5 Steps to Spiritual Knowledge

As we talked about earlier, we are often told a great deal of myths about who we are and our purpose in this life. We can become lost in a guilt ridden perfectionist vision of who we should be. Such things can leave us feeling not enough, guilty and can most dangerously prevent us from seeing our true potential and divine nature. In this world of immense  pressure, it is of great importance that we know who we are, where we came from and where we are going. To not understand these things will cause us to be lost in worldly expectations and the trivial matters. To understand them empowers us and frees us to take the critical and small steps towards personal and spiritual mastery in this life. 

Pam’s story

In my work as a Master Coach, I have the privilege of talking with women from around the world about this subject in many different forms. It’s curious to me how many women struggle with this. One young lady I worked with, lets call her Pam wanted to do many things in this life but she felt trapped. She was well educated and a successful real estate investor however she wanted more. She had been tricked into thinking that her that her biology was her destiny. You see, Pam had a developmental disability that made it difficult for her to walk so she walked with a severe limp. Her disability began to become her identity and although she had accomplished some great things in this life, she could not see her full potential. She did not believe that she was capable of being loved in an intimate relationship and felt left alone by her Creator. This belief about her potential is something that not only Pam faced but we all face in this life. We all bump up against the ceilings of what we believe we are capable and we think that those ceilings are real and that there is nothing we can do about them. They appear real and when we believe them, they become real. With our beliefs we form our destiny. For Pam she was trapped with her beliefs about her potential and these beliefs were causing her to miss out on everything that she wanted in this life. 

I remember one distinct moment when I began to see the blocks to who Pam believed she was begin to fall away to create space for a bigger more divine version of herself. We were talking after she had attended a Master Your Power Within Event and she was telling me about her fears and her beliefs about who she is. I looked at her for a moment and although she was describing who she thought she was I saw her in a completely different light. I could see the strength within her for having powerfully navigating this world with a condition that made it more difficult for her to get around, a saw the kindness and love within her by how much she cared for other people and was willing to help her, and I saw her potential that she was capable of doing whatever she wanted in this life. I asked her “is it possible that you are more that you think you are.” She looked up at me and I could see a glimmer of hope entering her eyes as she responded “what do you mean?” I answered “what if your limitations do not define you? What if there really is a loving Creator who knows and loves you? What if you have a divine destiny that is beyond what you can imagine? What if you can be loved deeply? What would it mean for you if these things could be true?” She looked up at me with tears forming in the corners of her eyes and for the first time I could see the beginnings of understanding of who she really is. She asked me “how can I know if these things are true?” I turned towards her to face her squarely and asked “Don’t you already know the answer to that question?” She paused for a moment and remember the things she learned at Master Your Power Within event said “Yes I know what I need to do to know for myself.” You see Pam knew that she could receive her own answers about her potential by going to her Creator and asking and she knew how to get an answer. She knew the 5 steps to gaining spiritual knowledge. Now she was truly set free. She could begin the process of redefining who she is and what she is capable in the most powerful way, through the eyes of her Creator. 

So what did Pam need to understand to begin to see her full potential? She needed to understand that her capacity is not defined by her physical body, that she has a divine potential and that her past is not your future, your biography is not your destiny. 

My father died when I was 16 years old and his death left me feeling lost, confused, and angry. At that point in my life I did not have a relationship with the Creator and I thought if there really is a God, why would he take my dad? I felt angry and alone for many years. Until I learned some key principles that helped me begin to ask questions that brought me to understand the character of the Creator and his love for me. The lack of knowledge of these key principles for most of my life left me feeling lost and adrift, especially when tough times hit…which inevitably they always do in this life. Once I understood them I felt empowered and excited about my potential. These key principles have been condensed into a powerful and easy process called the 5 Steps to spiritual knowledge. 

Just because you have been the person you are up until this point in your life does not mean this is where you need to stay.  What if you could let go of some of the beliefs and ideas that are holding you back from living your full potential?  What if there is a part within you that is capable of much more than you can even comprehend?  What if there is a loving Creator just waiting for you to turn to him to strengthen you and lift you up in all your are facing in this life…the difficult times, the joy and the uncertainty?  What if the things you want in this life most of all are possible for you to achieve if you take a step forward in trust and are willing to learn and apply what you learn? What if there really is more beyond this life and a purpose to it all?

What if those things are true? How would it change you? I know that all these things are true.  I know that because I have seen them in my own life and in the lives of the incredible people around me. I know because I have learned how to ask the Creator if they are true and understand how to receive an answer.

I believe that you are reading this for a reason and that you are being called to live up to even more of your potential.  So strap in, hold on tight because life truly is never going to be the same. 

There is a Creator of this world and He created each of us.  Each one of us is one of his spirit children and he looks out for us and helps us as we ask and are willing to receive his help.  He knows what is going on for us at all times and is mindful of us.  He is a loving parent.  Just as a loving parent would not swoop in and fix everything for their children, so too the creator cannot just fix everything for us.  He brought us here so we could learn, grow, progress and increase our capacity to love and be more like him.  He gave us the most incredible gift he could have possibly given us and that gift is the gift of agency.  Agency means that he respects our ability to choose between right and wrong, between what is good for us and what is not.  He loves us so much that he is willing to allow us to choose our destiny and level of happiness. 

Wow agency sounds like an awesome gift doesn’t it?  I thought so too at first.  It really is the best gift anyone could give but it does not come without a cost.  What am I talking about? I don’t know about you but sometimes I don’t always make the best decisions. Each choice we make either brings us closer to our Creator or further away from him and from our divine potential. In order for us to make choices that bring us closer to him we need to educate our desires. What I mean is that we need to understand what our Creator desires for us and also understand what desires we have that will empower our divine potential. How do we do that? Through questions. 

If there really is a loving Creator and if he really is mindful and aware of you right now and everything you are going through, your hopes, your worries, your joys and frustrations? Is it possible that he can see the bigger picture of your life in the moments when you feel lost in the day to day minutia or trapped in the overwhelming circumstances of this life? If these things are true how could we possibly tap into the wisdom of our Creator and receive direct inspiration about what we need to do in our life at this very moment to have more peace and feel more joy? What if we start by asking the Creator? Sounds simple right? Sounds a little too easy? Well it is…and it isn’t all at the same time. Sometimes the most difficult thing we can do is humble ourself enough to recognize that we don’t know it all and that we need help. Sometimes the farthest distance we can travel is to our knees in prayer. When we go to our Creator in humility and believe we will receive an answer, something incredible happens. We receive answers in the Creator’s time and that seed of belief grows into a knowing. We often don’t start out believing but even a small desire to believe is enough to start.

At the start of this discussion I told you that I would share with you the 5 keys to building belief  I know that some of these steps might sound like something you have heard before and you could be tempted to blow them off as trite but I promise you they are not. If you choose to take them into your heart and give them a chance to work within you, I promise your understanding of who you are and your relationship with the divine will grow and you will begin to unlock the ultimate potential that lies within you.

These 5 steps to spiritual knowledge are:

1. desire to believe & be humble
2. believe that you will receive an answer about if he really exists or if he loves you
3. Ask your Creator yes or no questions 
4. Pay attention to how you feel - a sense of peace is the Creator’s way of saying yes to you
5. Be patient and grateful when you receive answers

In the future I will go into the specifics of how the Creator answers our questions but for now you just need to know that he will and that your answers may come in the form of a word, a thought or a feeling. Pay particular attention to how you feel. If you ask a yes or no question to the Creator and following asking your question you feel a sense of peace, that is how the Creator answers yes to you. For now that is enough for you to get powerful answers about who you are.

Principles in Action

As I mentioned when I was 16 years old I was devastated by the death of my father. I could not understand how a loving God would take my dad and so I got angry…real angry. I wanted nothing to do with God or religion. Then I went to a course called Master Your Power Within that began to open my mind to the possibility of there being something bigger going on in the universe and the possibility that there is a Creator that is aware of me. I wanted to believe this was true but my heart was still very hurt so I was wary to allow myself to believe. Then one day I needed to know. I went into the woods in the shady evergreen forest of the Rocky Mountains in Canada and began walking on a snowy path towards an answer to a question that would change my life forever. I recall talking in my mind to the Creator (if there was one) and saying that I was angry about my dad and that I couldn’t understand why that would happen to me. Then as my heart softened I asked a life altering question using the 5 steps to spiritual knowledge. I asked if there really is a Creator. The moment I asked it my heart and stomach were filled with a feeling of peace and I knew that was the way the Creator was answering “yes, I am here.” That day and that question has stayed with me as one of my fundamental and treasured things that I know. I can now with sure confidence say that I know there is a Creator who is aware of and loves me. 

Digging Deep

You may know that already but for me is was a game changer. Wherever you are at in your understanding of the Creator and yourself, I know that there is always room to learn and to understand more. After all, as Brandon Broadwater says “if we are not growing, we are dying.” So what questions do you have in your mind about who you are, your purpose in this life, or who the Creator is? What if you could find the answers you are looking for and that the answers to life’s greatest mysteries are just a question away? If you have a desire to learn and a willingness to wait for your answer and a humility in your heart, you will receive the answers you desire. I encourage you to ponder the following questions so you understand how gaining greater knowledge of the divine will help you right now in your life. 

1. What would it mean for you if you could have answers to the questions that are in your heart about your purpose in this life?
2. What is a question that you have that you could ask the Creator?
3. How would knowing the answer to this question empower you?
4. What if these things are true and you don’t take action on them?

Let’s Make Sure We’ve Got it

• There is a loving Creator who is aware of you and what is happening in your life right now
• When we understand who the Creator really is, we understand who we are and our divine potential
• We are spirit children of our Creator 
• We can receive answers to our questions by following the 5 steps to spiritual knowledge 
• 1. desire to believe 
  2. Be humble
  3. Ask yes or no questions to know there really is a Creator
  4. Pay attention to how you feel - a sense of peace is the Creator’s way of saying yes to you
  5. Be patient and grateful when you receive answers

I know that as your seek to understand who you are and your potential in this life you will be empowered beyond what you can possibly imagine. I believe you are reading this for a reason and that there is a message your Creator is trying to give to you. Are your ears open to this message or are they shut in doubt and disbelief. Will you choose to ask the questions that you have to gain even more of an understanding of your purpose in this life or will this message you have received today get lost in the shadows of busyness? You have a choice to make now. You can take action and seek a deeper relationship with your Creator now or you can dismiss this message as an interesting little article. What will you do? I promise that if you take this message in with faith and take action on it, you will receive the answers you are looking for. You will feel empowered with growing closer to a loving Creator and you will be more clear on your divine path in this life. I know these things are true and I am excited for you to discover them for yourself.