What the Hell is "Authentic Spirituality"?

Whatever it is, it's gorgeous, joyous, inspirational, liberating, and healing

A renowned spiritual teacher I know said, “Enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. It's the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true."

Another renowned spiritual teacher said, “Authentic spirituality is revolutionary. It does not legitimize the world, it breaks the world. It does not console the world, it shatters it. And it does not render the self content, it renders it undone.”

I don’t agree with either of these sour, surly, macho, dehumanizing rants.

In my hypothesis, authentic spirituality is revolutionary because it unleashes the inherent beauty of our High Deep Soul and enables our High Deep Soul to more clearly see the sublime and ecstatic masterpiece of creation.

I aspire to cultivate an authentic spirituality that heals and inspires and liberates us and the world.

I aspire to cultivate an authentic spirituality that nourishes our High Deep Soul, empowering us to become founts of blessing for everyone and everything we encounter.

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I don't mean to imply that awakening and enlightenment are purely easy and painless and only-and-always-sweet. Of course they’re not.

But putting the emphasis on the destruction and suffering, claiming that the process of embodying one's true nature is primarily a terrifying and disorienting event, is stupid and erroneous—and in my view, a central theme of the way toxic patriarchy works.

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When I experience the interconnectedness of all things and behold the world on a molecular level, I rejoice. Life is a glorious miracle. My little self is united with the One Self and I am a participant in the Blissful Divine Play of Creation. Love is my Law, and I am blessed with the yearning to be practically compassionate.

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What will your Glorious Story be as you increasingly access and cultivate authentic spirituality?

How can you exert your free will to create adventures that bring out the best in you, even as you find graceful ways to offer your gifts to the world?

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THERE IS ONLY ONE BEING

There is only One Being: the Living Intelligent Consciousness That Pervades Every Cubic Inch of the Universe.

Every seemingly separate thing, from earthworm to human being to star, is a cell in the body of this One and Only Great One.

All of us cells feel pain as long as we have forgotten we are part of the One.

But the forgetting was an essential rule that the One set up to begin the master game.

Because of our illusion that each of us is alone and separate, we are under the impression that we must become distinctive and unique.

As we work to create ourselves, adding intricate modifications to what we started out as, we give joy to The One, expanding and deepening the meaning of the master game.

At the point when the sense of isolation is greatest in each cell — which is also the point when each cell experiences its uniqueness with maximum acuity — the pain of separation triggers the longing to remember where we came from.

Gradually, each of us figures out how to return home and reunite consciously with the One.

But something fundamental in us has changed since we first fell under the spell of separateness.

We have added the beauty of our individuality, our gift to The One.

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JOYFULLY OVERTHROWING REALITY

Alas, here’s what we have to deal with as we do our authentic spiritual work:

Pessimism is enshrined as a hallmark of worldliness. Compulsive skepticism masquerades as perceptiveness.

Mean-spirited irony is chic. Stories about treachery and degradation provoke a visceral thrill in millions of people who think of themselves as reasonable and smart.

Beautiful truths are suspect and ugly truths are readily believed.

Even some so-called spiritual teachers tell us that life on earth is primarily about discomfort and affliction, and that the only way to be free of the misery is to deny and denigrate life on earth as it actually is.

So it’s hard work to be lovers of life – taboo, against-the-grain work. We’ve got to be both wrathful insurrectionaries and crafty optimists.

We’ve got to cultivate cheerful buoyancy even as we resist the temptation to swallow thousands of delusions that have been carefully forged and seductively packaged by those among us who have volunteered to play the role of know-it-all deceivers.

We have to learn how to stay in a good yet unruly mood as we subvert and overthrow the influence of life deniers and denigrators.

Maybe most importantly, we have to be dedicated to the cause of beauty and truth and love even as we keep our imaginations wild and hungry and free.

We have to be both disciplined and rowdy.

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Sign words by Jenny Holzer. When she suggests that we “find a way to be very tender,” she means we should be tender to ourselves as well as to others,.

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INDIVIDUATION

I am more attracted to the Western quest for individuation than the Eastern quest for enlightenment.

What is individuation? Here are various ways we might define it.

1. The tender, crafty strategies by which a person integrates into their conscious mind the immature powers and dormant gifts of their unconscious mind, thereby becoming a psychologically whole, self-possessed individual.

2. The shrewd probing and experimentation by which a person gains access to the full scope of their soul’s code and takes all necessary steps to artfully activate their unique genius.

3. The impossible game a person tackles in the hope of releasing themself from rapt, self-absorbed identification with their conditioned patterns, as well as from the hypnotic spell of their culture's and their clique’s dominant paradigms.

4. The poignant amusement a person cultivates as they pay affectionate respect to their ego even as they teach their ego how to be a servant of the Mysterious Sublime Eternal Gorgeous Self that is above and below and beyond and within their conscious awareness.

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Can devoted seekers manage a quest for both enlightenment and individuation? I don't see why not. "Go for it!" I say to them.

Individuation is the primary work and play of my own devotional practice. I know I’ll never finish doing it. There’s no perfect version I will someday embody. It’s an endless process I wrestle and wrangle with because it’s so fun and interesting.

Bonus! My theory is that to the degree that I individuate, I'm approximating viable versions of enlightenment—of which there are at least a trillion.

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Surprise! Individuation can’t be accomplished in isolation or on the strength of epic solo struggles. It’s the opposite of rugged individualism. It is undermined by selfishness and narcissism, and it doesn't engender selfishness and narcissism.

Individuation requires deep engagement with other creatures. How can we know who we truly are and forge the best versions of ourselves unless we interweave our destinies with those of allies and compatriots—and everyone else, for that matter?

Surprise again! For me, individuation proceeds with greatest alacrity as I seek conscious union with the Divine Intelligence, whose presence permeates every cubic centimeter of the universe.

As I merge my personal awareness with the Supernal Awareness of the Only Being in the Universe, my unique soul’s code is activated more and more. My personal genius gets the full-blast nurturing of the Ultimate Genius.

The outrageous paradox, the hilarious and sublime anomaly, is this: As I merge my personal will with the One Will, my personal will thrives.

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PS: In the most sublime versions of both enlightenment and individuation, compassionate service to humanity and the earth is an essential element of the quest. I aspire to embody that devotional integrity.

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LEAVING BEHIND THE STORY HATERS

Here’s more advice from the sour, surly, macho spiritual teacher I quoted at the beginning of the newsletter. He says:

"To see, perceive, and experience life without any story, so that the bottom falls out of the center, is actually the greatest act of compassion you can do for yourself or others because then you are 'self-less.'

"Self-less is actually a literal thing,” this teacher continues, “to be without a center, without a story. Self-less is being without a self."

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Here’s my response to that counsel: I completely disagree with it.

In my view, our selves are in fact marvelous creations that are among the universe's most magnificent creations. Our stories are at the heart of why we are alive, and they provide the Divine One with sublime joy.

Our stories are not distractions from something "more spiritual" and "higher" and "more profound." They express the essence of the Creator’s creative glee. They are the central throb of the universe's reason for being.

My little self and little stories partake of the magnificent blissful play of the Big Self and Big Stories To perpetrate the dogma that this is an inferior truth is not interesting or real to me.

In fact, the entire universe is an Alive, Sentient Self who creates marvelous ongoing stories, fresh in every new moment.

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I often refer to the One Intelligence as SHE and HER, although of course She is pangender.

She loves most of all to play, to create and enjoy ever-new dramas. To be most completely united with this Divine Wow, we aspire to be like Her.

The Divine One who IS and also CREATES the universe is an artist, a dramatist, a storyteller. Spinning tales is Her wheelhouse. The generation and dissolution of forms comprise Her palette. The myths and legends and narratives that flow from Her are tricky, poignant, playful, erotic, harrowing, funny, mysterious, and unable to be dogmatized.

As we grow in our ability to be united with and to participate with Her in Her creative work, we give Her joy and become more able to feel Her visceral presence in every detail of life. By doing this, we become more and more Her co-creators.

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MACHO “SPIRITUALITY”

There are many angry, mean, macho definitions of “awakening” and “enlightenment” offered by patriarchal spiritual gurus and their collaborators.

Here's another one: "If it can be destroyed by the truth, it deserves to be destroyed by the truth."

In my view, that statement is absurdly histrionic, simplistic, and pompous — a textbook example of patriarchal nonsense.

In fact, life is far too nuanced and complex and kaleidoscopic to declare such a reductionist dogma.

Are we always absolutely sure what the truth is and what deserves to be destroyed by it? Of course not.

Is "truth" by definition transcendent, pure, clear, clean, and high above and far beyond the complicated, soulful understandings we approximate here on the material plane as we do our best to navigate through messy, fertile chaos? Hell, no.

"If it can be destroyed by the truth, it deserves to be destroyed by the truth” is just more warmongering from "teachers" who think the spiritual path must be a war against reality.

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PS: I’m all in favor of disabusing enlightenment seekers of their tendency to indulge in spiritual bypassing. And maybe there's no way to do that in a "nice" way.

But the particular quotes from the spiritual teachers that I am quoting here have elements of gleeful cruelty. They are cartoonishly melodramatic, without nuance and without a hint of the playful amusement that I understand is an inherent characteristic of well-earned compassion.

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ENTHUSIASM AS A SPIRITUAL ASSET

I am much more aligned with the teacher named Toko-pa Turner. She writes:

“Be wary of any influence in your environment that dismisses or judges your enthusiasm. Without it, you would become anesthetized to life itself.

"Anyone who demands this smallness of you is in danger themselves and may have contracted this insidious, deadening monotone.

"Enthusiasm is the vitality of spirit, expressing itself through us, and its grace in our voice should be welcomed and cherished.

"The word originates in the early 17th century, from the Greek enthousiasmos meaning ‘possessed by god.’

"Now, more than ever, the world needs your enlargement, your weirdness, your fiery crescendos of rebellion from boring.”

~ Toko-pa Turner, Excerpt from Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home

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EXUBERANT PLAY AND CREATIVE JOY, NOT BLANK VACANCY AND FORMLESS BLAH

When I wake up each morning, I say a prayer to life: “Surprise me today, s’il vous plaît! Show me what I don’t know! Route me in the direction of interesting riddles!”

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YOUR PRIMAL LONGINGS

Your primal longings are the deepest yearnings you have;

the essential instructions that brought you here to live in a body on earth;

your most crucial goals;

your core driving force;

the call to give the greatest gifts you have to offer others.

Some of your primal longings may still be unknown to your conscious mind. What could be more fun than discovering them in their fullness?

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First invitation: Weed out wishy-washy wishes and lukewarm longings that distract you from your primal longings.

Second invitation: Be assured that no one knows better than you how to tend to your primal longings and manage them to keep your life energy operating with maximum efficiency and grace.

Third invitation: Say this aloud to see how it feels: “I know exactly what I want. I know exactly what I don’t want. I know what I kind of want but I won’t waste my time on it because it sidetracks me from what I really want.”

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CULTIVATING HOLY DESIRES

Some traditions preach the value of banishing or renouncing or eluding our desires. I don't subscribe to that view.

I prefer to encourage us to cultivate excellent, holy desires. Here are a few I recommend:

• a desire for beguiling riddles and enchanting challenges that excite both our minds and hearts;

• a desire for allies who enjoy our distinctive idiosyncrasies and eccentricities;

• a desire to attract ongoing encounters with evocative, nonstandard beauty so as to always ensure a part of us remains untamed;

• a desire to help create a world in which everyone gets the food, housing, and health care they need;

• a desire for energizing surprises and unpredictable fun;

• a desire to engage in group collaborations that enhance the intelligence of everyone in the group;

• a desire to keep outgrowing what worked for us in the past and a desire to ceaselessly explore renewed approaches to being ourselves;

• a desire to be playful and imaginative with our libidinous energy;

• a desire to foster and protect the health and beauty of the natural world;

• a desire for revelations and experiences that steer us away from thinking and acting like the machines we interact with so much;

• a desire to keep recreating and reinvigorating our relationships with those we love;

• a desire to steadily refine and expand our ability to learn from non-human intelligences;

• A desire to regularly refresh our quest for freedom and deepen our capacity to be free;

• a desire to move our bodies in ways that delight our souls;

• a desire to extinguish bigotry, misogyny, plutocracy, racism, and militarism.

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LAST WORD ON THESE SUBJECTS FOR NOW

I'm all for wrangling with our shadowy aspects, purging decaying imprints, and emptying out attitudes and ideas that keep us in bondage.

But that is preliminary to all the rest of the work we do to transform ourselves into embodiments of soulful, compassionate joy — celebrating a visceral sense of connection with all of creation, devoted to manifesting our soul's code, and being in love with the Divine One whose body is the entire universe.

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When I was 18 years old, I had my first realization that reality is different from the cultural constructs we've been conditioned to believe in. I was not shattered, not decimated, not rendered bereft by this perception.

On the contrary: I was overwhelmed with the greatest bliss and gratitude I had ever experienced. I felt life had welcomed me home. I was ecstatic to feel viscerally connected with all of creation.

Ever since, I have aspired to keep waking up into this truth again and again, always in different ways. It’s working!

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

Week beginning August 10

Copyright 2023 by Rob Brezsny

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Now and then, there comes a time when I acquire an uncanny knack for seeing the totality of who you really are. I tune in to everything you do that few others know about or appreciate. I behold the big picture of your best possible future. One of those magic moments has now arrived. And it's no accident that your energy matches mine. In other words, my power to consecrate you reflects your ability to bless yourself. So give yourself the ultimate gift, please.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In the 17th century, Virgo musician Johann Pachelbel composed a piece of music he called the Canon in D. It soon went out of style and disappeared into obscurity. But over 250 years later, a French chamber orchestra rediscovered it, and by the 1980s, it was everywhere. Ever since, Pachelbel’s Canon has been used in many pop songs and is a common anthem at weddings and funerals. I'm predicting a comparable revival for you, Virgo. An influence, creation, or person that has been gone for a while will re-emerge as a presence in your life. Be decisive in adopting it for your benefit.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Author Iain S. Thomas tells us, "There is magic even in gridlock, in loneliness, in too much work, in late nights gone on too long, in shopping carts with broken wheels, in boredom, in tax returns." He says it's the same magic that prompted Joan of Arc to believe that God spoke to her and empowered her to lead an army. I wouldn't agree that it's the same magic. But I do advise us all to be alert for enchantment and interesting mysteries even in the most mundane affairs. I am a champion of the quest for holiness, delight, and marvels in seemingly unlikely locations. In the coming weeks, Libra, you will have a special talent for finding these revelatory joys.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Poet Rainer Maria Rilke said, "Self-transformation is precisely what life is." If that’s true, you are in luck. Of all the zodiac signs, you are the most skillful self-transformer. Moreover, you are entering a prolonged phase when your instinct and talent for self-transformation will be even more potent than usual. I plan to observe you closely in the hope of learning your tricks for changing into an ever-better version of yourself. Show us all how it's done, dear Scorpio!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Born under the sign of Sagittarius, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was one of history's most influential composers of classical music. His elegant, lyrical works are still widely played today. He was also a revolutionary innovator who expanded the scope of many musical genres. One composition, Piano Sonata No. 32, prefigures elements of ragtime, jazz, and boogie-woogie—70 years before those styles emerged. In this spirit, I invite you to plant a seed for the future. You will soon get glimpses of creative shifts that will someday be possible. And you will have an enhanced ability to instigate the inventive momentum that generates those shifts.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Let’s be honest. Most of us—maybe all of us!—fail to grasp the world objectively. Our perceptions get filtered through our opinions and beliefs and habit minds. The events we think we see are shaped by our expectations about them. Our projections often overrule the possibility of unbiased impartiality. We are serial misinterpreters. But there’s no need to be ashamed! It’s a universal human tendency. Having said all that, however, I believe you will have a special knack, in the coming weeks, for observing reality with more clarity and open-mindedness than usual. You will have an unprecedented opportunity to see accurately and gather fresh, raw truths.

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ARE YOU THE HERO OF YOUR OWN LIFE?

"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show." So begins Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield.

I'd like to inspire you to create a story of your own that begins with similar words.

If you'd enjoy getting more assistance from me, tune into your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES. They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the state of your destiny.

Go to https://RealAstrology.com. Register and/or log in through the main page.

The cost is $7 per sign. (Discounts available for bulk purchases.)

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AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Is this a phase of your cycle when you’ll be prone to saying things like “Why do you take me for granted?” and “I'm feeling cranky” and “It's not what you said, it's the way you said it”? Or are you in a time when the following expressions are more likely to emerge from your mouth: “I have come to understand you in a totally new and interesting way” and “Life has blessed me by removing one of my unnecessary obstacles” and “I would love to learn more about the arts of cooperation and collaboration”? Here’s what I think, Aquarius: Which way you go will depend on how clearly you set your intentions. Life will respond in kind to the moods you cultivate and the specific requests you make.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Our bodies are imperfect. They are often less than 100 percent completely healthy. They don’t always do what we wish they would. Yet even when we feel less than our best, our body continually carries out millions of biochemical marvels, mostly below the level of our conscious awareness. As the creation of an evolutionary process that has unfolded for eons, our precious organism is an amazing work of art that we have every right to regard as miraculous. According to my astrological reckoning, the coming weeks are the best time this year to honor and celebrate your body. What does it need to flourish? Ask your intuition to show you.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In Stephen King’s novel It, a character named Beverly is in love with a man who projects a sense of authority but also listens well. He is strong-minded but receptive; confident but willing to be changed; self-possessed but open to influence. That's an apt description of the allies I wish for you to attract into your life in the coming months. Whether they are lovers or partners, companions or collaborators, friends or colleagues, you need and deserve the high-quality, emotionally intelligent exchanges they offer.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Seventy-year-old Taurus-born Eric Bogosian is a prolific playwright and author renowned for his hard-edged satire. The title of one of his books is Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead. But one critic speculates he may be softening as he ages, noting that he “seems more amused than disgusted by the decaying world around him, as if his anger has been tempered by a touch of hope.” The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to cultivate a comparable reshaping, dear Taurus. Can you tenderize what has been tough? Is it possible to find redemption or entertainment in situations that have been challenging? Are you willing to add more levity and geniality to your perspective?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Decca is a UK-based record label that has produced the work of many major musicians, including Billie Holliday, the Rolling Stones, and Tori Amos. They made a huge mistake in 1962, though. A fledgling group named the Beatles tried to get signed to Decca. An executive at the company declined, saying, “We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out.” Oops. The Beatles eventually became the best-selling and most influential band of all time. I don’t think you’re at risk of making as monumental a misstep, Gemini. But please be alert to the possibility of a key opportunity coming into view. Don’t underestimate it, even if it’s different from what you imagine you want.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I’m a Cancerian who used to be overly reactive to people's carelessness. If someone was in a bad mood and flung a rash insult at me, I might take offense too easily. If a friend misunderstood me, even with no malice intended, I may have sulked. Thankfully, over time, I have learned to be more like a honey badger, whose thick skin protects it well against stings and pricks. I bring this up because the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to practice my approach. First step: Understand how people sometimes direct their frustration about life toward undeserving recipients. Second step: Vow to take things less personally. Third step: Give yourself regular compliments. Actually say them aloud.