Spiritual Reflection: Teresa of Avila

These souls hear our Lord calling them, for as they approach nearer to wear His Majesty dwells, He proves a loving Neighbor, though they may till be engaged in the amusements and business, the pleasures and vanity's of this world. While in this state, we continually fall into sin and rise again, for the creatures amongst whom we dwell are so venomous, vicious, and so dangerous, that it is almost impossible to avoid being tripped up by them. "


- Teresa of Avila The Interior Castle

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God pulls us towards him however our temptations and the people around us pull us away from Him. God tests us through obstacles and struggles. Even though we sin, God continues to call for us, yet sin, obstacles and negative influences make it harder to hear him. When we are innocent and vulnerable we are easily corrupted and as a result we change. These obstacles include death, broken relationships, loss of friends, struggle with work, and fear of the future. These obstacles sometimes make people sin, as they look for shortcuts or easy ways out. When one is insecure they tend to sin, or commit wrongs, hence, moving them further away from God. For example, they’ve been times where I’ve been lead astray because of bad company however my parents always made sure I was pulled into line. In primary school I remember having detentions most lunches. In fact, I was in detention more then I was on the actual playground. This perhaps might sound crazy, but all those detentions gave me a lot of time to contemplate my own spirituality. One of the reasons, I was in detention so often, was because I was lonely, I figured If I was in detention at least I didn’t have to suffer the humiliation of walking around by myself in the playground. This insecurity consequently made me sin, I was bored, lonely and as a result I became rebellious, I was in fights and developed a bad reputation amongst the school and my fellow peers.

My whole life I have been surrounded by bad influences however a tight knit family and my own growing awareness of who I am has enabled me to stay true to my virtues ,values and my beliefs. As Bandura argues, " ...we learn to behave in moral or immoral ways primarily by observing others - particularly parents, care givers and signifcant others such as teachers and peers." The negative influences I have encountered have come from family members, and from individuals within my peer group. People expect me to identify James Fowler's third stage of faith Synthetic - Conventional Faith. This is a state defined by the broadening of an individuals expierance of the world to incorporate school and peers. However, even in the presence of bad company, I am able to remain true to me and not be corrupted. Thus I feel more comfortable within the fifth stage of faith, what Fowler calls Conjunctive Faith. I am alive to paradox, to ruth in contraditions. I am able to unify opposites in mind and experience. Therefore, being true to all my values and beliefs, enables me to fit in with people from all walks of life without being corrupted. I'm accepted by all types of people, bad people, smart people, happy people, because they all feel like they can relate to me. I try not to be artificial - what you see is what you get. I agree with Kohlberg when he describes the individual moral framework of Post Conventional morality. I follow a self chosen ethical framework, and when this framework comes into conflict with my peers beliefs or those of the social majority, I draw on my individual strength. I rarely feel pressured into altering my beliefs or my morals, because I am happy with who I am as a person and the confidence and surety to stand up for what I believe in, and who I am, when faced with obstacles. I have been given by God, the ability to get along with almost anyone. Therefore, I am seldom influenced negatively by my environment. I would rather my environment be a product of me rather then me be a product of it.

The line, "While in this state, we continually fall into sin and rise again, for the creatures amongst whom we dwell are so venomous, vicious, and so dangerous, that it is almost impossible to avoid being tripped up by them" bares directly upon the way I reflect on my own personality and spirituality. To me the quote can be understood as saying that people are influenced by those close to them and by people they idolise or look up too, for example family and celebrities. Several problems arise when people, predominantly children and adolescents try to mimic the behaviors and values of celebrities. They may take up drugs, get involved in premature or excessive sexual activity, deviate from their studies or be involved in violence and crime. This is dangerous as these celebrities we place on pedestals tend to promote sexuality and violence, which young people then deem to be acceptable or even virtuous. For example, I believe music can be a major influence on individual’s ethical and believe systems.

I’ve grown up listening to a lot of rap however I am careful when deciding what songs I listen to. I refuse to listen to a lot of the modern hip hop and tend to listen to a lot of the older songs which barely any one listens to now days. A lot of my friends also tend to listen to the same music, and tend to be influenced by it. Influenced into violence and sometimes even criminal activity. Therefore music combined with other influences can be an instrumental factor on an individuals spirituality and sense of who they are.

In society today, too often people don't have a good awareness of who they are and therefore they go through a lot of experimentation and make a lot of mistakes before, if ever, they realise who and what they truly are. As expressed in the following lines " These souls hear our Lord calling them, for as they approach nearer to where His Majesty dwells, He proves a loving Neighbor, though they may still be engaged in the amusements and business, the pleasures and vanity's of this world". The author is urging us to accept God’s true calling, by discovering who we really are and by fulfilling our destiny. Nevertheless, people often deviate from this calling, they are distracted by celebrity and the “vicious creatures” that surround us. They do this as they are vulnerable and consequently are affected by these external influences.

I personally believe in order for a person to truly fulfill their destiny and carry out God’s plan for them, they must be true to their values, their own judgment and most of all true to themselves. I do this by always making decisions and actions based on my own values and ethics. I rarely allow an other person to influence the decisions I make or the actions I carry out. I follow my ethics and my beliefs regardless of the consequences and regardless of people’s perceptions of me. By remaining true to these values, I have remained true to me and as a result I feel a great sense of spiritual belonging and self awareness.

Rationale

The essence of spirituality is the search to discover our true selves, the real nature of our consciousness and meaning and purpose in our lives. This quest has been the foundation of religion and all great spiritual teachings.

Most people are ignorant of themselves and as a result they derive a false sense of identity from what they have or what they do, from their possessions, their role in the world and how others see them. In order to be free from the many fears and insecurities that plague us, it is necessary to develop a deeper sense of self and belonging. Spirituality can be derived from religion or independent of religion, in a self directed and personal inner path. It often relates to one's personal relationship to God, or the divine goal, or to themselves and those around them.

People practice spirituality for various reasons, they're looking for some inner sense of significance such as inner peace, enlightenment,success, meaning and love and happiness. The end “goal” of spirituality is a type of altered or idealized higher state of consciousness that usually conforms with their environment whatever spiritual tradition a person might subscribe to.

My ideas and notions of spirituality have been developed, shaped and adapted by my religion, my own personal experience, my schooling environment and finally those around me. I was baptised Greek orthodox and throughout my life I have remained Greek Orthodox. The principles of this religion was passed down to me from the church, from my peers and from my family. Although, I was never a fundamentalist in my religion, it helped me develop my own ethical and belief system influenced by, but inderpdent of, the traditional norms and conventions of society.

Some rules need to be broken, because some are unfair and others contain loopholes that need to be exposed. As a result I have developed my own ethical system; I've taken inspiration from my religious upbringing, ideas from my schooling, and been influenced by the culture I live in and surround myself with. I believe that religious ethics are too conventional and fundamental for me and many of my generation, so I conform to my own self created ethical system. This does not make me less spiritual, but it does make me a free thinker. This reflection was completed as a blog in an attempt to best show how I have incorporated so many aspects of life into my spiritual world.

The blog allows me to show videos, songs, pictures, quotes and my own reflections. I've drawn upon the people who inspire me such as Ghandi and Martin Luther King, as well as films such as Coach Carter and musicians such as R Kelly. Furthermore, the blog enabled me to draw on a range of multimedia in order to express a broader view of spirituality. This is done through gadgets, such as poles, pictures, slideshows and quotes from influential people and the bible. The blog uses technology in a way that speaks to my generation, and allows me to express the various elements of my personality.