Why is spirituality difficult?

 Why is spirituality difficult?

The reason why spirituality is often considered difficult may be because many people find it hard to understand.

This is partly due to the fact that, among those who speak about spirituality, the term has often replaced what used to be called occult practices in the past.

In fact, the person who popularized the term spirituality in Japan was the psychic Hiroyuki Ehara, who did not speak at all about awakening to cosmic consciousness or the subconscious mind.

Nevertheless, it is understandable that spirituality is seen as difficult, given the historical context of Japan up until now.

Why is spirituality difficult?

The term spiritual carries the meaning of being related to the mind and is deeply connected with the heart.

In Japan, until the postwar period, there was a time when people placed value on the state of the heart and the way of living from the heart—values somewhat similar to those associated with spirituality.

After the war, the belief emerged that education had contributed to leading people into conflict, and as a result, educational practices that encouraged children to be mindful of the heart became weaker.

During the era of student movements, radical communists committed acts of violence, and student movements that appealed to the heart disappeared.

Furthermore, the events caused by the Aum Shinrikyo cult created a social atmosphere in which even paying attention to the heart was seen as potentially dangerous.

Given this history, it is understandable that many Japanese people find spirituality difficult to grasp.

Why “spirituality” is difficult: Japan's emphasis on paper tests

Why “spirituality” is difficult: Japan's emphasis on paper tests

One reason why spirituality is considered difficult may be Japan’s strong emphasis on paper-based tests.

Although this tendency has lessened compared to the past, the Showa era was a time when quiz shows were very popular.

In Japan, there is a tendency to mistakenly equate high test scores with personal value, and even today, this mindset remains embedded in Japanese society.

Paper-based tests allow for evaluation through scores, and people naturally tend to place value on things that can be scored.

Spirituality, however, cannot be measured by test scores. It is something felt with the heart and understood with the mind. Even when one tries to understand it, comprehension may not come easily, which contributes to why spirituality often feels difficult.

Moreover, spiritual perspectives are not logically organized, there is no fixed definition of what spirituality is, and it can seem as elusive as trying to grasp clouds. This is another reason why spirituality may appear difficult to many.

Why “spirituality” is difficult, and about “spiritual level”

Why “spirituality” is difficult, and about “spiritual level”

One of the major reasons why spirituality can be difficult relates to the concept of reika (spiritual level or soul refinement) from a spiritual perspective.

As this blog has repeatedly discussed, soul growth occurs through each individual realization or insight in knowledge, and similarly, the growth of the heart—reika growth—is also built through each insight that arises from the heart.

When one’s reika is high, their existential presence in a spiritual sense increases, their creative power to fulfill the hearts of others grows, and the more insights one has, the wider their perspective becomes. This is not a difficult concept—it is simply the idea of becoming spiritually “mature.”

On the other hand, having low reika means that one’s existential presence is weak in a spiritual sense, and they tend to prioritize the fulfillment of their own heart over that of others. With fewer insights, their perspective on things tends to remain narrow. This, too, is not difficult—it simply represents spiritual “childhood.”

To put it plainly, just as a first-grade child cannot comprehend the knowledge of a middle schooler, one cannot expect someone with low reika to fully understand the significance of insights or the growth of reika.

Even those who speak about spirituality are constantly walking the path of reika growth, so it is natural that those with lower reika may not understand certain insights that are visible to others.

Topics such as cosmic consciousness or extraterrestrials are also difficult to accept without a certain level of reika, as the understanding required to receive them fully is less likely to arise otherwise.

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