Where to start spiritual development: a step-by-step guide. Spiritual path of development What does a highly developed spiritual person mean?

Spiritual development is the process of comprehending our Primordial nature, which is a direct part of the original eternal basis of all things. You can read more about this, for example, in the article about who Taoists are.

Few people are familiar with Taoist philosophy and Taoist methods of self-development. For most people, spiritual development represents an increase in a person’s moral qualities, and the process of comprehending one’s spirit itself remains outside the zone of attention. This vague and incomplete understanding means that spiritual development for many is not directly related to everyday practical reality and is not used to improve their lives and achieve happiness.

In this article, I want to tell you 9 reasons to consciously and purposefully pursue your spiritual development using the methods of practical Taoism. Perhaps such a structured and purely practical approach to this issue will help you take a more rational look at self-improvement and push you to practice :-)

I’ll say right away that in my opinion, only the last 9th reason is true. But we are all imperfect and to move forward we need, to some extent, selfish motives.

So, here are these 9 reasons that can push you towards active spiritual self-knowledge :-)

1 Promoting health and prolonging life

Since the methods of practical Taoism involve the harmonious improvement of the body, energy structure, heart nature, consciousness and spirit of a person, we can safely say that spiritual development using Taoist methods will help you improve your health, harmonize your psyche, purify your consciousness and develop your spirit.

However, there are such directions and schools where maximum attention is paid directly to the development of the spirit, and the body is looked after either poorly or not at all. Therefore, I personally believe that it is necessary either to practice the methods of a complete harmonious school (for example, the Zhen Dao school, where they take care of both the body and the spirit), or to supplement spiritual practices with general health-improving and strengthening exercises for the body and energy structure.

As one grows spiritually, one begins to think less selfishly and more clearly. Such changes in consciousness also lead to a transformation of worldview: a practitioner in a stressful situation behaves calmly and collectedly, interacts more harmoniously with the world, values ​​what he has more and is less dependent on his desires. All this has a beneficial effect on health.

Since spiritual development is a long process, the Taoists created and honed a set of practices to prolong life. After all, it is unknown what the next incarnation will be, and therefore it is necessary to try to fully realize oneself spiritually during this life. Of course, not everyone will be able to achieve a high level of practice and extend their life to 200, 300 or more years, but the very presence of such a potential opportunity still warms my soul ;-)

The longer you live, the more pressing the issue of health. It’s best if you start taking care of him not when it’s time to go to the doctor, but right now! Prevention is more enjoyable, requires less effort and produces greater results. And in a healthy body, as you know, the spirit feels better, which means it will be easier to develop it.

2 Personal growth and improvement of social skills

Spiritual development is always accompanied by personal growth, as a person learns to look at the world impartially, without the distorting prism of the Ego. The process of spiritual growth releases primordial wisdom (knowing without words), increases intuition and makes you more flexible, revealing your creative potential.

You learn to see the causes and consequences of your actions in your daily routine, and this allows you to correct mistakes faster and master various social skills more effectively. You also learn to see the reasons for other people’s behavior, understand them better, and use the opportunities that are only available in cooperation with others. Success is always connected with other people; it is impossible to become successful without interaction with society. Therefore, improving communication and cooperation skills that occurs through spiritual and personal growth is very useful!

As the practitioner's mind becomes clearer, he becomes more aware of his strengths and weaknesses, which gives him leverage to make the most of his talents. Know your weaknesses and give specialists the opportunity to perform those actions in which you are a layman, or consciously abandon perfectionism in an area that is “not yours” - such a life position reduces stress and saves energy on what you are the best at.

Quieting the busy monkey mind brings peace to your life—by doing less, you achieve more. You learn to see the invisible currents of life and use the moment, act exactly when you need it - by moving a small pebble, you begin an avalanche of global changes in your life.

Of course, spiritual growth also increases quite popular personal qualities: awareness, the ability to take responsibility, initiative, insight, composure in stressful situations, and more. Changing values ​​and cleansing your personality can lead to a change in profession, lifestyle - you become freer, braver, follow the dictates of your soul more easily and look at the world more positively.

If you are a pragmatist, then this is a good reason to start engaging in spiritual development. You just need to see the practical connection between your daily life and the development of the spirit.

I recommend reading more about the use of Taoist philosophy and methods of interaction with the outside world in the book “Taoist Thinking”.

3 Relieve stress and find happiness

If you take care of your body, heart nature and spirit, you gradually begin to be more conscious about your life. This helps to track negative emotions, dissolve the thoughts that lead to them, and change your stereotypes, patterns of behavior and obscurations of the heart-consciousness. By transforming your thoughts, you change your emotions and actions to positive ones, which increases your satisfaction with life.

Peace within leads you to happiness! You can change your life at any moment, but the speed and depth of the transformation depends on how tightly you cling to your views and false beliefs. The less negativity in your life, the more satisfied you are with it.

Spiritual development does not mean that a person stops wanting something and lives in a cell. He continues to act in society and achieve improvements in his life, but he does it more detached. The list of desires of such a person is gradually reduced; only what is truly integral to the inner nature and personal preferences remains on it. Thus, a person, developing spiritually and purifying himself, actually realizes himself more fully in life, focusing only on the most important and not being distracted by what is introduced and false.

Thousands of books have been written on how to become happy. The shortest way, in my opinion, is to cleanse yourself. Cleansing the body brings health and gives you strength, cleansing the mind from impurities and freeing the heart from obscurations gives joy. Happiness is a natural state of mind! To be happy, you just need to let go of everything unnecessary and follow your Primordial nature - this is what spiritual development gives us :-)

Do you want to live a great life? Start practicing Taoist practices and your life will be filled with light, no matter what situation you are in. Spiritual development gives you the freedom to live your own life in your own way. To be who you are is not happiness?

4 Finding the meaning of life

I think sooner or later every person is faced with the question: “Who am I and why am I here?” It doesn’t matter whether you asked yourself this in school, during a midlife crisis, at 40 or 65, it’s never too late and never too early to look for yourself!

Spiritual development can give you meaning in life. We all came into this world to discover ourselves, although most of the time we want to change the world. But, in fact, all we can really change and what is really worth changing is ourselves.

Knowing your spirit is a multifaceted and multi-layered process. At each stage, you will change and the meaning of why you are doing this and who you think you are will change. But the main thing is that this meaning will be and it is inexhaustible, it will last for your whole life.

If you have not found your calling in society, or maybe this is not enough for you, or you feel that everything in this world is temporary, and your soul is reaching out to something more fundamental, remember that your spirit is the foundation that binds you with strong ties with the entire universe. What could be more impressive and global than studying the Universe in the laboratory of your spirit?

5 Deeper knowledge of yourself and the Universe

Let me remind you that spiritual development is the process of comprehending one’s Primordial nature, cognition of the Primordial spirit. This is not at all reminiscent of the soul-searching that is encouraged in various areas of psychology. This realization occurs in meditation, which, of course, is not so easy. Not everyone will be able to sit motionless for a long time, without thoughts, concentrating on practice. But it's worth it!

After some time, shifts occur in the practitioner’s consciousness. It’s like a landslide: more and more layers of your Self are opening up, gradually exposing the Primordial. This process is accompanied by flashes of awareness that gradually change you and your life.

These mini-enlightenments allow you to better understand the world around you and feel the relationship between the internal and external. And those things that seemed ordinary to you are gradually transformed into something else. The world becomes, on the one hand, simpler, and on the other, more inexplicable, since a significant part of the acquired understanding is very difficult to express in words.

If you have a strong curiosity, then you will definitely enjoy the process of understanding yourself. Who said that in our world all boundaries have long been defined? The true boundaries of your Self can be expanded indefinitely, and you can become their discoverer. It’s one thing to read in some article that the world is not at all the way we see it, and quite another thing to feel and see it for yourself!

The road into the unknown lies right in front of you; you can begin to comprehend what few people know, you can see what few people see, and you can enjoy the simplest things, like a child looking at the world for the first time after birth and discovering it again!

6 Ways to come to terms with death

Each of us sooner or later faces death and begins to think about it... although we often drive these thoughts away, fencing ourselves off with all sorts of rituals or positive formulas, like “everything will be fine.”

Religion arose precisely as a way of reconciling a person with death. We follow certain rules and rituals, and in return after death, “everything will be fine.” Sometimes we “make deals” with God: we follow rules and rituals, for example, we pray, and in return - everything will be fine in life, there will be less pain, and death will come someday very soon or will be quick and easy.

But the religious worldview is not suitable for everyone - many believe in the laws of physics, universal reason, the law of cause and effect, etc. For such people, as well as for those who are not very religious, spiritual development is a way to come to terms with death. Whether you believe in heaven, reincarnation, the finality of death, or anything else, spiritual development gives you the opportunity to become convinced that you have a spirit - something that exists beyond life and death.

This knowledge gains power only when you comprehend it personally, through your own experience. You can theorize for a long time, believe or not believe, discuss and debate about the presence or absence of spirit and the significance of spiritual development, but only personal experience leads to real changes in our behavior!

When you get in touch with your spirit, your attitude towards life and death will become different, and how and what you spend your time on will change. Knowledge of the Primordial will give you not just hope, but a clear confidence that things will always get better, as you will become more and more perfect, original, wise and eternal. The clearer the consciousness, the purer the heart, the brighter the sun, moon and stars will shine for you, always illuminating your Path to heaven, no matter how you imagine it :-)

7 Unlocking your energy potential

Taoist practices include working with the body, Qi (energy) and spirit. It is quite natural that spiritual development requires a lot of Qi, and the Taoists created a rich arsenal of all kinds of exercises that help accumulate, preserve and strengthen energy.

At the initial stage, the practitioner restores health, since he will need all his strength to comprehend his own Primordial nature. And, as a side effect, the accumulated and strengthened Qi makes it possible to be more active in social life.

With diligent and correct practice, a person can even develop special abilities, such as the ability to heal people with Qi. From my point of view, the desire for magical abilities is a false motivation for spiritual development, but at the first stage it may well serve as a good incentive to start practice and maintain its regularity. The main thing is not to deceive yourself by replacing the true desire for self-development and self-realization with the false desire to possess special abilities!

The more energy you have, the more fulfilled you feel. It’s like waking up on Saturday morning, sleeping well, and with 2 more weekends ahead, you’re full of energy to do something interesting.

It’s very exciting to even just learn to feel your Qi, to some extent control it, heal yourself, be able to reduce your weight or do unusual things with its help. And if your practice is sincere, the classes give a positive effect and you become more energetic, truly positive, feel your depth and subtle connections with others - then all this additionally stimulates you to learn more, to know yourself and your nature.

8 More fully serving the World

The basis for spiritual development is purifying oneself and cultivating virtuous qualities, such as compassion and philanthropy. It is compassion and philanthropy that underlie sincere service to people. And therefore, spiritual development strengthens your desire for self-realization and gives you the strength to serve the World.

Most social activities have at their core an element of service to others. In many books on business, successful people share one of the secrets of their success - a sincere desire to give something to people, improve something, make it easier, change something... If you want to receive more, start giving more! Developing your spirit and knowing yourself will make it possible to help others from the bottom of your heart, and this will bring joy and make you more successful in what you do. People feel when you do something “with your soul,” and they are always drawn to it, because everything done from the heart spiritualizes life, brings joy, hope, care and kindness to the hearts of others.

Spiritual development will help you become a conscious part of the world, serve people, enjoy it and participate in the processes of growth and evolution of all that is bright and good in your field of activity.

By helping others, we help ourselves to become better. Begin to consciously comprehend your spirit - and your nature will bloom, and your heart will open to meet the universe.

9 Self-realization of your Primordial nature

On the one hand, we came into this world to change ourselves, and on the other hand, there is no need to strive to become someone, since we are already who we are, and all that is required of us is to allow our Original nature to manifest itself through our thoughts, feelings and deeds.

That is why, the most important and true reason to engage in our spiritual development is that it is spiritual development that helps us realize our Primordial nature. It is in our nature to strive to improve our spirit, and not doing this is like trying to live without using the hands that were given to us from birth.

Of course, until a person has reached the required level of understanding, he may well be guided by more selfish motives, but when he purifies his heart and consciousness, spiritual development will be what he exists for. In this case, the development of the spirit becomes a way to realize oneself.

In conclusion, I want to assure you once again: it’s never too early to think about spiritual development and it’s never too late for anyone! If you have a personal crisis (for example, a midlife crisis), your values ​​have changed, you are tired of work, you want to change everything, you are looking for yourself, you are unhappy, you have low energy, you live in fear, stress or endless worries and fuss, you have poor health or disagreements with others - the desire to change all this can become an impetus for self-development, spiritual growth, revival and change in yourself and your life!

Read these 9 reasons again. I'm sure you'll find a couple to start your awakening. Let the light of your heart open, follow your spirit and the trees of paradise will grow where you live.

Good luck on your Path and good health!

Some people live by increasing material wealth, while others believe that the main wealth is spiritual. As one of my friends says, assuming that a person has several lives: “You cannot take material trash with you into another life, but spiritual wealth will always remain with you, be it in this life or in another.” Maybe she's right. In any case, a person who has developed spirituality in himself will never be stymied by difficulties under any circumstances. Does this mean that we need to develop spiritually? Undoubtedly, because it is easier for a spiritually rich person to adapt to life without losing his moral character.

What does it mean to develop spiritually?

Any development involves moving forward in the direction that makes a person better. Spirit is a natural part of a person’s personality and it also requires development. The development of spirituality is a person’s desire for perfection and the discovery of inherent abilities.
Thoughts and actions aimed at creation also constitute the path to the development of spiritual qualities. Learn to perceive people as they are, without getting irritated by the weaknesses of their essence and without judging them. One of the main points in development is learning to observe yourself from the outside. And it is not so important to correct the negative aspects of your personality as it is to realize that they are such. Awareness is a huge work in the development of a person’s inner state.
The first stage on the path of spiritual development was and will be the acquisition of information. It comes precisely at the moment when a person is ready for a new stage in his life, but does not yet know how to develop spiritually. A randomly seen book about spirituality on a shelf in a friend’s house; watched a film that makes you think about the meaning of your existence; meeting people, a conversation with whom gives a tangible impetus to learn something more - all this is not without reason. These are clues that you are ready and you need to develop spiritually. Often this development occurs intuitively.

How to develop spiritually

Working on yourself throughout your life, sometimes consciously and sometimes not, you develop spiritually. If you have already learned to think positively, then we can congratulate you - with such thinking it is easier to move up the steps towards spiritual perfection. Positivity deflects negative emotions that slow you down. And the question no longer arises before you - how to develop spiritually.
Getting rid of wrong concepts about life, from illusions; awareness of one's true essence; the desire to become more patient and tolerant; rising above the circumstances that influence your mood and mind - all these are stages in the development of your spirituality. As it grows, your inner strength increases.
Of course, there are situations when you do not have the strength to deal with problems that hinder your growth with dignity. This is precisely why there are mantras for specific occasions and meditation. By using them, you will not lose control of yourself.
It is never too late to learn to develop spiritual qualities in yourself - each person has his own period for this.

There comes a moment in every person’s life when he thinks: “Why am I living?”, “What is my purpose?”, “Why is everything happening this way?” This moment can be a turning point if a person really wants to understand it. But it’s not so simple, because no one knows the answers to these questions except himself. But delving inside oneself is a difficult task and not everyone can do it.

Any negative emotions that we experience in life, such as fear, anger, irritation, anger, resentment, do not disappear into thin air, but settle in our soul and subconscious, undermining the body’s strength. It would seem that the person with whom you were very offended has long since left your life, but the resentment (if it has not been properly processed) remains. Moreover, the subconscious hid it very far away so that it would not interfere with your life. The same thing happens with fears that a person may not be aware of. They just settled in his subconscious and lead his life, making their own adjustments to it.

As soon as a person acknowledges these feelings and thinks about their occurrence, they float to the surface, forcing them to be experienced again. Not a very pleasant job, you will agree. But only by living them again and working through them can you rid yourself of the negativity. When a person chooses the path of spiritual development, this one way or another implies that he will look inside himself, deal with feelings, desires, and only then will he find answers to questions. Only by clearing yourself of unnecessary trash can you hear the subtle voice of intuition and your Self, which knows exactly why you were born into this world.

Any emotions, thoughts, feelings emit certain vibrations. Negativity spreads low-frequency vibrations, positivity spreads high-frequency vibrations. But no one has canceled the law of similarity: like attracts like. Accordingly, destructive thoughts and feelings attract troubles into a person’s life, while bright and joyful ones create unforgettable moments in life. It’s difficult to track negativity, and it’s even more difficult to stop emitting it.

Only every minute work on yourself, complete control over your thoughts can help you begin to change the situation for the better. Just start, because not allowing negative thoughts into your head does not mean thinking positively. Radiating joy and love is the path of spiritual development, the highest goal of our existence.

Religion contributes to the spiritual development of a person. And it doesn’t matter what faith he professes, since in all religions the commandments are practically no different from each other. Any religion is aimed at developing kindness, empathy, mercy, honesty in a person, that is, those qualities that emit high vibration frequencies. A believer recognizes the Creator and understands that he came into this world for a reason, but for self-improvement and working off karma (this concept is not found in all religions).

Many people give the wrong meaning to spiritual development and believe that if they go to instrumental music concerts or attend theaters, then they are developing spiritually. But spiritual development implies studying and improving one’s character, thoughts, in a word, worldview. And listening to music, even if it touches the strings of the heart, will not change your attitude towards people and the world, and will not eradicate anger and hatred in your soul.

In my article “Why engage in self-development,” I described in detail that for harmonious development in life, a person needs to develop at all 4 levels. But today we will talk in more detail about one of the levels, namely, spiritual development.

Spiritual development is the development of soul and spirit. It is important to understand the essence of these words and their meaning in order to eliminate illusory spiritual development from your life and really develop.

The soul is an immaterial substance that has a connection with the body and experiences feelings, desires and emotions. It’s not for nothing that they say that dreams are born in the soul. The soul has the right to choose in this world, and by choice it creates its own life. By accumulating experience from the choices already made, she can change them in both creative and destructive ways. Based on this, a person can either improve or worsen his destiny.

The soul is connected with the spirit, in which the energies accumulated by the soul through past experiences are concentrated. Spirit is immaterial. Therefore, people who have chosen the path of full disclosure of the Spirit renounce the material world. The spirit has a connection with the Soul and God, but has no connection with the body. It turns out that the soul is the connecting link between the body and the spirit. The body helps the soul receive more intense emotions that influence its new choice, and the accumulated energies flow through the Soul into the Spirit.

Spiritual development is working on developing, first of all, your spiritual qualities: kindness, love, trust in God, gratitude, forgiveness, etc. You need to identify your destructive, negative personality traits, such as: anger, vindictiveness, resentment, stupidity, envy, pride, etc. and transform them into bright sides.

A spiritually developed personality is recognized not in beautiful, highly spiritual words, but in actions. Not in regular church attendance and prayers, not in spiritual knowledge. You can know everything about God, but remain at the same level. Spiritual development involves regular practice of spiritual laws in everyday life. This is forgiveness of those who hurt, this is gratitude and faith in God in any circumstances. This is openness and love for the world.

The actions of each person clearly and clearly show his level of spiritual development, pointing him to his own areas of growth in this matter. And if a person’s actions and feelings towards people and the world do not change, then whatever he does is an illusion of spiritual development. He is deceiving himself.

It is very difficult to change yourself, your dark sides, but it is possible with sincere desire and faith. When a person is open to God, the books, films, and teachers he needs begin to be attracted into his life. God hears everyone’s choice and sends information in accordance with the choice.

Spirit- this is a particle of divine Fire, therefore we cannot develop the Spirit, we cannot improve what was originally perfect. A person can develop himself, not the Spirit, by increasing the role of the Spirit in his life.

Spiritual development is the development of the relationship between the surface self (ego) and the Spirit (deep inner self). The spirit must prevail over the “I,” which is initially imperfect and may be prone to darkness [Bokachev O.V.].

Spiritual development- this is self-improvement, self-purification, restoration of the harmony of the world. We must turn to our conscience more often, listen to its voice and abandon everything that forces us to act not according to our conscience. If we compare our thoughts, words, actions with the ideal, with conscience, with spirit, then we will develop spiritually [Novikov Yu.V.].

Spiritual development- getting rid of shortcomings, from many habits. This is overcoming many obstacles, which makes the path of spiritual development a constant struggle, primarily with oneself. This is a willingness to take on the role of a student, to admit that you are at the beginning of the path, and to respect the opinions of those who are one step higher [Mianiye M.Yu.].

Methods of spiritual development

Many methods of spiritual development are offered - reading holy books, meditation, visiting holy places, rituals, getting education, physical exercise, visiting theaters, concerts, exhibitions...

Judging by these recommendations, it is quite simple to develop spiritually; there are many ways, and all of them are for the benefit of a person. True, it is not entirely clear what spiritual development is? Is it enough to follow these simple recommendations for spiritual development?

Spirit- this is an immortal particle of divine fire, invested in every person by the Creator. This is what gives us life, vitality. This is our creative beginning, which gives us the opportunity to draw closer to God. Finally, this is our conscience, i.e. an internal, unmistakable criterion of truth, an idea of ​​the ideal, harmony, of how everything should really be.

We cannot develop (improve) our spirit, because we cannot improve what was originally perfect. We can increase the role of the spirit in our lives, that is, turn to our conscience more often, listen to its voice, and abandon everything that makes us act not according to our conscience. We can also realize our creative abilities, inflating and thereby growing our inner divine fire. At the same time, only that which is consistent with conscience, that does not contradict the will of the Creator, that strengthens the world's good and reduces evil, can be considered true creativity. This is precisely what brings us closer to God, makes us more perfect, and develops us spiritually. Everything else is just a means that can help spiritual development, but cannot be called spiritual development itself.

Spiritual development is not the development of the spirit itself, but the development of a person towards the spirit, towards a more spiritual life.

And the reverse process is possible - spiritual degradation. But this is not degradation of the spirit, since a perfect and immortal spirit cannot degrade. But a person himself can suppress his spirit, fence himself off from it, surrounding it with all sorts of dark shells, depriving it of the opportunity to break through, to manifest itself fully, to be realized in the world. This is one of the main sins of man - the sin of pride, the renunciation of one’s divine nature and one’s true destiny, the renunciation of one’s conscience. It is the sin of pride that most often is the first step towards active service to evil.

Methods of spiritual development

Now let’s analyze the methods that are offered to us for spiritual development. The criterion for evaluation is very simple. We will look at the results achieved. If the proposed method makes us better, i.e. cleaner, more conscientious, kinder; helps to renounce evil, to realize oneself in true creativity, then this method is really useful, and it can be called a method of spiritual development. If, having applied the method, we remain the same as before, or may even become worse, then this has nothing to do with spiritual development. Thus, key questions need to be answered: “So what next?”, “What for?”, “What will this give me?”

• Visiting holy places and meditation. We are offered to travel to distant countries to climb a sacred mountain, swim in a sacred river, meditate among ancient ruins, etc. At the same time, they talk about a feeling of grace, about the opening of inner vision, about certain “thin” (or thick) channels, about the expansion of consciousness, about visions of some higher entities, etc. It is said to be good for spiritual development. Let's ask our key questions.

Well, a man climbed this mountain, swam in the river, and meditated. So what next? What will happen to him? After this he will no longer be able to lie, steal, humiliate, kill? Will he change his life, will he live according to his conscience, will he engage in true self-realization? Will he get at least one step closer to the Creator? But no! The way people go there is the same way they usually return. The only thing they can boast about among their friends is their long, difficult and very expensive pilgrimage, their experiences. But what does spiritual development have to do with it? In this case there is no progress towards spirituality. After all, no movement of a person’s body in space can automatically make him better.

• Visiting theaters, concerts, exhibitions. Let's say someone went to a concert of wonderful music and even shed tears at it from the surging feelings. And what? The next day he will stop taking bribes and stealing public money? Nothing happened! He needs to “earn” money to attend concerts. There is no guarantee of spiritual development.

• Exercise. Suppose a person, with the help of certain exercises, has developed his body and learned to better manage his internal energies. And for what? To crush competitors more brutally? Or to cheat on your wife more often? Or to drink with fewer health consequences? And in this case, both spiritual development and spiritual degradation are possible.

• Gaining knowledge. Let a person read a lot of books, become more erudite, smarter. So what next? Will he invent terrible weapons? Will it begin to produce genetic monsters - plants, animals, people? Will he become a cynical religious scholar, mocking the feelings of believers? Gaining knowledge is not a guarantee of spiritual development.
• Donation. What if someone donated money for good causes - building a temple, helping the disabled, children, preserving works of art, etc.? It would seem that this is certainly spiritual development. But no! Tomorrow he will return to his business - plunder natural resources, inflate prices, deceive clients and partners, give bribes. And he will justify these abominations with the desire to benefit someone again. And here there is no guarantee of spiritual development.

Conclusion: no external influences on the body, mind and feelings can be considered as methods of spiritual development. Everything we need for spiritual development is within ourselves. This is our spirit, our thoughts, words and deeds. If we more and more often compare our thoughts, words and deeds with the ideal, with conscience, with spirit, then we will develop spiritually. This is not a one-time action, not a single act, even the most beautiful one, but everyday work. We cannot rest from spiritual development, we must not forget about it, otherwise we are in danger of degradation. That is, the only correct path of spiritual development is self-improvement, self-purification, the fight against evil, the restoration of the harmony of the world. And there cannot be a spiritually developed scoundrel, just as there cannot be a spiritually undeveloped righteous person.

For spiritual development, it is not at all necessary to go somewhere, read something, or do something. All of the methods listed can only help us in our own efforts. But they may not help. They can even interfere if you take them too seriously, if you consider them self-sufficient.

And one last thing. In our evil-stricken world, spiritual development, as a rule, does not simplify or make a person’s life easier, but makes it more difficult, more dangerous, more stressful. But all this is only external. But spiritual development brings inner peace, greater agreement with oneself, with one’s conscience, with one’s spirit. And this, by the way, is another criterion for spiritual development. If your life is becoming outwardly easier, more prosperous, more carefree, “beautiful”, there is reason to think about whether you are living correctly.