Reclaiming our spiritual power: What are you doing?

Spirituality
#1

In the recent threads I started, “Selfihness is a virtue” and “Yoga and the Upanishads” I highlight the message how we as humans deny our own spiritual power, giving it away to some god, imagined entity, animals, nature or to even other humans beings through out tendency to worship others. Many of us will recognize how we humans prefer to be servile, to go with the herd or worship somebody, than assert our own independence and will and create our own destiny. Maybe because most humans are lazy, they prefer the path of least effort and expenditure of energy and the path of least pain, so they will let belief and authority substitute for knowledge gained through intense meditation, contemplation and logical analysis; a 9-5 regular job slaving it for some company than a life of intense pursuit for meaning and purpose; sense-gratification for the delights of higher states of consciousness… and god for the self.

In short we humans are criminally wasting our spiritual power and our unique privileges to have gotten a human birth, which according to the spiritual traditions on this planet is a rare opportunity indeed. According to these traditions, the purpose of life is to evolve spiritually through reclaiming more and more of our spiritual power, to the point of completely realizing our absolute self.

Some of us, genuine spiritual seekers have taken heed of this message and and are working on our spiritual growth. We are all on different levels of development and putting in different amounts of effort. So I am starting this thread to ask what are YOU doing to reclaim your spiritual power?

Share your insights, wisdom, learning and experience in the spirit of compassion to inspire others.

#2

Great new thread Surya! I agree with points you make.

I’m still new to all this, but having taken up yoga and meditation (initially to help with anxiety) several months ago I’ve discovered a new spirituality that I can’t put into words and don’t know much about but I know is there. I intend to study and and keep up my meditation with the mental improvements that come with it, but my ultimate goal is to reach self-realisation. I am working on being a witness to my thoughts and emotions. It’s not easy, but I will keep at it.

I look forward to reading the posts of those more experienced so that I can learn more.

#3

Awesome Yoganewgirl,

Yes, the practice of just becoming a witness in your everyday life, watching your thoughts, emotions and behaviour throughout the day is one of the most powerful spiritual practices, but as you have said, it is not easy. It is not easy because we are creatures of habit, and there are many things that we do which are automatic, and these automatic habits also help us in our everyday life. For if we had to think about everything we do in everyday life we would stunt ourselves. I find this to be true especially in social conversations, the more I think about how I am behaving, the more self-conscious I become of everything like tonality of voice, the structure of my sentences, the choice of my words and how others are perceiving it, and this can actually create a lot of anxiety and lead to awkward conversations. On the other hand, if I remain in autopilot mode by not being so aware, I experience much less anxiety(or no anxiety) and simply speak from habits, leading to a free flowing conversation.

The truth is, however, that the spiritual path is not suppose to be necessarily pleasant, because it suppose to be what brings about our greater good which is often doing what is unpleasant(at least temporarily). By putting ourselves in the witnessing(awareness) mode we actually expose our vulnerabilities and the imperfections in our behaviour, thoughts and emotions, things we would rather not know, hide from others or even hide from ourselves. If we rely on habits to run our life, we always live sub-consciously, but never consciously. Thus truly one is brave who always remains in the witness mode.

In order to keep yourself constantly in the witness mode, keep repeating the mantra, “I am the witness” throughout the day. Also formally for about 5 min do a short mantra meditation repeating “I am the witness” meditating deeply on the meaning of the words. Repeat this about 2-3 times a day. In time, this practice will bear fruit and you will find you will constantly be in the witness mode.

#4

I look forward to reading the posts of those more experienced so that I can learn more

I will share an insight I had recently when debating with an atheist the Yoga philosophy I believe in. We were discussing the subject of religion among a group of friends, which comprised a spiritual person, a theist and an atheist, the atheist in particular was very strong-minded asserting his belief that all religion is just a man-made institution to favor mans survival and the concept of god is just a human invention to further their ends. I responded that while I agree with his belief, that he is missing something by throwing away the concept of god altogether. The very fact that humans are capable of abstracting such a grande concept itself hints at something about human psychology, that deep down in human psychology the human is capable of thinking of something infinite, perfect and all-powerful, alluding to something about human nature itself. This ontological god is what I believed in, not religious gods. He was of course not having any of this, constantly reiterating the idea was created by evolution to give us a survival advantage.

I noticed that I had lost my composure slightly and I wasn’t be able to refute his arguments as clearly as I could had he talked to me say on this forum. I was trying to remember the correct refutations at the time for his arguments, but it was not coming to me at the time, so we simply just agreed to disagree and continued on the evening.
When I returned home, all of a sudden I knew exactly what I should have said. Yet, rather than treating it as a lost opportunity, I had an important insight: The reason I could not defend the philosophy adequately was because I myself have not yet internalized it properly. I have not explored it yet enough from every angle to be able to successfully demonstrate it. But this will happen gradually the more I contemplate, meditate and discuss it. The conversation lead me to greater clarity on understanding the philosophy better.

Thus my advice is that do not simply take Yoga philosophy for granted. If you think you understand it, the chances are you really don’t. Contemplate on it everyday, meditate on it and discuss it on forums like this so that it truly becomes internalized and clear in your consciousness.

#5

Well, I’m looking for retiring soon, when I’m around 40, to Vietnam or Laos, where the food is cheap, with the money I’ve spared, and engage a full-day sadhana there in a remote rural region.

I feel that my job, although I like it, is more an obstacle than a set of lessons.

Personally, I don’t think the human birth is a rare opportunity but that it goes along with evolution. Perhaps masters might have said that so to “scare” us and “kick our asses”. I might be wrong of course…

#6

Thanks for the advice and encouragement Surya.

#7

There’s so much to read. I hadn’t even heard of the Upanishads, Yoga Sutras, self-realisation, Advaita or anything to do with Yoga (except as a form of exercise and relaxation) until recently. Obviously I had heard of meditation but I didn’t realise the extent of the practice.

At first I didn’t think I would understand much as it is not easy to digest, with so many different concepts that I’m not used to, having had a Christian upbringing. I will keep up the meditation and study permanently though and, as you say Surya, try to really internalise the philosophy.

#8

Excellent. Yes, there is a lot to read and digest, and to truly understand it all one must not just read the Vedic literature, but also non-Vedic literature, including works of modern philosophy. The study of spiritual knowledge is a path itself for many Vedantins and Gnostics, requiring a life-time dedication until one achieves self-realization.

I on the other hand advocate Patanjali’s Ashtanga Kriya Yoga path, because it is holistic, and includes also the spiritual study(svadhaya) While, it is possible to attain self-realization by any other of the three main yogas(jnana, bhakti and karma) one does not develop in a balanced way, because they neglect parts of our body and mind, and thus one is in danger of falling easily as well. It is important that the spiritual aspirant focus on every aspect.

Returning to spiritual study. There is of course an endless library of books to read, but there are certain books I can recommend which are worth hundreds of books and widely considered to be classics of Advaita:

The 13 principal Upanishads by the Vedic Risis
The Panchadasi by sage Vidyananda
The Vivekachudamani(Crest Jewel of discrimination) by Sri Adishankarcharya
Aatma Bodha and Tattva Bodha by Sri Adishankarcharya
Samkhyakarika by Ishvarkrishna
Yogasutras by Patanjali

These are to to me the very cream of philosophy. Pure unadulterated spirituality. Read them all once. Then read them again closely. Then read again and again. Contemplate, analyse, discuss and meditate on the meaning. These alone can bring about full understanding.

In addition to these, the following make great supplementary reading:

The Brahmasutras by Sage Badaryana
The Bhagvad Gita by anonymous author/s
The Yogavasistha by anonymous author/s

#9

Question for you Surya. Ruach?
Holy spirit/holy breath?

#10

I do not really understand your question

#11

In the Bible it seems the word spirit, is the same word used for “wind” and "breath"
ruach being the Hebrew word.
Pneuma being Greek.
Holy spirit. Holy breath.
Spirit of life. Breath of life.

You take on this?

#12

Thanks very much, Surya, for your recommendations. Much appreciated :smiley:

#13

The Simple fact of the matter is - the Lord of the hosts is . . .

All power potential we as humans have is given by the designers. You are . . . because God is. This world is . . . because God is.

You would of course know all this if you actually trod the path.

Your lack of respect is to me sad.

The vanity and arrogance of man is, in the light of truth -laughable.

You have no idea what your missing.

#14

You talking to me?

#15

n the Bible it seems the word spirit, is the same word used for “wind” and "breath"
ruach being the Hebrew word.
Pneuma being Greek.
Holy spirit. Holy breath.
Spirit of life. Breath of life.

You take on this?

Yes, it is the same in the Vedas. The word for soul ‘atma’ is identical to breath, spirit and life. However, more specific words are used for breath such as, vayu and prana, but these have similar meanings to spirit too, such as vital force or vital energy. The Upanishads even say prana, the vital force is identical to atman(supreme soul)

Another word which is very similar, but has a seeming different meaning is ‘akasha’ Akasha simply refers to the universal field, the source from which all energy and matter arises. Prana is what stirs in this akasha and causes this universal field to differentiate into innumerable manifestations, but at the absolute level akasha and prana are identical. Hence why the Upanishad says, “Akasha is Brahman”

#16

[QUOTE=Melchizedek;76533]The Simple fact of the matter is - the Lord of the hosts is . . .

All power potential we as humans have is given by the designers. You are . . . because God is. This world is . . . because God is.

You would of course know all this if you actually trod the path.

Your lack of respect is to me sad.

The vanity and arrogance of man is, in the light of truth -laughable.

You have no idea what your missing.[/QUOTE]

According to your belief. Like I have told you before, I do not share your beliefs. I only believe what can be rationally demonstrated. If you can rationally demonstrate what you believe to me, I will certainly consider it, otherwise I will just bin it my already overfilling junk folder of fairies, leprechauns and tooth fairies etc.

#17

[QUOTE=panoramix;76411]Well, I’m looking for retiring soon, when I’m around 40, to Vietnam or Laos, where the food is cheap, with the money I’ve spared, and engage a full-day sadhana there in a remote rural region.

I feel that my job, although I like it, is more an obstacle than a set of lessons.

Personally, I don’t think the human birth is a rare opportunity but that it goes along with evolution. Perhaps masters might have said that so to “scare” us and “kick our asses”. I might be wrong of course…[/QUOTE]

Retirement at 40? Excellent! Sounds like a nice plan. Best of luck in your Sadhana!

I think what is meant when the masters say a human birth is a rare opportunity, is that after evolution by transmigrating aimlessly through innumerable lesser developed life forms does the soul have its first opportunity to inhabit a body which will allow it to put an end to this transmigration, and thus the human birth is precious because of this opportunity the soul get. However, we humans being squander this opportunity by forgetting our soul’s real purpose, substituting it for lesser human purposes(wealth, pleasure, career) and creating more binding karma for us, making it even more difficult to get out of the cycle of birth and rebirth.

There is no guarantee that if we squander this opportunity we have this time around, that later on we will get it again. Again, could be several lifetimes or several eons away. If we live with the attitude, “Ah, nevermind, I’ll do it in another lifetime” we may end up on a downwards spiral that lasts for a long time, maybe a whole cycle of creation.

#18

I am drawing up a daily Kriya Yoga plan which I intend to start soon, but right at this moment I cannot make the commitment due to circumstances. The Yoga plan attempts to integrate all limbs of Yoga and install the necessary disciplines,

I have fixed times for the Yoga exercises which I intend to adhere to strictly. Morning Meditation, Asanas and Pranayama, Evening Meditation and Concentration exercises. These cover the limbs of Asanas, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana and Dhyana. The Yamas and Niyamas are covered in study, mantra/affirmations, meals and wash. Gym sessions will be 3 times a week and focus on physical strength and stamina. Some suggestions will be helpful:

Asanas: Should I do an existing routine or style, or is it better to just pick the asanas I want to do, and to them in my own sequence? Should I be focusing on asanas to fix certain problem areas, or asanas to target the entire body?

Pranayama: I intend to do 3 types of Pranayama: Alternate nostril breathing, Breath of Fire, Deep breathing, and Spinal breathing. Are these three types compatible?

Meditation: As there are literally hundreds of types of meditations to choose from and not enough time to do all of them, I have decided to pick two of my favourite: Expansion Meditation and Breath meditation. Would it be wiser to stick to only one type of meditation and gain proficiency in that?

Diet: Should I aim to eat a Sattvic diet or a diet as per my Ayurvedic body type of Vata? I am currently on a non-vegetarian diet, consisting of a lot of fried and fatty food and junk food like kebabs and burgers.

#19

[QUOTE=Surya Deva;76597]Diet: I am currently on a non-vegetarian diet, consisting of a lot of fried and fatty food and junk food like kebabs and burgers.[/QUOTE]

What, no chips? :smiley:

#20

I think it’s a good idea to have a Yoga plan, Surya. I personally can’t advise you on your asanas and pranayama etc. The more advanced on the forum I’m sure will give you suggestions.

However, just to share, I too want a set plan for my Yoga, establishing a regular routine. I have been neglecting the physical side lately, concentrating on meditation, along with reading as much as I can about meditation and Yoga philosophy and adhering to the Yamas and Niyamas.

However, on the physical side, I am going to get back into my kundalini practice to integrate it with the meditation. I enjoy the movement involved with kundalini yoga, and doing specific kriyas for the chakras. There are several mantras I use also. I follow dvds as there are no yoga classes anywhere near where I live and I haven’t got my own transport.

I use Breath of Fire quite a lot. The first time I did Breath of Fire it was so hard getting the proper rhythm, especially combined with movement or holding a certain posture. I had to keep stopping, thinking I was going to pass out through lack of oxygen! But very soon it became easier and I feel good after it.

I do a lot of deep breathing before meditation: inhaling slowly, holding my breath, exhaling slowly, holding it there, then inhaling again and continuing that rotation.

With my morning and evening meditation I currently focus on my body to start with, then my breath, then just being a witness to any thoughts that arise. I have also used the mantra “I am the witness” several times throughout the day, as you suggested, Surya, as I think that’s a very good idea.

I have no specific diet as yet. I generally eat pretty healthily, hardly any fried food and don’t like to eat too much in one meal. I enjoy little chocolate and cakey treats but don’t go mad. I’ve never really eaten enough fruit and veg but starting yoga has encouraged me to really increase these. I eat meat but could probably do without it. I would like to be vegetarian but it’s a bit awkward cooking for a family who eats meat though, albeit mostly chicken and fish (obviously chicken and fish are still creatures all the same). We have oily fish like mackerel regularly because of the enormous health benefits, but I do feel guilty though.

I am sticking to my meditation, pranayama and study permanently but will also make sure I carry on my kundalini practice regularly so as to include all aspects.