The importance of the physical

It is often said that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience. For some reason so many "spiritual" people tend to ignore the physical part of this statement. For years I've been trying to find ecstasy, bliss, energy highs and all kinds of ethereal experiences through meditation, magick, or whatever modality was going at the moment. This entire search boiled down to one thing: Life in this body is not enough. Upon reflection I would have done better if I had just shot myself and returned to the spiritual realm. Since Divine Openings I have come to realize that this life is very much about the physical. The point of spirituality is not escaping the world but embracing it fully. There is no point in being able to dance with the Angels if you cannot appreciate the beauty of a flower or enjoy the movement of your body.

I guess one reason why we so often want to escape physical existence is because it can be hard. Hard doesn't have to include suffering though. The hardness of physical life provides contrast that allows us to savor the pleasures life have to offer so much more. It is also crucial to realize that there is a vast difference between a hard (or painful) experience and the concept of suffering. Pain is part and parcel of life but suffering doesn't need to be. In fact, suffering is something only the mind can do. It is when we start complaining bitterly about pain and hardship and get lost in victimhood that mere pain turns into suffering. Pain is also something transient whereas suffering can be eternal if we choose to keep focusing on the pains of yesterday.

The longer I stay on this path of Divine Openings, or the journey to enlightenment, the more I'm beginning to realize that there is a reason to be here in my body. I can do things here that is simply not possible for a spirit floating around in pure bliss. All the pain in this world is more than worth it if I think of the much bigger pleasures of stroking my little girl's hair, eating a tasty meal, relishing the movement of my muscles or feeling the warmth of a summer breeze.

I invite you to embrace your physical experience. Nuf said: Now, go do some push-ups!

You have to start somewhere

I was born human. I then became a Christian. I eventually rebelled (as do most teens). I became a pagan, a magician, a Buddhist, a Hindu, an atheist, a....whatever. The one thing life taught me to lose was me; my instincts, my feelings, my ability to experience the moment fully. I became angry, I became sad, I lost all hope and I lost all feeling. I became a robotic number in service of society. I'm gradually waking up and I'm liking it. I am feeling again, experiencing again, noticing that I am alive again. I am beginning to notice other humans again. I am noticing that they are VERY hard on themselves...trying to be super-beings, non-human, alien, cyborg beings who feel no pain. I am wanting to look into their very human eyes and shake them loose from the confines of being a slave to perfection. I am wishing for them to find their very imperfections and savor them. When you die (and this depends on your religious or spiritual bias) you will either:

1. Just cease
2. Go to heaven
3. Go to hell
4. Merge with eternal bliss

All of the above sounds boring to me. Why not rather savor the exquisite contrasts offered by life? Why not just breathe and deeply feel both the animal nature of your body and the deep desires of your consciousness? If I have to put this in the simplest terms I would say: Take a deep breath, open your eyes and notice that you are alive!