Spiritual Liberation

There aren’t too many writers I absolutely adore. There are great books I’ve really enjoyed, but to be honest I’ve not always been blown away by the writing style. Then there are those people with a turn of phrase that’s so economical and sparse yet they manage to make every word highly evocative – Alice Sebold is top of my list for that skill – and there are writers who manage to convey great depth and soulfulness yet still remain accessible. That’s why I love Michael Beckwith’s work. I’d read a few of his essays long before The Secret made him a household name. Even in a collection of works by much more well-known spiritual writers, his words stood out. There’s something in the way he writes that makes me feel he’s the real deal.

Having taken a sneaky peak at his latest book, Spiritual Liberation, I’m starting to understand why he gets his message across so well. The man has been there and done it, suffered and screwed up, had a life-changing mystical experience and gone on to make a real difference in the world from his own authentic experience. That’s what makes his spirituality so attractive – it’s not pious. He says himself, “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 one’s Authentic Self, one’s true nature of wholeness”.

He adds, “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 awakening beings … 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.”

Bringing forth the Authentic Self is rarely a straight and narrow path – providing plenty of twists along the way – as Beckwith amply demonstrates in his own life story. In his younger days, he dealt drugs to pay for his own recreational use, until a mystical experience plunged him into an exploration of Eastern religions and the metaphysical, at which point the desire to carry on with that lifestyle left him. However, he decided to sell off a final delivery and was busted. Intuitively – despite all evidence to the contrary – he knew he wouldn’t end up going to jail, which proved to be the case when the charges were dismissed on a technicality. From that point on, he was determined to serve the spiritual force he calls ‘Love-Beauty’ in the world.

I have great admiration for those who are willing to lay their lives bare in order to help others. Too many people in the spiritual arena portray themselves as saints and are all too often found to have feet of clay. The reality is that if you’re human it’s a bit of a no-brainer to realise that you’re not perfect and – here comes another realisation that doesn’t require you to be a rocket scientist – perfection is pretty much unattainable anyway. Striving to be perfect just adds more layers to the mask of persona and takes you further away from authenticity. Allowing yourself to reveal the beauty that lies within you already is a far more healthy – and far less pressured – approach.

This week, give up trying hard and start letting yourself be who you really are. Spurn impossible standards and get a sense of humour about your own cock-ups. Embrace being human and love your divine spark. Give yourself an opportunity to discover what makes you feel more ‘you’. Give yourself the good soil and proper nutrients that it takes to unveil your true potential. Take a load off - you don’t need to be anything other than who you really are. That’s got to be a relief!

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