The spiritual world is the most exciting and adventurous of all. Just as a dedicated mountaineer or a long distance runner can get a spiritual “high” by challenging themselves mentally and physically, so too can spiritual challenges bring tremendous physical and mental benefits. The great thing about spiritual practices is that you don’t have to climb mountains or be in tip-top physical and mental condition to obtain results. You can be any age and of ailing health and still gain tangible benefits. Unlike the mountaineer, your spiritual efforts will not only help you, but also the world around you in varying degrees, depending upon the power of your practices.

A rich spiritual life does not guarantee perfect health; or ease and comfort. However, it does promise unusual occurrences and there also may be some so-called “miracles.” Through our prayers we can often bring unexpected results, such as this one. One day recently I heard that my mother, who is 6,000 miles away in England, had had a bad fall by her fishpond. My Mom is in her 80s and, although extremely intelligent and mentally active, unfortunately is physically very frail. Despite being on oxygen for 24 hours every day, she has a rich spiritual life and is filled with inner vitality, kindness, love and radiance that few people in good health possess. My father was not too well and Mom had offered to feed the fish. As she thrust the hand with the fish food out, she realized she had miscalculated and, instead of throwing in the food, she felt herself falling forward. She couldn’t get her balance and was about to take a nosedive into the fishpond. She instinctively knew that if she did so, she would not survive.

As these thoughts were going through her mind, she felt a strange calmness and was inspired to pull her head backwards, against the direction of the fall. It worked! At the same time she heard a voice telling her gently: “It’s not your time to go yet.” She fell backwards by the side of the pool and lay on the ground. All this happened in a split second. Her next thought was that she would not be able to pull herself up and as soon as she thought that, she put her arm out to the garden urn by her side; and felt herself being gently but definitely pulled up. Amazingly, she rose without any effort. She attributed this to her guides and felt it was the result of the healing prayers that Gary and I send to her on a regular basis.

When prayers are sent on a regular basis, the results are cumulative. They offer protection that comes in many different ways. This may take the form of help from a stranger or from your spirit guides, also known as angels. Guides are not perfect beings, with haloes and wings, but are good people who have passed out of this physical plane of existence and have taken on the job of helping those who are still alive. These guides vary in their degree of enlightenment, just as people on earth do. Their job is to help us with our spiritual growth and there are many instances of people being physically helped by their guides, as Phyllis undoubtedly was.

The more we prepare ourselves spiritually, the more the spiritual world opens up to us and can release its wonderful riches. My Spiritual Master, Dr. George King (1919-1996) had a saying which was, “If you take one step towards God, It takes two towards you.” This anecdote can be applied to all our spiritual endeavors. It is rather like building up a spiritual bank account. However, your prayers and good deeds will earn far more interest than your material bank account ever could. The investor who saves money in a bank cannot take it with him when he dies. If you are an investor who saves good deeds, thoughts and actions in a spiritual bank (which you might call the Bank of Karma) you can not only use it and draw on its interest in this life, but you can take it with you when you pass on. We should ask ourselves who is the wisest of the two investors?

There is actually no such thing as a miracle. So-called miracles happen when we learn to understand and control our mental-spiritual nature and the seen and unseen worlds around us. These unusual events also happen when there is intervention between the physical and the higher realms. Many yogis, adepts, sages and mystics have, throughout the centuries, demonstrated control of matter in many, often spectacular, ways. The great Avatar, Jesus demonstrated great miracles such as healing, walking on water and raising the dead. He also told us that we could do greater things than even he could.

All the great spiritual teachers, masters, yogis and enlightened ones of every faith throughout history have taught us this same truth in their different ways. We are all capable of these things. We just have to access the miracle machine within us. One of the best keys to unlock the great spiritual power within us is prayer.
As action and reaction is opposite and equal, by the Law of Karma, we must receive back the same amount and quality of love, healing and inspiration that we send out. This is why we receive great spiritual benefits from the system of yoga known as karma yoga. With karma yoga, we work for no reward but in a spirit of service for others. Swami Sivenanda, one of the world’s true spiritual giants (1887-1963), taught “Work hard and you will be purified. You do not have to bring the light, the light will unfold from within you.” (Tattwa Shuddhi: The Tantric Practice of Inner Purification – Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, Bihar, India.)

You will know when you are in this “building” circle, as you will have flashes of insight; you will begin to understand the great mysteries of life, you will feel empowered and alive on a spiritual level. You will feel spiritual joy and happiness and gain an enhanced appreciation of creation, the oneness of life and your place in it. You will have a greater sense of spiritual fulfillment and personal accomplishment than probably ever before.

Chrissie Blaze is an author, astrologer and senior minister of The Aetherius Society. Please visit www.chrissieblaze.com or call (248) 552-9153.