Spiritual Liberation

Fulfilling Your Soul’s Potential

Michael Beckwith runs the Agape church in Los Angeles and is one of the most plugged in human beings I've ever seen. In this Note, we'll explore some of his many Big Ideas—including how important discipline is and the fact that as we rock it, our discipline turns to blissipline. We'll also see how to avoid spiritual constipation by PRACTICING what we study and how even enlightened beings burn their bagels on occasion (so we can prolly relax into our own imperfections).

“My central message is not about religiosity or churchianity. It is about aspiring toward spiritual liberation, which I define as becoming free from the narrow confines of fear, doubt, worry, and lack, and living instead from a conscious awareness of one’s Authentic Self, one’s true nature of wholeness.

Spiritual liberation results from discovering and expressing the intrinsic qualities of enlightened consciousness that have been ours since the moment we came into existence. Simply put, all that is required to live up to our highest potential is already inside us awaiting our conscious activation. Living up to our potential is about becoming more ourselves, more of who and what we are as awakened beings, a central theme you will encounter throughout this book.”

~ Michael Bernard Beckwith from Spiritual Liberation

Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith is *easily* one of the most electrifying and energetic people I’ve ever seen.

He lights up the transdenominational church he founded over 20 years ago (the Agape Spiritual Center) every Wednesday and Sunday and if you find yourself in Los Angeles I HIGHLY recommend you check it and him out!

It’s simply impossible to capture his energy in a book, but Spiritual Liberation is packed with a bunch of Big Ideas I’m excited to explore. So, let’s get on it. :)

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Discipline Leads to Blissipline

“The transition from the egoic self to the Authentic Self requires discipline… The good news is that discipline eventually becomes what I call a “blissipline” because it leads to playing our part with integrity, dignity, elegance, passion, and deep contentment.”

We’ll jump right in with a look at the fact that if we’ve got spiritual liberation on our soul’s to-do list, we’ve gotta have discipline!

As Beckwith says: “We’ve all experienced how discipline sometimes causes an automatic rebellion or resistance within us. We don’t like the energy around the word discipline, perhaps because of the place it has occupied in our upbringing, education or religion. However, a healthy view of discipline keeps us on track in areas of our life where we’ve determined to make a change. Discipline is a practice of self-love, self-respect, and surrender that results in freedom.”

It’s interesting how averse some peeps are to the idea of “discipline”—as Beckwith says, it seems to have some weird energy around it.

Fact is, though, we NEED it if we want to evolve into our Authentic Self!

I love to quote Lao-tzu’s wisdom on discipline. If the ultimate “go with the flow” guru has this to say about it, I take it pretty seriously: “Don’t think you can attain total awareness and whole enlightenment without proper discipline and practice. This is egomania. Appropriate rituals channel your emotions and life energy toward the light. Without the discipline to practice them, you will tumble constantly backward into darkness.”

In terms of discipline leading to “blissipline” (love that!), Seneca comes to mind. In his Letters from a Stoic (see Notes), the classic philosopher tells us: “You have to persevere and fortify your pertinacity until the will to good becomes a disposition to good.”

Translation: We’ve gotta have discipline to stick with something long enough so we can create new habits that eventually lead to a new way of being where doing the right thing comes naturally.

He also says: “How much better to pursue a straight course and eventually reach that destination where the things that are pleasant and the things that are honorable finally become, for you, the same.”

Translation: Discipline leads to blissipline when what you love to do is what is best for you. :)

So, let’s bring this back to you.

How’s your relationship to discipline?

Need to apply a little more to your spiritual practice?

What’s the #1 thing your soul’s been begging you to do?!?

Meditation? (Beckwith goes OFF about how essential meditation is to our liberation.) Yoga? Getting more rest? Exercising? Quitting smoking or drinking or watching TV so much or … ?

Get on that and watch your discipline lead to blissipline! :)

One more brilliant thought from Beckwith to drive this Idea home (it’s BIG!!):

“One of the ways we hijack our capacity to experience a state of beholding is that we become swept up in what I call the ‘tyranny of trends.’ The tyranny of trends allows for the lowest common denominator to set the standard of success, and of course, ‘coolness.’ Very often, trends convince individuals what their life’s purpose should be. The tyranny of trends is blasted out at us from television, radio, newspapers, tabloids, computers, and even our dentist’s waiting room, attempting to convince us that we must smell a certain way, wear a certain label, weigh a specific weight, have whiter teeth, drive a certain car, make a certain income, and so on, before we can consider that we’ve made it.”

Freedom from the Tyranny of Trends

“Tyranny of trends.” Love that.

As Beckwith says, we’re *so* conditioned by the lowest common denominator stuff that pours out of TVs, radios, the Internet and even our dentist’s waiting room.

Wanna round up to the *highest* common denominator?!? Read, meditate, journal, discover your highest self and have the audacity to tap into and express your Authentic Self!!!

In Beckwith’s words: “Begin to consciously break your agreement with the mediocrity present in the tyranny of trends. No longer consider trendsetters as people who are to be admired or imitated. Break free from the hold of what society tells us we should be like. Be drawn into the presence of those who exemplify the next level of human evolution—a spiritual teacher or spiritual community. Each of us has arrived on planet Earth to behold, to participate in the adventure of exploring the truth that we are enlightened beings having a human incarnation.”

Positive-Negativity

“Not all pain is negative, even though we label all forms of pain as such and resist them. Positive-negativity is a circumstance that causes us to go deeper, to search ourselves, to stop placing blame on the causes of suffering outside ourselves, and take self-responsibility.

Circumstances arise and hard times come so that we may grow through them, so that we may evolve. I like to say that a bad day for the ego is a good day for the soul. When we look back on some of our most challenging experiences, we admit that we wouldn’t trade what we gained from them for remaining the same as we were. Something within acknowledges that during those times when we are pressed against the ropes of life, we learn to become more generous, to forgive, to never give up on ourselves or others. We learn to regenerate, to rejuvenate, to surrender.”

Positive-negativity. That’s brilliant.

Something stressing you out right now?

Can you step back and see the positive in the negative event?

Can you see how the greatest, most transformative times of your life tend to come after the most challenging/stressful?!?

When we start to see that trend, we can get a little less caught up in the drama of it—reminding ourselves not only that “this too shall pass” but that “this too shall lead to incredible growth!”

(Yah? :)

And, while you’re looking for the positive in the negative, you might dig Marci Shimoff’s great question from her equally great book Happy for No Reason (see Notes): “If this were happening for a higher purpose, what would it be?”

Don’t Wait. Participate, Risk & Grow Now!

“What keeps nagging at you to take action that you keep holding back on, postponing? Don’t wait. Participate, risk, and grow now. The longer you hide out in the attempt to remain safe, the more you become fearful, nervous, hesitant. You will not be present as a participant in birthing a new world, a world that very much wants and needs the contribution of your consciousness.”

What keeps nagging at you to take action that you keep holding back on and postponing?

As David Schwartz describes in his great book The Magic of Thinking Big (see Notes): “A good idea if not acted upon produces terrible psychological pain. But a good idea acted upon brings enormous mental satisfaction. Got a good idea? Then do something about it. Use action to cure fear and gain confidence. Here’s something to remember: Actions feed and strengthen confidence; inaction in all forms feeds fear. To fight fear, act. To increase fear—wait, put off, postpone.”

So, uh, what’re you waiting for?

The world’s waiting for you. :)

Burning Bagels and Mis-takes

“A conscious realization of our innate oneness with the Ineffable does not mean that we will never make a mistake again. Even enlightened beings burn their bagels once in a while. It’s important to maintain a sense of humor because this is how you will stop being afraid of making a mistake. You’ll make some, but so what? That’s why they’re called mis-takes. Humor relaxes the uptight ego. You get a new cue from your inner Self and simply say, ‘I missed my cue, so let’s do a second take.’ Your willingness to take the risk of making a mistake is actually an expression of courage and a willingness to grow from them. Mistakes are about getting the blessing in the lesson and the lesson in the blessing.”

Your ego a little uptight on occasion? (Mine, too. :)

Me thinks it’s time to take ourselves a little less seriously, laugh the next time we burn the bagels and KNOW that a “mistake” is just a “mis-take.”

(Isn’t that cool?!? :)

What’s one bagel burning mis-take you need to look at and laugh at?

This is important, let’s make it official.

I need to laugh at this bagel burning mis-take that’s currently stressin’ me out:

__________________________________________________________________

Nice.

Here’s to celebrating the fact we’ve got the courage to take the risk of making a mistake and the willingness to grow from them! :)

Practice, Practice, Practice

“That which transforms your life is what you practice. And what you practice constitutes your personal laws of life—not what you merely believe in, but what you practice. It’s all well and good to read books, and to attend seminars, lectures, and workshops, and to say, ‘Oh, that really resonates with me! It’s now part of my life’s philosophy.’ Your philosophy may give you a temporary state of euphoria, but if you want to be anchored in reality, it takes practice, practice, practice. We are not here to be euphoric but to get free. Rudimentary spirituality is theory; advanced spirituality is practice.”

Ahhhh… Practice, practice, practice! Me likes.

And this is *amazing*: “Rudimentary spirituality is theory; advanced spirituality is practice.”

As we know, it’s NOT about who can most intelligently chat about the most complex theory. That’s rudimentary spirituality. The advanced practitioner PRACTICES the ideals and ideas that resonate with her.

So, how about you?

What’s the most amazing spiritual idea you’ve heard lately that just totally resonated with you?

…

Are you practicing it?

Spiritual Indigestion and Constipation

“To agree with the keys described here is one thing, to practice them is another. To read and study and have conversations about spiritual practices is good, but unless you incorporate them into your life, you won’t embody or integrate them—which means you aren’t receiving their benefits. Ask yourself, ‘How can I now move from theory into practice?’ If you merely collect spiritual information without practicing it, all you will develop is a case of spiritual indigestion and constipation.”

Hah. That’s classic.

Feeling a little “spiritual indigestion or constipation”?

No worries.

Just time to PRACTICE (yes, that word again!! :) the truths you know to be rockin’.

Personality vs. Character

“Understand that to be creatively maladjusted is to know the vital distinction between personality and character. The word character is from the Old French caractere and means ‘imprint on the soul.’ The etymology of personality suggests veneer and is connected with the Latin word persona, which was a mask worn by actors. Character is revealed when our mask is removed.

It’s easy to tell if you are living from character or personality: If things aren’t going your way, personality pouts while character remains unruffled and learns from the experience. When you are not in psychologically or emotionally safe territory, personality panics. Character, on the other hand, rides the vicissitudes of life with even-mindedness. Personality endeavors to extract happiness from its experiences, whereas character realizes that happiness is an inherent quality of being that infuses experiences with happiness.”

Personality vs. Character.

What a powerful distinction.

From where are you living? :)

The Spirit of Life

“When you realize that the Spirit individualized itself and named itself you, you unhook yourself from nonsense, such as what others think of you, even what you are thinking about yourself. Instead, you begin to ask, ‘How is the Spirit of Life functioning in, through, and as me?’ Place that question before the tribunal of your consciousness more and more frequently, and you will begin to attune yourself to insights from the realm of the Real.”

Amazing what happens when we identify with the force that created both us and everything else in the universe rather than the lowest common denominator stuff fed to us thru the media, eh?

Suddenly, other people’s opinions of us just don’t seem to be quite as important.

So, how do we connect to that Spirit more and more often?

Let’s place this amazing (!) question before the tribunal of our consciousness more and more frequently!→ “How is the Spirit of Life functioning in, through, and as me?”

Be Radically Alive

“Ground yourself in the intention to be radically alive. I like these words of Dr. Howard Thurman: ‘Don’t worry about what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.’ This means that, as long as you are on the planet, you are here to deliver your gifts, your talents, and your skills with confidence and inner authority, withholding nothing. This is when you are living full out, moving in the reality of love, affluence, and artistry of being. Your radical aliveness not only affects your individual life but life on the planet as we know it.”

That Thurman quote is one of the best ones out there.

Reminds me of Joseph Campbell. In his amazing Power of Myth DVD and book (see Notes) with Bill Moyers, Campbell says this:

Moyers: “In this sense, unlike heroes such as Prometheus or Jesus, we’re not going on our journey to save the world but to save ourselves.”

Campbell: “But in doing that, you save the world. The influence of a vital person vitalizes, there’s no doubt about it. The world without spirit is wasteland. People have the notion of saving the world by shifting things around, changing the rules, and who’s on top, and so forth. No, no! Any world is a valid world if it’s alive. The thing to do is to bring life to it, and the only way to do that is to find in your own case where the life is and become alive yourself.”

So… What makes you feel radically alive?!?

GO OUT AND DO IT!!!!!

(Pretty please. With agave on top. … Ahem. :)

P.S. The good (make that brilliant) Reverend has one more nugget for us in this Note: “The Spirit of the living God is knocking at the door of your heart, reminding you that you are an exquisite, precious, and powerful being. Shine! Sing! Be bold enough to articulate what you are sensing, feeling, and knowing. Now is the time for you to partner with that immense power. Allow the tidal wave of the divine inspiration to wash over you and express in, through, and as you. Consciously and confidently enter the sacred process of co-creation, because That which expresses as you does not happen through anyone else in quite the same way. Become a master of your own divine, radiant creative expression.”

About the author

Author

Michael Bernard Beckwith

Founder and Spiritual Director of the Agape International Spiritual Center.

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