The following article, Dynamic Spirituality, was published in Life in Action, the magazine of the School of Natural Sciences.
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by Rick Prater
There is a long tradition in the various spiritual approaches found throughout the world, such as Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and so on, of certain individuals spending years of spiritual discipline and meditation in order to attain a higher state of consciousness. Particularly during the last 2,000 years, there has been a marked trend for those of a spiritual inclination to seek escape from the struggles and strife of ordinary life and to find solace in a higher reality.
The unfortunate consequence of such an approach has been that spiritually inclined individuals have often neglected the physical plane, while materialistic individuals have tried to dominate and control it, often without the guidance of ethical values.
But there is an approach to spirituality, which we could call dynamic spirituality, which resolves this only apparent conflict between spiritual and physical life.
In the approach of dynamic spirituality, the main purpose of concentrating on higher values, or the higher spiritual planes, is so that those higher values and visions can be brought to the physical plane and used. This use involves the simultaneous coordination of the spiritual and physical levels in right action and right living.
There are many powerful spiritual beings who are willing to help those on the earth plane realize higher values, and are willing to work in cooperation to bring about a better world. But they have to be asked, they have to be invited.
The approach of dynamic spirituality differs from the attitude of prayer. In prayer, we ask for help, in dynamic spirituality, we ask how we can help. We may use prayer as an aid to dynamic spirituality if we find we need additional help from the Great Friends, but only after we have done our best to cooperate with them in helping humanity.
So in dynamic spirituality, the Spiritual Friends are invited to cooperate right from the start in a plan or project for the helping of humanity. The project then becomes a mutual undertaking, with the Spiritual Friends and Guides providing some of the energy, inspiration, and ideas to get the job done.
This approach of dynamic spirituality builds on character development but goes beyond it into a state of dynamic activity in which a greater vision is actualized. Through dynamic spirituality, we can break out of some of the narrow restrictions of our own thinking and avail ourselves of the assistance of the Great Friends whose vast vision can help illumine our plans and actions. In this way, we can go far beyond what we would be capable of on our own.
It is at this point of dynamic commitment that many seekers choose the slower path. They become "good people." They try to do the right things and they make some progress. But their lives lack that dynamic creativity and adaptability which is characteristic of rapid spiritual progress. On the other hand, rapid spiritual progress is not for everyone and there is nothing "wrong" with choosing the slower path. It is up to the individual. But for those who want to move forward rapidly, dynamic activity in alignment with the Spiritual Friends can be a fruitful path.
One of the dangers of this more intense approach is that we can be overstimulated and become unbalanced. Therefore, sane and balanced living is necessary to maintain psychological equilibrium under the impress of the higher energy of the more spiritually advanced Great Friends.
In addition, there is always the chance that once some real accomplishments are brought about, the ego can creep in and we can forget that a substantial part of our success is due to the help of the Great Friends on the spiritual planes. An example would be a religious leader who begins as a servant of higher values and ends up exploiting the people in the name of God. A good antidote for this condition is simple humility and a legitimate valuation of our abilities.
If we maintain an attitude of alignment and harmony with the higher spiritual planes and the Great Friends, we can vibrate in harmony with them. This harmonic resonance will create a bridge over which energy, inspiration, and ideas can flow. For example, if we want to promote peace, we can begin by developing peace within ourselves. By so doing, we will align ourselves with the forces for peace on the spiritual planes. Then, if we hold this attitude of peace and invoke the aid of the Great Friends, they can easily help us.
There are great forces for good on the spiritual planes willing to cooperate with all those on the physical plane who are duly prepared, worthy, and well qualfied to serve humanity with good will, intelligence, and love. Even thought the Great Friends may be behind such activities as publishing certain books and magazines, conducting seminars on spiritual topics, governing society justly, and so on, they can only accomplish these goals through the cooperation of those on the physical plane with whom they can work effectively. That is why the School of the Masters is a definite physical organization.
So we could say that dynamic spirituality is acting in alignment with the constructive principle as it manifests on both the physical and spiritual planes, in cooperation with the Great Friends on the spiritual planes and our co-workers on the physical plane.
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