Spiritual Growth
*Kuan Yin: On Spiritual Abundance: 5 Do Now Steps
By Hope Bradford CHt, the Official Guide To Spiritual Growth
Jul 10, 2007

It would probably assist, if from the beginning, I explained Eastern goddess, Kuan Yin’s interpretation of “abundance”. Hearing the word, abundance, some might believe the goddess is referring to materialistic gain. Emphasizing there is nothing wrong with material possessions; Kuan Yin wants us to know the importance of differentiating between materialistic wealth and the clean, clear wealth of higher consciousness. The following excerpt from The Living Word of Kuan Yin
http://www.amazon.com/Living-Word-Kuan-Yin/dp/1419646400
explains it best:

“Kuan Yin is showing me something very interesting. I see the large diamond and realize it is also a flower. I see a beautiful flower and realize it is simultaneously a diamond. She is explaining how enormous wealth is not necessarily materialistic. There is the clean and clear wealth of higher consciousness. It is devoid of the depraved energy that can be attached to money. This is the “pure wealth”: the wealth of higher consciousness. I’m being shown a dimension, a plane, wherein the pure wealth of consciousness is a reality. It is reality where everyone is loved, where everyone is fed and healthy. Kuan Yin is showing me around this dimension. She’s showing me the good-heartedness of the energies that live here. There is someone walking on the path above, looking down to where the people are. I’m being shown how everyone is simultaneously aware, that if someone loves, they all feel love. If someone gives, they all give. And if someone is hurting, they all feel the hurt. Those who dwell in this reality are one and separate at the same time. That’s why this reality works.”

According to Kuan Yin, it is of foremost importance to comprehend the beautiful paradox--that we all possess our uniqueness and individuality while remaining part of the One: “The God force is separate and not separate, whole and not whole at the same time. Really, it is not “sliceable”, not reducible. Even when it is sliced into individual energies, it does not diminish the total God force or the power of the individual.”

Offering myriad spiritual techniques for achieving the Kuan Yin spirit, the goddess elucidates that we are “straight slivers coming from a central ball of light. These straight slivers of light become a person who plays out adventures from his or her beliefs. When you put all the slivers together they form God. Momentarily estranged from his or her God Self, an individual may forget he or she is the sliver and the ball of light. Taking things too personally, clinging to the narrow vision, then, one can become overwhelmed by pain and suffering.”

As ego sometimes has a tendency to cleave to the more “narrow vision”, meditation upon Oneness allows a respite from ego’s limited, in time perspective. Referring to the alpha or trance state as the “peace brainwave”, Kuan Yin names prayer and meditation as the primary components of one’s daily spiritual routine.

Besides meditation, allow space in your daily routine for friendship and laughter. Studies show that mirthful laughter releases powerful beneficial elements (endorphins) into the body. Choose lighthearted topics to discuss around the dinner table. Make time for family activities that bring joy and connection.

Stating we create everything from our thoughts, Kuan Yin wants us to take time from our day to also appreciate the wonders of nature: “Don’t forget to marvel at the wonders of the world.” reminds Kuan Yin.”

“Oh wow.” exclaims Lena. “I’m seeing so many beautiful things. I see a flower. Oh, now a lizard. A bumblebee. Unseen things! Energies. Plants! Raindrops!”

“Remember to marvel at these things when you’ve had enough, for the time being, of the human realm. Science helps one marvel. Scientists don’t think of themselves as being spiritual. However, the knowledge they bring to the world is very spiritual,” affirms Kuan Yin. “There are marvels under the sea. There are great examples in nature of how to behave, live in harmony. Observe, for example, the geese, how they stay in perfect chevron formation, while flying towards their destination.”

Any Kuan Yin list concerning achieving higher consciousness and the spiritual abundance it brings would be incomplete without mentioning compassion. Regarded in the East as the “goddess of compassion”, Kuan Yin wants us to know that the earth plane is a wonderful opportunity to develop humility and compassion. She cautions, however, that there is a vast difference between pity and compassion:

“You can help teach the world about empathy. If you’d rather I use the words “loving kindness” that’s fine. Empathy or loving-kindness! They’re the same. But remember, they’re very different from guilt or pity. Having true empathy is to understand other’s pain and suffering from a place of power.”

Finally, Kuan Yin wants us to understand that we have free will and the power to imagine the possibilities:
“Kuan Yin is showing me something, a tube, I think. I don’t fully understand this diagram. It's as if one end is the past, the other the future. The middle of the tube, the present, is our way, our vehicle for changing reality.”

So often, people wonder about their purpose here on earth. Some do not believe they can make a difference, that they are powerless to effect positive change. Others believe that attaining great wealth and position is the ultimate goal. Yet, throughout, Kuan Yin has been clear that only through understanding and experiencing the full spectrum of one’s humanity can he or she achieve divinity. This does not require great wealth or position. Nor does it require an ascetic lifestyle. Preferable to a monastic or carefully formulated life it is the ups and downs of an ordinary life that fosters one’s spiritual transcendence.

"Parting the darkness", thinking positively and visualizing the possibilities for a better world is, as Kuan Yin explains, a skill that should be developed and practiced while here on earth. Stressing that having love and compassion while experiencing life’s trials and tribulations is true divinity; Kuan Yin demonstrates how one can hone his or her spiritual abilities while living what the goddess refers to as a “realistic life”.