As has been stated in other places within this site, people usually become interested in matters of Spirit or begin to read about metaphysics because they realize they aren't living a fulfilled life or not experiencing joy in living. Or they may be in severe pain (physical or psychological) and suffering.  And they want change; they want answers. In many cases, they may have already discovered that sources such as traditional religion have been inadequate in providing the answers they sought.

As they continue to ask, their Inner Wisdom begins to guide them to information that reveals to them the "power within" their very being, and that that power is connected to an infinite source beyond their own physical brain and body.

As a teacher of spiritual / metaphysical principles, it has been my intent to make it clear that learning the principles by which the universe works is not complicated and it does not take a lifetime of study. This is in contrast to religious study. I have often heard it said by religious scholars who have an intense literal view of The Bible, that it takes a lifetime of dedicated study before you can understand the meanings therein. And they have these reference books which annotate every occurrence of a word in The Bible so they can compare them and try to determine the intent of each word and phrase. And there is endless debate about what is meant by each. To me, this is beyond absurd. If The Word was meant to be a guideline for living one's life, how can it be that it should take a lifetime of study before one can even begin to understand what it means?

What I know and what I teach is that learning how the universe works is not difficult, and, the student should be able to begin using the principles immediately upon learning about them. It must be admitted however that in the case of metaphysics, there is not one book or compendium of terms, such as the Concordance for The Bible. For this reason, the new seeker / novice student may find it rather confusing navigating through the endless number of books he will find on the shelves of his mega-book retailer or in a good metaphysical bookstore. Truly, it might "seem" incredibly complicated. Thus, I think a little orientation is in order.

In teaching, what I have come to realize is that for those who have already got a fair amount of study under their belt, I can sum up essential principles for them in very short statements. That's in accordance with my desire to make the Truth as compact as possible. And the brief statements will be understood and have meaning to such seekers. On the other hand, that same concise statement, to the novice, will have little meaning--not because it is complicated or mysterious--but rather because the new seeker is still steeped in the conventional wisdom of the world. The whole point is that Spiritual Truths and the wisdom of the world are to a great degree contradictory to one another. Specifically, what I mean is that the wisdom of the world is all about the limitations and struggle and competition that lead to the problems the person is experiencing in the first place. In contrast, the wisdom of spirit, of the perennial truths, is about learning that those limitations are an illusion.

So the purpose of this orientation is to give a brief description of what the journey to awareness might look like.

Stage 1: The individual, motivated by ongoing pain and suffering, not finding answers that resonate elsewhere, begins to ask for answers. The asking may be in some form such as, "God, Help me!!" or, "God, what is this all about?" or "What is going on here?" or "What should I do?" Metaphysically speaking, asking is a prerequisite, and the universe always responds in accordance with that old adage, "When the student is ready, the master will appear". The master is not necessarily in the form of some Eastern mystic in pastel robes, nor even in the form of a person at all. It can come in the form of an overheard comment or a glance at a discarded newspaper or a book that catches one's attention while browsing in a bookstore or library. Thus, if the individual was sincere in her pleas for help, she will notice the answers the universe is providing--though she may not recognize them as such at the time. Regardless of this recognition, if she is aware enough to see what has been placed in her path and ready to follow where it leads, the journey to awareness begins.

Stage 2: At this stage, the novice may discover in one source, a reference to another, and the resource tree begins to grow rapidly. Alas, it is not uncommon for the individual to begin meandering about a seemingly endless flow of subtopics within the broad field of metaphysics and mysticism, getting off the main path and taking many side trips. At this point many people begin to get lost and confused. It isn't that their higher or inner guidance has forsaken them; it is more that they are exploring without asking specific enough questions. Or it may be that they have not yet learned to be good enough listeners to recognize and heed the directions of their inner voices. Each individual's journey is unique.