Michael Bernard Beckwith - Spiritual Liberation: Fulfilling Your Souls Potential

I have known Michael Bernard Beckwith for quite a few years. I have heard him speak many times; I have spoken at his spiritual community, Agape International Spiritual Center; I have attended his services; I have traveled on the same international expeditions and been at the same domestic conferences; I have personally discussed God and love and politics with him, and we have sat down together for the occasional meal.

In every single one of those situations, I have always met the same Michael. There is something stalwart, strong, and consistent about him. He takes life very seriously but himself not at all. And I have never heard him say anything that suggested in the slightest that his spiritual convictions were not for real.

Now, I have encountered him again, as will you, on the pages of this book. The man, the minister, the sage, the philosopher, pours much of what he has learned from his years of study and experience into this heartfelt treatise on what it means to be a human being deeply connected to our spiritual roots, becoming free of our worldly delusions, and rising up to our divine potential. I believe him on the pages of this book as I believe him in personal relationship, for the same man comes through in print as comes through in his sermons and in his friendship. In reading this book, you will encounter more than spiritual information; you will encounter a soulful man with a wonderful mind who has both honed his intellect and opened his heart, studied abstract theology, and embraced the suffering among us. Over the years I have known him, Michael has become a thought leader and a spiritual teacher. This book is a climactic articulation of what he has learned, what he has taught, and what he has become.

His journey has been a very human one, and the richness of the man is part of the richness of his teaching. Michael Bernard Beckwith, through his ever-deepening understanding of God and human existence, has already cast a wide net of influence. With this book, the many lessons he has learned, the information he has accumulated, and the insights that have illumined his mind will now illumine yours. The riches this book holds for you are like the richness of the man himself. You will be blessed by both.

Marianne Williamson

My central message is not about religiosity or churchianity. It is about aspiring toward spiritual liberation, which I define as becoming free from the narrow confines of fear, doubt, worry, and lack, and living instead from a conscious awareness of ones Authentic Self, ones true nature of wholeness.

Spiritual liberation results from discovering and expressing the intrinsic qualities of enlightened consciousness that have been ours since the moment we came into existence. Simply put, all that is required to live up to our highest potential is already inside us awaiting our conscious activation. Living up to our potential is about becoming more ourselves, more of who and what we are as awakened beings, a central theme you will encounter throughout this book.

Growing into spiritual adulthood has to do with understanding that we are here to attune ourselves to the evolutionary impulse that governs the universe, which is infinite, conscious, and seeks to articulate itself by means of us. We live in a universe where nothing remains static. All that exists has an observable impulsion to become more fully itself. An acorn seed, when planted in good soil and provided the proper nutrients, ultimately evolves into its fullest potential as an oak tree. Likewise, in order to fully evolve, the Spirit-seed at the core of our being must be cultivated. We too must till the soil of our consciousness with spiritual tools and inner nutrients that enable us to fully deliver our gifts, talents, and skills. Through this inner work, our consciousness becomes a fertile condition for our conscious participation in our evolution, rather than a natural selection process driven by external conditions.