Our long-term empirical findings show that you’re here on planet Earth primarily to make spiritual progress. The more progress you make now, the more you’ll be rewarded later, and eventually you’ll complete the cycle of reincarnation.

You can’t control how you’re spiritually tested, but you do have free will to react in a positive way.

How do you react to life’s challenges? We believe there exist distinct signs that indicate a person is making progress in the spiritual game of life. Below we list five.

1. Finally accepting what you can’t change in life, particularly people, while doing your best to change what you can, goes a long way toward spiritual mastery. Trying to change your spouse’s habits, or your friend’s attitude is futile. Doing your best to develop your talents to be more successful earns good karma, but dwelling on missed opportunities is a waste of energy. As a bonus, once you accept that which you have no control over, your peace of mind and happiness increases.

2. Consistently appreciating everything in your life, including the challenges for what they teach you, is a sign that you are becoming spiritually adept. The more you appreciate, the more you express gratitude, the more rewarding your life becomes.

3. Expressing authentic unconditional love on a regular basis is absolutely a sign that you are spiritually progressing. Conversely, conditional love, such as “I’ll love you if you do this,” or attempting to control, shows that a person is not quite getting it. Unfortunately, most people inconsistently express unconditional love in their relationships. But to their credit, it’s not easy to embrace someone with unconditional love who displays a complete lack of respect.

Although we recommend always striving to express unconditional love, it’s quite healthy to constructively express disappointment, annoyance, and other negative emotions, or even use anger in self-defense. Truth be told, if a person walked around every day never expressing conditional love, they’re probably out of their mind.

4. Regularly viewing others (and yourself) without judgment is a very significant sign you are making great strides in your spiritual progress. Similarly, when you suspend judgment it’s easier to see people exactly as they are rather than how you are (i.e., projecting). Of course, everyone judges everyone on a regular basis, but the key is to detach from it, and attempt to suspend judgment.

5. Living in the moment is a key indication you are making spiritual progress. How do you do this? Regular meditation helps a lot. Instead of concerning yourself with the past or worrying about the future, regular meditation will help you remain in the present moment, which is more peaceful and rich. Exercise, art, and sex are other activities that will help. Clearly, excessive living in the moment, as in neglecting your responsibilities in life and abandoning your goals, is to be avoided. Meditating all day, every day won’t allow you to learn your life lessons and accomplish what you’re supposed to.

It’s important to note that nobody constantly expresses all of these virtues without fail (be wary of permanently smiling, so-called gurus who “never” express negativity). You can’t completely eliminate strife and conflict. It is part of life as are anger, worry, and other fear-based emotions. But if you sincerely strive toward the above-mentioned ideals, they’ll eventually be part of your natural way of living and it will be a sure sign you’re making great spiritual progress.

Copyright © Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo

Author's Bio: 

Scott Petullo and Stephen Petullo help people advance their spiritual growth and get more out of life. Get their free report: 13 Spiritual and New Age Myths and 11 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Psychic: http://www.spiritualgrowthnow.com