In
this quote from William LePar's spiritual source, The Council, they explain how
we can develop a closer relationship with our God. In this quote, for those of
the Christian belief system they mention Jesus. The Council has always
recognized the other major belief systems. In this case they are speaking to an
audience that is Christian so they speak in terms that those in attendance can
relate to. The Council refers to all major belief systems as offering those in
that system the best opportunity for their spiritual growth.
The
Council: At first, it might be advisable to ask yourself what kind of relationship
do you want and do you expect with your Creator. The closer you are to your
Creator, the more intimate a relationship you have with Him and the more subtle
it is, the more you are apt to view others as part of your own family. You
begin to develop a greater relationship with your God by developing a greater sensitivity
to those around you. In this process then you become plagued with many
questions, many concerns, many crossroads of "Well, is this right or is
that right? Should I do this or should I not do that?" And at times, it
takes a great deal of effort and honesty to look beyond just the simple
question, "Is this right? or is that wrong?" and see what it truly
serves.
Right
and wrong. There are definite rights and wrongs, let us put it this way, but
you become more aware of those rights and wrongs in relationship to your
understanding of them and regardless of how you may consciously be aware of
what is right and what is wrong, it is still that inner understanding, and that
inner understanding then is increased as the relationship between you and God
increases. The greatest bridge between you and your actual Infinite Father is
Christ. The attitudes that Jesus demonstrated should be attitudes that you make
an honest or an earnest effort in achieving or developing. To have too great of
an expectation for yourself, in other words having the attitude of "I will
be able to do this and I will be able to do that and I will do this and I will do
that" sometimes is a sign of egotism, which is a horrendous stumbling
block in all spiritual growth. The attitude is that I will try, but if I fail, I
will get up and try again because success in spirituality is determined by two
things and that is, when one fails, he gets back up and starts over again, and
that he is willing to realize that in some areas his true success and true
accomplishment lies in always being able to get back up and start over again.
To be truthful to yourself is important, to realize that there are things that
you will be able to accomplish, but there are things that you will not be able
to accomplish. Be willing to subdue the destructive, self-serving ego and many
times this is hidden in self-righteous attitudes that individuals show. Subdue
that, control it, and allow the more productive self-esteem to come to the
surface and govern your life, self-respect. So if you can control the ego and
allow the self-esteem, the self-respect, to come to the surface, to be willing
to accept that when you fall in an effort, you must pick yourself back up and
start over or start from wherever point you are. Those are the two elements of
true spiritual growth. To give you a simple line of direction to follow is not
our right to do. We have given you guidelines.