No use trying to be a more spiritual person. Being on a spiritual path, or taking up a practice, won’t make us more spiritual; that is not possible. We cannot become any more spiritual than we already are. This is why: there is no spiritual condition to be created or attained or improved because our spiritual nature is without cause. It is pure, unconditioned, changeless, birthless, deathless, existence-being. That which we truly are was not born, does not evolve, cannot be changed, improved, or damaged in any way. It is without boundaries or limits. It cannot be sufficiently described by speech or known by the mind. Yet, because that unchanging infinite Reality is what we are, we have the capacity to know it by experiencing it directly.
Insightful knowledge of our essential nature combined with direct experience of it is Self-realization. Initial experiences of Self-knowing become stabilized over time with repeated experiences of superconscious meditation, use of our discriminative intelligence to gain further insight into the nature of things, and right, or dharmic, living. Dharmic living is behaving in accordance with our true nature, acting in harmony with natural and spiritual law. My guru, Roy Eugene Davis, has often explained dharma as: doing what we know we should. At the core of our being, we know what is in accordance with truth. We can also think of it as living in the way that is worthy of us as spiritual beings.
Sometimes seekers embark on the spiritual path, take up study and practice of meditation, and utilize various techniques for purifying the mind and body but are discouraged that progress is slow or sporadic. They may conclude that the practices are not effective and neglect their discipline as a result. Often the problem with the lack of progress when we are studying and engaging in meditation regularly is that spiritual practice has not been comprehensive. Specifically, the element of dharmic living has been ignored. Spiritual teachings must be integrated into our everyday life experiences. It is not possible progress significantly in meditation without aligning our lives with higher knowing.
To experience steady progress on the spiritual path, it must be approached holistically. Spiritual life is not separate from our material existence. It is a continuum that expresses from subtle to gross manifestation. Unless we consistently apply the principles in our daily affairs, conflict arises in the mental field that undermines our progress in meditation. We cannot expect the experience of oneness consciousness in meditation if we disregard guidelines for healthy living and neglect our inner guidance in other areas.
Meditation practice works in tandem with ethical, balanced, living. They are inseparable. When aligned and working together, they enhance our experience of the spiritual life, accelerate our progress, and contribute to transformation. The end and means are not separate. It is the revelation of wholeness that we seek, thus our journey towards it can only be accomplished by integrating all aspects of life. Yoga (oneness) is accomplished by yoga.
We hear the teachings and put them into practice to determine their relevance for our lives. As we practice the methods for purifying the mind, engage in superconscious meditation, live a balanced life, and cultivate faith, surrender, and devotion the way unfolds before us—a new life imbued with grace, shining with divine possibility. Our minds become beautiful gardens for divine thoughts to take root and bear fruit.
Think About It: Psychologist Barbara Fredrickson explored the experience of well-being with a group of employees at an IT firm. One group practiced loving-kindness meditation and the other did not. After eight weeks, the mental resources of the meditators improved; their mindfulness, health and connectedness to others all increased. However, they also showed an initial drop in their sense of well-being. “It’s like you started a gym membership and then you realize you have to go,” Fredrickson theorized. But once their sense of well-being increased, they retained their edge over the other group.
–report in New York Times, Happiness 101
Be Inspired: Always think of your mind as a garden, and keep it beautiful with divine thoughts.
-Paramahansa Yogananda
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