what is this process of prayer? and what exactly do we hope to achieve by this concept of prayer? According to basic religion prayer is the lifting up of heart, mind and spirit to God or whatever deity whom we feel has the power to help us out of our situations. It has always been like this from ages past, whatever we feel that will better help us in communicating to the unknown. Objects of wood, stone, glass etc, altars, signs and anything that we feel will help us fix our mind to our object of worship.

Allow me to let you into a very big secret, the power is in us! Yes, the whole power we need is at our beck and call. Just ask for help and we will get it. Why do we go to the ends of the world to look for help on every mountain when all we have to do is open our mouths and ask and we shall receive. Yes, this is a powerful secret that have been known to great men for a long time, the secret of asking and the force of will to bring our desires into reality. I call it the Eureka Syndrome. Look at it from this angle to make it simple we have powerful spiritual beings assigned to us who are charged to protect and watch over us. Various books of wisdom including the bible have made reference to the great secret, do you remember the Lord Jesus charged us not to offend the little children for their guardian angels look upon the face of God in heaven, the same applies to all of us. We can either choose to go through life and acknowledge their presence or we can remain in ignorance of them and suffer the consequences. Take a moment and think about it where do the sudden ideas come from, what is the source of dreams and inspiration and why are they so few for some, rampant for others and non-existent for the majority.

The sad thing is that most are content to live their life and ignore their spiritual consorts, and what a mundane life it will be. While other seek daily their link to the divine and everything seems to go right for them, then the rest of us turn and grumble and mumble, wake up please. This power is there if only we will reach out and touch it. Human beings are God’s greatest creation, the envy and adoration of the heavenly host. To crown it all we are endowed with the gift of free will, a very rare spiritual gift. Free will means we are free from outside control and have the power to choose our own fate. NO power can dictate to our spirit except by our own free will. This then is the situation, what must we do then to tap into this power, the power is in us we only need command results by the force of our will and watch our spiritual overlord jump to achieve our desires.

Watch out for part two of this series. Keep speaking your destiny.

The method cannot be the way in a comparable objective sense. Follow Dogen Zenji, you sit facing the wall to realize Zen; follow the Sufi path and through breath and awareness you find the Beloved within; follow Christian mysticism and through devotional practices you achieve union with God; follow Vedanta and through self-enquiry you attain the ultimate Reality; follow the Divine Mother of Kanyakumari on the beaches of Mumbai and you collect a rubbish bag and follow her picking up garbage.

We can beat this diversity into porridge if we like with the blunt instruments of generalization and universalization; after all, aren’t all spiritual goals and methods ultimately the same? But just look for a second-Zen, the Beloved, the Kingdom of God within, Nirvana, the Ultimate Reality, surrendering to the humility of collecting rubbish-do they really all sound the same to you?

Assimilating Great Wisdom And Making It Your Own

As you climb the slippery pole of spiritual practice and attainment you learn to recognize, then you automatically recognize, where people climbing below you are coming from. It is the same, exactly the same, in everyday life and psychological development. Once you have journeyed through adolescent challenges you see them more clearly and your personal concern for them wanes, hopefully so you can bring compassion to others going through those same sort of challenges, but they are no longer yours.

One of the behaviors I see a lot-perhaps because I have been there too-is taking on some aspect of spiritual teaching and retelling it, as if you knew or believed it yourself, when it is merely quoting or repeating a formula by rote. There is nothing intrinsically bad in this as such, for it may be the beginning of making great wisdom your own. All of us at some time or another tend to emulate the master, the guru. It’s not a bad practice in its place, but only if it leads to your assimilating great wisdom and making it your own.

Great wisdom is within you inherently, since you are born a human being. It is almost trite, it has been said so many times, but try to hear it as if for the first time: great wisdom is within you. Now my view is that there is nothing, absolutely nothing at all, as important as discovering this wisdom and orientating your life to it firmly, thoroughly, as quickly as possible.

There Can Only Be One Way

Advaita Vedanta people come in here and tell us there is no one to realize anything. Christians tend to find this rather self-centered and arrogant and, in my view, project their inner wisdom onto Jesus of Nazareth… but you see I don’t care. I don’t care and I encourage you not to as well. There are numerous ways to pursue spiritual practice, but-and here is the essential point-there is also only one. There can only be one way.

Rumi’s mode of teaching was direct, simple, and experiential. One day he took his new students and devotees to a field to teach them how to go beyond themselves, not in theory but practically. The disciples were bewildered, wondering why they were going off to a field and not being taught in the ususal way.

When they reached the field, they found a farmer engaged in some hard work. He was digging a well in a field where he had already dug twelve incomplete wells. He would dig a few feet down and when he found there was no water, he would start digging another well somewhere else… over and over. With his repeated digging he had almost destroyed the whole field without finding water.

Rumi told his disciples, “If this man had put his total energy into digging only one well, he would have reached the deepest source of water long ago. But he has almost destroyed the entire field and he will never be able to make a single well. With so much effort he is simply destroying his own land, and becoming more and more frustrated and disappointed. What kind of a desert has he created? And yet it is still not really a desert, but you have to dig deep to find the source of the water.”

He turned to his disciples and asked them, “Are you going to be like this insane farmer? Sometimes on one path, sometimes on another path, sometimes listening to one, sometimes listening to another? You will obtain a lot of knowledge, but all that knowledge is simply worse than useless, because it is not going to give you the enlightenment you seek. It is not going to lead you to discover the waters of eternal life.”

Life to a spiritual retreat, various people went to a holy place to fulfill the spiritual retreat. In the city of Cotabato in the Philippines, every year two radio stations do not broadcast their regular programs from Thursday to Saturday because staff members make a spiritual retreat. Many people who go to a spiritual retreat during the Week of Semana Santa. But judging the effects of these retreats in their lives, they show to be unaware of spiritual awakening during these retreats. They bring in the same way of living before and after their spiritual retreats. You can experience a range of spiritual or religious highs. But nothing has happened in their depths. This article narrates how to use the spiritual retreat to experience the spiritual awakening.

Do you own a specific goal for your spiritual retreat?

The first thing you need to do to experience spiritual excitement during a retreat is to own a specific goal if you enter this work. It does not matter if your supervisor or a Human Resources employee will lead you to a spiritual retreat. If you do it yourself, ready a specific goal to plan your spiritual retreat.

Their goal, how to change your life for the better. This is the overall aim. Have a better spiritual retreat experience, come in a specific goal. For example, you may want to set a goal to prepared to stop smoking. Or his goal is to read one gospel effective in the retirement age. Or this may be the case for personality improvement. Whatever in mind, make it specific.

Get the fraction for a moment to talk to your god. Second, it’s time to talk to your God, whether he or whatever you think of it.

Overall, a retreat has a series of teacher lectures or movable movers and meditations for participants. Again, consider it during the lecture period of your retired professor of god. For example, if you are listening to conversations, you can say to your God, I will make this talk in action very much.

I said “your God,” because each of us has a different theory of God, whether we are complete Christians or Muslims. Buddhists do likely God similar Christians and Muslims. Atheists or unbelievers own the true notion of God they denied. Deny nothing. There is a theory of God that you have denied. Talk to this god during the retreat.

Then, in contemplation, tell your God of everything that reaches into your spirit. In this way, you associate with the rules beyond yourself, if you are not yet, and the growth becomes an opportunity for spiritual awakening for you.

Write a record of your thoughts

Third, write a report on your reflections on a good notebook. I realize that many during the retreat, people do not write. They listen to the speaker and do the exercises they make, such as singing and posture exercises, but they do not write.

If you do not write in your mind, it means you have no record of it, and there is no easy way to remember the thoughts later. Meanwhile, if you write it down, you can read it later and see how your life has improved since the retreat. In that way, you will see how your life has grown since then. And if you do not see the improvement, you can make the necessary changes to continue the journey to eternity. In this way, you will know whether you are awake spiritually or not, or if your spiritual thoughts progress if you have experienced a spiritual awakening.

These are the means to effectively use retreats to inspire you spiritually: there is a purpose, talking with your god of retreat, write your thoughts. Best of luck in your spiritual retreat!