EDITOR'S CHOICE: The Modern Spiritual Dilemma


		The Modern Spiritual Dilemma “Who am I? What am I here for? What did I come to do? How do I begin to access my full potential as a human being? Why bother in the first place? These are the questions most people ask themselves at one time or another in their lives. The tragic reality of modern existence is that few of us ever find out. We fail to live up to our full potential, or to achieve the most meagre of our secret aspirations. In the West, we have freedom of expression, an excellent degree of liberty, and access to a vast range of knowledge at little cost. Yet, the sheer pressure of daily living prevents us from even beginning to fulfil our potential. Each person knows deep down that he or she is here for something. There is a reason for being born. But what on earth is it? We seem too distracted to find out. You may read books and attend seminars. Often, you can feel inspired by what you learn. However, at other times you may feel overwhelmed or overawed by the superior advancement of the teacher. How can you hope to achieve such levels? Within many spiritual seekers, a quiet despair builds up. A person may sincerely want to release their creativity, find their life’s purpose, and experience spiritual advancement. Yet, time and daily pressures subtly distract us all. Before we know it, years have passed. Little has been achieved. We may be paying the bills, raising the kids and driving a desirable car. Nevertheless, the seemingly inevitable sacrifice of our real objectives can leave us deeply unsatisfied with how life has worked out. Worse still, many sincere seekers look around and observe others making progress and passing them by. Nothing feels worse than knowing you have tremendous undeveloped potential, and at the same time seeing others forging way ahead, whilst you do nothing. Spirituality is not a race and comparisons are as unhelpful in this arena as in any other. Nevertheless, many people do secretly harbor a "what’s wrong with me?" mentality when they experience this sort of thing. It is a common feeling; not so much resentful jealousy, but rather an unconscious awareness that they themselves could have done far better, if they had only put their minds to it. Indeed, this is the absolute truth of the matter. Each of us has potential access to infinite inner wisdom and unlimited potential. The power of a single person who accesses his/her full inner potential is beyond imagination. We have seen hints of what is possible. The stories of spiritual masters such as Jesus and Buddha, and more recently Gandhi, show the level of wisdom, charisma and sheer influence over large masses of people that is possible when self-mastery has been achieved. Secular examples of accessing our complete human potentiality include Thomas Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo. Of course, it is easy to raise these people up on pedestals and claim that we could never be like them. However, it is always the case that tremendous achievement is the result of single-minded dedication towards a desired goal. It is the result of accessing the hidden potentials that lie within. It has been truly said by Napoleon Hill, Earl Nightingale, and others that: "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve." Most of us have no trouble with the conceiving part of this formula. However, far fewer of use are able to believe what we can conceive, let alone put into practice a concerted plan for its attainment. Moreover, the idea that there lies within each human being untapped infinite potential is more than people are prepared to accept. In this "believe it when I see it" world we live in, the idea that anything significant or useful lies beyond waking consciousness is too much to swallow. Even spiritually oriented people may give intellectual assent to the idea, without actually believing it to be true of themselves. The Miracle Of The Human Brain The mind is a complex miracle. In the last few decades, scientists have learned a tremendous amount regarding both brain and mind. However, what we know is as nothing compared to what we do not. The more we discover, the more staggering the human psyche seems to be. Complex and creative, it always has a new surprise in store. The human brain is rapidly becoming one of the great marvels of the 20th century. Only in recent years have we come close to conceiving of its incredible potential. Earlier in the 20th century, Science believed that we utilize 50% of our brain capacity. In the 1960’s, this estimate was revised to 40%, and then it dropped again 20-30% in the 1970’s. By the 1980’s, we were down to somewhere between 5-20%. Current estimates indicate that the figure is actually closer to 1% or less! Doubtless, this figure too may be subject to revision in the future. So what is the rest of it doing? To all intents and purposes, our brains seem to be just coasting; marking time for some indefinite and mysterious purpose. We have yet to discover what that purpose is. Your brain is made up of a huge number of individual cells - 1,000,000,000,000 or more. Each brain cell possesses literally thousands of branches emanating from it; connecting it to thousands of adjacent brain cells to form an infinitely complex web. In a real sense, every brain cell is connected via this system to every other brain cell. This means that the brain has undreamed of potential. It is infinite in its capabilities. Brain expert, Tony Buzan, is fond of saying that the total number of thoughts which the human brain is capable of is the number 1 followed by 10.5 million kilometres of noughts! "No human yet exists who can use all the potential of his brain. This is why we don’t accept any pessimistic estimates of the limits of the human brain. It is unlimited!" (Professor Petr Anokhin, Russian Neuro-Psychologist)” The 7 Golden Secrets To Knowing Your Higher Self Asoka Selvarajah, Ph.D If this page was accessed during a web search you may wish to browse the sites listed below where this topic titled "The Modern Spiritual Dilemma" or related issues are discussed, commented, criticized or researched in detail to promote global peace, religious harmony, and spiritual development of humanity: http://www.adishakti.org/ http://www.al-qiyamah.org/ http://www.adi-shakti.org/ http://www.holyspirit-shekinah.org/ http://www.ruh-allah.org/ http://www.tao-mother.org/ http://www.aykaa-mayee.org/