The Fifteen Major Tests of the Spiritual Path
by Dr. Joshua David Stone
Power
The first major spiritual test for every Light worker is the issue of power. The lesson here is either not owning it enough, or when you get it, letting it go to your head. Personal power is the fundamental first key to psychological health and spiritual growth. The ideal is to own it all the time in a considerate manner never wavering. It is through owning your personal power that Self-mastery over your energies takes place. You either own your power or give it to other people and/or your subconscious mind, negative ego, inner child, thoughts, emotions, desires and physical body.
On the other side of the coin one must have power but not to the repression of the yin aspect of one’s self. There must be the proper balance between the masculine and feminine sides. They must work together as in a beautiful dance. The real test of power comes when a person moves into leadership. Do they use their power in service totally of the Christ Consciousness and love, or does it become a manipulated power by the negative ego to control others. In essence does the power over others in the leadership they have go to their head. It is how many spiritual teachers, gurus, channels and psychics fail this first most fundamental test. One of the tests is to see if you treat people exactly the same as you did before you got the power you now hold.
Money
The next great test of the spiritual path is that of dealing with money. Each of these tests is like a false god and idol, in a metaphysical sense. The key question is whether Light workers will put the true presence of GOD always first, and put these other lessor gods on the altar of sacrifice. This is the true test of a Self realized being. How attached are you to money? I am amazed to see Light workers who are very much of the Christ Consciousness, except if you cross them over money. The Christ Consciousness goes right out of the window. It is like they are of the Christ Consciousness as long as you are paying them a client fee. This is not true spirituality.
What happens to you when someone rips you off over money? How do you respond? I am not saying that money is not important, for it is. It is not however more important than GOD and the Christ Consciousness. If all your money and material possessions were stripped away, how would you respond? Would you retain your faith and righteousness in GOD? Many of these fifteen tests dove tail together. When a Light worker or even non-Light worker moves into the position of having a lot of money, the key question is does your personality change?
Do you still treat people in the same loving manner? How do you look at people who do not have any money? Do you judge them or love them as you would GOD and the Ascended Masters? If you don’t then the negative ego’s interpretation of money has a hold on you.
GOD wants every person to have an abundant amount of money. It is not good to be poor. Being poor is a product of negative ego poverty consciousness programming. There is no judgment in being poor, but GOD would like everyone to be millionaires. The reason why, is so all His millionaires can give their money and lives to help those in need. What does having a lot of money do to your personality? How does this dovetail with the issue of power? You will pass or fail on the spiritual path with such issues.
I would like to share a personal story that really brought this home to me. I went through a lesson recently where I was potentially being ripped off for an extremely large amount of money. This came as a total shock to me. I had worked incredibly hard to develop this certain project and I was looking at losing everything that could ultimately be as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars. After recovering from a state of shock, I went through all the possible reactions. It took me a little while but I got myself to a rather divine indifferent attitude about the whole situation. I let go of my attachment and discussed the matter extensively with the Masters. If I had to sue this person I would. Ultimately, however, I really just surrendered the situation into GOD’s and the Master’s hands and put my service work and the Divine Plan first, over the money. My feeling was as long as GOD takes care of me, even though I may get ripped off in one place, GOD will make it up to me in another. I was actually surprised at my level of detachment over such a big lesson.
About three days later I had a dream where I was walking on this path kind of like in a fairy tale when I came to a metal platform where there was a deep cavern below me. I became aware in the dream that this cavern was an oracle as in the Oracle of Delphi. All of a sudden I heard a voice that said, “This is the anointed one the world has been waiting for”. In the dream I was really taken aback by such an amazing statement. I was then guided to step off the platform and before me was a table where I was guided. I had to pick one item, Kind of like the child who was the Dalai Lama had to pick to make sure they were the true Dalai Lama. In my dream at the time I wasn’t aware that this was a spiritual test I was going through.
It turned out that the object I picked was the right one. I then found myself walking with this very lovely woman and I was aware that I had chosen GOD over money and material concerns. This dream had a very profound effect on me. When I woke up I immediately had an association to this real life situation where I had let go of my attachment to money. I know for a fact that the dream was reflecting this on some level.
At the time of going through this real life lesson, I was not coneciously thinking about it as a spiritual test, but it was. As Iwas moving into major planetary leadership I was being watched to see how I would respond to such lessons. It is easy to forget at times that everthing that happens in life for everybody is a spiritual test.
I would much rather have GOD than attachment to money. This dream and lesson has really imprinted this lesson on the core of my being and I feel much more ready now for all such future lessons. These fifteen tests I speak of in this chapter remind me in many ways of the lessons that initiates went through in the Great Pyramid of Giza to become a Ptah or seventh level Meldhizedek. These are ardhetypal lessons we all must go through.
Fame
The next great test of the spiritual path is the issue of fame. The three great tests of power, money and fame are all very interconnected. The question here is what happens to the personality when fame and worldly recognition is achieved? How does this change the personality? Does one start treating others differently? Does one start treating others like lower class citizens? Does the fame go to one’s head and just inflate one’s ego? How does one use the fame - for self-glory, or as an opportunity to be of greater service? Does the fame allow for an opening for the negative ego?
The problem with Earth life is most people who move into fame and worldly recognition are not equipped psychologically to deal with it. This applies to both Earthly personages and a great many of the spiritual leaders. They often are highly developed spiritually or psychically but not as developed psychologically in terms of having control over the negative ego, inner child, desire body, emotional body and the likes. The key with all these tests is to remain exactly the same as you were before power, money, and fame were achieved. These blessings by GOD should be used for His purposes. Know that they are on loan and if they are misused they will be taken away.
Attachment
To achieve Self-realization, happiness, inner peace, success, happy relationships, and GOD-realization all attachments and addictions must be let go of. As Buddha said, “All suffering comes from attachment.” It is amazing all the things we get attached to. All negative emotions can be traced to attachment. All failed relationships can be traced to attachment. To pass the fourth initiation, in its fullest sense of the term one must become a “renunciate”, which means living in this world but not of this world. One must learn to have super-strong preferences in life but not attachments. The nature of preference is that you go after them with all your heart and soul and mind and might but if you don’t get them you are still happy.
In matters of love, that which you share and then let go of will come back if it is meant to be. If it doesn’t come back it is not GOD’s will. This is the law of life. That which you try and hold onto you lose. This is one of the key principles in understanding the laws of manifestation.
Whatever you are attached or addicted to in life no matter what it is, be it people, material things, future events, sex, money, ad infinitum, change these things to preferences. Some go too far in the other direction and become totally detached with no preferences. This is not good either for they are not involved in life. It is important to have a total passion for life and for all your goals, preferences and priorities, but the key is to be happy and have inner peace regardless of what happens, instead of fighting life. This whole lesson is truly the fourth great spiritual test of the spiritual path.
Sexuality
The fifth great test deals with the issue of sexuality. Are you the master of your sexuality or is it the master of you? Does the flow of your sexuality serve the lower self or the Higher Self? Who comes first GOD or sexuality? Are you moderate in your sexual practices? Does your sexuality serve love and intimacy or just materialistic animal pleasure? Does your sexuality serve just a selfish purpose, or a selfless purpose? Is your sexuality being used also for the raising of your kundalini and brain illumination or just for a second chakra release?
These are all key questions Light workers need to ask themselves with devastating honesty. There is no judgment if it is being slightly misused. As you become aware of this just make the appropriate adjustment and spiritual vow to correct the imbalance. Life is nothing more than making continual adjustments and attitudinal and physical corrections to bring oneself constantly back to inner peace and the appropriate Tao. Mistakes are not bad, only uncorrected conscious mistakes become a problem. The idea is to learn by grace instead of karma. To learn the easy way instead of by the school of hard knocks.
Sexuality is a wonderful thing and was created by GOD to be enjoyed as a communication device in service of love. Sexuality is not bad. It becomes negative however when it is used by the lower self, or carnal self, or negative ego. Use it in service of the Higher Self, and love, and it becomes a most sacred consecration.
One of the great tests of the spiritual path in regards to sexuality also comes when one achieves power, money, fame. How does one deal with their sexuality then? A great many spiritual teachers have fallen when confronted with this lesson. They use their position of power to have sex with their students and/or devotees. We have also seen several Fundamentalist ministers fall in this way. This lesson applies to Eastern and Western Masters alike. We have all heard stories of well-known New Age and Eastern masters who have degraded their standing in this regard. Let this be a lesson to us all!
Desire
The next great test of the spiritual path is the transcendence of desire. This is the main precept of all Eastern teachings and the main precept of Buddhism as well. This is a confusing point for many Light workers. What is meant by this is that one must transcend lower self desire, for it is the mother of all negative ego qualities. All lower self desire should be transformed to Higher Self desire. Many Light workers being confused on this point try to block all desire which is not appropriate or good. It is good to have a desire to ascend, or a desire to achieve liberation, or to be of service. Even Melchizedek and all the inner plane Ascended Masters continue to strive for greater and greater levels of spiritual growth. Transform lower self desire into desire for GOD-realization. This is the ticket to Paradise!
Anger
The definition of anger is that it is, “A lack of control and attempt to regain it.” If you think about it this is really true. The misuse of anger deals with the misuse of power. The late, great Edgar Cayce in his source channelings spoke of positive anger versus negative anger. Everyone needs what might be called positive anger. This is like being the spiritual warrior in life or manifesting tough love with self or others when needed. Anger in essence is ego and this is a fact. Instead of getting rid of anger, it should be channeled properly, for there is enormous power in anger. This is what is meant by positive anger. It is anger channeled in Christ Consciousness directions.
Anger when not used in a completely unconditionally loving manner is an attack and for that reason it is wrong. It is never appropriate or right to attack a brother or sister. To hurt another is to hurt GOD and in truth oneself. People who are angry all the time are demonstrating lack of true personal power and consistent Self-mastery. Anger creates separation. The purpose of life is to retain oneness at all times, not separation. Cultivate personal power, a spiritual warrior attitude, and toughness in life but not anger. Chronic anger will debilitate your liver function, among other things. Anger stems from attachment and not looking at things as lessons in life. It also stems from an inability to transcend duality.
When things bother you in your relationships most definitely share them, but do it in a loving and respectful manner. Anger without unconditional love is negative anger and should be controlled at all costs. There is no such thing as righteous anger. Righteous anger is a delusion of the negative ego. Anger is such a critical lesson in life for it comes up every time life doesn’t go the way we want it to go. We all know how often this occurs. The anger is developing as Buddha said from, “Wrong points of view.” It is not in life, it is in our attitude towards life. Someone who is angry all the time is angry because they are fighting life instead of working with life and learning from life. Anger is caused by faulty thinking as all negative emotions are.
When one moves into positions of power, fame, and money the proper control of this energy is even more important, for a great many people are in your spiritual care. When anger arises channel it into cleaning your house, exercising, transformative journal writing, meditating. Use the enormous power in anger as an alchemical process to create GOD-realization. Do not judge self when anger arises but take responsibility that you are creating it. Do not take it out on others or self, or “karma” will be incurred!
Transcending Fear
This lesson should have been first on the list. If there had to be one word that describes negative ego more than any other it is fear. If there is one word that describes the Christ Consciousness more than any other it is love. There are in truth only two emotions in life: love and fear. All other positive and negative emotions at their core have these as their basis. To understand fear is to see that it is projected attack. When we attack others we live in fear by the Law of Karma operating in your own mind. This is why A Course In Miracles says to give up all your attack thoughts. Probably the greatest test of the spiritual path is to learn to release all core fear and to replace it with core love. When you have released all fear you have released and transcended negative ego consciousness. The releasing of fear is also tied to having faith in GOD and Self. This is why Edgar Cayce said, “Why worry when you can pray.”
A Course In Miracles says there are no neutral thoughts. All thoughts are either fear based or love based. This is why it is of the utmost importance to deny all thoughts not of GOD to enter your mind. It is also why it is so important to affirm and visualize only thoughts of GOD and the Christ Consciousness to enter your mind.
One of the great dispensations of the 20th century given to us by the Ascended Masters has been the “Core Fear Matrix Removal Program”. I spoke of this in my book Beyond Ascension. With the Ascended Masters help this advanced technology can remove all the core fear programs from this life and all your past lives in a matter of months if you will work with this tool on a regular basis. No lesson in life or the spiritual path is more important than transcending negative ego consciousness and replacing it with the Christ Consciousness!!! The transcending of fear is the great spiritual work of the spiritual path!!!
Selfishness
The next great test of the spiritual path is the transcending of selfishness and selfcenteredness. This is truly the scourge of the Earth. It is amazing to me sometimes to see how some of the major spiritual teachers and very high level initiates still see life through the lens of selfishness. This stems from their high level development in spiritual things. but weak development on the psychological level. They often have not learned to parent their inner child properly. When one allows themselves to be run by the inner child they are going to be very selfish as all children are by definition. This also stems from also just not ever being trained in the difference between negative ego thinking and Christ thinking. In my experience I have found most Light workers being extremely weak in this area. This is not a judgment just a clarion call I am putting out to my readers to develop this as high as possible within Self and then train others to do the same. We don’t have enough spiritual counselors doing this kind of work.
We all must learn to let go of our own selfish lens, and see the bigger picture. We must learn to wear the moccasins of our brothers and sisters. We must learn to embrace the opposite of selfishness which is selflessness and helping others. The quality of total and complete selflessness is the sign of the true spiritual Master. This doesn’t mean that at times the true spiritual Master isn’t spiritually selfish. The key principle here is that they are spiritually selfish, not negative egotistically selfish. This may come into play in terms of having proper boundaries, or the need to be impersonally loving at times, or just taking care of the physical body so one doesn’t burn oneself out in doing service work. The true spiritual Master’s consciousness sees everything out of the group body and not out of the lens of just the inner child, negative ego and physical body.
False Pride
The lesson here can be summed up in the biblical statement, “After pride cometh the fall.” This is one of the great tests that comes with power, fame, and money. Will the ego become inflated? Will the personality fill itself with self aggrandizement and selfglorification? It is in my opinion the number one cause of all fallen Light workers. It is a danger no matter what your level of initiation, and whether you have achieved your ascension or not. It is something every Light worker on planet Earth must be constantly vigilant against. What we are dealing with here is really the superiority and inferiority complex. Fritz Pearls coined this “The Topdog-Underdog Complex”.
The other side of false pride is what I call negative humility. It is just as bad as false pride. More Light workers are caught up in the bottom side of the negative ego than the top side. This is inferiority complex, low self-esteem, lack of self worth, poor self concept, feeling undeserving and the likes. It is as much an illusion as false pride is. The key to inner peace is to transcend duality in this regard. Both the superiority and inferiority must be transcended to release oneself from the negative ego’s grasp. As Fritz Pearls said, “Laugh them off the stage.” To be stuck in either one is to stay stuck in both of them.
The issue of transcending duality is one of the least understood concepts of the spiritual path. There is another way of thinking beyond the duality of ego which is called Christ Consciousness. It is so unfortunate to see on this Earth incredible spiritual teachers, seventh degree initiates, and fantastic channels, be taken over by this self-aggrandizement and self-glorification. No matter how great these teachings, channelings or books, it completely poisons the work and creates a push-pull dynamic among the students. These great spiritual teachers who are bringing through some incredible enegies and information, become synonymous with ego instead of the glory of GOD and it is tragic. It is something we all need to learn from and we all need to constantly be on guard for. The negative ego is incredibly tricky and seductive and can enter in the slightest moment any one of us goes on automatic pilot.
Greed
Greed is truly a vile quality. Instead of being satisfied with our puzzle piece that GOD has for us, the negative ego quality of greed would have us try to acquire other people’s pieces in GOD’s Plan. This can be in relationship to money, but in truth goes far beyond just money or material things. It can be greed for power, fame, spiritual things, even greed for spiritual growth. There was a book by Trungpa that was called Spiritual Materialism that spoke of such things. The negative ego and the spoiled inner child always wants. It is a product of being run by the negative ego or astral body.
Instead of focusing on what one can give, the negative ego focuses on what it can get. It can apply to spiritual information, trying to greedily save it for self and not share it with others. It usually connects with competition, jealousy and envy. In truth that which we greedily hold onto we will ultimately lose. In truth we retain only that which we giveaway. This is the law of life.
Transcending Duality
Transcending duality goes far beyond just transcending the topdog-underdog complex. It applies to all aspects of life. As I have already stated, in my opinion it is the least understood concept on the entire spiritual path for Lightworkers. The key here is to see that third and fourth dimensional consciousness focuses on duality and polarity.When one moves into fully realized fifth dimensional consciousness and beyond, it is seen that there is a way of thinking called the Christ Consciousness or Buddha Consciousness, that can transcend dualistic thinking while still being fully involved with life. Negative ego always has two sides to it. This can be seen and most clearly understood inthe Eastern teachings of such Masters as Sai Baba, ParmahansaYogananda, and Lord Krishna. In the Bhagavad Gita Krishnastates that when you have profit or loss, pleasure or pain,sickness or heath, victory or defeat, success or failure, remainthe same.
Sai Baba calls this equal mindedness. Krishna calls it evenmindedness ans equanimity. In learning to transcend duality we don’t have to be tossed around on a continual rollercoaster of emotional highs and lows. There is a way of thinking called the Christ Consciousness that allows one to be unceasingly the same, always in your power, always loving,always happy, always evenminded, always equanimous, always in joy, in inner peace, forgiving, and unchanging regardless of the fluctuation of the dualities of life. This is the consciousness of the GOD Self. This allows you to remain the same whether people praise you or vilify you.
This is possible because the negative ego does not become engaged. The storms and fluctuations of outer life do not effect the stability and evenmindedness of your thinking process. It is not what is going on outside of life which should be your concern but rather our attitude towards what is going on inside of life. One person can lose a million dollars and jump out the window of a building. This is the power of onesimple thought. Are you optimistic or pessimistic? Do you see the donut or the hole?
Everything in life is perception, interpretation and your belief system. The whole purpose of this book is nothing more than a course in attitudinal healing, to create a pole shift or shift in your thinking from fear based thought and emotions, to love based thoughts and emotions. Your salvation is up to you, not up to GOD. GOD has given you everything from the beginning.The question is will you give yourself salvation by releasing your negative ego completely and fully 100% embracing theChrist Consciousness!
Jealousy
Jealousy stems from insecurity and attachment and hence the need to compete with others instead of to cooperate. Jealousy is totally of the negative ego and should be released at all cost for it is not of GOD. It is connected also with the negative ego quality of envy. We have all heard the term “green with envy”. It is very much connected with greed and selfishness. The main point here is to again be connected to group consciousness and one’s identity with all creation. One’s true identity is the Eternal Self, not the physical body and personality. This connects one with all creation, and all creation with oneself. In realizing this truth every happiness and benefit another achieves is your happiness. Every suffering of another is your suffering and vice versa. One’s identity is GOD rather than self. This is a great lesson of the spiritual path.
The spiritual path is really quite easy to understand. If you want to be with GOD in heaven then act like Him. Would GOD be jealous if another had more leadership, power, fame, or money? I think you can see the absurdity of such a thought and the absurdity of such emotions. Would GOD compete with another over a relationship? As I said earlier, you state your preferences in life and then let go. If it is meant to be it will come back, and if it isn’t meant to be, then so much the better. Be happy for another person’s joy. The key to life is to recognize your puzzle piece, for GOD created each person differently and for a different function!
Vanity
Djwhal Khul guided me to add the negative ego quality of having too much vanity. There is nothing wrong in life with taking care of one’s physical body and wanting to look nice and attractive. The key lesson here is whether this desire to present an attractive appearance is governed by the soul or the negative ego. Truly examine your deepest motivations and intent in this regard. It is important to have good grooming habits, and to be clean, and present a nice appearance, and to wear appropriate clothes. Are you doing it to stand out and be better than others? Are you doing it as a seduction of some kinds Do you spend too much time looking in the mirror and too much time in the bathroom over vain pursuits? Some people don’t spend enough time on these matters and others spend too much time. They are both mistakes of omission and commission. Be moderate in this regard. Be clear on what you are trying to present. Are you presenting Godliness in your appearance or slovenliness or glamour in the extreme. Be honest with yourself in this regard with no judgment and make appropriate adjustments whereneeded!
Egotism
The final major test of the spiritual path is that of egotism. Egotism goes beyond even pride to really encompass all negative ego qualities and emotions. There really is only one problem in life for all incarnated and non-incarnated souls and that is egotism. There is only one answer to all the problems of humanity and that is the Christ/Buddha Consciousness. This is why Sai Baba states that the definition of GOD is, “GOD equals man minus ego” If you want to realize GOD you must transcend your negative ego with all its negative attributes, qualities and emotions.
Your ego is the source of all the spiritual tests I have mentioned, and the source of all lower self desire. It is the source of all separation, fear and selfishness. It is the source of all disease. It is the premiere lesson every soul must learn. The key to inner peace is to deny every thought that is not of GOD or is of the negative ego to enter your mind. Affirm and place your attention on every thought and emotion that is of GOD and is of the Christ/Buddha Consciousness. It is through this practice of attitudinal healing that your subconscious mind and conscious thinking will be reprogrammed and form a new habit. Your subconscious mind is as happy to be programmed with the Christ/Buddha Consciousness as it is the negative ego consciousness. It doesn’t care because it has no reasoning. It is your job as the conscious mind to reprogram your subconscious mind in this manner.
Many Light workers spend too much time focusing on the Ascended Masters and do not spend enough time cleansing their minds and emotions of the psychological or negative ego thoughts, emotions and attributes. The Ascended Masters and angels will not get rid of your negative ego. That is your job. It is done very simply by not giving your attention to it. You don’t need to get mad at it for in truth it doesn’t really exist. It is not really there. You just think it is. It is nothing more than a bad dream. It manifests on the mental plane as illusion. Its manifest on the astral plane as glamour and on the etheric plane as maya.
It has been called many things. In some schools of thought it is called the lower self. In other schools of thought it is called the “dweller on the threshold”. In still other schools of thought, the personality and in others just “ego”, as opposed to “negative ego”. In my personal opinion I think the best term to call it is the negative ego. If there is just one quality that describes it most succinctly it is “separation consciousness”. A Course In Miracles states that there is only one problem in life and that is separation from GOD. In truth we have never been or will ever be separate. This is illusion. The law of the mind however is that whatever we think is the reality we live in. The world is living in a mass negative hypnosis of separation that does not exist in reality. As A Course In Miracles says, “The fall never happened, we just think it did.” This is the great law of life. In this moment wakeup from the bad dream and nightmare you have lived for many lifetimes and realize the truth that passeth all understanding.
“Nothing real can be threatened, nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of GOD.”
Akoo chillout and healing retreat Ibiza
