My spiritual blog & articles - My Spiritual Coach

What was it about your spiritual awakening experience that allowed you to connect so deeply with your guides/spirits?

1/2/2023

It was actually through my Spirit Guides or angels that I became connected to the vast unseen realm of infinity and eternity.

I was four years old when both of my parents were afflicted with fatal illnesses (a brain tumor and pernicious anemia—both considered un-healable at the time in Brazil). And so I was left in the hands of caretakers who were sometimes neither kind nor honest. I began to play a game—if God is everywhere, let’s see if I can hide from Him. I discovered I couldn’t. That God, the Holy Spirit, the Source of All That Is, the Eternal One is indeed everywhere.

Just then, by grace, guides and angels visited. I needed them badly and they appeared with comfort,, compassion, love, and a sense of peace. They were not embodied. They were energy and waves of peace. Turmoil was around me, I had found the eye of the storm. I knew They were there and all I had to do, any time of the day or night, was let them in, acknowledge them, and thank them. They transferred their wisdom and deep knowing to me and they have been my companions ever since.

This was different from a child’s make-believe friends. I had them too and they were fun in a child’s world. But this was something much more profoundly touching. I wouldn’t be able to put words to what happened until I was 12 years old and began reading Alan Watt’s writings and other mostly Eastern approaches to the deeper questions of life and death.

And so, since I was four years old, my view of life is that we are in the Physical now, yet we are also connected to the endless power and beauty of the Universe. The messengers of this realization were my guides. Since then, I have added many more to the “team.” Beautiful Souls that have left their physical forms are still there for me—only they are not in the physical any more. This makes them stronger for me than even when they were alive, in terms of their wisdom and power.

And so it was my guides that initiated me into a life-long devotion to the underlying Wholeness of the Universe. Spirituality has been my biggest love, without which, the daily chores of bodily maintenance and taking care of business would be akin to an insect mechanically going about self-preservation. I would be busy and accomplish things but at base would be a meaninglessness and fear that would make life more pointless than beautiful.

This doesn’t mean I am a saint or don’t feel any of the negative emotions that cause suffering. It only means that my guides are clearly there for me. Inasmuch as I am willing to let them in, they impart everything I ever need to feel the profound beauty of the Soul. They came to me through grace and mercy and I am grateful for them.

Have you ever had an interaction with a guru that left you feeling changed or enlightened?

12/1/2022

I was walking through the forest in Rishikesh, in the foothills of the Himalayas, when I encountered a solitary, old sadhu. I had been walking all over India, from Kerala in the South all the way as far north as I could get. Until that time, I had not felt as powerful a presence as I felt with this man.

He told me of his daily routine, which consisted of arising at 4:00AM and beginning his meditation. His servant went down to the Ganges to get water for his tea. And wood with which to boil the water. It was a simple life and he was happy, in a serene way that I could feel in the air around him.

He conveyed his teachings to me wordlessly, for my Hindi and Sanskrit were lacking in some respects. But in his case, I didn’t need language.

I don’t even know his name.

The next day, I went to that same area of the forest. Or, at least I thought it was the same place. But there wasn’t even a trace of him, his fire, his hut. Nothing. I tried the next day, thinking I had taken a mistaken path, but no. Nobody. It was a one-day occurrence from which I osmotically received the powerful vibrations of this being.

And he has affected me ever since.

What is your opinion on the spiritual state of California and other parts of America?

11/22/2022

I was surprised to find, when I lived in California recently, a wasteland of spirituality. The symbols are there, but they are for show, or possibly good luck. For example, many well-decorated houses have statues of the Buddha. And people wear jewelry with all kinds of symbols, such as the ankh and the Hamsa hand. They use spiritual terms, such as “vibrations,” “cosmic,” but they are labels for superstitions. The Californians I met did not spend too much time contemplating the meaning behind the symbols and words.

The symbols are for good luck: For financial gain and survival. If I have a statue of Shiva, I will attract all the good stuff I want in life. I want to look cool and enlightened, so I will dress this way to send the signal. The spiritual-sounding terms have become slang and over-inflated, as have the words, “epic,” and “awesome.” “This pizza is awesome!”

I participated in very few conversations involving the nature of consciousness. or anything other than body maintenance, house maintenance, dog and pet maintenance, politics, and health practices such as exercise or food. Politics was a big topic for many people. Very few people showed even an interest in deep contemplation of the Source Energy of the Universe, cosmology, or metaphysics.

I say I was surprised to find that California was a spiritual wasteland because it had been the womb of so many spiritually advanced movements: From introducing Yogananda and the practice of yoga to the US, to the obviously spiritually-oriented sixties and such luminaries as Alan Watts. I was expecting to find people sitting around in Berkeley, strumming guitars and singing Kumbaya. What I found was the devastation of homelessness and the hopelessness it represents on many of the streets, including of course, in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It is hopelessness that hangs in the air, rather than spiritual upliftment.

These are overall impressions and experiences gathered over the five years I lived there. I had relationships of the heart that I will always hold dear. And many people expressed kindness and love. But spirituality, no. Talk about meditation and yoga, yes. But these are practices to get something. They are to get fitter, look better, get peaceful, or have some me-time. The core of why they came into being has been lost. For example, the flocks of people who go to whatever yoga is big at the time. It’s all about what’s popular and what feels good to the “little me.”

The “little me” in California is also running scared about aging and any bodily flaws or perceived imperfections. Therefore, time that could be used for understanding who we are as eternal Souls, is spent on getting every possible body part fixed so we can fool ourselves that we will never die. Or we can display to others how we have it all together, when in fact we are terrified.

As for the rest of the nation, spiritually conscious beings exist in every state. They may not make a big display of it and they live quietly or even boisterously. They may not belong to a group, which at base has nothing to do with spirituality and much to do with conditioning, fear, and the need for structure. But, in general, the entire world consists of over 8 billion people, all striving to stay alive. We are not at the stage in our evolution for world-wide understanding of our inner being and its connection to All That Is. The state of the world of humans is a testimony to this.

How can you tell if a spiritual teacher is genuine or not?

11/14/2022

The spiritual teacher is a vessel for Divine wisdom and insight into the eternal truths that are difficult to teach. They require an equal passion for discovering their spiritual natures from their students. They are not there to rescue anyone or to create a fantasy that sells dreams to frightened people who find life meaningless. Or to set themselves up as gods to be worshipped.

Many, such as Osho, or Rajinish, begin as clear vessels and then go haywire as the love of power and ego tendencies start to emerge. We can feel all kinds of inspiration and inner peace and finally belonging around such people, or just be carried along by the crowd in a blissful dance of loosened inhibition. But that has nothing to do with spirituality and everything to do with needing to feel that somebody has all the answers. As in cases such as Jim Jones of Jonestown: People felt wonderful around him until 900 people died because of his commands, including 200 children, who were murdered.

Just because we can escape into something other than our difficult lives and join a group that makes us feel safe is not enough basis for really knowing if the spiritual teacher is genuine. It is more than a feeling. Feelings come and go and are mostly based on our mind’s reaction to something first. If we have a wonderful feeling of peace because we have finally found the answer out of our misery, that may not be enough of an indication as to whether the teacher is genuine or not.

So many spiritual teachers have gone the way of power and corruption, it would be easy to trash them all. But, the genuine ones stand the test of time. “Satya” Sai Baba was discovered to have serially molested boy students for years. Yoga guru Bikram also indulged in sexual misconduct. They both had excessive collections of jewelry, cars, and other items of personal wealth in their multimillion dollar estates. Osho owned 94 Rolls Royces, and was aiming at one for every day of the year.

Yet, on the other hand, we have Sai Baba of Shirdi, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Lao Tau, Sri Ramana Marharshi, and so many other great spiritual teachers whose lessons have endured. These teachers were simple in their lives and acknowledged that they were only expressing the inner light and the truth of Spirit and Soul that was revealed to them through contemplation and grace.

As we can see through the years, ultimately the true teachers emerge. They do no harm to their students. They do not seek to get rich off of their students. If they charge a fee, it is because the student needs to show commitment. The student needs to work for it. But it is a nominal fee compared to the energy the teacher puts into sharing understanding and spiritual experience of lasting value. In my own experience, spiritual teachers put in three times the energy of any student. These teachers do not want to be celebrities or be worshipped. They see themselves as humble vessels who were blessed with the ability to communicate and then step out of the picture.

How can belief in something that cannot be seen or measured provide strength and comfort?

11/5/2022

We can't see electricity, nor the interconnections of the Internet that makes our communication with each other possible. We don’t see the air, yet we rely on it for our very lives. We put our trust in so many things that we cannot see or measure.

We can measure the outcome or output of these invisible forces, such as how much light or heat electricity puts out. But the actual invisible energy is not quantifiable in that way. All we can do is rely on the thermodynamic laws and laws of electrical flow to predict their outcomes.

Belief and trust are two different things. Belief means, “I don’t know. I’d like to think it’s such and such a way. But I don’t really know.” Or, belief is based on blind trust, as a child believes in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

But when it comes to finding strength in unseen forces outside ourselves and our sensory apparatus, it is more a matter of deep feeling, and an inner knowing that comes from profound experience. If it is based on belief alone, we could find comfort in the Great Rabbit in the Sky, if that is what our culture teaches. Then, a new belief system comes along, such as the Great Turtle beneath the Earth, and we believe that as well. Because belief is not based on knowledge or experience.

The most important things in the world are those unseen things, such as love. We can’t see love or peace. We can only feel love, peace, and joy. Also, it doesn’t depend on sight at all. Sighted people rely so much on what they see to believe what they think is real. What about our blind brothers and sisters? They can feel the presence of the Holy Source Energy of the Universe too. Because, Spiritual forces are not dependent on our senses, which can easily be lost, destroyed, or diminished by age.

Therefore, the only things that are truly comforting, are the eternal things, which cannot be destroyed or diminished. That is what brings comfort. But don’t try to measure them with any scientific instruments. You must feel them to know them.

What aspects of yourself did you have to let go of in order to progress further on your spiritual journey?

11/2/2022

The spiritual journey is not a linear, progressive achievement. This is a prejudice that comes from how the human mind works: Needing a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. With the spiritual journey it is a deepening of awareness that continues but doesn’t end with some final state. It is continuous and eternal and not based on earthly sacrifices. It’s a mistake to think we must give things up to get there.

Spiritual people can feel anger. They may not feel love for everyone and everything. They may give into the fears of the mind on occasion. It is ridiculous to impose saintly values on people who are all too human while in the human form. For example, Alan Watts was enlightened and in tune with the underlying harmonious structure of the Universe. He also was an alcoholic and a chain smoker. He didn’t give these things up and didn’t feel the need to. He knew that addictions come with the body and we don’t need to bolster our ego minds by promoting ourselves to sainthood in the eyes of others.

In my life, I gave up owning anything for five years. It was a positive experience to be able to live without possessions and very liberating. But it wasn’t because I thought it would get me farther on the path or that I could bribe Source Energy or God with my saint-like behavior. It wasn’t because I was trying to be a martyr. It was specific to me and what I needed to learn and when I learned what I needed, I moved on from that discipline.

It’s an imposition on spiritually inclined people to expect them all to be Mother Theresas and Sri Ramana Marharshis. Those beings did what they did because it brought them meaning and the maximum amount of joy in their lives. They couldn’t do anything else. It was their very nature and their choice. They weren’t going without and serving others so they could feather their nests in the next world. They had to do what they did based on their destinies. Nothing else made sense to them.

And, so I have let go of nothing, even troubling thoughts if they arise. They are just part of how the the mind works, churning out worries, fears, and apprehensions. I don’t need to think I am actually these thoughts and get caught in the whirlpool of misery. On the other had, I don’t need to force them away. I can let them be, the way we can let a car alarm carry on in the street when there’s no means to shut it off.

Eckart Tolle tells of a time he was in Starbucks and a fan came up to him and said, “You drink coffee?”, in an outraged voice. The public expects enlightened beings to be plaster saints at all times. They force us into molds of their fairytale vision of enlightenment. While, if you read any of the stories of the Zen masters, you will see they were cruel at times and seemingly lacking in compassion. That is because they were shocking students out of their cliches about what enlightenment really is.
And therefore, I have let go of nothing except sainthood itself. “Bring it on,” I say to the Universe. I know whatever you bring is for my good and my gaining. I can have fun, be full of life and energy, and still be in touch with All-That-Is. As Lao Tsu says in the Tao (19th verse):

“Give up sainthood, renounce wisdom,
and it will be a hundred times better for everyone.

All of these are outward forms alone;
They are not sufficient in themselves.”ick here to edit.

What are some of the most important spiritual principles that can be found in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) literature?

10/31/2022

“Let go and let God,” is one of the fundamental spiritual precepts in AA. This is why AA has been the most effective treatment for the destructive patterns of alcoholism, through the years, that I have encountered. We have already relied on our fearful minds and fault-finding intellects to take us to a place where we are out of control. We believe the negative bias of the mind and therefore try to numb it by consuming ever greater quantities of alcohol. Our decisions have taken us down a dead end of ruin and loss.

Willpower didn’t work for us. Therefore, it’s time to let go of the idea that we, personally, are the masters of the universe, can control our self-destructive impulses, and begin to understand the forces that are really “in charge.” Then, we must give up our fearful sense of self and rest in the bountiful heart of the Universe.

AA shows us that thinking we’re capable of total self-management doesn’t work if we believe we are our worrisome, petty minds. They will drive us to drink or other destructive addictions. We must acknowledge and give up the control to a Higher Power—which is the force behind all that is, because it works. AA does not assign a name, such as Jesus or Allah to this Higher Power. This allows everyone access to the idea something larger and wiser than our smaller selves is in control. We’ve allowed ourselves to get out of control anyway, despite our willpower, thus we have become alcoholics, addicts, and dependent on substances to get us through the day.

It is a humbling position, that leads us to recognize that we are in charge of so very little. And that we have messed up and are destroying our health, lives, and the lives of those around us. It takes the burden off of us when we realize that we can depend on something much larger than our little fears and ambitions to break a destructive pattern. Just as we do not circulate our own blood or beat our own hearts or order our stomachs to digest our food, we need to acknowledge that something much greater is at work. It’s delusional to think we can control everything and therefore become very upset when things don’t go according to our plans.

Our plans to go to the bar every day or drink a bottle of whiskey in our room never contributed to our health or abundance or happiness. Why did we think that our plans to quit the habit, based on our own mistaken mental habits, would work out when we are the ones making the decisions? Those decisions were flawed and made us feel more like failures when we couldn’t live up to our resolutions to quit. And so we took another drink to drown out all the mental noise.

The Higher Power is the source of wisdom, love, beauty, and peace. AA tells us to get into contact with the spiritual underpinning of All-That-Is. Stop thinking it’s all on us to fix things. It doesn't work, obviously. Willpower doesn’t work. It doesn’t work because we are forcing ourselves through sheer discipline, which we don’t have when it comes to substances.

It takes surrender. Or as the apostle John said in the New Testament, “I can, of my own self, do nothing . . . because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father that hath sent me.” Our willpower alone does not work and we are backed up against the wall. The only way to go is to surrender: “Let Go and Let God.”

Why did Abraham Maslow say that self actualization was the highest need in his hierarchy of needs?

9/27/2022

Abraham Maslow said, "What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization."

But we can't get there before we meet all the other needs, including those of basic survival. Animals don’t look at their lives in terms of their potential to grow intellectually or spiritually. They are not concerned with completing their story and creating meaningful lives for themselves. Their main concern is to eat and avoid being eaten so they can procreate and replenish the stock.

Humans, however, have a need, once all their other survival and emotional needs are met, to find meaning in their lives and to demonstrate and fulfill their particular talents, gifts, and abilities. Furthermore, it is not enough just to survive if you are a fully developed human with an intellect and spiritual yearnings. We must find the meaning behind the struggles, difficulties, and sorrows that beset us all. Life is too painful to endure just for the sake of survival.

And so, we seek answers to our deepest questions that other life forms do not concern themselves about: Who are we? Why are we here? Are we just the puppets of our genes or is there spiritual significance to what we are going through? If we are starving, freezing, under threat, and just barely hanging on, we need to take care of that first. But once that has been solved, what is the point of it all?

Thus, Maslow observed that what uniquely defines being human is the drive to self-actualize, or as the Army slogan says, “Be all that you can be.” That means, accomplishing what you love to do, what you must do, and what defines you as the one-of-a-kind being that you are. It also means finding meaning outside of the physical aspects of life. It is about finding your inner life and Soul. Without this, life is a meaningless and fear-driven round of feeding and reproducing, interspersed with short-lived pleasures until we die. And therefore, as humans, endowed with the potential for cosmic consciousness, self-actualization is our highest need.

Is the noble eightfold path of Buddhism intelligible?

6/23/2021

Like the Ten Commandments, Buddha’s Nobel Eightfold Path, is simple to understand but not really easy to accomplish. These eight attitudes are not moral precepts about specifically what not to do, though. They are a simple list of how to behave if you want to live a life with a minimum of suffering for yourself and others.

Buddha does use the word “right” but it is not in the sense that you are damned by God if you don’t take his recommendations. It is more in the sense of what is most appropriate for the moment. Here is the Noble Eighfold Path:

Right understanding
Right thought
Right speech
Right action
Right livelihood
Right effort
Right mindfulness
Right concentration

Because they are so simple, people can interpret these concepts in different ways. Huge volumes have been written on the subject. My interpretation, in short, is approach everything with a free, pure, unattached heart. This ensures that we say the appropriate words as well as perform appropriate actions. We consciously put our efforts towards meaningful goals while remaining grounded in what is eternal about ourselves.

Four of the ideas in The Noble Eightfold Path concern themselves with our inner selves: Understanding, thought, mindfulness, and concentration. This is different from the Ten Commandments, which do not concern themselves with a person’s inner life and more with their relationship to Jehovah and with each other.

Four of the items on the Path are action-oriented: Speech, action, livelihood, and effort. The Buddha did not leave anything out. And by not defining precisely what each “right” thought or action is, he left a lot of room for interpretation. But the final test is, by living this way do you alleviate suffering? Thousands of years after he delivered his insights, they are still alive and bringing people and understanding of life, so they have stood the test of time.

What were Eckhart Tolle's fears and anxieties of his life situation before Enlightenment?

6/9/2021

Eckart Tolle’s fears and anxieties, that he reports on in his books, were very much like all of our fears and anxieties: We’re not enough. We need to do something to make ourselves enough but we never do enough, we’re not good-looking enough, we’re not smart enough, we will be on the street with nothing, we’re not loved or appreciated enough, we’re not (fill in the blank).

Those are just a few fears that plagued him, along with an unhappy childhood with quarreling parents, not fitting in at school, and just the low-level non-stop terror that the mind inflicts on everyone who doesn’t know how it operates.

When he discovered how the ego-mind and its negative bias runs our lives instead of us running it, he was able to get out from under its tyranny and start to control and master it. Now he could use it as a tool, instead of letting it using him as its tool. This brought him freedom from the never-ending emphasis on lack that is the focus of the ego-mind, which always wants more, more, more and is never satisfied with what is.