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Browse published articles attributed to Jeff Maziarek, with full-archive search.
From my experience while traveling the path of spiritual growth, I can confidently say that once you begin in earnest to seek a deeper understanding of yourself, as well as the nature of existence itself, it's impossible to turn back. The more you open your mind to new ideas and concepts, the more you will want to explore. There is no way around it; it actually gets into your blood.
Stop for a moment right now and think of something that happened in your past that you still carry some regrets about. Perhaps it's a botched relationship, a job that you lost, a business that failed or a business you failed to start, an accident you either caused or one that affected you, etc. You can also complete this exercise by thinking back to something pleasant that you experienced, such as falling in love, getting a promotion, or having a wonderful time on vacation.
Let's face it: the truth is the only time any of us will absolutely know for certain who or what God really is, is when we finally leave this planet, moving on to the next dimension. For centuries mystics have reported that the reality of God is truly unknowable. Nonetheless, throughout recorded history men and women have shared their opinions and viewpoints about the essence of God, the Creator, the All-That-Is, and so on.
The importance of doing what you love, is one that is embraced by virtually all of this era's most prominent personal and spiritual growth authors. In fact, the adage "do what you love and the money will follow" is very commonly known, but just why is this so? In response to this question consider the following passage from A old Patent's book "You Can Have It All":
The old saying, "what goes around, comes around," is actually a slang interpretation of the spiritual principle of Cause and Effect, which itself is derived from the biblical admonition that "what you sow is what you reap." It essentially means that every effect that you see or experience in the world had to have a cause. While at first glance this may appear to be a very simple and obvious concept, it has profound implications for every human being. What it means is that literally every single thought and feeling you experience is a cause that sets into motion an eventual effect.
What I am about to say may shock you, but other than those times when you are looking forward with joyful anticipation to an upcoming event, practically all of the thoughts you entertain about the future are in fact rooted in fear. In particular, the desire to know what will occur, and the urge to make detailed plans to ensure one's own security down the road, are both related to the ego's need for safety as a result of its deeply held fear of death.
Among most people there is a strong attachment to owning things. The United States has especially become a consumption-based society, one in which many have actually come to believe that what you own is who you are. This same attitude is steadily being exported to second and third world countries as well. Please don't misunderstand me here. There is nothing wrong at all with people buying material goods (i.e., nonessential items) when they feel like doing so – I most certainly do.
The term forgiveness is familiar to virtually all people, yet it is very likely that few truly understand its real meaning. Most individuals tend to regard forgiveness as being a truly magnanimous gesture on their part: one that is undertaken on behalf of the other person. Moreover, those individuals who, as rule practice forgiveness in their lives, tend to be viewed as upstanding human beings of great moral or spiritual fiber. While some folks may merit such lofty praise, the startling truth is that at its most fundamental level, forgiveness is more a selfish act than a noble one.
It's likely that the majority of people in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world continue to use the mainstream media as their primary source of information and entertainment. Unfortunately, just a bit of "conscious" television watching or listening to AM/FM radio makes it patently obvious that these mediums are filled with advertisements and other content that is either rooted in fear, or designed to incite anger and to increase feelings of separation from others with differing perspectives.
If I were to ask you 'Who or what are you physically?'your first response might be, "Come on, I know who I am at a physical level, after all I’ve been living in this body my entire life." That's not an unreasonable reply, but it is not one that gets to the heart of this question: who are you at the core physical level? Not what your name is, or what you do or what you look like, but who or what are you at the fundamental level of body?
As a spiritual growth author I've participated in the self-help industry as both a vendor and a consumer. During the past 20+ years I have purchased numerous self-help books and audio programs, and without questio I've benefited from content developed by various authors and speakers. In my role as a vendor, however, I have serious conce s the past few years regarding the manner in which business is being conducted by the industry as a whole.
The spiritual principle of Abundance is grounded in the concept that the Universe itself is an ever-expanding energy field of unlimited potentiality. Just a glance at our solar system alone reveals the existence of thousands if not millions of stars, yet astronomers agree that what our most powerful telescopes can see represents just a tiny portion of the Universe as a whole. Both astronomers and quantum physicists alike also concur that the Universe as we know it is likewise involved in a constant process of expansion.
The spiritual principle of Oneness states in effect that, at a fundamental level, literally everything in the Universe is connected to everything else. This is not merely some idealistic spiritual tenet; rather it has been an accepted scientific fact ever since Albert Einstein and other prominent physicists first established that the atom was not creation's lowest common denominator. According to Deepak Chopra in his book "How to Know God":
"The tendency on the part of human beings to "judge" (i.e., label, criticize, condemn, and so on) plays a significant role in fostering separation among people. For whatever reason, our minds have what appears to be a natural inclination to pass judgment on people, places, situations, etc. While no one wants to be considered judgmental, as this description carries a very negative connotation, the fact is everyone does judge. It is essentially impossible to completely avoid making judgments, for nearly every one of our thoughts has some judgment associated with it.
Security (or certainty), is a very elusive concept, yet most people tend to crave it in a very intense way. From farm and factory workers to professional athletes making millions of dollars a year, we tend to hear the same refrain; "I just want a job or career situation that allows me to provide security for both myself and my family." If we were to dig a little deeper into that desire, we would find that a strongly held fear about what the future holds underlies it.
The spiritual principle of Non-attachment states, that for you to obtain anything at all you must first give up your attachment to it, or need for it. In other words, you must drop your attachment to the outcome. There is also a second aspect to non-attachment, which is that in order to fully enjoy something or someone that is already in your life, you have to drop your attachment to it/them as well.