The mystical path of spiritual exploration and transformation is a topic that interests many people. It is the basis for developing an authentic spiritual quest. There are two major spiritual pathways. You can join a religion or create your own path, the “truth-seekers path.” See why creating your own path is better than joining a religion.
Almost half of the world’s population follows one of the main organized religions. Every believer will tell you their path is the only one that is right. Every religious believer is sure their path is the only right path, but this conclusion is an illogical assumption.
Pathway To Spiritual Understanding
If you choose to follow one of the organized religions, you have many options. Every one of the 10,000 variations of organized religions is mutually exclusive from the others. They each claim that their path is the only correct path. So either they are all wrong, or only one is correct. It is least likely only one is right, which means non-of them is the correct choice.
Many people do not believe organized religion has the correct answers to the authentic spiritual quest. More and more are venturing on their own to seek other ways to find the pathway to spiritual understanding and growth. We think this is the better choice, so how do you do it?
The Truth-Seekers Path
Let’s break down the way we use these terms.
Truth is something that is based on facts. A seeker is someone searching for something. So, a truth-seeker is a person searching for facts and evidence.
Spirituality is the study of everything involving the Spirit or Soul, the life force or consciousness behind our awareness. In contrast, religion is the belief in mythology and superstition.
Exploration infers an activity of investigation and examination and searching.
The word mystical refers to things of mystery, and mystics explore the mysteries and mystical things in life. The path refers to the direction you are taking.
There is nothing more mysterious than the inner world of consciousness. Exploring this landscape is the domain of mystics and truth-seekers. We use the terms spiritual and exploration to honor the pioneers of these processes, and it also describes the purpose of these methods and their goals. The mystical path of spiritual exploration and transformation meets our inherent need to explore who we are. It is the pathway to spiritual understanding and development.
People often confuse spirituality with religion, but they are not the same things. Religion is the belief in myth and superstition. Spirituality has to do with exploring your essence and living in harmony.
Religion uses spiritual language to make their myths sound spiritual, but myths are not spiritual; they are make-believe stories about fictional people and events. In comparison, spirituality is the focus on the human spirit and soul. In modern terms, this is our ego and consciousness. You explore the spirit or consciousness with processes, not by the belief in gods and devils.
“And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against any idea, religion, or government that limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about.” — John Steinbeck
Consciousness Exploration and Development
The processes for investigating and developing your consciousness have nothing to do with the belief in mythology and superstition. Using tools to explore consciousness is the true pathway to spiritual understanding and personal growth.
Every person is different, so the approach needs to be individualized and uniquely tailored to fit the individual. We each have different gifts and abilities locked away in our DNA. But you don’t need to join a religion; you need the tools to unlock these gifts. We don’t need to have an imaginary friend; we need the tools to open the doors of consciousness.
“Does religion fill a much-needed gap? It is often said that there is a God-shaped gap in the brain that needs to be filled. We have a psychological need for God — imaginary friend, father, big brother, confessor, confidant — and the need has to be satisfied whether God really exists or not. But could it be that God clutters up a gap that we’d be better off filling with something else? Science, perhaps? Art? Human friendship? Humanism? Love of this life in the real world, giving no credence to other lives beyond the grave?” — Richard Dawkins
Thankfully, many ancient cultures were more concerned with unlocking the secrets of the mind rather than creating mythology to trick people out of their hard-earned cash. Many cultures spend considerable time and resources developing repeatable processes for investigating awareness and consciousness.
Their efforts stand the test of time. They devised methods that open the doorway to higher states of consciousness. These tools are safe and effective for investigating consciousness “spiritual technologies.
The Mystical Path of Spiritual Exploration and Transformation
The truth-seekers path is about exploring consciousness. It is all about using tools to explore and develop your body, mind, and soul. It is about becoming a better person. It has nothing to do with belief in imaginary friends and enemies.
Anyone can create their own pathway to spiritual understanding. All you need to do is learn some of the basic tools for exploring consciousness. For example, children as young as two can use the simple two-step beginning mediation. It’s like following the recipe for baking a cake. You get something delicious if you combine the right ingredients in the right way.
We divide these tools into four major categories:
Each of these categories contains several methods that are proven to be safe and effective. People have some common questions about using them. Here’s the list of frequently asked questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) Can these techniques be used and still follow my current religious beliefs? Yes. You don’t need belief to use a process. However, your religion may not want you to investigate anything outside its boundaries. Some religions are very protective of their membership. Depending on how integrated they are into the culture, you may need to be careful with whom you share your ideas about forging a unique path. The mystical path of spiritual exploration and transformation is something organized can’t control. Organized religions see it as competition for their paying customers.
“My view is that organized religion is a very dangerous tool that’s been misused by a lot of people.” — Stephen King
2) If I want to use them, where should I start? Good question. We have several articles to help you pick the right source, teacher, and method to begin your journey. You can start right now by using a journal. It’s the first tool we recommend. Start writing. Ask yourself where you are now and where you want to go. Ask yourself about the obstacles you need to overcome.
Here are some more helpful resources:
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- How to Start Your Spiritual Journey
- Finding the Right Spiritual Teacher
- The First Tool, the Spiritual Journal
- Automatic Writing
- The Emotional Check-in Process
- The Shamanic Journey
3) Which of these tools is best for opening my spiritual gifts? Everyone is different. Your gifts are unique, and so are the available options for finding these tools. Your pathway to spiritual understanding will be unique and authentic.
4) What are the most common obstacles to using these methods and creating a unique spiritual path? There are three:
1- The most obvious obstacle is getting sidetracked by organized religion. Following a religion is not the truth-seeker’s path. Rather it is the submission to the hypnotic power of superstition. From the picture above (1), you’ll see that those who do not follow one of the organized religions make up about one-eighth of the world population. Islam is one of the three Abrahamic religions, Christianity, and Judaism. Islam is the fastest-growing organized religion because it controls the cultural narrative in the middle east. Violence makes people unwilling to convert.
2- Harmful thoughts and beliefs come from two primary sources, the unhealthy aspects of our personalities/instincts and the cultural narrative. The latter includes the prejudice of the dominant religious paradigm. Organized religion is the source of harmful thoughts and values that hinder solving global problems.
3- Psychological barriers. It is hard to live a life without encountering harmful situations. These can leave mental scars that create obstacles to our development.
5) Will using these processes help me find my spirituality? Yes. That is the goal. The objective is to find your personal truth, unique gifts, and path.
6) Is spiritual faith the same as “spiritual exploration?” In a strict sense, no. Faith is a term describing belief in religious dogma. Religions try to reframe the term spiritual and associate it with their ideology.
Exploring your spirituality has nothing to do with religious doctrine, belief, or faith. These are all counterfeits for the authentic spiritual path. A glance at the lives depicted in the most popular religions reveals that the way to find spirituality is by doing it on your own. Jesus rejected Judaism to find enlightenment in the wilderness. Likewise, Buddha found enlightenment in meditation, not by memorizing religious texts.
In Conclusion
The truth-seekers path is the mystical path of spiritual exploration and transformation. You decide what tools to explore consciousness. You don’t need faith or belief in imaginary beings to be a spiritual explorer.
Organized religions would like to define spiritual exploration as the belief in their doctrines. But they are wrong. The mystical path is a journey into consciousness, not mythology or superstition.
We hope this article provides some food for thought. If you have comments or questions, contact us.
References
(1) The Pew Research Organization, The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050.
