I first thought of the spiritual journey as a linear path towards a distant goal. Gradually, I came to realize that the spiritual journey is a closed circle of love in which we slowly come closer to the center of ourself, which is always present. In this journey there is no "progress" but a shifting of consciousness that unveils our own essential nature, "the face we had before we were born. "As this spiral path unfolds, so our concepts of both ourself and the journey change, and we come to realize the deeper truth: that the traveler, the journey, and the goal are all one.
Everyone has a soul . . . a gift from God. We are born with it, and we cannot destroy it. We can, however, create barriers that limit contact with our own souls. Some people are more in touch with their soul because they take time to nourish it. Those who nourish the soul, who experience themselves as pure soul, often have a spiritual radiance . . . and they are happy: a good reason to meditate in the silence.