Free Your Mind And The Rest Will Follow

Monday, December 24, 2012

3 Important Aspects Of Building Your Spirtual Life




Several years back I made the commitment to develop my spiritual life.  I am going to start including lessons, struggles, and stories about my journey in hopes that they will inspire, empower, or simply entertain you. As I promised last week, this weeks post is about one of the most important lessons I have learned thus far- how to cultivate your own spiritual practice.

On the final day of my trip to India we had a small ceremony to close our training and time together.  It was simple, beautiful,  and turned out to be one of the most important lessons of my life.  As we were finishing up and getting ready to return to our homelands, Saji our teacher gave us this sage advice,

"Most importantly remember the 3 S's - Sadhana, Scriptures, and Service". 

It's been nearly a year since I received those words but I took them to heart and my spiritual life has continued to change and grow dramatically.  I have mentioned this probably a millions times so far, and will probably mention it a million times more (maybe some of you will get the fullness of this message) but until you experience a thing can not truly know it in it's totality. If you want a spiritual life you have to make conscious effort to make it a part of your experiences. I have spent the last year with these parting words ringing through my soul. Because they have made such an important impact on me, I want to share them with you in hopes that someone out there in cyber land  also takes them to heart and begins to transform their  own spiritual practice and life. 


1) First S - Sadhana
The word Sadhana in Sanskrit means, "endeavoring to obtain a particular result".  When you decide you want to grow your spiritual life it takes work.  It doesn't just happen over night but with time and effort things start to change.  For me my Sadhana includes daily prayer/mantras and meditation, my physical yoga practice on the mat, and walking.  I would be lying if I said I do all three of these daily, but I aspire to.  I do however do at least one of the three daily.    The Sadhana has three main aspects- choice, commitment and aspiration. 

What you do for your Sadhana is your choice.  There is no particular activity that is required to fulfill a Sadhana the idea is just a continual practice that is regular.  An example I once read was to light a candle then blow it out every night for 90 days.  Your mind will find all sorts of reasons why not to light the candle. That alone is the practice.  On a personal note I would suggest an activity that is edifying, meaning choosing something that will improve your moral or spiritual character.

The second aspect of this piece is commitment.  Of course you are the only one who is making the commitment to this practice.  It is often suggested to do the practice at the same time or in the same place everyday. This is the idea of regularity and commitment.  I have done practices where I was committed to doing a certain meditation  three times a day at the same time for ninety days.  At this period in my life my commitment is to do the practice.  It doesn't always work for me to do each of my practices at the same time every day.  For me it is more important to do them than to get worked up about the time or place.  But once again - do what works for you.  That is most important. I would suggest starting small like the candle idea, or 20 minutes of stretching, or 5 minutes of deep breathing- and committing to a time of day and a length of time, say 90 days.  It's in the action with intent that you start to get to know yourself a little better. You will get to see how much the mind will fight you over the simple stuff. 

The last aspect of Sadhana is aspiration.  If Sadhana simply meant repetitive action that means brushing your teeth could be considered a Sadhana.  The Sadhana means that you have to put a conscious intention behind your action.  It is not something you simply do everyday. You have to aspire to do something that is out of your norm.

2)Second S - Scriptures
 Studying of the scriptures is the second major aspect of your spiritual development.  Yoga is considered a Spiritual Science.  Do certain activities and you will enhance your soul and be in more accordance with your spirit.  Ancient Yogis thousands of years ago figured out there are certain things you can do to awaken the spiritual being within.  That's why it is not considered a religion because any religion or spiritual aspirant can use this Spiritual Science to grow.  Most Yogis do however believe in a monolithic God- meaning there is only one God with many ways of expression and worship.  With that said, whatever your spiritual teachings are study those scriptures.  Weather it is The Bible, Bagavad Gita, Sutras, Vedas, Torah, Koran, I Ching etc. -  study your scriptures.  Daily.  Even if you don't know where to start.  Pick up the Great Book, open to a page, and start there. Eventually you will find yourself searching out all your questions and inquires.  The fact is we were given instruction manuals to living, but you have to study them in order to really learn and understand what they are truly teaching.

What I want to mention about studying the scriptures is that you can not read them like you would the news paper.  They need to be studied and meditated upon. I would suggest getting commentary and study books to help search the deeper meanings.  For example, there are study Bibles out there that have references in that back.  So certain words will be underlined and then you can look them up and get even deeper meaning  in the original language. Then the Spirit of the word will be revealed unto you. "The letter of the word kills, but the Spirit gives life"- 2Corintians 3:6  Once you have studied a scripture spend some time meditating on it.  Understand it from the heart, the Spirit within, instead of the mind and intellect.  Revelation is the only way to truly understand.

3)Third S - Service
"If you knew what I knew about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without  sharing it in some way." - Buddha (563 BC- 483 BC)

Really, this quote by Buddha says it all.  Infact, it is said that when Buddha would give a speech to others than his devotees he would always start with the lesson of giving.  After that he would continue his teachings on morality, renunciation, the 4 Noble Truths etc.  This is because service and giving is a foundation to all of your higher development.  

 Find ways, big or small to be of service to others.  What you will soon realize is that you think you are out there helping others but in reality you are the one who is also gaining greatly from your service.  I have mentioned in pervious posts according to psychology every single person on this planet has 6 human needs  - Love &connection, versatility, certainty, significance, GROWTH and CONTRIBUTION.  The final two are the only needs that are part of our spiritual being.  Sadhana, Scriptures, and Service (aka Contribution) are human needs that promote growth of your Spiritual Being.  Your Highest Self. 

Giving and being of service is not just about giving money, gifts, or time - it's also about your internal personal quality and disposition.  Maybe you just bless each person silently.  Or maybe just being in your presence picks a person up or inspires them.  Your presence should add to every situation, not take away.  Sometimes all you give is a smile and that is of great service.

What I have learned, as my honey so eloquently puts it, "You can't out do God giving".  You never ever lose giving or being of service.  You always gain -always.  With that said I must make one distinction.  Do not give or be of service  if your heart is not in it or if you expect something in return.  Then it is neither a gift or of any real service.  You are better off working on the first 2 S's, Sadhana and Scripture first.  The true gift or act of service can only come from a genuine heart.

Monday, December 17, 2012

The only way out is in

We can never obtain peace in the world if we neglect the inner world and don't make peace with ourselves. World peace must develop out of inner peace. Without inner peace it is impossible to achieve world peace, external peace. Weapons themselves do not act. They have not come out of the blue. Man has made them. But even given those weapons, those terrible weapons, they cannot act by themselves. As long as they are left alone in storage they cannot do any harm. A human being must use them. Someone must push the button. Satan, the evil powers, cannot push that button. Human beings must do it.

The Dalai Lama

In yoga we believe that there can be no world peace without inner peace.  "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he."- Proverbs 23:7.    Every action begins with a thought. If you want peace in your world, schools, malls, neighborhoods, and home YOU MUST become that peace. Individual by individual we can change the collective consciousness.

“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.” 

Mahatma Gandhi 

God is Divine intelligence, consciousness, the creator of everything.  Each and everyone of us has this intelligence, this divinity within.  But we were also given free will.  Our consciousness can be used towards good or evil- the choice is ours. In the yoga scriptures, The Yoga Sutras by Patangali, the second sutra (instruction) states,  

YOGA CITTA VRITTI NIRODHAH

 

This means, the restraint of the modification of the mind stuff is yoga.  In plain English, one way to look at this is that our mind is our biggest enemy, because it is subject to evil and idle thoughts. Once we begin to take over the whims of the mind and start cultivating a practice of inner peace and harmony the world as we see it begins to change. Ultimately this is also how we connect to the God within by quieting the mind (ego) and in the space of inner peace we yoke up, unite, become one with God.  It is also in this place that we are able to see the God in everyone else.  If  you recognized the divinity within yourself as well as the divinity within the other person, would you could you blow them to pieces? You can not know this divinity within unless you experience it for yourself.  At this point you might be saying to yourself, "Sure that sounds like a nice idea but all this horrible stuff that is happening in the world is reality.  This inner peace crap is not reality, innocent people are dying."  

 

I'll use the example of an orange.  Squeeze an orange and what do you get? Apple juice?  No you can only get orange juice.  Squeeze a person who is grounded in inner peace are you going to get violence?  No, only peace.  Squeeze a person who angry, frustrated, fearful, greedy or mad, will you get violence- absolutely.  

 

Lets be real for a moment.  Have the wars, or guns, or weapons produced a safer more peaceful world?  Are we really free when our public spaces have now become targets for massacres?  Really how different are we than those in war torn countries? How else are we going to achieve peace?   There is a lot of controversy given all the  recent violence here in the U.S. about gun control. Some say get rid of all guns. Some say everyone should be required to own a gun, but really guns are not the main issue. The issue is that way too many people are spiritually bankrupted and their inner worlds are chaos. When the inner world is violent, anything can become a weapon.

 

That is why it is sooooo important to cultivate a spiritual practice in order to have inner peace, joy and happiness. Spirituality is action.  To just simply say you are a spiritual person, maybe go to church, and pray when you want something is not a spiritual practice.  Your spiritual practice must be worked upon daily.  Every action creates an equal and opposite reaction.  And every action comes from a thought.  It is crucial to start taking control of your thoughts. Even more now than ever, in our plugged in world, lack of control of our own thoughts has led to many destructive behaviors.  Daily prayer and meditation is a great place to start.  Even if it's only 5 to 10 minutes a day. Consistency along with desire to grow will do wonders for your mental well-being.  It won't change over night but it will begin to change.

 

I am going to start doing some more spiritual posts under the label "this spiritual life".  Please note I am simply sharing my experiences and do not claim any authority.  The only true authority is your personal experience.  Until you experience a thing you can not know it's truth.  Next week I will do a post on how to start to cultivate your own spiritual practices.  Until then, peace be with you!

 

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Love is.....


This post is a tribute to my dad who was the embodiment of  Love and the one who taught me what it really means to love.

Love Is Patient- it is long suffering, it endures much wrongdoing or provocation without retaliation. It will put up with many slights from the one it loves and will wait patiently for the effects of it's love.
Love Is Kind- it want's to be useful and searches out ways and opportunities to do good.
It Does Not Envy- love does not complain nor is it bothered by the good of others. Envy is ill-will, love is good will. Love will never wish ill to anyone.
It Does Not Boast, It Is Not Proud-  Love does not puff up, it does not need flattery, but esteems others.  It does not disturb, is not cross or contradictory.
It Does Not Dishonor Others- Love is always on time, and does nothing out of place.  Love is courteous and honors and has good will towards others.
It Is Not Self-seeking- Love is the exact opposite of selfishness but embodies self-love first. Love thy neighbor as thyself. Love knows how to love self first then shares that love with others. But love doesn't seek out it's own to hurt others.
It Is Not Easily Angered- Perfect love casts out all fear - anger is just a manifestation of fear. Anger can not exist in the presence of love. If we burn with love in our hearts we can not kindle the flames of anger at the same time.
It Keeps No Record Of Wrongs- Love does not get revenge, nor does it cherish malice. Love does not keep tabs. It forgives and moves on. To forgive is to not be angry anymore. Love moves on lovingly.
Love Does Not Delight In Evil But Rejoices In Truth- Not only does love wish no ill to others but it certainly does not take delight or rejoice in harm or misgivings. Love is compassion for all in all situations. It delights in your joys and is saddened by your sadness.  Love rejoices and enjoys much satisfaction when truth prevails.
It Always Protects- Love will not display or announce others faults but is free to tell those faults to the other in private.
Always Trusts-  Love knows that love always wins and trusts the process, knowing that love endures.
Always Hopes- Love believes in the goodness in all and will make the best of everything.
Always Preserves- Love is always working to multiply, protect, keep itself continuing on. Love is never ending. Love lasts above all else.
 

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Namaste -I Salute You!

The light inside of me bows down to the light inside of you- Namaste
The God within me salutes the God within you- Namaste

What would happen if every encounter you had with another person you first honored the God, the Divinity, within that person? And what would happen if you also honored the God within yourself as well?  How would that change how you interact with people?  How would that change how you felt about yourself?