Back to Basics

It's seldom that I feel I have more to say than I am able to write or share but sometimes I do. I've been having so many creative and encouraging conversations with many different people, listening to really thought-provoking online dialogues, contemplating a lot of ideas from a couple different books and generally paying more attention to my life and how I am living it. That's good. It's not always easy or painless but it's good.

This past August, I attended a three week retreat in Colorado with spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen, focused around his teachings of Evolutionary Enlightenment. It was a profound catalyst in my own spiritual journey and I would like to reflect some more on it to help others better understand more of where I'm coming from with my thoughts.

Although Cohen's teachings offer some unique insights, the essence of his message can be affirmed regardless of one's tradition or creed or theology, or lack thereof. I think I've shied away from talking about it specifically because I was hesitant to focus on any one particular perspective but I think it's worth exploring more deeply in this space because it has really helped me to see the spiritual journey, myself, and God in a much more powerful yet graceful way - demanding but not exclusive.

The most foundational and fundamental element of the spiritual life, from this perspective, is in how we answer the question: what is most important to me?

"...when we are looking into our own motives all that matters is that we really discover what is motivating us – NOT that we find the “right” motive. That might sound strange, but after 18 years of work on this path I can tell you without hesitation that it is true. The only way to either change or strengthen your motivation is by being clear about what your motivation ACTUALLY is. If you think you want one thing when you actually want something else there is no way to develop. As Andrew Cohen has said for years, 'You can only move from where you are.' " - Jeff Carreira, director of education for EnlightenNext

And so it begins.