Fear vs Love Posted in: The Spiritual Journey
If I’m pursuing a spiritual path, a reasonable question is why? What is my motive? What are my motives? For example, am I motivated primarily by fear or love, or by something else? Perhaps I’m in a state of transition between fear and love, and if so, is that a comfortable experience?
Although I believe choosing to embark upon a journey of spiritual awakening is always a divine prerogative – I suspect in the early stages it may be that faith in beliefs centred around fear serve one ‘better’ than those centred around love.
Fear-motivation, for example, the concept of karma understood simply as the law of action and reaction i.e. if I do something bad I fear I will later be on the receiving end and forced to take another birth, or the concept of sin – belief that God prescribes laws of acceptable conduct, and transgression of such laws is sinful and will result in punishment or even condemnation to an eternal life in hell might be just the type of motivation needed to stay on the straight and narrow for the early spiritual practitioner. In other words, a good fit for those who would otherwise continue with attitudes and behaviour unconducive to achieving the spiritual growth they choose to aspire for.
In contrast, for those ready for love-motivation, for example, I practice ahiṃsā (non-violence) not because I fear karmic reaction etc., but because I genuinely see and love every being as my spiritual sibling, and if I want to progress in my love for God I should certainly cultivate love for God’s children (after all they are here before me now) and not just those with human bodies … wearers of all body types including insects, trees etc., might be a better fit.
I would like to believe that each individual is divinely inspired from within to instinctively embrace whatever type of belief best serves them at any given time and point on their spiritual journey. Even if that means believing some later-to-be-completely-rejected nonsense concept to be an eternal done-and-dusted absolute truth for the time being.
Today I ask myself, is some cherished belief of mine, held dear for many years, now the very thing that is holding me back? Am I ready to review my convictions, even if it means letting go of some of my cosy certainties?