What is spirituality? What isn’t spirituality?!

 Sometimes we use the word spirituality in a general way, and so experience, experiencing and experiencer get a bit muddled up, and we end up just sniffing incense! But to be more specific I suppose we are are talking about the spirituality psychology. Ordinary psychology deals with the human/primitive mind, and how to get along in a society… ‘functioning well’!

 Spirituality psychology is more like being a spiritual engineer, ie if that doesn’t work, try this.

 This is also the area that the mind can be influenced to conform to …’functioning well’ in society! This is pseudo spirituality psychology – polishing up the ego – achieving an enlightened ego – making us feel good in society. It’s spiritual materialism.

 This is why we have to test information, and the teacher. The Buddha said, “Weigh my teachings as if testing for the purity of gold.” Spirituality itself is beyond description in silent experience.

 Every experience is spiritual!

Whenever there is an appearance in the mind, there is that which is aware of it. That awareness can then note its own awareness, without manipulation….that is pure awareness. Sometimes it is called Emptiness, or “God”.

 For me, the right brain is feelings and pattern, and the left brain translates these feelings and patterns. I spent most my life in the right brain, without able to explain it, and it’s only in the past couple of years that it seems my left brain has finally kicked in!

 Someone asked on a forum about meditating on a symbol.

This is to do with visualisation practice, be it a letter, sound, symbol or figure. Sometimes we are drawn to an image or a sound and have a feeling for it which cannot be explained: maybe it is a feeling of longing or a sense of satisfaction. Then we find out what it means, and it makes more sense, but…that longing, that satisfied feeling was right all along, and that was what it was all about. Personally, I find this with the mantra OM MANI PEME HUM.

 This image or sound could have stirred a forgotten memory from a previous life – “Hmm… this seems familiar, it doesn’t seem strange.”

 Sometimes we hear a teaching and understand it (left brain), and then all we need is a symbol to remind us (right brain).

 Our final teacher is every interaction within the whole of phenomena: this is known as the symbolic teacher. To repeat, everything that arises has an impermanent appearance…especially our emotions!

 However, in whatever happens, there is always that which knows.

So everything is a reminder of that….our true nature.