how to become more spiritual

How To Become More Spiritual…
7 Mistakes People Make

Being Spiritual is misunderstood. It is often confused with religion, or meditation, or psychics and more. Spirituality is not about any of those things. This post explores some of the most obvious mistakes people make. Spirituality is about one very simple thing, and this one thing is all-encompassing, ultimately involving every aspect of our lives.

The Belief That Spirituality is Difficult
Body, Mind, Spirit
Allowing Thoughts to Consume Us
Succumbing to the Ego self
Looking Outside for Answers
Religion
Meditation

Mistake 1: The Belief That Spirituality is Difficult. It's Simpler Than Most Realize

Spirituality is not difficult. In the interest of full disclosure, though, like all things of value, it does require consistency, diligence, and follow-through. But this is just discipline and does not make Spirituality, itself, difficult.

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There's a reason that Spirituality is easy, and this is something everyone should know. Even those who have no interest in Spirituality should know this, and it might be a shocking revelation to some.

Here it is: You are already Spiritual, even if you don't think about or actively practice Spirituality in any way. You are a Spiritual being, Spiritual in nature. The fact that you are alive and breathing makes you Spiritual.

Mistake 2: Body, Mind, Spirit

The second mistake many people make is this: they believe we are physical beings that have a soul or a spirit. This is false. It's a misunderstanding encouraged by the Ego self.

Here's the truth: You are not a body with a soul or spirit.

You are a Spirit, a very powerful Spirit, that currently lives in a physical body. If your Spirit were not in your body, your body would become lifeless. It is your Spirit which gave life to the body and which keeps it alive each moment of each day.

Key Takeaway...

"You are a Spirit with a body...
You are not a body with a soul or spirit."

Making this slight shift in understanding will go a long way toward increasing your Spiritual understanding and will lead to higher consciousness.

Mistake 3: Allowing Our Thoughts to Consume Us

We make things complicated. That's just what human's like to do.

We like puzzles and moving through the maze of life is an enticing, often seductive challenge. But, there's another reason.

Complicated things are a distraction, keeping our brain overly active with extraneous thoughts. This is a ploy used by the Ego self.

Keeping the brain busy empowers the Ego self. It diverts our attention from the inner selves – where it should be – and allows the Ego self to gain influence over our opinions, choices, and actions.

Mistake 4: Succumbing to the Ego self

The Ego self takes control of our thoughts to create a powerful alliance – the Ego self/brain alliance. And, we let this happen. It tricks us into seeing and believing things as it perceives them, and these perceptions aren't necessarily based in reality.

We often see the world through a self-created, delusional fog. This is one of the sneaky ways the Ego self controls us. It uses our thoughts to keep us in a state of inner confusion.

This fog creates an additional problem. It creates distractions which stops us from seeing and believing real truths that should be obvious; simple truths that are hidden in plain sight. This resistance to reality is created by the Ego self.

Key Takeaway...

"The Ego self is sneaky. It wants to control us. It uses our thoughts to distract and keep us in a state of inner confusion."

The Ego self doesn't like to be wrong and it will do everything it can to prove that it is right, and this includes deliberately distorting our view of reality and even lying to us. It will intentionally distort our view of the world.

Removing the distorted shadows the Ego self casts upon reality doesn't have to be difficult. For most people, though, it is difficult, because they don't realize that the Ego self is lurking in the background, working its dark magic to control our thoughts and perceptions.

This is why developing inner awareness is so important.

Mistake 5: Looking Outside for Answers

In its simplest form, developing awareness of the inner selves is exactly what Spirituality is all about.

When one lacks this awareness, the awareness of the inner selves, it is impossible to know when the Ego self is playing its games.

This is what all the Enlightened Masters and Teachers meant when they characterized most people as being ' asleep' . Asleep, in this context, simply means no awareness of the inner selves.

Key Takeaway...

"When one lacks the awareness of the inner selves, it is impossible to know when the Ego self is playing its games."

The inner selves and our inner world is the true reality.

So, those who are asleep go through life unaware that the Ego self is imposing its fear-based energy upon us, clouding our perceptions of realty and controlling our lives and, thus, the happiness, success, and love we're able to experience. Perception of reality becomes our reality.

It doesn't have to be that way. Awareness is the key. And Spirituality is all about developing inner awareness, the awareness of the inner selves, of which there are 4 different components.

Yes… 4. You are a more complex being than you might have imagined. Ultimately, developing this awareness is a simple process, even though most will find it challenging.

Mistake 6: Religion

The biggest misconception most people have is this: Religion equals Spirituality.

This is not necessarily true. First, to be Spiritual, there is no requirement to believe in, or practice any religion. That was at the heart of the message Jesus brought to the world. And, as noted above, you already are Spiritual.

Even more problematic, most religions no longer teach the nuts and bolts of Spirituality. They fail to teach how to be Spiritual, even though that is their sole purpose for existence.

But they do teach other things and these often divert attention from real Spirituality. That's a problem.

Key Takeaway...

"Good religious training is not about morals and moralistic teachings – good and bad. It is not about judgment of others."

The problem is magnified when people rely upon these teachings to help them, and are often disappointed when they don't. For example, they pray and pray and pray and pray, but rarely to they ever see results.

This is because they are missing a vital component: awareness of their inner selves and the knowledge to use these 4 components to create and build a better life filled with their desired experiences.

Good religious training is not about morals and moralistic teachings – what is good and what is bad. It is not about judgment of others.

All that really matter is becoming aware of, understanding, and developing a relationship with the inner selves.

We all have inner selves. And the components are the same for each of us. The differences people see with one another have to do with tastes, preferences, and experiences – past and present – and other factors.

But the 4 components within, the inner selves, are the same for everyone.

Religion is not necessary to be Spiritual or to advance in consciousness all the way to enlightenment.

Mistake 7: Meditation

Another misconception many have about Spirituality revolves around Meditation.

Practicing meditation does not make one Spiritual. Meditation is only a tool. When used properly and with the proper intent, it will help one be Spiritual.

But, simply sitting quietly to clear your mind, which is not a bad thing, is not necessarily being Spiritual.

Meditation for relaxation is great. It has tremendous value. I encourage it.

But, if you're goal is to increase your level of consciousness and to become a more Spiritual person, then there is more to it. Another element must be added to meditation.

Meditation does help one learn to clear the mind, to turn off all the internal chatter. This chatter is a distraction created by the Ego self.

The Ego self wants to keep you firmly in its grasp. It wants to control you and everything you do. It does this for protection.

The unknown is scary for the Ego self. It doesn't like scary, even when scary is the only way to obtain a goal the Ego self has created.

That sounds contradictory, I know. But it is true.

Key Takeaway...

"If you're goal is to increase your level of consciousness and to become a
more Spiritual person, another element must be added to meditation."

So, to keep you from doing things the Ego self finds frightening, it fills your brain with all sorts of thoughts. These distract you from the guidance of the True Self, which is another of the 4 components of your inner self.

Meditation can be used to quiet this chatter, the never-ending stream of thoughts that occupy one's attention. When we eliminate these distractions, there's room for other things.

To use meditation as a tool to increased awareness – to become more Spiritual – the goal and practice of becoming aware of the internal selves and reconnecting with them needs to be added. That's the key.

Do this and your meditation routine will become a powerful tool toward Spirituality.

Conclusions

These are some of the misconceptions many people have and the mistakes they make. It's not their fault. We've all been mislead.

The answers aren't out there. They are within. Turn within and you will find them. Inner awareness is the answer to all prayers.

The World Needs You. You, Need You...

Here's the thing... Everybody needs to know their Spiritual Selves. Reconnecting with that part of yourself - the real you - is the key to your happiness; to filling the whole, the void, many feel inside.

I'd like to help, if you'll let me. I've got plenty of free trainings, new articles, and new blog posts coming. If you'd like to learn more about Transformational Spirituality and your true potential, please join us. Click the button below the get started.

About Bruce

Bruce, Spiritual Teacher

Bruce is a published author, speaker, student/teacher of Spirituality, and founder of The Spiritual Workshop. Beginning in the 1980's, he was guided to look inside for his answers and information and is now teaching the Wisdom gained and the processes for introspective self-learning.