Overcoming Stress in the Spiritual Path

In this article I will write about overcoming the stress in the spiritual path

, and to comment on the words of Lady Master Portia:

« (…)If you have gotten yourself into this state of feeling stressed, feeling dissatisfied feeling like you are not there, you are not achieving the results you should be achieving, we desire to see you get out of that state, we desire you to again recapture that inner sense of feeling that the path is exciting, that you are constantly moving forward(…)»[1]

Stress Is Caused by Subconscious Selves

We all begin the spiritual path for different reasons. However, at some point along the way, it is necessary to question our motives, as the masters have often remarked.

Why? Because, in many cases, we need to recognise that the initial motivations that led us to the spiritual path must be adjusted if we are to grow further.

I can give my own example. Before I encountered the teachings of the Ascended Masters through the messenger Kim Michaels, I was involved in a different spiritual movement: the Rosicrucian Order.

For almost all of my life I had been striving to grasp the true meaning of life.

I found comfort in following the 'Wisdom Way', studying philosophy and esoteric writings such as Theosophy, as well as astrology connected to both the Vedas (Jyotish) and the Western tradition (Hellenistic, medieval and contemporary).

I suppose I am inherently motivated by knowledge and understanding the deep causes of everything. However, I have never felt that this was enough.

There was a specific reason why I looked for immediate help at a certain point. Several years ago, I started experiencing psychic attacks every day (or rather, every night), and I was desperate for some real help.

The first years of my study with the Masters were coloured by the need to feel protected.

Something was trying hard to make me give up. But each time I was attacked, I felt more determined to never give up to these forces.

However, I was following a somewhat automatic path without fully considering what was at stake.

But I was truly committed to this path because I had always aspired to what some philosophers call 'authenticity': In other words, I wanted to live my life through my true identity, not as a dormant self, living like a robot in this world.

After some time, I had transformed from the inside. I was no longer following this path as a set of rules to help me deal with external attacks, but because  this  was who I had truly become.

For years, I thought I had to spend hours and hours giving decrees, often waking up at 3am, so I could 'fulfil my job', that is, fulfil the rules I had set myself to be a 'good chela' or disciple of the Masters.

Today, I understand why I thought this way. I had – and still have, albeit much weaker – a separate self that dreams of 'perfection', which is associated with another self that is all about duty.

Seeing myself just through this filter, I didn't allow myself much room for indulgence; I almost always chose 'duty' over 'pleasure'. Even though I had been very much aware of the existence of this self for a while.

But for some time now, I have recognised that it is this self and its associates that set all the external rules, telling me constantly that I must keep up the image of a 'deserving person' in order to progress.

It is not easy to let this self go, because it is very ancient, so it will take time to completely rid myself of it, one step at a time.

However, at this level, we need to let it go, otherwise we won't progress any further.

We don't attain Christhood by pushing ourselves to the limit, or by denying ourselves a break from 'duty', so we need to understand that we no longer need strict discipline or to follow external rules.

At this stage, we must realise that there is no real power without love, mercy, peace, joy. And that’s when we see that we can give ourselves a break to feel that joy and acknowledge that we are not being judged all the time by our Masters:

The Masters do not judge us. I could only see this after letting go of much of the structure of the separate self. The reality is that the Masters love us unconditionally. It is us — the separate self — that judges us all the time.

We are free beings. So are the Masters. We need some discipline and a sense of duty to succeed on our spiritual path, until the 96^th level.

However, we also need time to relax. Remember that our purpose is not to perform strict discipline or follow rules; it is to grow in awareness and not to be controlled by the separate self.

We are on this path because it is the best way to grow spiritually, develop our unique identities and be ready to leave Earth when the time comes.

However, we must open ourselves to the unconditional love that imbues all life and is present in the relationship that the Masters create with us. After the 96th level, we will only grow if we are able to feel and receive that love — the origin of all creation.

[1] Being Spiritual in Everyday Life, through the messenger Kim Michaels,  Lady Portia’s discourse, p. 125, E-book version.