It is taught that the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…”
– Galatians 5:22-23
In my lifetime the number of Christian persons which i have encountered, who seem to have displayed these altruistic attributes, without having them be controlled by inner self centered motives are VERY few and far between (Especially pastors protecting their job). And i found no such process happening in my own life, just a back and forth tug of war that never progressed.…….. i wished to not be controlled by emotional reactions born of greed, anger, self protection, but there did not seem to be anything in that bible promise that actually was victorious…. Also, i have seen many outside of Christianity who have displayed these fruits to the same extent as Christians. In my own life, what has removed the darkness, and allowed me to find that peace and joy promised by these words in the Bible, has been my personal research project which includes meditation and self-inquiry practices. We are ourselves responsible for working thru, and letting go of, our lifes emotional reactions which pile up in our lives, and which blot out the natural given at birth characteristics listed as fruits of the Spirit.
In essence, the inner workings of the human, are mixed with the inner workings of the Almighty, and there is truly no actual separation…. there is just a blocking out of sunlight which happens when the human child allows built up resentment to control our actions. We are the builders of that blockade, and we are the only ones who can tear it down. The spirit of the Almighty is not present on a bunch of conditions, like Santa bringing presents to the good children. That is a myth.
The spirit of the Almighty is present unconditionally in every atom of the universe. We draw on the spirit of the Almighty in all our endeavors.
Reality is Dharma 