SGM Nov. 2013 Weekly Message Three: “The Ultimate Goal?”
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Welcome back to the November 2013 Edition of Spiritual Growth Monthly. I’m Kevin Schoeninger. It’s great to have you with us here at SGM!
This week we reach a stage on our journey that is celebrated in many spiritual traditions as the ultimate goal. Dr. Epstein calls this Stage Ten: Ascent. It’s the stage in which you realize a state of “heaven,” “nirvana,” “samadhi,” “Christ Consciousness,” or “enlightenment” that is often seen as the highest state a human can realize.
Yet, you’ll notice that this is Stage Ten, not Stage Twelve. This is not some end-state in which you permanently reside. This misunderstanding keeps many from fully realizing this stage, understanding how it relates to the other stages, and revisiting it daily—which is a powerful practice!
While Stage Ten is important, it is only as important as any other stage. What is really important is that you honor each stage that you are in as you are in it, so that you can move forward in your healing and not fool yourself into thinking that you’ve arrived somewhere that you haven’t. Keep in mind that no one stage of healing is the end-all—and you will journey through all of them many times, in many ways, throughout the course of your life.
So, contrary to seeing the path of healing as a linear progression of twelve steps, you might think of it as a spiral progression in which you circle around your primary issues, again and again, widening the effect of healing in all areas of your life. If you consciously take up this journey, you may discover that life is a continuous healing process in which you purify, integrate, and heal more deeply and more fully as you go. Not everyone chooses this journey—even if you could legitimately say that this is the primary reason we are all here and what we are here to do. This is still the road less traveled.
Now, let’s talk about this much-celebrated Stage Ten, how it is often misunderstood, and how it enlightens and heals us.
In Stage Nine we experienced the infusion of Life Energy in our bodies. We had a wonderful experience of being filled with energy, love, light, and peace. In Stage Nine, we feel as if this energy flows into us or through us.
In Stage Ten, we find that “we are” this Light. There is no separation between us and The Light. There is no separation between ourselves and others, because we are all this One Light. We all share in it, we all “are it.” There is really only One Body and we are cells in that body. Yet, in Stage Ten there is no sense even of separate cells. There is just Light, Love, The One Life—Universal Consciousness. There are many names, yet only One Reality. We transcend space, time, limitations, separations, and all polarities, to rest in The One—God.
Now, this may sound quite mystical, otherworldly, and/or completely impractical—or even like a fairy-tale—or gibberish. It can sound that way when you try to put it into words. Yes, this experience is the source of mysticism in all spiritual traditions. And, no, words can never capture this experience.
As Lao Tzu says in the Tao te Ching: “The Way that can be spoken is not the Eternal Way.” That’s one reason why arguments about what to call this state, or similarly what name to call God, are absurd at best. The Jewish people understood that you can’t say the name of God. God always exceeds any description. We can never get a handle on our Infinite Source by thinking we’ve named it accurately. That’s just not possible. Words create limits as they describe. So, the Infinite can never be put into words. At best, our words can point to something beyond words.
Stage Ten is a nonverbal experience. It can only be known by “being there.” “Being there” is incredibly powerful and not all that hard to do. It happens in silence, stillness, and open, clear spaciousness. It comes to us in doing less and letting go more. It is about surrender to mystery and not knowing. It is about humility before the unfathomable depths and breadths of Creation.
In the Old Testament of the Hebrew/Christian Bible, Psalm 46:10 says “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Now, we might use a meditation technique, yoga, qigong, or prayer to prepare for this state—to quiet our minds, relax our bodies, and calm our hearts. That’s important to do. When we’ve done that, then the experience of stillness, silence, and spaciousness can take us over. We drop into the Ocean of Awareness, the Sea of Universal Consciousness, and the Stage Ten experience
As Epstein says about Stage Ten: “We feel our connectedness to the wind, the light, the rain, and the earth. We also feel deeply connected to every living thing. By the time we reach the Ascent stage, our consciousness has expanded to such a degree that it encompasses everything. There is no separation between ourselves and everything around us.” (p.167, 12SOH)
Kriya Yoga teacher Paramahansa Yogananda taught that the experience of the Supreme Reality has eight aspects: “light, sound, peace, calmness, love, joy, wisdom, and power.” (p.168, 12SOH)
Here’s how one practitioner describes this experience: “at that precise moment you are free. There is no fear, no regret, doubt, or unfulfilled expectations. There is no judgment or feeling the need that ‘I’ve got to do something.’ All is light, all is perfect.” (p.169, 12SOH)
Now, as I was saying earlier, this is a stage that many spiritual aspirants strive to achieve. It’s a state most of us would probably like to remain in once we experience it—as if we would then be free from the many varied experiences of living. We’d like to just remain in that ecstatic state. However, the journey of being human is not about being in one state of being.
However, something does come out of this Stage Ten experience that you can carry into all experiences is this—Acceptance. In Stage Ten you naturally experience a profound acceptance of all things and all beings exactly the way they are. Your former judgments give way to a deep, abiding acceptance of the many stages of life and the variety of perspectives and experiences that make up The One Life we all share. In Stage Ten, we surrender to what is and love it as it is.
This accepting way of being we realize in Stage Ten has been prepared for by all the previous stages. As Epstein says, “The experience of a Universal Intelligence or God occurs when the nervous system is open and flexible enough to merge with it. Rather than being the result of personal expansion, the spiritual experience naturally occurs when Divine energy touches the cells of our body, completely changing the reality of our cells and bringing about transformation.” (p.174, 12SOH)
This is one reason why spiritual or meditative practices can be helpful. They prepare us to receive the experience of transcendence. I highly recommend spending some time “being there” every day.
Epstein offers us a Stage Ten exercise to facilitate this experience. Here it is.
(adapted from p. 180, 12SOH)
This is another simple exercise that can have surprising results. Find yourself a nice, quiet, private environment, so you can experience this exercise without distraction. It can be very subtle.
Begin by lying on your back with your knees bent and the soles of your feet on the floor. Lightly close your eyes.
Breathe in through your mouth making the sound of the wind in the back of your throat. As you breathe in, raise your hips, tilt your head back just slightly, and join your hands together in prayer position in front of your forehead.
Breathe out through your mouth. As you exhale, lower your hips to the floor, tilt your head forward and raise it slightly off the ground, and lower your arms and hands, palms together, so your fingers are pointing down between your legs.
Repeat this breathing and motion until you really feel the rhythm of it. Don’t do this to exhaustion or muscle fatigue, just enough to get into the rhythm.
When you are ready to stop, place your hands, palms down, on your lower abdomen. Straighten your legs and rest in a lying position on your back. Pay attention to how you feel. You may have a nice, easy, floating, spacious feeling. Just notice whatever you feel.
I would like to hear your experience with this exercise and any comments on this week’s message in our Discussion below.
In next week’s message, we’ll explore how to integrate Stage Ten consciousness into the everyday realities of our lives. This gives us a new perspective that can change our results and how everything feels.
Until next time,
Take some time every-day to rest and refresh in stillness and silence,
Kevin