By Marcia Bender
You are not a human being having a spiritual experience; you are a spiritual being having a human experience. Webster’s Dictionary defines spiritual as of the spirit or the soul, often in a religious or moral aspect, as distinguished from the body.
Humans experience spirituality in various ways, in the family, church or synagogue, Sunday school, through individual study, and by working with “Spiritual Teachers.” Spiritual growth and development leads to Enlightenment, and there are many paths to Enlightenment.
Just as the Tarot’s Major Arcana “The Fool” archetypes tells us, all humans have the right to choice, to fill their lives with “all things” or “nothing” and to understand and experience the Four Levels of Human Experience, The Physical/Material, The Mental, The Emotional, and the Spiritual. However, many people live only on the Physical/Material Plane, and if they can’t see it, taste it, touch it, smell it, or hear it, then it can’t possibly exist in their world. Others realize that there are many things beyond the physical reality, beyond the five senses, things “hidden,” under the surface, which can be understood and once understood, can lead to a much more balanced and fulfilling existence.
We all want to live fulfilled lives, finding happiness in our personal relationships, careers and interactions with others. To obtain this realization, there must be a balance between the Four Levels of Human Existence. Let us take the example of a love relationship. There can be an exciting and stimulating physical attraction between two people, but what of the mental connection? If there is nothing to talk about, no common interests, the physical attraction will not be enough to hold the two lovers together long-term. A career can be materially rewarding, providing the money to have the best of everything in the material reality, but if it does not fulfill one emotionally and mentally, it becomes a chore to get up in the morning, and go to the workplace. A person can have a six-figure income, but find themselves in failing health, and no amount of money can buy a healthy body.
There must be a balance of body, mind and spirit, in all things, to have the fulfilled life that we all desire.
We confront the Spiritual Level of human existence as we leave the childhood and teen years behind and begin to face our own mortality. We wonder what becomes of us when we are no longer in a physical body. We find ourselves over the halfway mark in life wondering, “Is this it?”, “Is it just that we are born, we live, we die?”, “Who am I?”, “Where do I go from here?”, “I need HELP!” Some of us seek these answers through Spirituality, and my guess is that most of Transformation’s readers have embarked upon their own spiritual journey or are on the verge of doing so and using this valuable resource as a guide.
In 45-plus years of spiritual work and teachings, I have found that there is no “set” type of individual who seeks and embraces spirituality. My personal students have ranged in age from 11 to 83, from double Ph.D.s to high school dropouts, from lawyers to landscapers, and from people who have been exposed to organized religion to those who have had no religion in their lives. In all this time, I have never met an Atheist, but I have met many Agnostics, searching for proof of something “higher.” I also have never met anyone who did not experience a radical transformation from a connection to spirituality.
I am often asked, “What does it take to become spiritually enlightened? The answer is simple, an open mind.
A great philosopher once said, “The measure of true genius is to be able to entertain an idea, in the mind, without accepting it.” In my many years of teaching, I have learned the profound truth in the statement, “When the student is ready, the teacher WILL come.” And skeptics be forewarned: The adventure into spiritual study is addictive and life changing. To search for truth is to unveil knowledge of self. To know is to understand the task that lies ahead. To never know is infinite agony.
When I speak of knowledge, I speak of power, when I speak of Light, I speak of spiritual truth and enlightenment. So I always ask you to remember that Knowledge is the greatest Power, so Walk in the Light.
Marcia began her career as a school teacher, working with preschool through inner city high school students. She has worked with all aspects of Metaphysics for over 40 years and specializes in Tarot and Numerology. Marcia’s clients and students are in every state and throughout Europe. Marcia has taught over 400 students to “read” the Tarot for the purpose of self-guidance and to use the powerful symbolism of the Tarot to reach higher levels of spirituality. Her column, Spiritually Speaking, originally ran for 8 years in Attitudes Magazine. Email marlou2000@aol.com