Introduction

“We all begin as materialists, taking for granted that the phenomenal world before us is the sole reality. The idea of a transcendent God, or a unifying Principle inherent in the world, seems but a remote and hazy notion. Then, as our religious sense awakens, perhaps through some shocking reminder of our mortality, or a dawning clarity of mind while viewing the starry heavens or some quiet stretch of seacoast, we begin to reflect. And some inner logic seems to demand a Creator for so vast and mysterious a universe. We begin to sense an Intelligence beyond our own, an Intelligence with whom we can communicate, and of whom we are increasingly aware in all our thoughts and actions.

The second stage of our religious development comes when, after some deliberation and inner probing, we come to the conclusion that there is something within ourselves, a moral spirit, a guiding light, which is, itself, Divine, and partakes of God Himself. We call it our “soul,” and we sense the longing of that soul to rejoin the Divine beauty and goodness from which, like a spark from a blazing fire, it emanated.

Finally, we experience the third stage in our journey when, in a moment of longing, contemplating our Divine Source, we know “the peace that passes all understanding,” and suddenly, in a moment of unprecedented clarity of Intelligence, we know that one Divinity face to face. In that clear knowing, we realize that the seeker and the Goal, the knower and That which it sought to know, are one. Like the king of a vast kingdom, awakening from a dream in which he is poor and lost, we awake to the realization that we were never separate from the One, but only imagined a separateness where none existed. Then we know who we have always been: the one all-pervading Being.” ~ Swami Abhayananda

“The soul’s journey back to God – a journey each one must make.” ~ P. Yogananda

This section is divided into a number of sub-sections, as follows;
 
Religion and Spirituality – a brief look at both areas and a comparison between the two.
 
Paradise Lost – we have assumed that these mortal body-forms are our real selves for so long that most people have a hard time comprehending that we were once immortal gods. But we were. We still are.
 
Who and Where are We? – why do we think that we are these body-forms if we are really gods?
 
The Path to Awakening – is there a way to escape from this cosmic hypnosis?
           
Awakening and Enlightenment – quotations from the mystics highlight the inconceivable joy and freedom that awaits those who recover their original identity as gods - unique, individualized extensions of Spirit.

     "You are born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?" ~ Rumi

“How does one become a butterfly? You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.”
~ Trina Paulus

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Religion and Spirituality