Metaphysics and spirituality come together in the mystical principle of alchemy. When purifying some personal trait, bringing oneself to perfection, every last bit of untruth will be revealed to you. It is paramount to remove all of these aspects of separation from God that stand in the way of mystical union. And mystics embrace this purification as lifelong, with no exceptions.

Nowhere is this more important than when strengthening one’s faith. Belief in God, and telling yourself you have faith in God, is a far cry from unconditional trust in God, and the true unwavering hope it provides. For this reason, Spirit sees to it that any bit of doubt, shadow hopelessness, or wounded pride cannot remain. To move toward this perfection of faith, God reveals in each of us humanity’s inherent flaws. When challenged by a demand to make personal change, or to correct a wrong, recognize God’s hand. And remember, it is with truth and mercy that you are being nudged to abandon your habitually human way of doing things. 

In advanced spiritual practice, this means relinquishing your personal power and optimism. You accept that you are being guided to eliminate this reliance on yourself, to forget your past successes and abilities. Instead, you are to replace them with a focus on the future. A future you have completely given over to Spirit, believing life will be realized because of Spirit’s efforts, not your own. One’s dreams remain but they’re turned over, given as gifts, to God

By doing this you put your focus on God, Spirit and Source, not on the impurity being addressed. God will take care of changing the base metal to gold. Nor is this meant to be a penance, amends, or an attempt to problem-solve. Consider it like worship, a means to radically reduce your individual, ego self, so all of your attention is on God, Spirit and Source. 

When you recognize this works better than what you were doing before, a revelation comes. Depending on God is far more powerful than insisting upon what you want, relying on yourself or others, or, in general, making detailed plans for the future. God’s divine power and wisdom know no obstacle. In time, with this approach, more and more personal impurity is removed. Trust in God is strengthened, hope becomes increasingly eternal and resilient against all odds. One is promised a new normal, the true spiritual life in which mystic faith has emerged and become an integral part of living. Now, God leads you into the unknown, and you follow gladly, carried into the future with unwavering faith.

One final note. This is not the intellectual effort of “turning it over to God”. Instead, it is returning mind to embodied awakened, or unitive awareness. Some might call it a return to oneness consciousness. Many traditions label it the awareness associated with saintly character. It is presented here as a temporary state of mind to which one returns as necessary, not a permanent stage of mind. When eventually it does remain steady, it is frequently understood as heart-realization.