Eighteen Principles of Spiritual Life ~ 1
*When people focus their attention on spirituality, it brings forth responsibility, a sense of belonging, compassion, and concern for humanity. Spirituality supports and sustains your life,
it enables you to live stronger and more fulfilling. It breaks down narrow caste systems, dogmas, religions, and international boundaries, bringing forth a life that is always aware of the present moment. Only through awakening and the elevation of consciousness can wars be eliminated and human rights be rebuilt in today’s world.
*But how can we achieve these? What are the main principles of spiritual life?
1. Faith.
*The first step on the spiritual path is to have faith in yourself. Without faith, you cannot achieve anything in life. Doubt and faith are opposites; when you remove the negative, you will find that the positive has always been there. When doubt is absent, faith is present; therefore, to gain faith you must understand what doubt is.
*When you observe the nature of doubt, you will find that people always doubt positive things but never question negative ones. You can understand this from your own experience. You doubt others’ integrity but never question their dishonesty. You doubt people’s virtues but never their flaws. If someone says to you “I love you very much,” you might respond: “Really?” But when someone says “I hate you,” you never ask: “Are you really?”
*Understanding that your doubts always question positive things while having confidence in negative ones means that whenever doubt arises, something good must be happening. Responding this way allows doubt to provide a pathway for your progress. I am not asking you to discard doubt; rather, embrace it as much as possible—doubt one hundred percent—this will help you transcend it. Once you’ve crossed over the barrier of doubt, you’ll be able to move forward more decisively.
2. Stop Blaming Others and Yourself.
*The next step is to stop blaming others and stop blaming yourself. The spiritual journey is a return to one’s true self; however, when you blame yourself, you’re not moving toward your true self nor being attracted by it. When your direction is not toward your true self or spirituality, it will inevitably lean toward worldly materialism. The happiness derived from worldly materials can be exhausting while joy derived from spirituality uplifts us.
*You may discover negative traits within yourself but do not blame yourself for them. When you blame yourself, you’ll start blaming others because self-blame cannot last long; you’ll seek an excuse to escape and turn toward blaming others instead—this leads to resentment rising up. However, when you blame others you’re also preparing to blame yourself again; it’s precisely because there are so many accusations today that global consciousness has declined.
3. Praise Others and Yourself.
*The third principle is to praise both yourself and others. Praising others helps you transcend criticism towards them; praise can inspire spirituality while spiritual presence uplifts oneself, others, and the entire environment. When praising yourself and others, you’re creating a space filled with joy.
*When you’re able to praise yourself, there’s no need for external validation from others. However, we often think that praising ourselves stems from egoism (the self), but in reality, egoism does not praise itself—it only seeks praise from others. Understand that all praise ultimately returns to God! For example, if you say that you have beautiful eyes—who created them? Every piece of praise returns back to God—the Creator.
*The act of praising expands consciousness; your inner self blossoms as a result; whereas blaming shrinks consciousness. Since on a spiritual level we aim for consciousness and mind expansion—do not let it suffer setbacks due to blame. Sincerely praise others while observing how it makes you feel.
4. Sincerity.
*Sincerity is the fourth principle. Be sincere in everything; do not deceive yourself nor try to deceive others. You are not walking on the path of spiritual cultivation for anyone else’s sake. The pursuit of spirituality without sincerity becomes hollow—it brings no benefits at all. Only sincerity brings peace, happiness, and joy—things that cannot be obtained through other means in this world.
5. Responsibility.
*The fifth principle on the spiritual path is a sense of responsibility. Walking on the path of spiritual cultivation does not mean escaping responsibility but rather taking on responsibilities fully! The amount of responsibility you take on in life determines how much progress you’ll make spiritually! If you evade responsibilities given by heaven above—you’ll face even more challenges ahead! People mistakenly believe that spiritual cultivation means avoiding difficult tasks—not at all! The effectiveness and proactive actions determine one’s achievements in spiritual practice.
by – Phoenix Mountain Cihuang Palace