The world is coming to a spiritual awakening. If you look around you, people from all walks of life are becoming more conscious of the spiritual side of themselves. They are asking questions such as: 'What is going to be like when we leave this world?', 'Are we going to a place where we would finally rest in peace?', 'What is heaven like?', 'Is there life after death?'
Countless books with eye-catching titles on spiritual matters, mind control, religion and other new-age science have mushroomed over the last decade. And more is on the way.
As I see it, humans are gradually tuning in to the 'one source' that has always been there. It is the silent, unspoken, ever-present intelligence that is pervading the ether.
This ever-present intelligence is known by many names throughout the religious and spiritual communities. Some people call it The Universal Intelligence, The Ultimate Reality, Oneness. Others may know it as The Formless, The Unborn, Cosmic Consciousness, even God.
Spiritual and religious books say that the name for this 'unknown reality' or 'intelligence' is really not that important. It is just a label we put on something. In some spiritual books it is said that in actuality we do not know what it is. Have you ever asked the question, 'Why do we call a tree 'A Tree?'' If you sit down and ponder, you would realize that we could in fact call it anything we want. How about calling a dog 'a cat' instead? If we have been taught to call a dog 'a cat', then this would become the permanent label we carry with us in our life.
Language is indeed needed as a means to convey ideas and meanings in life but it is not an end in itself nor is it an absolute truth in some ways. As we must have read in so many books, the adept or the saint could not use words to describe the spiritual experience he was undergoing. Words simply failed to put a specific finger on the unknown reality and label it. As some scriptures say, the unknown reality cannot be labeled. Once it is labeled, it is no longer unknown. This is a paradox and I believe that you would only know the answer once you have experienced it.
So, if you look at 'a tree' and take away the label, what do you see? I have a friend who had expressed shock to me when I posed that question about the tree to him. He replied to me with a puzzled look: 'If that is not a tree, then what do you call it?' I simply told him to call it whatever he liked. We laughed.
I have always believed that truth (or whatever you may like to call it) is within our reach. Adepts and saints have spoken about it since immemorial time and modern spiritual teachers have stated that you do not need to go to the mountain top to meditate in order to realize truth. They say that you only need to turn your attention inwards to focus there. They go on to say that many people ignore this and still think that truth is found somewhere outside of themselves.
Let me share with you my experience with nature. Whenever I feel a need to relax or let go, I would go down to the small garden in front of my flat and walk among nature. I usually do it between the hours of 5.30 am and 6.30 am when the air is fresh and the neighborhood is still quiet. I take a casual walk among the trees and shrubs, just breathing in and out normally. I may occasionally choose to stop at a big clump of shrub and take long breaths of air, filling my lungs with the essence of the morning. I just stand still and silence my thoughts, concentrating on my breathing. I do not put any pressure on myself, taking the breath one at a time, enjoying the serenity of the morning air.
If I do it properly without any distraction, I can actually sense a feeling of awe and respect for nature. Peace and tranquility would descend upon me for those few minutes. My mind is at peace with the world and myself! I do not feel any more 'ceaseless chattering' in my mind. In place of it, I would suddenly realize that I am actually 'a vortex of energy' living in a world filled with the same energy everywhere - the trees and plants have it, the immobile stone is imbued with it, our thoughts come from this energy. I can feel this every time I close my eyes and be still.
I am sure that this is not new to anyone. We know about it consciously or unconsciously. Some of us are more fully aware of it than others and have turned it to their advantage. They have learned to harness it to improve their lives while others have explored it further to try and find the 'enlightenment' that would one day burst into their consciousness.
Whatever the reason is, I believe that we are now on the threshold of the most exciting time of spiritual awakening and development. The 'vortex of energy' that is buzzing throughout the invisible ether is expanding and reaching out to every one of us. All we need to do is to tap into it.
We have read on the internet and in books that there are many people who have experienced spiritual awareness of some sort. It may be still some time before we find another 'Buddha' or 'Christ' among us but at this moment people are beginning to realize that there is more than just striving for a livelihood and raising children.