In the journey to fulfillment, awakening, to be saved; in order to find liberation, enlightenment, or freedom; to learn how to live in harmony with the Tao or the Good or God—whatever you call the goal toward which the great wisdom traditions have pointed as the ultimate possibility of life—every tradition has said there are stages to pass through and steps to be taken in order to reach the highest possibility. MORE
2 – The Chakras: An ancient model
The chakra system arose in India several thousand years ago. In it, there are 7 basic drives, or motivations, or levels of identity. MORE
What is awakening, or union with God, or life’s final fulfillment? What brings lasting peace, joy, a feeling that one has reached the ultimate goal of life? Included here is a definition of the Ultimate and a broad framework for seeking it. MORE
4 – Three Ways for Seeking the Ultimate
Most of us in the modern western world have the luxury of a base of support for a stable worldly life—enough food to eat, shelter, no wars raging around us, and greater safety and security than most have had throughout history, Or have today in many parts of the world (including some locales in the United Sates). Those of us raised in an environment of relative ease and comfort have been conditioned to spend our time protecting and adding to what we have. MORE
5 – Ten Levels of Myself – Part I
The fifth essay in The Ultimate Journey concerns the many parts of ourselves, the different layers that make up our identities. The internal mechanics of the human mind are as complex as anything in the universe. Science has been investigating the mind for centuries, yet so much is not understood. One of the things that has eluded scientific explanation is consciousness—what it is, where it is, how it came to be. MORE
6 – Ten Levels of Myself – Part II
The sixth essay in The Ultimate Journey concerns the 4 highest levels of who we are. Last week I explored the first 6 levels of the inner landscape of a human being, and hopefully I made clear that these levels exist in every one of us, barring a severe dysfunction. The incredible diversity between people is explained by the fact that all these forces, currents, and levels mix together in endless ways. This is true whether a person is aware of them or not. If they are not within a person’s consciousness, they are in the unconscious, affecting that person’s life in multiple ways. MORE
7 – Moving Toward the Ultimate
The seventh essay in The Ultimate Journey concerns the ways we try to understand and talk about Ultimate things, the difficulties of doing so with words and concepts, and suggested ways to move forward. MORE
Those who have stepped beyond the threshold into the mystery, outside of time, do not become disembodied spirits. They still have a physical body until that physical body dies. It is simply that their identity has shifted—it is no longer with the ego self or the unconscious urges and desires that drive most of us in our normal lives. MORE
The ninth essay in The Ultimate Journey considers how we come to our beliefs, and concludes with the beginning list of Books for the Journey.
All of us live within an act of faith about the nature of the world, as well as about our own identity. To live a human life requires that we have concepts about who we are, what the world is like, and how we fit into the overall picture of existence. For many people, this choice is made unconsciously: They simply adopt the worldview into which they were enculturated. MORE
10 – Science and Spirit in Communion
The tenth essay in The Ultimate Journey examines the importance of science and spiritual wisdom working in harmony. At the end are a number of recommended books on this topic.
Science and the Ultimate Journey are not in conflict. Further, science is not in conflict with any of the spiritual or religious traditions of human history. To better understand why this is so, it is necessary to focus on what science is, and what it is not. MORE
The eleventh essay in The Ultimate Journey explores the vast range of extraordinary events that have been reported in human history and their relevance for our lives today. At the end are a number of recommended books on the topic. MORE
12 – Your 4 Primary Motivations
The twelfth essay in The Ultimate Journey concerns the 4 primary motivations from which we each live, and the choices we make about those motivations. At the end are a few more recommended books. The heart of what I am trying to convey is that you have a choice about the motivations from which you will live—and your choice will have dramatic effects on your life and the world you experience. Many people make their choices unconsciously, but doing so is problematic, especially as one gets older. MORE
A new essay will be posted each week.