One of the biggest challenges for me as a witch is to live my life by spiritual guidance rather than physical perception. It's a process of trusting that the spiritual side of life is as real - or more real - than the physical obstacles that appear in my path.
Back in my childhood, when I went to church with my parents, we were admonished to follow the directive the Apostle Paul laid out in 2 Corinthians 5:7 ("We live by faith, not by sight.") It was a challenge to us as Christians to follow God's will and to believe that He had a plan for us and our lives. The question I find myself asking is, as pagans, should we live by the same principle?
It's an interesting question and one that challenges the very theology we live by. Like most pagans, my beliefs and personal pantheon are complex and not easy to define. I believe that all things - animals, trees, the sky and earth - have a specific, individual spirit. I believe that there is a higher power, that the divine is complete enough to embrace both male and female qualities. I believe that I have lived more than one lifetime and it is possible that I may be reborn again. I even believe that each of us are guided and aided by spiritual entities - I call them spirit guides - that watch over us and help us on our path.
But do I believe that these guides and the spiritual world around me is more real than the mundane challenges I face? Can I trust that, should I follow the guidance of the spiritual world, that there will be positive outcomes in my mundane life?
The first thing to consider is our current incarnation. If we believe that we only live this one lifetime and there is nothing to be found beyond the boundaries of death, then we should follow the mundane. If this life is all we have, then the things we find here - our challenges, our loved ones, our victories and defeats - should be held in the highest regard. After all, if this is all we get, then our life is defined by our accomplishments. Can we truly consider our existence a success without the perfect spouse, the perfect family, and the perfect career?
But if there is more to our existence than this single lifetime, we find that we need to alter our perception. If there is something beyond this incarnation, then this lifetime is but a single drop of water in the sea of eternity. We can't carry our career, our car, our house from one lifetime to the next. The only constant is our spirit - or, for lack of a better term, our soul.
If our spirit is the constant denominator in all of our lifetimes, if it is the only portion of us that exists beyond this lifetime, then our focus should be not on the mundane, but on eternal spiritual things.
This doesn't mean we should give up our families or our careers and become hermits meditating in the wilderness. After all, the people that fill our lives are also spiritual beings. By interacting with them, we are given the opportunity to honor and respect the spirit world as it manifests in their lives. This manifestation of spirit includes the people that enter our lives, the natural world we live in, and the spirit world that is ever present.
Early in my practice I used to pretend that I was being secretly evaluated by a teacher from a mystery school, that should I pass the tests they presented, I would be welcomed into a loving brotherhood and shown the secrets of life. The tests were the encounters that I had in daily life - the person who cut me off in traffic, the grouchy sales person, the annoying co-worker - and my evaluation was based solely on whether I was capable of loving them and treating them as if they were spirits that I respected and honored. Instead of yelling at the driver that cut me off, I would make room for a driver that needed to get in my lane. Instead of scowling at the grouchy salesperson, I'd smile and thank them for their help. I found this approach to be an effective way to cultivate the proper perspective and attitude in my own life.
But even with this tool there's still a missing component: How do we honor the spirit world, our spirit guides, and our personal practices?
We listen.
When we are seeking direction in our lives, we typically have a handful of choices in front of us. Regardless of how confused we may be, in spite of our second-guessing, there is always an approach that we know is the correct choice for us to make. We may simply feel that it's right. It may be the only choice where we feel a small sense of inner peace. We may find that it's the only approach that doesn't elicit a nervous internal response.
That sign, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, is the direction and guidance of the spiritual world. If our spirit is truly eternal, if it's our soul that is the one part of us that survives from lifetime to lifetime, then from a broader perspective it's easy to conclude that the nurturing and education of our spirit is where our focus should be. In the expanse of eternity, the effort we expend in purchasing a dream car or a new trinket is lost and forgotten in the sands of time. However, the energy we invest in educating and nurturing our soul is carried with us from one life to the next.
If it is understood that the education of our spirit is an eternal process, and this world is fleeting, then on some level we must instinctively understand that this life is essentially a training ground. In this life, we face challenges. Our responses to those challenges change who we are - in a sense, they alter our spirit. We can take comfort in the knowledge that a student isn't given lessons that they aren't prepared for - it's counter-productive. By the same reasoning, we should see the challenges and struggles on our path as opportunities for personal growth and betterment. These lessons are specific for our lives, for the place we are on our path.
Which means, there must be a bigger plan.
Whether it's the aid of a spirit guide, an instinct that guides us, a precognitive dream or vision, or feeling of peace about a difficult decision, we're being given the direction to live our lives by spiritual guidance rather than mundane perception. Seen through mundane eye, our life is a chaotic wilderness of challenges and obstacles, with no clear path to follow. By following the guidance of spirit, we are shown a path, even if it is only the next step in front of us.
So why do we struggle to follow the guidance of spirit if it's the only clear path? Because the steps are challenging. To grow, we must stretch beyond our comfort zones. If we were trying to develop our physical bodies, we would continually increase the level of our workout - our physical challenge - until we reached our goals. Each workout would be harder than the one before. We'd lift more weight, do more repetitions, add in exercises, run more distance, run faster, and push our bodies until we're stiff and sore. Spiritual development is much the same. Instead of sore muscles, we can find ourselves with an aching heart. Instead of the challenge of leaving a warm bed to go on our morning run, we struggle to move beyond our comfort zone and the familiar limitations of our fears.
But much like physical exercise, spiritual development gets easier. We find long stretches where everything is wonderful, much like a fit athlete finds an element of fun in his or her physical endeavors. Living life spiritually is a challenge, but its a challenge that each and every one of us is capable of overcoming. All we need to do is take the steps that spirit shows us.