Conflicted

Attractive women have called him a "good man" on a number of occasions and mostly he smiles politely, but deep down inside there is a storm brewing when he hears that expression. His demon laughs heartedly because that's what he is has been trying to tell him for the longest time: "don't try to be good, make use of your good looks and have some steamy fun instead!"

There is a problem in our spiritual community and that is to state so confidently that it is our right and destiny to live in peace, love and happiness. Sure, if your notion of spirituality is to have a loving family, a creative job, a good standing in the community, with the occasional yoga and meditation class to ensure a healthy mind, body and soul balance, then there is every incentive in the world to just look the other way when it comes to these internal conflicts. Yet unless you deal with everything that is hidden in your psychological basement, true peace of mind will never be yours.

A spiritual mission is a full-contact sport to discover the robot inside and free yourself from it. Peace, love and happiness are by-products of this discovery. Pretty much everyone is trapped in conflicting mission statements that beg resolution: biological drives, ego's battle with the spirit, parental mission statements, soul demands and subconscious programs. It is hard work but it can be done, at least so we are told by some of the masters who claim they overcame the internal conflict of humanity and divinity.

A spiritual mission starts in earnest when you discover lies in your life and you say to yourself, "Hey, what's up, there must be another way!" There are so many "white" lies and you could look the other way just as you have done all your life. Yet, for some reason you
suddenly do mind and you start to ask questions and solutions present themselves. It turns out you are on the Way once you start looking for a new way. Ask for God's guidance earnestly and you will always get an answer.

One little qualifier though, if you strive to be a "better" person because you don't like what you see in the mirror you will always be caught in the duality of life. A spiritual path is not about striving, it is about break-through. It is about observing, understanding and transcending, and not really about "doing" anything. All you have to do is to be mindful of internal conflicts and about letting the Way help you find answers. It is about seeing the yin and yang at work and learning to dance with it. A conflicted person hears the demon speak and is devastated. A spiritual traveler perceives the conflict inside and smiles: another creative solution must be near-by.