Oftentimes one is frustrated by a lack of progress on their spiritual path. Coupled with this are claims by possible authorities that spiritual progress is a myth. These people protest that we are already enlightened and the very idea of progress keeps us from realizing it. There is a kernel of truth in this, but only for those who transcend the realm of manifestation. Until you Know (in a way that is beyond experience) your true nature, you must utilize a mind and body that operate under the laws of the realm of manifestation. The task before you is to use this mind and body to discover the essence of the mind and body, and not to dream of what you may Be. Within the realm of manifestation there is progress, and this progress will open you to greater possibilities.
Richard Rose used to speak of signposts whenever I asked if I was making progress. He spoke of powers coming to a person, such as the ability to heal or hypnotize others. Such powers were signposts indicating one was on the right path. Unfortunately, such powers never came to me and I grew frustrated never knowing if I was closer to finding answers to my spiritual questions.
In retrospect, however, I see two signposts of a different sort. I will share them with you, just don’t worry if they are unfamiliar. If your desire for an answer is strong enough, everything happens as it should.
Over a ten-year period, the questions that drove me to search changed. I began my search through the misery of relationship and simply wanted to be happier. From this most basic of questions, I began wondering why I was on this planet. Happiness seemed pointless if there were no purpose to life. A progression of questions ensued, that led me to look for the origins of thoughts and feeling, to wonder if anything about me was eternal, and finally left me in a state of simply wanting to know something, anything, for certain. Was there an end to the paradox of duality? I see in these changing questions a lessening of self-centeredness, and an increasing desire to know for the sake of knowing and not because it would please me. I believe this purification of questions was a signpost indicating a lessening of ego and concomitant increasing truthfulness.
Perhaps other signposts pointed to this increasing truthfulness and lessening of ego. In those ten years, I also became a smoother functioning human being – a psychological lessening of internal and external friction occurred. Some of this improved functioning could be attributed to the passage of time, but I feel my path accelerated this process.
Those are my two signposts: a purification of questions and improved psychological functioning. To pursue either of the signposts is to miss the mark. Just as pursuing powers such as healing is a distraction. The only point in describing signposts is to inspire hope in others who recognize them. With this hope comes increasing determination to see the path through to its end.