In this excerpt from Dr. Emmett Miller MD’s presentation, he outlines three foundational spiritual questions—Who am I? Where did I come from? What am I here to do?—and argues that true spirituality involves moving beyond superficial concerns toward deeper, principle‑based living. He describes how personal priorities evolve with age, leading to an awareness of a spiritual or philosophical level that demands internal congruence, exemplified by Gandhi’s alignment of thought, word, and deed. Miller posits that internal congruence is the essence of healing and purpose fulfillment. Access to this deeper level is cultivated through presence, achieved via prayer, meditation, ceremony, and ritual, which calm the mind and allow inner truth to emerge. Finally, he notes that once present, individuals adopt personal narratives or “stories” that shape their spiritual experience.
Chapters
And then those fundamental questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? What am I here to do? Spirituality that we'll be exploring this evening is about distinguishing between the superficial and the essential. So throughout our lives, the things that we care about, the things that are important to us, change. What was important to you at the age of 2 was of little interest when you were 14. And your concerns when you were 14 are quite different from where you are at the age of 20 or 30. And so forth. As we live through life, to the degree that we grow as we should, because we're meant to grow all the way through our lives, we become interested in other things that are more— that are deeper and that are more important. And as that happens, A person becomes aware of the importance of what we would call the spiritual or philosophical level. What are the principles by which you're living your life? And are you being true to those principles? And on your tombstone, can they write, "Was true to his principles or her principles." Somebody said too, "Mrs. Gandhi, how is it that your husband can speak so eloquently without using notes, never contradict himself, never lose his place?" And so she said, "Well, you know, for you and me, we think one thing, we say another, and we do a third. But for Gandhiji, they're all the same." That internal congruence is the essence of healing. It's the essence of getting done what you came here to do. So at some point in our lives, we begin to realize that there's this other level, and you may call it spiritual, you may call it philosophical, and you may wake up to that when you're 5 years old, or you may be 89. But at the moment that you begin to wake up at the importance of that, you begin to be involved in spirituality. The way we learn the kinds of things that give us access to the spiritual level is through, number one, being present, which we've already begun. With. And this is why there's prayer. This is why there's meditation. This is why there's ceremony. This is why there's ritual. Because ritual and ceremony soothes the monkey. And the body relaxes. And then the mind can open to hear more clearly from within and to hear from— hear the truth and see the truth that's happening all around. So that's coming into the moment. And then once you're in the moment, it's about a story. You buy into a certain story.
You've been watching a segment from Dr. Miller's presentation, The Power of Your Mind to Nurture Your Spirit. Watch more segments and buy the DVD at drmiller.com/nurturespirit.
