Eleven years ago, I joined a 14-month program to learn about addiction and to actually become an addiction counselor.  During those wonderful months I achieved that, plus so much more. Beside having an understanding of the disease of addiction, I learned about consciousness, my mind, and how to find happiness.  This program changed my life and my perspective on the world.  So much of what I learned was from my main instructor, Pedro Pereira.  The following words are more poignant to me than anyone who knows me could imagine and they are from Pedro.

 I am blessed to share it with you.

Spiritual Consciousness

Spiritual consciousness is enlightenment.  Though achieving full enlightenment is reserved for those who wholly devote their lives to absolute union with the spirit, we too can taste this sweet nectar.

Things of the spirit challenge a mind conditioned by the material realm. It takes devotion, dedication and sacrifice to establish spiritual consciousness.

Once our practice begins, so do the rewards. These come in the form of detachment from things and outcomes. Slowly, very slowly, we begin to place more importance on living the present day. We grow our gratitude for the little gifts and for the people with whom we share them with. 

The rewards of the material realm are infrequent and can’t fulfill our insatiable desire for material well-being.  Shortly after experiencing a fleeting moment of joy; after we get the job, the promotion, the car, the partner or the house, we are filled with desire for the next fix. It takes tireless effort to experience brief moments of happiness and we never feel fully satisfied. 

We begin to experience spiritual wealth the moment we express sincere desire to live devoted to the wellbeing of ourselves and of others. The rewards are subtle but constant.  These come in the form of serenity, calmness, composure, peacefulness or self-love.

Since spiritual practice does not provide instant gratification, we quit shortly after the initial taste of its sweetness.  We are easily distracted by the quick fixes of the material realm. 

We are quick to seek help from God when in a crisis. Once the crisis is averted or overcome, we are once again diverted from spiritual practice.

Rewards of the Spirit are without glamour. They’re unseen and only experienced by the practitioner. The ultimate reward is that of growing awareness of spiritual consciousness; an understanding that we already possess the greatest gift of all; that of being a spiritual being given the opportunity of this human experience. pp🙏