Encountered On My Journey

2 Kalimat 162 B.E. (July 13-14, 2005 A.D.)

In my soul's journey toward spirituality, it is carried through this material world by my body. On this journey I encounter many conditions, people and things that either attach me to this material or physical plane or guide me toward the spiritual plane. Each of these encounters - whether it attaches me to the material plane (or world which ever one wants to call it) or guides me toward the spiritual - assist my soul in it journey. One of the recent encounters that helps guide my soul toward the spiritual realm is Joseph Sheppherd's book A Wayfarer's Guide to Bringing the Sacred Home.

Scattered through out this amazing book are quotations and prayers from the Baha'i sacred writings. These quotations and prayers assist my soul in its journey by illuminating the path it is taking. The quotations assist my soul by giving suggestions on the way I need to act and react to conditions encountered. The prayers focus my attention on God and His Glory. Both the quotations and prayers encourage my quest for spirituality. However, this is not a quest that I can achieve without test and difficulties nor can I achieve it by isolating myself from the rest of humanity. For me, at least, spirituality is something that must be achieved while walking through the material world with the rest of humanity.

This is the first in a series of blog entries on encounters on my journey. In the up coming weeks and months I will write about other encounters I have had and will have on this journey. I will also continue to write about poetry and writing ideas I come up with. For me writing is a part of the journey, I can not separate writing from the journey any more than I can separate my faith from the journey. For me both writing and faith are important to the journey and to the achievement of the goal.