Endless Searching: What You Are Seeking Is Inside Of You
Written by Kirsti Formoso, MSc. Transpersonal Psychology, BSc. Psychology
Suppose we are all searching for something. Perhaps we could call it happiness, but maybe that doesn’t quite feel right. For many, this search is like chasing a dream or projecting our hopes into the future. Yet we know we are searching for something, each one of us.
The latest computer game or mobile phone, or perhaps an exquisite antique picture or piece of furniture, a new handbag or a faster car, or maybe it’s the quiet life, the good life, a new partner or the perfect job, a bigger house, an exotic holiday or the next spiritual retreat—each of these can represent dreams of a better future or imagined happiness.
WHAT ARE YOU SEARCHING FOR?
Whatever it is, it is not an ordinary thing but something with a certain quality about it. Why is it that we seek out something that is extraordinary, more perfect, more whole, more exquisite? Often, we are searching for meaning and answers to the idea that something essential is missing from our lives. Is it because we believe it will make us more whole, more complete, content, happy, fulfilled and joyful?
To connect to the very best, the ultimate, the divine validates something in us. And for a moment, when we get our hands on what it is we are searching, we are happy, content, fulfilled and joyful. A deep yearning within us has been met. This can feel as though we have found an answer or discovered meaning, even if only temporarily. We may rest and sit back. Enjoy the feelings that accompany that reward, the glory of achieving or gaining that something exquisite, something unique and special.
THE ENDLESS CYCLE OF SEARCHING
Yet soon the feeling fades and is replaced with a new yearning and a new search. This ongoing process can be described as a cycle in which what is sought constantly shifts, keeping the seeker engaged in a never-ending pursuit. Again, for that something special, something rich, something perfect, something exquisite, something extraordinary, that one thing that reflects something deep within us, that something special that completes us, and completes our identity… for a moment.
Each time our search is met, comes a reward, but it is superficial, it is transient, the object of desire may soon fall from desire, or it may stay in your life to be enjoyed and appreciated, yet a new search begins, the yearning returns. The yearning for that something special.
Suppose the yearning is not for the object of desire but for the reward that it brings. The joy, the content, the sense of completion, the sense of being whole, validated, the sense that the object mirrors your being, reflects who you are, it speaks to you, connects you. Absorbed as a part of you. Yet the continuous stream of desire and yearning, seeking and finding loops continually through life, incessantly demanding new things for new feelings. This process can be difficult to break, as what is sought always seems just out of reach, making it challenging to step outside the cycle.
THE SPIRITUAL SEEKER
While most people spend their entire life seeking something, most are barking up the wrong tree. Innate joy and well-being are not found in things. The spiritual seeker, the person on their spiritual journey, invested in spiritual growth, is likely the only seeker who has the potential of finding what they are looking for.
Not everyone is a spiritual seeker. Most humans are content with material pursuits and have little interest in exploring deeper truths about existence, consciousness, and the true self. They often identify with the body and mind, unaware of the nature of their own lives and the lives of others, and remain focused on external achievements rather than inner awareness.
Spiritual seekers search beyond the world of material objects and Maya. The yearning for something more real, more sacred, and more divine accompanies spiritual seekers through life. Motivated by a desire for truth, self-realisation, enlightenment, and awareness, they seek to understand the nature of existence, spirit, and god. Committed to their spiritual path and spiritual awakening, seeking spiritual knowledge and self-discovery, spiritual seekers shop for yoga retreats and meditation apps rather than handbags.
THE BHAGAVAD GITA
The Bhagavad Gita describes different types of spiritual seekers and emphasises the importance of personal development in the course of spiritual growth. Seekers often draw lessons from their own lives and the lives of others, sometimes by reading biographies or participating in writing workshops that foster self-discovery and transformation. Teachers and guides play a crucial role, leading seekers on their course and encouraging direct experience as a means to spiritual growth.
Spiritual seekers are often distinguished from those who follow organised religion or organised religious practice. Many have little interest in religion in the more traditional sense or traditional sense, and may identify as free thinkers rather than being necessarily religious. Their approach is more personal and experiential, rather than conforming to set doctrines.
On their journey, seekers face challenges in relationship and relationships, as their evolving awareness can impact connections with others. Emotions and desires can create obstacles, but the pursuit to seek peace and inner peace remains central. They encounter mysteries—locked rooms, such questions, and uncertainties written in a very foreign tongue or foreign tongue, as described by Rainer Maria Rilke. Living patiently through the process, seekers hold hope that answers may come on a distant day, reflecting on what is felt, their dreams, and even experiences from a young age, such as being a young poet.
Throughout their journey, seekers question their identification with the body, explore the nature of their own lives and the lives of others, and use various means—such as direct experience, guidance from a teacher, and participation in writing workshops—to progress toward truth, self-realisation, and ultimately, enlightenment.
SPIRITUAL GROWTH
Wandering down paths searching for the latest spiritual practice that will liberate them from all the searching and seeking. But alas, these are just tools along the path, practices to help spiritual seekers, developed by spiritual traditions over millennia. These tools are means to an end, supporting a spiritual journey that is a course or process unfolding over time. Things to be distracted by on a lifelong journey.
Many spiritual seekers are on the right path, engaging in practices for spiritual growth, but they get absorbed by the tools and practices, thinking it’s all about the Scorpion pose or the Ayahuasca trip. They take their eye off the goal.
SPIRITUAL AWAKENING
Until one day, the mysteries are revealed in a life-changing event. A spiritual awakening, a mystical experience, a deeper sense of reality, purpose, and love. This is often a moment of self-realisation and enlightenment, achieved through direct experience of one's true nature. Perhaps it knocks on your door to remind you that it is your extraordinary, exquisite and divine self it is seeking.
Suppose you found something extraordinary, exquisite and divine within, something so perfect, so pure, so full of love, so content, so extraordinary that you become enraptured in its glory and all seeking and desire falls away, and all that is left is pure joy and love, and the feeling of being whole, of being enough.
Finding our true self brings an end to searching and an end to looking for happiness in external things. We find what we are looking for within, and that becomes our centre of power, our guiding light, our security and our confidence.
No longer tied to searching for things outside of ourselves, we are freed of the constant cycles of searching and consuming. Our time and energy are free to be, to enjoy, and to soak up this beautiful world we live in. This realisation brings a deep sense of peace that permeates every aspect of our lives.
The Definitive Guide to Authentic Spiritual Awakening
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How to Have a Mystical Experience and Taste Enlightenment
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