20 Spiritual Teachings That Will Blow Your Mind

Your spiritual journey is a very unique and individual one, a chance to grow, learn and discover your inner being and your highest form of self. For some, this may come through meditation and self-reflection, while others may find their direction through contact with a spiritual mentor. With each stage you reach along your journey you will discover new and enlightening sides of your own spiritual being.

Signs of spiritual growth and epiphanies can come from a number of different avenues, opening your eyes, heart, and mind to new ways of viewing the world around us. Here are 20 different spiritual teachings that may lead you to your next level of spiritual growth:

1. Beliefs separate. While it may be tempting to identify yourself with your specific beliefs or religious association, we are best served by putting these labels aside. Instead, hold onto the one label that applies to all: we are human.

 

2. Each morning, I am born again. What I do today is what matters most. While the past brought us to this moment, helping to mold the person that we are today, it is now behind us. The future is unknown and out of our reach. Instead, focus on the present moment before us and the relationships that it includes.

 

3. Be grateful for everyone and everything. Each and every interaction and experience in our lives brings with it a chance to learn and grow.

 

4. Everything I need is already within me. The discovery of your own personal strength and power removes your reliance on the world around you. You are not subject to external sources. Learn and understand the balance within yourself.

 

5. Don’t get on the train. This metaphor for meditation came from Mathieu Ricard. The idea is that your conscious awareness is a train station, and your thoughts, sensations, feelings, and emotions are the trains.

 

6. Equanimity. Equanimity is the balance of the mind. Throughout this process, you learn how to center yourself in a way that ensures that your mind is not swayed by outside influences such as pain or pleasure.

 

7. Faith is letting go. Some may believe that the root of faith is the ability to hold onto a promise of a bright future, however true faith involves letting go of the hurts and negative experiences along the way.

 

8. Breath is life. Gil Frondsdal, a Buddhist teacher, advises that if you are aware of the breath you are aware of the present moment before you. An important meditation technique, the awareness of breath allows you to control your breath, empowering you to calm yourself.

 

9. No self. Let go of the illusion that there is a separate ‘I’ in the universe. This separation is nothing more than an illusion. Instead, embrace the unity and all inclusiveness of the universe that we live in.

 

10. Make your mind as vast as the sky. A teaching from Matthieu Ricard, this belief directly points at the human tendency to become small-minded or constricted in our thinking. It is important that we remind ourselves to keep our minds wide open to the universe.

 

11. I can (and do) create my life through creative visualization (to a certain extent). While it is important not to fall into the trap of viewing people and objects in your life as pawns in the quest to accomplish your own goals, visualizing your life is a powerful way to direct your efforts in a positive and empowering way.

 

12. Everything that has happened to you is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to prevent you from growing. You get to choose. Rather than allowing yourself to fall into a victim mentality, look at the situations before you and ask yourself how or what you can learn from it.

 

13. Suffering is the result of clinging. When we allow ourselves to hold onto our expectations of what life SHOULD be, then we create a situation of suffering when life may fall short of these expectations. Instead, refuse to cling to ‘what should be’ and embrace ‘what is.’

 

14. All meditation is good meditation. When looking into the act of meditation you will be met with elaborate, long practices – hours dedicate to a specific meditational form or process. The truth is that any meditation in your life is positive, even if the only time you have in a day is a quick 30 seconds.

 

15. Worry is useless. Worrying is nothing more than the act of planning for a negative future. Thinking of your future in this negative lens will effectively welcome negative energies into your life. Choose, instead, to focus on the positives before you.

 

16. If you meet someone whose soul is not aligned with yours, send them love and move along. Not everyone that you meet will be a healthy addition to your life. If you feel as though someone may be a negative or toxic influence it is important that you recognize this and move onto to something better.

 

17. All things must pass. All emotions and states in your life will pass – this includes both the good and the bad. Friends, family, our pets, situations that we have come to love and enjoy. Embrace the sometimes-harsh truth that nothing is completely here to stay.

 

18. Friendship is the highest form of love. A teaching that came straight from Osho, this statement rings incredibly true. Look at the deepest of romantic loves and you will find that they are built on a foundation of true friendship.

 

19. Metta. Metta is a meditation technique centered around the idea of loving kindness. During meditation, we focus on sending good wishes and positive energies to every sentient being we encounter, including ourselves, our loved ones, our enemies and complete strangers.

 

20. Difficult people are the best teachers. We should be thankful for the difficult people in our lives as they teach us some of life’s most important lessons including compassion, forgiveness, and understanding.