About
'Spiritual seeking' began for me in my early 20s, and looking back, it is easy to see the synchronistic events that led into what I now call the 'Inner Journey'.
It began as an exploration of my own inner experience and the workings of the mind, through the writings of Jung, expanding to look into the ancient eastern wisdom teachings of Lao Tzu and the Buddha. This moved on to my becoming involved in meditation, the study of karmic astrology and tantra, and a lifelong immersion into the words of most revered, respected and highly regarded of the great spiritual mystics in history.
Amidst all this, during a traumatic period in my life, Awakening began. At first a simple shift in consciousness - as if being woken from a trance - I became aware of the 'background' to the self - an unmoving 'stillness' from which I began to 'witness' the self and its stream of feelings, thoughts and perceptions - everything arising in conscious awareness. Suddenly it became clear how unconscious of my own self I had previously been!
With this new perspective, and the capacity to choose how to respond to the conditions inherent to my self, my life soon began to transform from unconscious selfishness (and the resulting conflict, stress, discontent and unhappiness), to a more harmonious inner state, better aligned with the natural flow of life.
Since those early experiences, many further realisations and mystical experiences continue to deepen one's understanding of what Awakening truly is, and little-by-little, one begins to recognise that this is the true purpose to this life - and so The Path comes into view.
John Foster
It began as an exploration of my own inner experience and the workings of the mind, through the writings of Jung, expanding to look into the ancient eastern wisdom teachings of Lao Tzu and the Buddha. This moved on to my becoming involved in meditation, the study of karmic astrology and tantra, and a lifelong immersion into the words of most revered, respected and highly regarded of the great spiritual mystics in history.
Amidst all this, during a traumatic period in my life, Awakening began. At first a simple shift in consciousness - as if being woken from a trance - I became aware of the 'background' to the self - an unmoving 'stillness' from which I began to 'witness' the self and its stream of feelings, thoughts and perceptions - everything arising in conscious awareness. Suddenly it became clear how unconscious of my own self I had previously been!
With this new perspective, and the capacity to choose how to respond to the conditions inherent to my self, my life soon began to transform from unconscious selfishness (and the resulting conflict, stress, discontent and unhappiness), to a more harmonious inner state, better aligned with the natural flow of life.
Since those early experiences, many further realisations and mystical experiences continue to deepen one's understanding of what Awakening truly is, and little-by-little, one begins to recognise that this is the true purpose to this life - and so The Path comes into view.
John Foster