List an attribute(s) that is an encouraging sign you are growing in your spiritual process

[juliank]

The growth that occurs in the spiritual process especially after the initial 'honeymoon phase' can get murky, ambiguous and very very subtle.

 

We all live in our own bodies and this makes the ability to see ourselves and our growth objectively that much more difficult.

 

Please list attributes or observations that are encouraging signs you have grown or are moving in the right direction wrt your process. This I feel could help others who may be stuck or think they are stuck and not realize progress is being made.

 

I also understand that is a Taoist/Eastern philos forum and that the idea of progress is a misnomer but until we are all enlightened, some general markers and a loose barometer of our own spiritual 'temperature' can be incredibly useful and most importantly encouraging.

 

In this society especially I feel we need every scrap of encouragement that we can get.

 

I'll start.

 

Today on the bus I came across a group of people whose conversation would normally be the equivalent of putting nails inside my brain and scratching the inside out with no mercy. You might wonder what 'type' of people these were but to define it I think would be to add distinction ; the very thing that is pernicious for ones growth.

 

Anyways, what i found on this bus ride was the ability to fully accept them as part of myself, and not be bothered by their conversation, demeanor and general 'tone' to their speech. The most encouraging aspect of this whole experience was that I didn't 'try' to ignore them or to accept them or to use intellectual acrobatics to justify their presence. It happened of its own accord with zero internal.volition on my part. I wanted to literally get down and kiss the ground when I got off the bus but to claim victory would be to overemphasize the importance.

 

Instead I felt a warm sense of gratitude for the inner silence and stillness that has been growing inside me after many years of meditation and I went about my day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nikolai1]

There's one thing I get, which although little, gives me lots of pleasure...Now when I close my eyes, rather than darkness, there is a very subtle inner light that adds a feeling of real depth.

 

Imagine you decide to crawl out your tent and lie flat on the mountain, gazing up into the starry void.

 

This is the beautiful feeling I get when I close my eyes - I see an infinite void. I see and understand that outer space is just the counterpart to an inner space, just as awesome and immense. To regard the stars and planets is to feel your own smallness and insignificance, to regard Inner Space is to feel the infinitudes that YOU contain. Macrocosm and microcosm are just different perspectives on the Self.

 

All this doesn't exactly make the world a better place, but it fills me with beauty and happiness.