spiritual evolution

[alpine9]

How can someone determen their evolutionary state.

[Xanth]

Is there a reason for your question?

~Ryan

[Psilibus]

Individuals evolve on a personal level to be determined by their acts. Human beings evolve at the speed of a snail traversing a mile of fragrant terrain. Your state is determined by the state you are born into. You can determine this by ignoring it.

[personalreality]

what evolution are you referring to?

a person is evolving in many different ways simultaneously.

spiritually.

emotionally.

intellectually.

physically.

energetically.

etc.

but it does seem that determining your evolutionary state is kind of the point.

mushroom man is right though.  you can determine it by ignoring it.  he may be expressing some sarcasm (or not, i'm not sure), but he's not wrong.

[alpine9]

When I say evolution I guess I mean my level of conciousness or energetic development.

[personalreality]

what i was trying to illustrate is that all of these things are happening simultaneously.  You are a dynamic creature who is constantly growing and changing.  the simple answer is, you are as evolved as you are.  see, in order to determine a specific position you would have to have a frame of reference.  some kind of definitive scale.  if you have not determined this yet, then you will eventually, but there is no definitive scale for personal evolution.  the only possible frame of reference would be the evolutionary development of other people, but that is not only impossible but is silly to even consider.  if you could compare yourself to others then why are you even alive?  it takes the novelty out of your experience and you might as well just kill yourself now (disclaimer: that is a statement of exaggeration, DO NOT take me seriously in any way, shape or form).  your existence would be futile if you could compare it to anyone else's. 

your path is unique and specific to only you.  no one has ever, nor will ever, have your path.  not in the whole of existence, whatever that may be.  so, as mushroom man said, ignore it.  you can't possibly know in any linear fashion.  your knowing will come intuitively and in that regard there is no sense in dwelling.  you just know.  you know right now.  but what good will that really do? 

just keep living sir.

[mon9999]

For me I measure it by:

How much you feel at peace or spiritually inspired each day
How much you express gratitude and optimistic you are
How you see the bigger picture in each situations and in relationships
You feel less negative emotions and more positive ones despite any situations
You can easily detach and move-on
posess some spiritual wisdom or knowing
many more to say the least!

I'm not concluding though that this is the right answer to your question, But this is how I measure my spiritual evolution personally, To tell you the truth I was the exact opposite of the lists written above until I begin my spiritual path six years ago and I can say that I am more better person now than I was before

[Stookie]

I like PR's response. To quickly add to it, you're already perfect, you just haven't realized it.

I also like mon9999's response. Your outer world is a reflection of your inner world.

[solarity]

i dislike the word perfect.. for everything is neither perfect nor imperfect, it simply is at is. Perfect is only relative to one's self in their comparisons of what is perfect and that which is not, it is an empty definition that has no real meaning. I would say when you start comparing yourself to others you lose sight of your unique self, so, I'd not even begin to delve into it.

[Stookie]

Perfect, flawless, whole, god-like... whatever you want to call it. Maybe not on the physical level, but our true being is. Every one of us. There is nothing to attain, we're already there. It just needs to be realized.

[alpine9]

What spiritual practices would you guys suggest for a begining spiritual seeker?

[gdo]

Do everything that you do with as much conciousness as you can. 
Be grateful of all of your experiences.
Learn to suspend negative judgements about people and situations, but do not let yourself become a victim at the same time.
Learn to respect your self and love yourself and take care of your body the best you know how.
Make goals for yourself. 
Be observant.  Think of the best qualities that you have and focus on improving them and letting your faults die off.
Learn to be silent and listen. 

[solarity]

Perfect, flawless, whole, god-like... whatever you want to call it. Maybe not on the physical level, but our true being is. Every one of us. There is nothing to attain, we're already there. It just needs to be realized.

We can't attain anything nonphysical, nonphysical is not capable of "gaining", it is only a concept based upon physical matter due to density.. We are what we are, as we will always be. Of course then the realization and full understanding of what this encompasses should be one's goal. So yes we are in agreement.

[Mydral]

Well....

How aware are you of yourself? Do you know who you are trully? Do you know why you behave the way you do, where it came from, what causes it... or do you just go around life reacting to things without control?
When do you give into to circumstances? How much of your potential and power have you realized? What kind of life do you live? Are you happy or are you just saying everything is ok cause you resigned?

[E]

Beautiful comments.

Alpine, if you begin to understand the difference between your ego self and your Soul self, you will begin to recognize how you change in evolution from day to day, maybe minute to minute   This is a normal question one asks when they get on the path to enlightenment.  How am I doing?  How am i in comparison to Jane Doe over there?  When these questions become less and less relevant in your thinking you know you have come aways.

Your ego self defines you as a personality and its character.  As in 'I am a man'.  'I am generout'.  'I am a lazy creep'.  'I am a store clerk'.  And on and on.  This is an important function of being human.  You don't need to do away with it.  You just continue to rise above it.  When you do the ego changes its perspective and recognizes you wherever you are.  But the ego is stubborn and hates to let go of its patterns and conditions.  What we are all trying to do is , not kill the ego, but put it in its rightful place.

As has been pointed out here you begin to pay attention.  What are you thinking, saying, doing, feeling and what is the cause of all these.  Usually you will find that what you think, say, do and feel are are the results of past programing and sometimes it is very painful to realize why you are where you are.  You are a complex mix of skillful qualities and unskillful qualities.  And you can, consciously and forgivingly practice, again as has been pointed out here, changing the patterns of how you think, speak, feel and do and how you react to what life throws at you.


So you become aware of your ego self.  You begin to realize that this awareness is a pretty cool place.  This awareness is not your ego.  It is in a higher vibrational pattern of yourself.  What and where is this awareness, you wonder.  It seems to be a 'place' where you feel better about youself, others and the world in general.  You begin to practice being in this awareness.  You go into it and out of it, into it and out of it but you keep practicing.  You do because the results - what you see trickling down into your physical self is an enhancement of every part of you.

My practice includes maintaining my attention or awareness on the energy center, or vibraional pattern of the third eye.  It also includes devotional practices, quieting the mind chatter, and the nitty gritty of being kind to all.