By: Judy Johnson
Source: The Daily Guardian https://epaper.thedailyguardian.com/view/2762/the-daily-guardian/15
Dated: July 26th, 2025

Learning is central to the spiritual journey. It is at the heart of my awakening and transformation.  What does it mean to be a spiritual learner and how does a learning attitude help me respond well in the world? 

Events and media coverage in the world today can push buttons of fear and disheartenment, creating a treadmill of reactions.

• As a spiritual learner… I stop and reflect and broaden my awareness. Reflection enables me to discern a positive, life-affirming response rather than reacting out of fear and compulsion.

In a world where the ruling paradigm privileges financial wealth, experts, and extroverts, the power of personal experience can be marginalised.  

• As a spiritual learner…inquiry becomes the norm. Together with other learners, I am part of co-creating a culture and systems based on the practice of soul consciousness and humble discovery. This learning community becomes a living model for a society of equity and respect. 

In the world today, many think of those who have a different world view than their own as the other. Seeds of fear are planted when we consider the other as a threat to our security. In such a social garden, this attitude makes people shrink away from exposure to differences, not wanting their beliefs to be challenged. 

• As a spiritual learner…I delight in the rich variety of stories offered by those of diverse cultures and world views. The effect is a blossoming of collective learning, and I am enriched by newness.

In organisations and institutions, learning is dictated by a ‘set of deliverables’ determined by others. The capacity to self-direct is lost. 

• As a spiritual learner…curiosity and intuitive wisdom guide me to generate newness. Learning awakens my creative core, and I feel empowered to self-organise. 

We live in times where many views diverge about the best path forward. A beautiful world would reflect the highest truth and beauty of humanity.

• As a spiritual learner…a genuine desire for positive change lies at the heart of my journey. I understand that a beautiful world is created when there is coherence between my inner world of values and their expression in my behaviour. Integrity and personal accountability are most important.

Today it is as though time is the master of all. We run after it and bow down to the pressures created by limited time frames. We are constantly seeking more time. Managing priorities more effectively has NOT freed us. 

• As a spiritual learner…my awareness expands beyond the frenetic time of worldly thinking to reveal the constant heartbeat of a slow and steady, patient approach to life. I learn to move with dignity, infusing peace into all my actions. 

Insecurity can lead to over-planning for the future. 

• As a spiritual learner…I understand the quality of my energy in this moment creates my future, so I focus on investing high-quality energy in every moment. The future unfolds naturally and beautifully as a result. 

An attitude of being a learner, a student of spirituality, frees me from arrogance and infuses me with humility, which takes a lifetime to fully acquire.

Judy Johnson coordinates the activities
of Brahma Kumaris meditation centres in Atlantic Canada.