Spiritual Forum

The following was written by Wes Annac for the ‘planetary healing’ section of The Aquarius Paradigm Weekly Newsletter.

Lately, I’ve been talking a lot about enlightenment as a means to heal the planet, and like I mentioned last week, this is because I think it’s important. I created this planetary healing segment with the goal of exploring some of the ways we can heal this world physically, but I’ll admit that these days, I feel led to talk about enlightenment and becoming aware of spirit.

I’m convinced that finding enlightenment is one of the best ways for us to really change the planet, and I’d like to devote as many segments as possible to discussing it. You’d think that only so much could be said about enlightenment, but the spiritual teachers of our past have given us more information about it than most of us think.

Enlightenment is a complex, multi-level process that entails complete spiritual evolution, and it goes without saying that becoming enlightened leads us to raise the vibration of the world around us. As we evolve, we naturally affect those around us who haven’t yet discovered everything the divine has to offer.

This week, I’d like to talk about the near intoxication that comes with rediscovering spirit in a big way. When we reach a certain level of consciousness, we’ll be practically giddy with love and joy, and this’ll be a result of the blissful and ecstatic realms we’ll exist in.

The higher dimensions brim with a level of happiness that hasn’t been experienced on the earth in a long time, and the feelings we’ll gain when we rediscover Source in all of its bounty will wash over us with ferocity, leading us to marvel at the perfection of all creation.

We’ll enjoy the world around us when we open up to the brimming states of consciousness spirit has to offer, and it feels good to be happy and lively in a place that can be painful. We don’t have to let the difficulty of this experience bring us down, and if we do, we’ll only make this existence worse for ourselves and everyone we intend to help.

We can be on a constant cloud of happiness and satisfaction if we let ourselves, but if we toil in uninspired unawareness, we’ll run the risk of being lost in the darkness we’re here to uplift. Let’s each be a strong force for spirit in this new era, and as we heal the planet, let’s keep in mind that we’re supposed to enjoy our work.

We have to feel passionate about everything we do, because we can’t produce anything of significance if we don’t enjoy the work along the way.

In our first quote for this week’s segment, Paramahansa Ramakrishna tells us how discovering the divine can initially make us feel.

“When a man has performed many good actions in his previous births, in the final birth he becomes guileless. In the final birth he acts something like a madcap.” (1)

What this means is that we might be so giddy with divine energy at first that we seem loopy or reckless to people around us who don’t understand what’s going on. Discovering spirit in a big way will open us up to unprecedented happiness, and we might display that happiness in a less inhibited way when we feel it on a greater level.

I look forward to being in a place of constant joy, and I definitely look forward to everyone else being there with me. It’s our nature to be filled with love, and humanity is on a fast track to returning to this way of life.

Ramakrishna also tells us that we can’t attain enlightenment if we don’t enjoy our ascent.

“Those fools who will not sing, or dance, mad with God’s name, will never attain God.” (2)

It’s important for us to celebrate the vibrancy of our existence, for in doing so, we’ll contribute to it. In whatever way works best for us, we’re encouraged to show joyful appreciation for the spirituality of our existence and enjoy the perception we gain along the way.

The divine is calling us to remember it, and enthusiastic celebration will help us do so in greater measures. We have so much to be thankful for in this evolving reality, because in every moment, we can seek and remember Source. At all times, we can feel and understand the truth of our existence in a simple way.

We make our lives difficult by refusing to live in a place of heart-driven simplicity. Only from this place can we sing our praises and make the best of our experiences, and we’re always given help to remember that life is supposed to be enjoyed.

As we’re told below, focusing our thoughts entirely on spirit doesn’t entail any form of deranged detachment from the physical.

“Some people think that by thinking of God too much the mind becomes deranged; but that is not true.” (3)

In my opinion, we can never think of spirit too much. Even when we’re occupied with other things that have nothing to do with the divine, it can always be on our minds. We can always remember that the divine is with us and focus our thoughts and feelings on it, and the more we do, the more we’ll be able to feel it.

Spirit is all around us, and the only thing that determines our ability to connect with it is the effort we make. If we seek to connect with spirit continuously, then eventually, we won’t need to seek it at all. It’ll flow to us easily, and some of us are already being called to surrender the mind and let spirit take the wheel.

Ramakrishna tells us about more of the qualities of the newly awakened.

“A man who has seen God sometimes behaves like a madman: he laughs, weeps, dances, and sings. Sometimes he behaves like a child, a child five years old — guileless, generous, without vanity, unattached to anything, not under the control of any of the gunas, always blissful.” (4)

He continues: “Sometimes he behaves like a ghoul: he doesn’t differentiate between things pure and things impure; he sees no difference between things clean and things unclean. And sometimes he is like an inert thing, staring vacantly: he cannot do any work; he cannot strive for anything.” (5)

Personally, I think we have the choice as to which road we take when we see Source in a big way. We can go about our awakening with a level of maturity and readiness to handle what comes our way, but it makes sense that along the way, the things we perceive could lead us to act batty at first.

Think about it – we’re going to perceive some pretty incredible things in the higher realms, some of which will be experienced right here on earth.

In an inspirational quote, Ramakrishna tells us that he wasn’t afraid to speak the truth when he started to find enlightenment.

“In that state of God-intoxication I used to speak out my mind to all. I was no respecter of person. Even to men of position I was not afraid to speak the truth.” (6)

Ramakrishna’s boldness displays that we don’t have to hide what we think and feel from the world, and I think we should all cultivate this level of strength and assuredness of what exists beyond this reality.

We can stand strong in our spirituality and be as vocal about it as we want, because in the end, everyone will remember and openly talk about spirit. I’ve said before that a worldwide awakening is inevitable, and the result will be an enthusiastic populace openly discussing the truth of our existence.

Mahendranath Gupta tells us about the intoxicating love Ramakrishna was able to feel, which, on one occasion, spread to a few of his devotees.

“Sri Ramakrishna was completely intoxicated with divine love. The devotees felt its contagion and danced with the Master in an ecstasy of love.” (7)

I firmly believe that the intense love spirit has to offer can be felt by those around us if they’re open to receive it, and enlightenment can never be avoided. Eventually, everyone will remember spirit, and the love we feel and express now will be used to help others awaken in their own time.

Gupta then tells us more about the intense love Ramakrishna and his devotees were able to feel.

“A strange transformation came over the devotees. They all became mad, as it were, with divine ecstacy. … Vijay was first on his feet, carried away by divine intoxication. … The younger Naren and Latu went into deep samadhi.” (8)

He continues: “The atmosphere of the room became electric. Everyone felt the presence of God. … After a while, as they came down, some laughed and some wept. An outsider, entering the room, would have thought that a number of drunkards were assembled there.” (9)

From what’s said here, it wouldn’t surprise me if an outsider assumed the blissed-out devotees to be intoxicated. I’ve experienced some pretty incredible meditations, but I haven’t felt anything near the strength of a collective experience of love. Multiple people were able to be uplifted by one person, and this shows us that spirit is strong.

Rediscovering spirit will, at times, breed a sense of uplifted liberation that’ll make us want to express what we’re feeling to anyone who cares to hear, and our work to awaken others will increase the greater energy we’re able to feel. As long as we keep our hearts open and our minds on spirit, we’ll experience the exuberant states of consciousness it has to offer.

As long as we keep at our effort to rediscover the divine and help everyone else do the same, the wonders that lie ahead will become much easier to feel. We’re working to restore the earth and realign with a greater way of life, and it’s important that we do so joyously.

We have to enjoy ourselves on this planet, because if we don’t, we won’t be able to do anything of significant value. We’re always encouraged to challenge ourselves with new projects, works, etc. that are intended to benefit others, and we can feel free to express the unbridled joy rediscovering spirit breeds.

Footnotes:

(1) Swami Nikhilananda, trans., The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1978; c1942, 783.

(2) Ibid., 186.

(3) Ibid., 108.

(4) Ibid., 265. The gunas are the cosmic forces of creation (rajas), preservation (sattwa), and transformation (thamas).

(5) Loc. cit.

(6) Ibid., 118.

(7) Ibid., 807.

(8) Ibid., 884.

(9) Loc. cit.

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This concludes this week’s planetary healing.