Jan Phillips - Finding the On-Ramp to Your Spiritual Path: A Road Map to Joy and Rejuvenation

Finding the
On-Ramp to Your
Spiritual Path

Finding the
On-Ramp to
Your Spiritual Path

A ROAD MAP TO JOY AND REJUVENATION

JAN PHILLIPS

Theosophical Publishing House
Wheaton, Illinois Chennai, India

Learn more about Jan Phillips and her work at http://www.janphillips.com

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Copyright 2013 by Jan Phillips

First Quest Edition 2013

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Quest Books

Theosophical Publishing House

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Wheaton, IL 60187-0270

Cover design by Drew Stevens

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Phillips, Jan.

Finding the on-ramp to your spiritual path: a road map to joy and rejuvenation / 1st Quest ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-8356-0917-3

1. Spiritual life. I. Title.

BL624.P525 2013

ISBN for electronic edition, e-pub format: 978-0-8356-2120-5

5 4 3 2 1 * 13 14 15 16 17

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

My own journey has led me around the world, into the homes and lives of hundreds of people on the path to whom I feel profoundly connected. We come from all backgrounds, with roots in any number of religious traditions, but it is not these traditions that unify us. It is the commonness of our spiritual quest that brings us togetherour steadfast, daily, joyful commitment to peace, enlightenment, compassion, and contact with the Divine that fuels and sustains us.

Each of us acknowledges that we are on a spiritual path, but none of us are on the same path. Some of us attend church; most of us celebrate our faith in our own sacred spacessome with others, some alone. We are committed to deepening our relationships with people, making time for solitude and prayer, doing work that is consistent with our nature, contributing time and energy to community organizations, participating in events and rituals that foster self-awareness and self-expression. There is no mystique to the spiritual path. No initiation to undergo nor dues to pay. It is simply a journey of awareness through the landscape of ones life.

To be on a spiritual path means to live mindfully, paying attention to the signs along the road and being conscious of our bodythe vehicle we are traveling inand of the needs and safety of others on the journey.

To be on a spiritual path means to look inward as often as outward, knowing that the externals of our lives are reflections of our thoughts and words, manifestations of that which we are imagining and energizing into being with the fuel of our passion.

To be on a spiritual path means to use the rearview mirror to be sure that the path behind is clear of debris and that we do not obstruct anothers journey with clutter of our own. It means making peace with our past, knowing our future contains it, and summoning the courage it takes to acknowledge, forgive, and release whatever we have clung to that impedes our movement.

To be on a spiritual path is to take responsibility for creating our own creed, based on our commitments, and to respect the rights of others to do the same. It also means to reflect anew on what beliefs weve inherited to be sure they are compatible with our wisdom and compassion.

To be on a spiritual path is to embrace the mystical paradox that while we are singular, physical beings on this journey, we are also profoundly connected to one another, animated and sustained by the same vast Spirit that abides in the star, the petal of an iris, the howl of the wolf.

To be on a spiritual path is to live with the awareness that your terror is mine, my hunger is yours, our longings are common. It is to remember that every breathing creature and plant is being breathed by the Cosmos at Large.

To be on a spiritual path, it is necessary to forgive yourself for wrong turns, for failing to yield, for driving under the influence of others. These are minor and forgivable infractions. The more important rules of this road are to be attentive, to notice when you stray, and to get back on the path as soon as possible.

We could all use a road map for the journey inward, a guide away from the crowded thoroughfare to the quiet path of our own true calling; a reminder that it is not the destination, but the journey, that is important. The fourteenth-century Italian saint Catherine of Siena once wrote, All the way to heaven is heaven. Perhaps this is roadmap enoughthis one stark line enough to keep us walking, reminding us that the wind we feel on the back of our necks is nothing less than the breath of God.

Preparing for the Journey

If youre new to the concept of a spiritual path, you probably have some questions like, What is it, anyway? Who else is on it? Where does it lead? Can I get lost? How much time does it take? Shall I wait until the kids are grown before I get on it? How much does it cost?

For starters, you are already on a path, just like everyone else. We are born. We have a journey called our life. Then we die. Those people who decide to focus on the inner journey, the path of the heart, are those who are on the spiritual path. They are people attempting to live fully in the present moment, aware that its there and only there that one finds joy, peace, and communion.

They are not forfeiting today for some future bliss but living every moment as consciously as possible. They are artists who wake up every day to a fresh canvas of time, creating their days from their deepest desires. They are not the ones with all the answers but the ones with all the questions, reveling in the unraveling of lifes unfolding mysteries.

As to where the path leads, it leads us to our bliss, and that is something thats unique to each of us. Bliss, to me, may be living in the woods or farming the land; to another, it may be creating a business, working for justice, making music, writing poetry, or raising children. Living in a culture bent on profit, its hard to keep our ground and remember what we are here for, but were all here for a purpose, and to live in bliss is to be true to that calling, that inner voice that guides us as we make our way home.

And, yes, you can get lost if you dont stay tuned to your inner voice. You can get lost if you look to others to tell you the way, if you follow the crowd for its safety of numbers, if you defer to anothers authority without trusting your instincts. On the path of the heart, it is you who must choose when to turn and where, what to do and how. And those directions are always accessible when you pause and ponder, ask and listen. You will always know the next step when you let love and joy be your guide.