The University of Spirituality is the visionary creation of Brian Stiles. Brian has been engaged in a pursuit of higher learning for many years. His initial exposure to the new frontier of higher learning occurred through group participation. The main focus of the group entailed deciphering visions and symbolic insight from the spirit world and translating the information into a meaningful message to share with group members. He quickly became proficient at the practice and wrote Circle of Visions based on the experiences.

Brian engaged in extensive sessions of prayer and meditation. In fact, he sought the inner realm of silence at every opportunity. After Circle of Visions, he explored the orientation circuit by attending various Holistic and Spiritual related functions looking for answers. Some left him satisfied, some did not. Even in the midst of perceived satisfaction there was something missing, a mysterious void of fulfillment that could not be explained. Little did he know at the time that there is only one way to fill such a void and he would devote his life to solving the mystery.

Brian began to experience a significant stirring within his soul after connecting with The Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East, by Baird Spaulding. He read and studied the books in depth, including reciting various passages to confirm the truths aloud. He continued to engage in extensive sessions of prayer and meditating at every opportunity. He studied in depth the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita and sensed something grand lay on the road ahead. The invisible doors of consciousness opened wider and Brian knew instinctively that he would play a decisive role in the New Millennium. He was destined to create something unique, but what that role would entail remained a mystery.

Brian continued with diligence his inner search, worked hard and tried to find a life around it all. Visions and ideas came to him of something that seemed quite wonderful. Inspiration flowed like a river and what began as a series of short writings evolved into a full blown course on self-mastery. The Master Within, Building Our New Home Within the House of God was the result. The idea for the course is about building a new, spiritual home from the existing framework of one’s being. The home is constructed from the core essence of our soul utilizing universal energy as the building blocks. We already have the tools and materials to build our new home. All that is required is an open mind, sincere intention and the desire to Know God More Fully.

The Master Within, as lengthy and in-depth as the writings are, expanded into an even larger project. Inspiration continued to flow along with the usual late nights and little sleep. The idea for the University of Spirituality arose that would very nicely compliment Volume One of the course. The idea revolves around a school that taught people about the deep, hidden mysteries of life. The University of Spirituality does not exist on the Earthbound plane and students would receive learning through the soul when praying, meditating and other wise communing with God. They would also attend this University while they slept through Out of Body Experiences.

There are Universities for just about everything else.
Why not a University of Spirituality, he thought.

The course writings serve as stimuli for opening the soul to receive the greater teachings of God. God teaches us directly through energy transference. The soul is the intermediary between the light of pure knowledge and what might be defined as our lower self or that part of us that yearns to learn. In other words, there exists within us a relationship consisting of both teacher and student. The process has nothing to do with channeling or anything of the sort because the intervention of a spirit entity is not required for individual teaching purposes. What we receive is undiluted inspiration meant exclusively for us.

We all have the innate ability to access the Higher Halls of Knowledge and The Book of Our Life to learn about the deep intricate nature of ourselves and what we can create to make this world a better place. Given the environmental clarity of the Universal Library, the matrix for the ideas we discover is already flowing, so to speak. Therefore, the chances for actualizing the idea are more certain. Throughout life experience we all are inspired by numerous ideas, but many are not acted on for various reasons. One of the reasons is the fear of failure. The process of bringing forth ideas is slow, but perhaps when we better understand the delicate process of manifesting thought energy we’ll be more apt to see our ideas through and realize our creative potential. It is a profound example of inner joy, satisfaction and fulfillment.

Unfortunately, at the same time a solid foundation was being established for the Master Within and the University of Spirituality, darkness fell. Brian experienced intervals of darkness earlier in his life, but it was relatively mild by comparison. The darkness rained down like an inescapable torrent of negative vibes that invaded his reality, disrupted his work and stood as a huge barrier to just about everything he tried to accomplish in life. He describes the experiences as a living nightmare that continued for years. Although things are somewhat lighter now, Brian admits that he is not out of the woods. At any rate, the work continues.

He sees the University of Spirituality as a piece of the puzzle to help create a better future for planet Earth. Spirituality is a solid foundation for establishing a cooperative global community. When we begin to understand whom we really are from a deep integral perspective, why we are here and that greater potential and purpose await us, a shift in consciousness occurs. A collection of individual shifts in consciousness slowly gathers momentum and sets the stage for a global shift in consciousness.

Brian also sees the University as a model for future education. The current education system is in need of renovation and as fantastic as the idea seems, Brian hopes that some of the principles exemplified by the University of Spirituality may one day be incorporated with the existing educational system. Meditation classes should be at least an elective in school and learning about the greater mysteries of life will take us far.

He stresses that although The University of Spirituality is invisible and intangible, it is undeniably real. Learning directly from God is a slow process that requires time, patience and devotion. Brian suggests that a person really can do anything he or she so desires. The entire Master Within/University of Spirituality project was conceived through the direct method of learning, including numerous side projects to later be incorporated with the University. God has also inspired Brian to undertake and accomplish many things he would have never thought possible, including the design, writings and know how to actually design this web site which he had no prior knowledge. Little things, big things, it doesn’t matter. The potential is amazing, but patience and allowing the stream of creativity to flow through you is the key. The process can be somewhat frustrating because inspiration doesn’t always flow when you want it to and the end result may not always be the way you envisioned.

Brian views self-mastery and immortality as the next step in the human evolutionary process, however, the choice to either remain embedded in past habitual practices or evolve to a higher, more passive state of being is an individual one based on God given free will. God creates everyone with equal ability and potential to accomplish anything, including attaining the ultimate height of immortality. He doesn’t wish to deter anyone who sincerely desires to know God more fully from pursuing the path of self mastery, but he cautions that it is not for the faint of heart. Self-mastery is the ‘high end’ of the path of spirituality. In other words, the path of spirituality is wide and diverse in the beginning and therefore draws many seekers onto it. The path narrows considerably the further one progresses. Satisfying karmic requirements is nothing short of brutal. Of course this is entirely dependent on the individual karmic imbalances. For the most part, however, those imbalances are many and varied. Otherwise, the person would not even be in a physical embodiment. Taking things slowly is the only way to go and Brian has learned this lesson over and over.

Brian approaches the spiritual building process largely according to the difficulties involved and the course material reflects this. He sees much of the spiritual guidance available these days concentrating more on the glorious end result and the projected vision of the Kingdom of Heaven rather than the obstacles involved along the way. It is therefore highly ‘sugar coated.’ and based more on speculation and wishful thinking. Love is a natural flowing current of the universe and is therefore easy. Surmounting the barriers to love, (namely karma) is the centerpiece of the work.

This is one of the reasons many are drawn onto the path of spirituality initially, but drop out when the work becomes overly taxing. Self-Mastery is not an endeavor for part timers. You either give it your all or stay on the golf course. Self-Mastery does not simply come to you. You must work hard for it by erasing all of the bad weather that adversely affects the building process. According to Brian,

Building Your New Home Within the House
of God requires extensive Home Work.

Brian certainly does not consider himself to be a saint, master or anyone out of the ordinary. He is a student of the University of Spirituality and seeks self-leadership through the divine guidance of the spark of God within his heart. In the midst of working on the project, Brian experienced what he describes as a few fantastic moments of exposure to the Kingdom of Heaven. The moments were indeed brief, but authentic and served as confirmation for the legitimacy of his work. Something else extraordinary also happened. The mystery of the void within him that he longed to fill was solved. Not only was the void filled, it overflowed with such an abundance of pure love that it is simply inconceivable. There wasn’t even the slightest question. He says the experiences were the real deal. There is no way to adequately express what the moments were like and he chooses to keep the experiences confidential for the time being.

He also wishes to emphasize a few things in regards to the material contained herein. The difficulty in putting this course together ranges in the exponents, which is one of the reasons it is not yet finished. The foundation for the work was laid over a three year time span (2000-2002). The project has been under construction since that time and coincides with Brian’s own process of Building His New Home Within the House of God. There have been numerous obstacles in bringing forth the course writings and a few false starts in getting the University of Spirituality Web Site up and running.

In addition to the Master Within series, Brian is the author of Circle of Visions. Circle of Visions is a collection of the experiences he had with the group giving messages to each other. The book is written from an inner experiential perspective. He brings out the heart of the meditational experience through what he sees, feels and intuits. The book is what Brian describes as the early days of awakening and homing the skills of deciphering visions. The book is a fun read and the visions bring forth messages of inspiration for us all.

Brian is also known as Bodan (Bodân). Bodan is his higher soul name that he realized after reaching a plateau with his higher learning. Shortly thereafter, he initiated the process of constructing the Master Within and the University of Spirituality. As far as Brian is concerned, a soul name, higher name or nickname, it makes little difference how one perceives it. A new name is all part of the transition to a new person. If you are swimming in new waters of life and no longer identify with the person you were in the past, why not leave those memories behind to create new ones ...