“As you proceed along the path of spiritual growth, it can at times be very tempting to feel that your own philosophy is superior to that of others, particularly those who continue to strictly adhere to traditional religious principles. When such feelings arise, it is very important to 1. Remind yourself they are not coming from your Higher Self, but are instead originating from your ego-self, and 2. Promptly dismiss them from your consciousness.
Feelings of spiritual pride are very dangerous because they only serve to reinforce the feeling of separateness between yourself and others. The fact is whenever you judge another you are seeing that person as you are rather than how they are. Therefore, always make your best effort to remember that your way is not the way, and as such, you have no right to feel spiritually superior to anyone. Additionally, remind yourself that what they have chosen to accept as their inner “truth” is exactly what they need at this point in their spiritual evolution. Finally, whenever you do feel the temptation to judge those following a conventional religious path, try to remember the guidance offered in this insightful passage from a wonderful book by Paul Ferrini called The Silence of the Heart:
“It is spiritual pride to think that you are any further on the journey than anyone else. Even if this were true it would not serve you to know it or claim it. What serves you is knowing that each person has the lesson that is perfect for him and, if he learns it, there is no telling how far he will advance. Don’t think you have the capacity to make a correct determination of the spiritual progress of any individual, including yourself. You don’t. You don’t know…You can look at others and think you understand, but you will be kidding yourself. You have no idea what anyone else’s life is about. Nor is it any of your business to know.”
Jeff Maziarek, in “Spirituality Simplified”
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Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.
