Does spiritual development make us happier?
Posted on September 15, 2007
Filed Under Embrace Your Highest Path and Purpose, Releasing Limiting Beliefs, Spiritual Development |
Does spiritual development make us happier? I really don’t know. I keep encountering people that think if they work hard enough on themselves spiritually, they’ll automatically have infinite abundance, the perfect relationship, fulfillment in their career, and life will be full of roses. Problems will dissipate and obstacles will be effortlessly brushed aside. Oh, and physical illness simply won’t happen.
That’s not spiritual development - that’s spiritual escapism! If anything, once we surrender to the divine part of ourselves, our Higher Self, our awareness makes life more challenging in many ways. We can’t just turn a blind eye or cut corners. We know better, and to take shortcuts would mean lying to ourselves. We develop such an innate sense of right and wrong on our path that we simply cannot take the easy way out. Our Higher Self, once acknowledged, asserts itself into every aspect of our lives.
Meanwhile, as our vibration shifts and changes, we challenge everyone around us to enter into a new state of consciousness, also. And guess what - they don’t always like it! Family and friends do not always react kindly to our “state changes” as we pursue our path of spiritual development. Just as we are on a new “high,” drama will break out amongst loved ones, bringing us crashing down into physical reality.
Obstacles still arise. They challenge us differently, and we deal with them differently. We take responsibility for attracting them, and acknowledge our part in creating our life experiences, even if we don’t like them. That doesn’t make the obstacles disappear. Now we just have a new level of awareness with which to appreciate them. And sometimes, taking responsibility for our part can be a bitter pill to swallow.
So why do we passionately pursue our spiritual development? Because, once acknowledged, our Higher Self, our Soul being, cannot be denied. Once on the path of spiritual growth, it’s hard to to quit! In the early stages we may try. I know I tried to bury my head in the sands of unconsciousness more than once or twice. But try as we might, we can’t run away from the divine within us.
I’m trying to think if I’m happier now than when I was eight years ago, when a friend handed me a book and I jumped down the rabbit hole of spiritual development. I’m not sure, to be honest. All I know, with absolute and utter certainty, is that I would not choose unconsciousness over awareness. I know I’m not getting off this wild ride, even if I were given the chance.
Has your spiritual journey led to more happiness? What do you think?
Blessings,
Andrea Hess
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12 Responses to “Does spiritual development make us happier?”
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Develop Your Intuition!
Great question, Andrea, you know what I think?
I don’t think that “happy” is quite the “right” goal. In the opening of your article you list all the things great things that might come from achieving spiritual development — actually, many of those wonderful, nicey-nice joys and accomplishments are available to anyone — I’d say those are the easy things to have.
To borrow a concept from Alice Walker “possessing the secret of joy” is more about being able to handle the horrible stuff. I believe my faith makes the difficult stuff “okay” — it allows me to have joy and peace, despite living with a terminal illness.
Like many people, I credit confronting my mortality in the worst way with the boost of spiritual energy and resolve that changes my life. On many levels, surviving the most devastating aspects of life — the awful stuff — are where I have found the most peace and the secret windows to joy.
I’m not here to be happy, I’m here to choose joy whether I’m “happy” or not.
I don’t know about happier either. I feel more energized when I am on the path to my highest purpose. I think not being on that path may be responsible for a lot of my depression. Being fully connected to my higher self lets me know sooner when I’ve strayed off the path. The challenges do get… well, more challenging but the solutions come without quite so much banging of my head against walls. I don’t want off this ride either.
Well said, Slade.
As Eckhart Tolle said in his book, The Power of Now, happiness is conditional; peace is not. On the basis of peace, we give love, and find joy when love is returned. And then we move on.
Happy or not, we’re here to inform our actions with peace; we’re here to love and be loved. Joy is the fruit of love; we find and follow our bliss through joy in response to love.
But here’s the kicker: to appreciate peace, love, joy, and bliss, we need (at the very least) to acknowledge their absence when we sense a need for their presence, and we need (at the very least) to acknowledge their opposites when they intrude on our peace of mind.
Slade - great point. I don’t think that “happy” is the right goal, either. I think embracing spirituality does give us more clarity to choose how we handle, as you say, the horrible stuff. Congratulations on finding joy, even within what some would consider devastating. That is inspiring! (And speaking of inspiration - did you notice that I’m asking for comments? All your influence …
David - I love it! Yes, fewer headaches from that head-banging …
Christos - thank you for your beautiful comment. You are right - we must acknowledge all of it to fully appreciate all of it.
Andrea,
Yes, of course I noticed your invitation to engage your readers — and how could I not practice what I preach?
: )
Hi Andrea,
I liked your truth there. I am only going to speak from personal experience here. I would pinpoint the beginning of my ’spiritual development’ to be just over 8 years ago. I would say that for the majority of that 8 years life was definitely harder for me than any of my years prior to that. However, there was always an incentive to keep going because the rewards of doing the work were also clear to me (though at the worst times they werent). Now I feel my life is changing in a big way, I feel I have reached, or am very close to reaching a ‘tipping point’ where I am beginning to reap the benefits of the work in a big way. I would say that the quality of my life is going to be better than its EVER been before. And theres no more work to be done! Hope all is well,
Regards,
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
So glad to hear that things are going wonderfully for you. No more work to be done, huh? I don’t think I’ll ever be able to claim that one for myself, although why not hold space for the possibility, right? And perhaps “evolution” and “work” don’t have to be the same thing …
Blessings,
Andrea
I believe our task is not to seek love or happiness, but rather, to seek out and eliminate all the barriers within that we’ve constructed to forget joy or keep joy away. Rather than confirm whet we already know is true, its our real quest to seek out and identify what is false.
A wise one once told me, spiritual development is like the Extreme Sport. It’s exhilarating but full of bruises. We can only truly enjoy the ride after it’s stopped. Happiness does come on my process when I stop to smell the roses once in a while. Happiness is not my goal, it is just the affect of what you try to develop spiritually. Just think of our Spirit or Soul is just energy, and that energy is Unconditional Love or God. When we discover what we are, happiness and all what you call escapism come naturally, there is no other choice.
Hi Tuan,
Sorry Andrea, hope its ok to use your blog to say hello to an old friend. How are you? I left the old site at about the time you did. Would love to find out how your getting on. I am doing great! If you fancy it sometime drop me a line on andygillies85@hotmail.com. And if you dont fancy it thats ok too, wishing you all the best. Love to you Andrea as well.
Love Andy
P.S Hope this is the same Tuan I knew haha
Tuan - I agree, all the “good stuff” that comes with spiritual development definitely unfolds on its own. But I do think a lot of people seek out spiritual development just for the benefits, but shy away from the extreme sports (love that analogy, by the way! It DOES feel like that!). Then again, I suppose it doesn’t matter why people get on a spiritual path - as long as we get there, right?
Andrew - yes, of course, feel free
Hey Andy, it is me. Such a small world :=). You know who is that wise man that I talk about? That is you. You once told Spirituality is like Extreme Sport. I definately drop you a line. great to meet you again old friend.
Tuan