As written by Mariana Caplan, Ph.D.  It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit.

It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas–power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis — as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues.

Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive — men and women, gays and straights alike.

As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly “infected” by “conceptual contaminants” — comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease.

The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases.

1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix.

2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard.

3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be “the one.”

4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers.

5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is “bullet-proof.” When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality.

6. Mass Production of Spiritual Teachers: There are a number of current trendy spiritual traditions that produce people who believe themselves to be at a level of spiritual enlightenment, or mastery, that is far beyond their actual level. This disease functions like a spiritual conveyor belt: put on this glow, get that insight, and — bam! — you’re enlightened and ready to enlighten others in similar fashion. The problem is not that such teachers instruct but that they represent themselves as having achieved spiritual mastery.

7. Spiritual Pride: Spiritual pride arises when the practitioner, through years of labored effort, has actually attained a certain level of wisdom and uses that attainment to justify shutting down to further experience. A feeling of “spiritual superiority” is another symptom of this spiritually transmitted disease. It manifests as a subtle feeling that “I am better, more wise and above others because I am spiritual.”

8. Group Mind: Also described as groupthink, cultic mentality or ashram disease, group mind is an insidious virus that contains many elements of traditional co-dependence. A spiritual group makes subtle and unconscious agreements regarding the correct ways to think, talk, dress, and act. Individuals and groups infected with “group mind” reject individuals, attitudes, and circumstances that do not conform to the often unwritten rules of the group.

9. The Chosen-People Complex: The chosen people complex is not limited to Jews. It is the belief that “Our group is more spiritually evolved, powerful, enlightened and, simply put, better than any other group.” There is an important distinction between the recognition that one has found the right path, teacher or community for themselves, and having found The One.

10. The Deadly Virus: “I Have Arrived”: This disease is so potent that it has the capacity to be terminal and deadly to our spiritual evolution. This is the belief that “I have arrived” at the final goal of the spiritual path. Our spiritual progress ends at the point where this belief becomes crystallized in our psyche, for the moment we begin to believe that we have reached the end of the path, further growth ceases.

“The essence of love is perception,” according to the teachings of Marc Gafni, “Therefore the essence of self love is self perception. You can only fall in love with someone you can see clearly–including yourself. To love is to have eyes to see. It is only when you see yourself clearly that you can begin to love yourself.”

It is in the spirit of Marc’s teaching that I believe that a critical part of learning discernment on the spiritual path is discovering the pervasive illnesses of ego and self-deception that are in all of us. That is when we need a sense of humor and the support of real spiritual friends. As we face our obstacles to spiritual growth, there are times when it is easy to fall into a sense of despair and self-diminishment and lose our confidence on the path. We must keep the faith, in ourselves and in others, in order to really make a difference in this world.

1. You are aware of the term ascension. You understand that ascension is the process of integrating more LIGHT from your higher soul into your physical being through the process of meditation and ego/shadow work. Ascension requires us to SPIRITULIZE our lower being – taking dominion over our ego/shadow consciousness, which keeps us stuck in repetitive cycles of negative, unconscious, reactive, karmic behaviors. In essence, ascension is the activation and integration of our very on Christ Consciousness which is the consciousness of our higher soul that resides in a higher vibrating dimension within our energy fields. Ascension requires us to transmute the darkness within our lower selves/physical selves so we can raise the vibrational frequencies of our emotional, mental and physical energetic bodies so we can merge with the very high vibrating energies of our spiritual bodies where our higher souls/God selves reside.

2. You are aware that you are a spiritual being having a human expereince. You know that you are a multidimensional being and that your true essence does not reside solely in the physical body. You know you are ENERGY and you are also aware of your chakra system as the gateway to your higher consciousness. Through the process of using your free will to spend time with your higher soul – through the process of meditation, where you slow down the sympathetic nervous system and the egoic monkey mind you are able to access higher aspects of your self that will help you gain greater clarity about your soul lessons and how to evolve beyond them. Meditation will also activate the kundalini, which will ascend from the root chakra all the way up to the crown chakra and beyond burning away the karmic imprints and congested emotional energies that block you from attaining a true energetic spiritual awakening where you merge into ONENESS with your higher soul.

3. You are obsessed with all things spiritual, alternative, conspiracy, healing, positivity. You want to read everything you can about the truth of your being and what is really going on our planet. After a period of delving  into the horror of it all, and having to face the truth of how we have allowed ourselves to be manipulated and controlled, you decide you want to take back your energy and your power. You become less focused on the chaos and horror of the outer environment knowing that change begins with the self. You also understand that humanity’s outer environment will not change until EACH PERSON accepts responsibility for their own egoic and shadow consciousness and stops projecting their disowned negative aspects onto everyone else. When each person faces the self, we will each face God/dess and God/dess will shine LIGHT on our own darkness so we can SEE what is within us that continues to create negative mirror reflections in our outer environments. When each person takes on the mission of alchemicalizing their own soul, their vibrational frequency will be raised and it will effect the whole of humanity, the entire planet and the entire universe. When we change the SELF, we are in the greatest position to create change within others because we become transformational, high vibrational examples for others to follow. Trying to change others, without first changing ourselves perpetuates outer projections of our own issues onto others which keeps us in a karmic cycle of negative re-creation over and over again.

4. Your energy is softer – you are becoming less aggressive and dualistic. You are so focused on your own inner workings and your conflicting subconscious beliefs – that create discord within your being – that you no longer desire to spend your time focusing on other people’s beliefs. If ASKED, you will share your perspective, but you no longer feel the need to control or preach to others. You know the best way to change others is to teach, not preach. Through your example, you will inspire others to make changes within their being. You are also able to share wisdom without being attached to the outcome. You allow others, just like the Creator Of All That Is, to experience their free will to the fullest even if you know their beliefs and behaviors will lead them towards a negative experience to teach them a very profound soul lesson. You share your higher perspective, and then you set yourself free from the outcome. You are able to be compassionately detached!

5. You take full responsibility for everything that has occurred or will occur in your life. You understand that you are a multidimensional, vibrational being with many aspects of yourself in the past, present and future timelines of your very own energy fields. Your conscious, unconscious, subconscious and super conscious energies are creating your entire life experience through the NOW moment of your current vibrational energy contained within your energy fields. In order to keep our past from affecting our present and futures we will need to clean up the energy of our souls. Through the process of meditation and the willingness to self correct shadowy/egoic behavioral patterns we can turn our darkness (lead) into the gold light of our very own Christ Consciousness. In order to change our futures we will have to change the energy of our NOW.

6. You accept responsibility for your own feelings, emotions, state of health and happiness. You do not look outside of yourself for a savior. If you want to be happy, you know only you can create that for your self! If you are not emotionally stable, healthy and happy then you have the power right here, right now to make life affirming choices that will create CHANGE within your being so you can create what you truly want. You also understand that talking about making changes, and actually creating changes are two different things. After years of being disconnected from your bodies (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual) – because you were trying to avoid your pain – you are becoming more grounded into your physical being so you can deal with all of the “deal with later folders” you have filed in your energy fields. You are making more life affirming decisions for your self and becoming conscious of the choices that have the potential to contract or expand your consciousness in every moment. You are slowing down and spending quite time with your higher soul, through meditation, and you no longer feel the need to keep yourself overly busy because you no longer need to escape or run from the problems in your life. You are facing them head on, and are making better choices in all areas of your life including which activities you invest your time in and which foods will sustain and nourish your body. The need to overindulge in drugs, alcohol and fatty chemical laden foods, to numb yourself out and suppress your emotions is diminishing.

7. Your life is becoming more and more aligned with the “image” you project to others. Your masks are off, and you are who you say you are. You are doing your best to live an authentic life aligned with your higher soul. There is nothing for you to hide or keep a secret. You are able to openly and honestly live and speak from your heart making choices that are light filled for you regardless of what others might think, feel or say. Because of this, you are able to move beyond your comfort zones so you can gain more soul experience….which leads to greater soul strength and soul wisdom. When you are aligned with your higher soul, you are not consumed with fear. You have a high level of intuitive discernment, therefore, you trust your gut feelings and the core sensations in your body (feelings) to guide you. You are becoming the master of your ship.

8. You understand that all life is sacred…. air, water, sun, moon, stars, clouds, rocks, sand, dirt, trees, plants, animals, the Earth and even oil are all living consciousnesses that supports and sustains life on this beautiful planet. They are divine exstensions of God/dess just like humans. The living dynamics on Earth require a balance of GIVING and RECEIVING. We each take from each other in order to sustain our own life and we also are expected to give back. If we become greedy over consumers and take, take, take with no respect or regards to the energy consciousnesses we are taking from we will create negative karmic vibrational energies within our energy fields that will need to be repaid and balanced out. Energy always seeks balance. One of the ways we can give back is through heart felt gratitude for everything that gives of itself to sustain our own life. A person with an expanded consciousness is also aware that every day they are alive is sacred, every breath they take is life affirming, every meal they consume – regardless if it is vegetarian or not – sustains and nourishes the body. They are consciously giving gratitude for everything….the gift of oil from Mother Earth to drive our cars, the trees that build our homes and the rain that sustains all life on Earth. People with an expanded consciousness are aware that ALL living consciousnesses have a soul contract they are fulfilling on Earth that promotes and sustains all systems. Everything supports and sustains life….even the end of a physical life, because when one life ends, a new soul is allowed to be born into this dimension so it can now have the opportunity to evolve to its highest potential as well.

8. You appreciate the diversity of creation. You understand that no two souls, just like no two snowflakes are alike. You understand that “The Creator Of All That Is” chose to divide itself into an unlimited number of divine sparks and each soul was given the power and the free will to create their lives so “The Creator Of All That Is” could experience itself through each one of us. If the Creator wanted everything to be the same, the Creator would not have divided itself into an unlimited amount of soul exstensions. It would have just stayed the same. An evolving soul knows that they should not try to put everyone in a box of limitation forcing others to act, think, believe, eat and BE the way they want people to be. The free will of another soul is honored and when someone does not align with your specific lifestyle you respect their free will to learn and evolve and sometimes re-volve in their own learning experiences. You are becoming tolerant of other souls and the diversity of creation, and you also use your free will to invest your time and energy in relationships and activities that are more resonate with your soul’s vibrational frequency.

9. You are becoming conscious of the direction of your energy and you know how powerful you are. You understand the power of your feelings, emotions, thoughts and words and you are doing your best to take dominion over them so you don’t project your hidden issues onto others. You also understand the world of energy and how your energy, and the energy of others, can greatly affect each others state of well being. Strong repetitive thoughts of anger, jealousy, control and fear – towards your self – or towards another person create negative energy thought forms that become thriving dark entities if the thought forms are held over a long period of time with great intensity. A strong negative thought sent to another person will travel to that person and gather the negative energies from that persons consciousness and then return double in size to the original sender who created it and feed off of their negative thoughts as well. This becomes a negative, karmic, vicious cycle if both people continue to send these negative thought forms back and forth to each other as they are giving the negative thought form the energy it needs to survive and gain great power over both of them. In addition, repetive thoughts towards another person create energetic cords. Some of these cords are loving and positive and some of these cords are negative and energetically draining. As you raise your vibrational frequency you become aware of your power to create regardless if it is negative or positive and you also become aware of the importance of spiritual hygiene. You are actively integrating spiritual tools into your life such as meditation, prayer, shielding, cutting energetic cords, the violet flame, ho’oponopono, energy breaks etc….into your daily routine. 
10. You are practicing SELF LOVE and understand that whatever is happening in your life is there to help you further your evolution into higher states of consciousness. You no longer expect perfection from your self nor do you expect to master every soul lesson that comes your way immediately. You are patient and kind with your self when you make a mistake, and see it as an opportunity to learn and grow from your current state of being into a higher vibrational being. You forgive yourself for your previous unconscious choices that created pain when you were unawake, and you are actively changing your behavioral patterns so  you won’t repeat the same karmic events in the future. You are loving, kind, compassionate and forgiving towards the self….therefore, you are also able to give that to others. For we can not give to others what we have not first given to our self. You are focused on the inner path of salvation where you stay focused on your own lessons and not the outer path of egoic projection where you become consumed with the lessons of others. Because you love yourself, you have a strong desire to KNOW your selves, so you are not defensive or resistant when a negative aspect surfaces that needs your love and attention so it can be transformed. You are forever refining your self, polishing the diamond within and climbing the mountain of self knowing that one day you will merge into oneness with your higher soul activating the kingdom of God/dess within.

Illness and disease are imbalances in the body, mind, or soul. To be completely healthy there must be a balance in all three aspects of a person. Most doctors today are only concerned with the physical result of disease and illness and only treat the symptoms. But there must be a reason the illness appeared in the first place. All illness and disease start in the soul. This may be hard to believe but this is the way it is. By the time the illness shows up in the physical body, it has been with you a long, long time. Maybe even before you were born, in a past life.

In the beginning our souls were perfect, without flaws because we came directly from God who is perfect. Over time we acquired negative traits such as hatred, jealousy, envy etc. These build up over the centuries and stay with us until we can get rid of them. Unfortunately this takes a very long time, centuries even. So we must continually work on perfecting our souls so that one day we can be reunited again in the Whole of Perfection which is God. Since God is perfect we cannot bring our imperfections into God, so we must become perfect first.

The big problem here is, how do we know when this illness started? How can we trace this illness back to it origins and get rid of it? Well, since this is a very hard thing to do, most of us are happy if we can just get rid of the symptoms. But the problem with this is if you don’t get to the source of the illness, it will manifest again in a different form, and will probably be worse than the first time if showed up. The physical body is a result of the soul and mind working together to produce it. The physical is the end result. So when an illness shows up in the physical, it has traveled down from the soul and through the mind first, and then into the physical as an illness or disease.

Different illnesses and diseases have certain metaphysical meanings and are associated with different parts of the body. To name just a few:

Cancer–or other abnormality in the liver is associated with deep anger and chronic fault finding with others or yourself. Hence, you have the phrase, “It’s eating at my liver.” Lungs–inability to take in life or being smothered.

Skin–being out of touch with ourselves or others or being too sensitive.

Heart–denying love to others and ourselves. Holding in negative emotions. If you want to discover what an illness or disease is trying to tell you about yourself, you must consider three things:

1. Where in the body is the illness or disease?
   
2. What function does that part of the body have?
   
3. What does this mean in relation to my life now?
   

For instance: A person has skin cancer.

• The disease is in the skin (#1).
  
• The skin performs the function of protecting the organs and is the largest sensory organ we have (#2).
  
• Do you need to be more protective of yourself? Are you being too sensitive? Are you being too inflexible? Are you out of touch with others or yourself? (#3)
  

Another example: 

• A person has an ulcer (#1)
  
• The stomach is used for storing and digesting food (#2).
  
• Are you hanging on to something that is no longer beneficial to you? Are you feeling guilty about something? Is it “eating away” at you? Are you having difficulty with absorbing new ideas? (#3).
  

So you see, if you really want to get to the bottom of what an illness or disease is really trying to tell you, you must be a detective and do a lot of investigating! Don’t forget, of course to take care of the physical symptoms too. If you have cancer, get some type of treatment. Likewise, if you have an ulcer, get medication for it. All parts of the body must be considered in getting healthy, the body as well as the mind and soul. And conventional medicine offers many good medications and treatments. But it is always wise to use your mind and spirit in treating yourself too. Once you think you have discovered the root problem of the illness or disease then comes the hard work, doing something about it! You will need to be really honest with yourself when diagnosing yourself. This can be painful if you were not aware of the problem in the first place.

Some illnesses and diseases come from a past life and these can be really hard to figure out. You may need the help of a hypnotherapist to regress you into the past life in which this problem first appeared. But even if this illness or disease first appeared in a past life, if it is still here in your present life, then it is obvious that you haven’t dealt with it successfully and must meet it head on now, or it will continue to keep coming back time after time after time. If you have done the work I suggested and you still cannot come to any decision about why the illness or disease is with you, then you will need to seek out the advice of a holistic doctor (one who deals with the whole self), a therapist or counselor.

These people are trained in helping you figure out what your deepest problems are. I would suggest that when you are looking for a therapist, try to find one who does past life regressions. The main thing to remember about health is that it concerns the whole person, body mind and soul. All three aspects of a person are connected and these three parts of a human being cannot be separated.

What would your day be like if you started and ended it by simply noticing all that you have in your life?

If you count all your assets, you always show a profit. Gratitude is a natural high. When you live in tandem with your spirit, appreciating all of life and what you have, you discover more joy and kindness in the world. Miracles happen everywhere all the time, but only those with an “Attitude of Gratitude" seem to notice them.

This circle of peace grows and you return to your natural state of joy, love and peace, knowing you are whole and complete just as you are.

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." ~ Cicero The following is a list of the top ten reasons to adopt the Law of Gratitude in your life:

• Being in Gratitude Only Has Positive Side Effects. Positive emotions make you feel good and offer a sense of comfort. When we take a few moments to express our appreciation inwardly or to another, immediately we begin to feel happier, more relaxed, more optimistic.
  
• Feelings of Gratitude Provide Short-Cuts to Miracles. Negative thoughts and feelings create an interruption in the natural flow of life. When you are feeling positive and grateful you accelerate what it is that you desire. Consciously appreciating what you already have is the short-cut to manifestation and the secret to personal fulfillment.
  
• Thoughts of Gratitude Flood Your Body with Immune-Boosting Endorphin. Studies also provide evidence that a positive, appreciative attitude enhances the body’s healing system and general health. When you hold feelings of thankfulness for at least 15 to 20 seconds, beneficial physiological changes take place in your body. Levels of the stress hormones cortisol and nor-epinephrine decrease, producing a cascade of beneficial metabolic changes. Coronary arteries relax, thus increasing the blood supply to your heart. And your breathing becomes deeper, raising the oxygen level of your tissues.
  
• Feeling Grateful Puts you Back into the ‘Flow of Life’ at the Speed of Thought. Thoughts create things. If you are feeling and thinking positive thoughts, you create positive situations. You draw positive people to you. Like attracts like.
  
• Gratitude Unlocks the Fullness of Life Feelings of gratitude turn what you have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast or a house into a home. Gratitude makes sense of your past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
  
• Feelings of Gratitude Give You a ‘Natural High’. Grateful people tend to be more optimistic, a characteristic that researchers say boosts the immune system. Studies indicate that daily gratitude exercises result in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism and energy. Grateful people experience less depression and stress, are more likely to help others, exercise regularly and tend to make more progress toward personal goals.
  
• People who feel grateful are also more likely to feel loved. Seven. Gratitude Provides an Immediate Sense of Well-Being. Gratitude, it turns out, can help us better manage stress. Gratitude research is beginning to suggest that feelings of thankfulness have tremendous positive value in helping people cope with daily problems, especially stress.
  
• Feeling Grateful is the Main Cause of ‘Sustained Joy’. Focusing on the gifts one has been given is an antidote to envy, resentment, regret and other negative states that undermine long-term happiness. Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.
  
• The More You Give -- The More You Receive. You always get more of whatever you appreciate. When you express LOVE, GRATITUDE, and SINCERE APPRECIATION, you naturally expand. Consciously appreciating what you already have is the short-cut to manifestation and the secret to personal fulfillment. The more you assist others, the more you will assist yourself.
  
• When You Are Genuinely Thankful Anger and Fear Disappear. One of the incredible truths about gratitude is that it is impossible to feel both the positive emotion of thankfulness and a negative emotion such as anger or fear at the same time.
  

To Practice This Thought: Be lavish in your gratefulness.

• Make gratitude a daily ritual.
  
• Be thankful for whatever forces you to deal with your own strong emotions.
  
• Set aside an hour or two to do nothing much except be grateful.
  
• Focus on what is working in your life and what IS right in the world. It doesn’t matter how small or seemingly insignificant it may be. Before long you will notice that more things will fall into place with little or no effort on your part. Gratitude is a wonderful tool to use to feel good fast.