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Dear Soul Arcanum:

Last night a guest on a radio program was talking about his incredible experiences while meditating. He was saying that one time while deep in meditation, he met Jesus, and he said that trying to look Jesus in the eye was nearly impossible because he was so intensely bright. Jesus asked him if he wanted to meet an angel and he said yes, and he started flying through our galaxy towards the center. He said that this was so blissful and ecstatic that it became too overwhelming and he wanted to stop it. He said there were nine spheres or levels of bliss, and each one was more intense than the previous. He got all the way to the boundary of the last one but felt that if he crossed into it, he couldn’t come back, so he stopped because he wanted to tell the world that this is real.

I’ve heard stories like this from people in the past, but over the past year, I’ve experienced huge disillusionment because I started following this man that I thought was a true master but I came to find out he is narrow-minded about a lot of things and hasn’t been open with the truth. I also found out Yogananda had some skeletons in his closet, so I’m a lot more cautious about spiritual teachers now. I just don’t know what or who to believe in anymore. Can you verify or debunk through your own experiences what this man on the radio was talking about last night? Part of me is inspired to start meditating again, but part of me is wary about getting suckered in.
– Ned

Dear Ned

Regarding the experiences this man described, I see no reason to doubt he was telling the truth. I’ve never had an experience like this myself, but many aspects of it are in harmony with mystical experiences recorded throughout the ages. While you could point to that fact alone to suggest that he was making it all up, one has to wonder why he’d bother.

Here are some of the aspects that mirror classic mystical experiences:

First, seeing a beautiful light is probably the most common element in reports of near death experiences. Some believe this light to be Jesus, while others interpret it to be some other divine being. Almost all say that they can’t look directly at it, yet it doesn’t hurt their eyes. Being bathed in this light is universally reported to be blissful beyond words.

Many people who have out of body and near death experiences report flying through space and exploring the nature of reality in ways similar to what this man described. The idea that there are nine spheres or dimensions is also common. In ancient Rome, it was believed that our physical world is one of nine spheres, and this was echoed in Christian, Muslim, Jewish and other esoteric teachings.

While you could argue that we’ve all been influenced both consciously and unconsciously by these traditions, these ideas must originate somewhere, so it would be just as foolish to reject them outright as it would be to accept them blindly. In the case of experiences that are reported time and time again from people throughout different cultures and belief systems, I’m inclined to assume there is at least a seed of truth in them.

My own journey has also taught me that far more is possible than most people realize. Certainly, if what you desire is mind-blowing mystical experiences, then you’re wise to go for it and expect to be guided to fulfillment.

Regarding your disillusionment with spiritual gurus, I do understand how you feel. There are two aspects of this issue we might examine closely: the sort of person who seeks to become a famous spiritual teacher and your reason for wanting to find a teacher you can wholly believe in.

I tend to view high profile spiritual teachers very much like I view politicians: the best people for the job are too wise to want it. It’s the ego that craves fame and fortune, not the higher self, so anyone who sets themselves up as somehow special is automatically suspect in my book.

If spiritual teachers set themselves apart or above others, keep moving. If they were coming from their higher selves, they would view you to be just as divine as they are, and would aim to empower you by helping you see that. This is not to say that you can’t trust anyone famous, just that we shouldn’t be surprised when famous spiritual teachers demonstrate ego-based behavior. Even many of those spiritual teachers who have fame thrust upon them eventually succumb to the seductive trappings of celebrity.

I also understand your desire to find someone you can truly believe in. Everyone longs for something special and magical, and when we don’t know where to look for it, we’re naturally eager to follow someone who says they can show us the way. However, when we place a mere mortal on a spiritual pedestal, we set ourselves up for disappointment.

The search for a great spiritual teacher is often rooted in a desire to find the perfect parent we never had as children. We want to believe that someone else – a spiritual teacher or a heavenly father – is all-loving and all-powerful, and if we just obey and worship them, they’ll take perfect care of us. This arises from fear and hence a desire to feel more secure, and a lack of faith in ourselves and our own divine nature.

It’s never wise to give our power away to another mere mortal or to worship another person in the place of God – whatever God may mean to us. God whispers to us within our own hearts and souls, so as we evolve spiritually, we stop looking for the Divine outside ourselves and start listening within. When we step into our own divine power, we lose the need for someone else to save us or show us the way.

So as I see it, becoming disillusioned with spiritual teachers you’ve had on a pedestal is a sign of spiritual maturity. Instead of viewing them as demigods, we might consider them fellow spiritual travelers who have already journeyed through territory we’d like to explore ourselves. Since all they can do is tell us about what they encountered and perhaps offer us advice or a map of the territory they’re familiar with, we’d be foolish to project superhuman qualities on them. We can take the best of what they have to offer us, but we should be prepared to leave the rest.

You’re not alone, my friend. All spiritual seekers go through the same pattern of experience: they find a teacher or path that inspires them and get really absorbed in it for a while. Then after they’ve soaked up all they need, they start to feel restless and are no longer intrigued or impressed. This is positive because it causes them to move on and explore new ideas. Staying with the same teacher forever would be like studying nothing but algebra; you might get really good at math, but you’d miss out on a wonderful variety of other subjects.

So your disillusionment is a sign that you’re ready to move on, not only from this particular teacher, but from your need to find someone who has all the answers figured out for you. You don’t need to find a teacher you can wholly believe in – you just need to trust your own inner being to guide you. Your inner being is trying to do that now by inspiring you to pursue your own amazing mystical experiences.

Finally, I sincerely believe that whatever you manifest is perfect for you at that time. In this situation, I see your disillusionment with others as having a wonderful higher purpose: it’s guiding you to develop greater faith in yourself.

– Soul Arcanum

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