Learning how to learnSubscribe |
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Mon, 04/23/2007 - 18:28
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Ahona
Join Date: 2003-08-23 Forum Posts: 332 |
Hi everyone,Just thought I'd post about something I've been struggling with for a very long time to see if I could get some insights, or new ways of approaching things.How do you go about using every moment of the day to learn? Master Belzebuub talks about making the work centre of gravity, and carefully observing and eliminating egos which are changing that centre of gravity, but how do you apply it in practice from day to day?I have tried many things over time, planning my day with a diary, lots of practices, lots of prayer, trying to break my day up into sections, setting myself goals and challenges throughout the day and things to investigate but I still find that at times (sometimes short, sometimes unfortunately longer) I forget to use life to learn.I think I need to keep building my relationship with my divine parents and to strengthen my observation and elimination, but how do you guys keep that self remembrance from moment to moment and keep learning.I look forward a lot to any responses!Thanks very much :)David |
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Join Date: 2003-09-08
Forum Posts: 868
Join Date: 2004-03-02
Forum Posts: 24
Hi Dave,
This is one of the things I also struggle with since, well the beginning :-).
Anyway, I started to use the retrospection exercise again. With a strong focus on awareness. So I review the day and try to see where I lost awareness. Especially in the pattern that I repeat every day. (for instance, yesterday I noticed in retrospection that in the morning, when I come down the stairs, I am not aware. This morning, I forgot it again, but down the stairs I remembered, so I was back to awareness).
I plan to do this little step by little step. I think this, in the past was a big mistake of mine to measure my progress to being fully aware during the whole day. This only leads to disappointments. Now I look at progress: did I improve on this little part of my life. Yes: OK, now some more, No: we need to work on this. But all in little, tiny step.
Kind regards,
O.
Join Date: 2004-11-30
Forum Posts: 2635
This is a very good topic to talk about.
Maybe overloading in a good sense of this word is the key -planning for more than we can possibly do, so then we will just do enough.
Certainly utilizing all the tools we have, trying to unite them in a one balanced practice over the day and in the night, aiming to unite practices with everyday life and everyday life with the practices.
Then maybe realizing what we really want from our life and then make it to be decisions to carry on, goal to reach for, making it happen because we really want it to happen, having this respect to follow the decision.
Short term goals, easy acheivable and connected: the result of one is used for another...and praying to be helped.
Good strucuture to help us to do what we don't want to, and taking opportunities to do what we feel like, in spiritual sense of course.
I see that we need to create sort of spiritual inertia, the momentum, so even if we stop for a while, it carries us forward, and we don't stop moving.
All the best in it!
Join Date:
Forum Posts: 681
I'am new to the spiritual work and have not more then a year of experience on it, but from my understanding the only way to achieve an inner
revolution is to really want it to happen in the first place. I mean doing the work as if your life depended on it. If I really want to understand if what the Masters are telling is true, than I need to work hard to experience it. If after 5 years of sincerely hard practice you don't experience the things you were truely longing for, then what is the point of continuing. But if you do, then you will probably want to go to the end - libaration.
So if you don't give all you got to this work for continuous period of time, then you will never know for shure if it is the true path.
Also, what is imporatan for me and helps me to practice harder and harder is the realization that it is actually what I really want in this life.
Nothing else matters, only a true understanding
what is going to make my peace.
Much strenght to you.
Join Date: 2004-08-08
Forum Posts: 179
Haha, same thing happened to me the other day...I was visiting Stas and forgot to log out of my account on his computer and he posted as me...I just stumbled across that post a minute ago and it really confused me for a second.
Yes, I'm glad you brought up this topic. I really like what Gyorgi said about creating that longing--especially in regards to practices. If you can investigate a practice like it's the most important thing you've ever had to do, like your life depends on it (it does!) and you must discover the secret jewel hidden within the practice--then you are bound to create something new.
And when we get new results, it builds our momentum and desire to learn more.
What is drawing you away from the spiritual work? You probably have an idea of the activities/ traps that you are falling into. Pick the most urgent defect that has you trapped and lures you away. When it comes up, don't forget that it holds
the most important thing in the world inside of it. Don't you want to discover what's inside?!
Hmm, now that I've written all this I seriously need to reassess how much longing I apply to my own work. It's easy to forget.
Dara
Join Date: 2003-08-20
Forum Posts: 70
Hi David and all,
This is a really good topic and question...one that I am still seeking the answer to myself and looking into. I think we've also hit upon a sub-topic that I've seen a lot here, about the longing. And you know, I think there must be this underlying thought - I have it at least - that you just have to have the longing.
So this raises a question for me - what can we REALLY do to increase the longing and what do we do since we're obviously saddled with the current level of it and more won't necessarily just appear out of nowhere?
For me the #1 thing that has helped is getting experience and verifying stuff that's written in the courses. But I'm not always so lucky to have frequent experiences, and I would say verifying things personally about myself is another big contributor...finding out how I work, what drives me, how these different drives interact and shape my life, etc.
I just thought about this a bit and I noticed something - after a good Astral experience or a retreat, I feel charged up and this can last for some time. One time when I came back from a retreat, I saw the whole world differently. But this gradually faded and things went back to how they were. Now, why was that? I thought about it, and I think that it must be important to keep up the effort in some way for that not to fade. Now, I don't know if it's natural for it to fade or what, but I do know that the tendency is for things to go back to how they were. I just wonder if it has to be that way or - in spite of work commitments and all that, something could be maintained and built perhaps more effectively?
This is where I wonder what people think about this - so, what do you all think? :)
Kevin
Join Date: 2004-09-05
Forum Posts: 1334
I've come to the conclusion that right now, my center of gravity and longing aren't enough to get me through. I find that I simply need to apply discipline and do spiritual activities as much as possible..otherwise the egos take over my days. At this point, my approach is to just to try to pack in the practices, studying the teachings, listening to spiritual music, forum activity, etc...to keep me focused.
Regarding the longing, I've noticed a few things about myself. First, I seem to have a belief that it will naturally increase as I do the work and then it will be easier to use each moment for the work...but I don't know if this is true. Second, I have so many egos that disguise themselves as longing. Envy of being at a different level of being, for example, and pride.
All the strength to everyone,
Gabrielle
Join Date: 2003-12-11
Forum Posts: 330
For me I try to finish with desire.
Life these days is material / kapitalism based, so finish with the mentality of wanting is important.
Count one day how often you want something that is not realy needed, it might be a surprising lesson.
When I desire something then fascination/excitement kicks in very easy, so, I try to not let it go this far.
If I want or wish something I ask why? Made it a routine.
Often it is ego based, seeing this is a realisation.
I finished with some desires and contracts, I own not much, my life is simple now, living just day to day, just to see what comes up.
Givin up (a bit) the kapitalism system made me more free. Also the more I own, the more burden, get rid of it and there is more freedom.
At least what I notice.
It is a change in mentality, which does not occur in one day, but starting that on one day is nice.
Try it to see.
Regards, Peter
Join Date: 2005-01-24
Forum Posts: 625
Thanks for your reply,it was helpful! :)
Moderator
Join Date: 2003-11-20
Forum Posts: 93
I raised this question a while ago and I got a very good answer from a very wise person.
Setting up schedules, goals, etc. is good and necessary, however, you have to really feel the drive to do the work or else, as we've all seen, those efforts fade away. Therefore, if we want more spiritual drive, we have to feed the spiritual parts of us that are responsible for creating that drive.
How can we do this? Here's a few things that were suggested:
1. Alchemy
2. Listening to classical or consciousness-feeding music while doing things. Sound has an objective effect on the psyche, regardless of what the psyche is made up of or what we are doing at the time.
3. Bringing order and cleanliness to your home and also decorating it with esoterically inspiring art and nice plants. Burning nice incense, and having a special area used only for practices helps as well.
4. Spending time out in nature, trying to get in tune with it and out of the mind.
5. Chanting mantras has a particularly powerful effect on the consciousness.
If you feed the essence more, then you may find that naturally you start to have more drive to replace inferior activities with superior ones.
Another important thing that was mentioned was to find out where you are at on the Path with certainty. This way, the Path becomes something very real to you as you prepare yourself for passing the next test. Knowing where you are and what you've worked for so far can be something that will keep you from giving up when things get difficult.
I hope this helps everyone here. It has certainly helped me. I just recently was able to find out where I was on the Path and so I have been a bit quicker to pounce on the egos I know I need to work upon to pass the next test.
Watch those dreams as best as you can!
Michael