What Is A Spiritual Hero

Here's a transcript of a conversation I had with my friend Deepak Chopra about the difficulties of standing up for Spirit in a secular culture. Enjoy!

I regard you as a brave manifestation of that great spirit. You're someone who is willing to speak out for Spirit's truth and reality in a skeptical world. And, as you know, when we awaken to that truth and reality, we look much more deeply into the essence of who we truly are, into the nature of reality itself, and we discover a fearless courage to live this life for the noblest causes. I believe that the extent to which each of us is willing to do so determines the extent to which we will make a big impact.

DEEPAK CHOPRA: Well, in my opinion, a leader is the metaphorical spirit of a group's awareness, both now and in the future. And, for lack of a better term, the soul is our fundamental awareness, where we discover purpose, context, relationships, and the desire to connect with the bigger archetypal being that we truly are. As leaders, we symbolize the collective's deepest longings and desires, as well as the highest degree of imagination and creativity, which all reside in the collective consciousness but require a little nudge from a leader to manifest.

A true spiritual leader not only realizes his or her own potential, but also that of everyone on the globe. He or she uses the universe's evolutionary drive for the greater good, truth, peace, justice, and equality. Spiritual leadership is a call to address all of humanity's current problems, whether it's extreme poverty, social injustice, war, conflict, or environmental devastation—not at the level at which they were produced, but at a deeper level where we can't help but provide light where darkness exists.

ANDREW: What are the personal ramifications of this type of leadership, in your opinion? Especially for the person who is moved by spiritual feelings and intuitions, as well as an evolutionary philosophy and worldview, but yet has a fear or apprehension about stepping out and being seen? To put it another way, “I'm awake to the ultimate reality and the deepest truth of who we're all really are, and I'm willing to stand for it in all of my humanity's imperfection”?

DEEPAK: So, we must ask ourselves this question: What type of world do we want to live in? What type of society do we want to leave for our children—and their children? What part, if any, do we play in the creation of this new world?

You live these questions when you ask them of yourself. And you understand you're not alone, but rather part of a massive collective consciousness impulse. It energizes you and gives you passion for what you want to achieve right now when you recognize this.

ANDREW: No, we aren't on our own. However, it's all too simple to sit back and observe the difficulties, then sink into despair or cynicism. Stepping forth and beginning to take responsibility for the solution in our own ways requires spiritual courage. Our potential to make a big change is determined by how passionately and fully we are willing to do so.

DEEPAK: I believe that if we are to truly achieve in this, we must first establish a regular discipline or practice that we have created for ourselves. Through contemplative practice, we must connect with that deep consciousness within ourselves. We must also begin to recognize that love is a tremendous force, and the more we produce the energy of love in our surroundings while delving deeper into our own awareness, the more we will be able to harness and merge the two forces of being and love. The fourth aspect is action, while the third is creativity.

Our consciousness manifests itself in four ways: being, feeling, creating, and doing. And now, for the first time, we have the potential to harness these collectively, something we have never had before. Our collective existence, collective love, collective creativity, and collective action have the power to solve not only any problem that exists in the world, but also to transport us to a new level of awareness where we may begin to materialize what people will refer to as “heaven on earth.” Now it's up to us. As previously stated, we are the ones who have been waiting, so let us not waste any more time. Let's get to work.

We shouldn't listen to the doubters because they are merely part of a dying paradigm that isn't going to last much longer. I recommend remaining impervious to criticism, being responsive to feedback, and then making the decision to genuinely hang out with the proper people. Three essential Sanskrit words are simran, which means “remember who you are,” satsang, which means “hang out with the proper people,” and seva, which means “let us begin doing things without selfish motivation.”

ANDREW: That is truly inspirational. And, as you mentioned, the importance of hanging out with the appropriate people has been a major focus in my classes. Finding each other—finding those other people who share our enthusiasm for the kind of change we're talking about—frees our spirits and gives us the courage to take extremely daring measures that we would not have taken otherwise.

DEEPAK:Yes, that's correct. We've been saying for years that awareness is a field, but thanks to new technologies and research, we're discovering that this is literally true: Your happiness increases fifteenfold if you have a happy friend. It rises up another ten percent if your happy friend has a happy friend you don't know, and it goes up another ten percent if the happy friend's happy friend has a happy friend. Only if consciousness is a field can this happen. Nothing can stop us if we grasp that consciousness is a field and that we are the field.

ANDREW: If awareness is a field, our individual actions and responses to life will inevitably have an impact on it.

DEEPAK: Without a doubt. In that sea of consciousness, every individual is interdependently coalescing with every other individual.

ANDREW: And those who have the most faith in the reality of Spirit, as well as its immortal and indestructible nature, are in a better position to influence the field's spiritual progress.

DEEPAK: Yes, that's correct. We can also instill more confidence in each other. Our encounters with one another will strengthen that self-assurance and give it more power.

ANDREW: It's almost as if I've come out of the closet. And the more we come out, the clearer it becomes that “Oh, I can go a lot further out,” we think to ourselves, until we realize there's no turning back.

Yes, DEEPAK. There's no turning back now. It can't be undone. A born infant is unable to return to the womb.

ANDREW:Yes, that's correct. Of course, if we've come so far out of the closet that we're living for Spirit alone, our identity as a person in the world is transformed into one of Spirit. The more of us who are willing to do so, the more profoundly the field will be changed, and we will be on our way to a cultural revolution.

ANDREW: So I agree with everything you've stated about how crucial it is to have a spiritual path and a spiritual practice that allows us to connect with the infinite source of our own existence as Spirit. Along with that, it's critical that we embrace a progressive and cutting-edge stance on cultural growth. Because, for example, some people who are great meditators yet live in a traditional cultural setting support worldviews and perspectives that people like you and me would find unacceptable in a modern or postmodern context when they emerge from their meditation trance. The points of view would be irrelevant at this time.

So, while meditation or spiritual practice is crucial for accessing Spirit, we also need an evolutionary worldview and philosophical perspective that allows us to embrace both progress and cultural change. This is what will allow our spiritual enlightenment to have actual world significance and force.

DEEPAK: I believe that is the point of such discussions, because the world is ultimately a projection of our collective conversation. We must recognize that much of our traditional religion and spirituality is simply a cultural mythology that has grown antiquated and is incompatible with what we now know about evolution, cosmology, and everything we call reality.

A new secular spirituality is emerging that transcends tribal and localized cultural spiritual expressions, which contain a lot of truth but may not be relevant in their whole as they are presented. As a result, we must progress with this secular spirituality, which is compatible with science, and raise science to a new level of expression.

ANDREW: That's correct! And I believe we'll arrive at a stage sooner rather than later when secular spirituality will give way to evolutionary spirituality. It will be based on science and the realization that we're all part of a cosmic process that is urgently in need of, and ultimately delighted to have, our increased participation in it.

DEEPAK: I prefer the term “evolutionary spirituality” over “secular spirituality,” which is the stage we must pass through in order to become the cosmos' evolutionary impulse. That appeals to me because neither spirituality nor science are going away, and we need to put them together in order to discover this desire.

What is a spiritual person in the Bible?

We can deduce from this that to be a spiritual person means to be a person who lives and walks, that is, acts and does things, in accordance with the Spirit in our spirit. We could talk and ponder about God, but our dead spirit couldn't do anything. Order a free study Bible to assist you in comprehending God's Word.

Who is the hero of Christianity?

Whether or not you believe in Jesus of Nazareth's divinity, there is no disputing his profound influence on Western philosophy and society. More than 2 billion people throughout the world look to Jesus as their spiritual leader and hero. What accounts for his heroism's continuing power? Five key clues emerge from an analysis of his life.

1. Jesus was a “brought-up hero”

In our research on heroism, we discovered that the “It's a rare breed to be born a hero. Extraordinary circumstances tend to bring out the heroes in us. However, much of the globe commemorates the most compelling story of the born hero in the western world in every Sunday Christian service, and especially during the Christmas and Easter seasons. Jesus is a particularly revered figure because of his supernatural DNA.

2. Jesus was a revolutionary in his own right.

Jesus was and continues to be a divisive figure. His disciples saw him perform miracles throughout his lifetime and believed in the new morals he preached: love, compassion, charity, and forgiveness. These ideals clashed with Roman notions of authority and might.

People admire a revolutionary's bravery. Jesus was a renegade in his day, breaking Jewish law and defying Roman law. Jesus, like Socrates in ancient Greece, could have saved his own life by defending the social upheavals he produced. He, on the other hand, did not. Roman authorities thought his threat to the existing quo too strong, and he was gruesomely executed.

3. On The Cross, Jesus Suffers

People appreciate heroes who face pain and suffering while performing heroic acts, according to our research. The higher the pedestal on which we raise heroes, the more they suffer for their cause.

The Romans made certain that everyone who died via crucifixion did so in excruciating pain. Before his crucifixion, Jesus was severely flogged. Near the ends of the whips, iron balls and sharp sheep bones were connected. Deep bruising was induced by the iron balls, and the bones lacerated the flesh. There was a lot of blood loss, and Jesus' pain level would have placed him in shock.

The massive cross was subsequently dragged to the crucifixion place, where Jesus' wrists and heels were fastened to the wooden beams. Jesus would have died from a combination of asphyxiation and blood loss after hours of suffering on the crucifixion.

4. Jesus died so that others could be saved.

Christians believe that Jesus died for the sake of the world's salvation. The circumstances surrounding his death are primarily to blame for the Christian faith's development. According to the Gospels, Jesus rose from the dead three days after his death and was taken to heaven. The resurrection is an important aspect of Christianity because it shows Christians that God approves of Jesus' work on earth and that he lives on forever.

Many of Jesus' followers were burnt, stoned, or executed by Roman authorities after he died. Persecutory measures flopped. As martyrs, these Christians served as an inspiration to millions of people who converted to Christianity.

5. Jesus Changed the World

Jesus was and continues to be a transformative leader who inspires and elevates people to new heights of morality. H. G. Wells, a historian and author, remarked, “I am a historian, not a believer, yet as a historian, I must admit that this destitute Nazareth preacher is irreversibly in the center of history. “Jesus Christ is without a doubt the most powerful figure in history.”

Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu, praised Jesus and described him as “the Son of God.” “An entirely innocent man offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his adversaries, and became the world's ransom.” Gandhi stated, “In reference to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross,” “It was a flawless performance.”

In conclusion, Jesus' heroism is due to five factors: his birthright, his revolutionary ideals, his suffering, his mission to save the world, and his reformation of the Western world. Will he still be regarded as a hero in 2,000 years? We can't even start speculating. The narrative is engaging, the message is potent, and there are iconic institutions in place to assure tremendous staying power, as with many transformational heroes.

S. T. Allison and G. R. Goethals (2011). What heroes do and why we need them. Oxford University Press, New York.

S. T. Allison and G. R. Goethals (2013). Heroic leadership: A taxonomy of 100 extraordinary people. Routledge, New York.

J. Campbell (1949). The hero who wears a thousand hats. New World Library, New York.

Z. E. Franco, K. Blau, and P. G. Zimbardo (2011). Heroism: A conceptual examination and distinction between heroic and altruistic behavior. 99-113 in Review of General Psychology.

G. R. Goethals and S. T. Allison (2012). The construction of courage, competence, and virtue in heroes. The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology has published a book titled “Advances in Experimental Social Psychology Elsevier, San Diego.

What is spirit and spirituality?

Spirituality exists in everyone. Spirituality includes anything that moves or displays your spirit or inner force. In some ways, your spirituality pervades every part of your private and professional life. It's simply a part of who you are, intertwined into and expressed in every thought, sensation, and action you have.

What is a spiritual person?

Being spiritual entails prioritizing self- and other-love as a top priority. Spiritual individuals are concerned about people, animals, and the environment. A spiritual person recognizes that we are all One and makes conscious efforts to honor that unity.

What are the 3 elements of spirituality?

In their eternal wisdom, all shamans, healers, sages, and wisdom keepers of all centuries, continents, and peoples claim that human spirituality is made up of three aspects: connections, values, and life purpose. These three components are so strongly linked that it may be difficult to tell them apart. Take a minute to ponder on each facet of human spirituality to determine the state of your spiritual well-being if this is possible. This will be a three-part monthly series, starting with relationships.

Internal (your domestic policy)—how you deal with yourself, how you nurture the relationship with yourself and your higher self—and external (your foreign policy)—how you relate, support, and interact with those people (and all living entities) in your environment—are the two categories of relationships.

What criteria would you use to assess your internal relationship, and what steps could you take to improve it?

How would you assess your external relationships, shifting from the perspective of domestic policy to international policy?

How do I know if I am a spiritual person?

Speaking ill of others or spreading gossip about them provides no comfort or security to a spiritual person. A healthy mind is one that does not speak evil of others. Spiritual individuals keep their heads down and concentrate on their own journey, embracing others for who they are. They do not pass judgment or criticism on other people's life experiences. When spiritual people don't have anything good to say about others, they don't say anything at all. They halt bad conversations by either refusing to engage or retrieving.

What spiritual life means?

Spirituality is a vast topic with many different interpretations. In general, it entails a sense of belonging to something larger than oneself, as well as a quest for purpose in life. As a result, it is a universal human experience that affects all of us. A spiritual experience might be described as sacred, sublime, or simply as a strong sense of aliveness and connectivity.

Some people may discover that their spiritual lives are intertwined with their affiliation with a church, temple, mosque, or synagogue. Others may turn to prayer or a personal relationship with God or a higher force for comfort. Others look for significance in their relationships with nature or art. Your unique concept of spirituality, like your sense of purpose, may evolve through time as you adjust to new experiences and relationships.

What spirituality means?

Spirituality is defined as the awareness of a feeling, sense, or belief that there is something more to being human than sensory experience, and that the greater total of which we are a part is cosmic or divine in nature. True spirituality necessitates the opening of one's heart.