I am continuing to have a great deal of fun (fascination) with physical fitness. It serves as a wonderful mini-model for life, certainly including spiritual growth. The proper routines and diet are of course more tangible than in the spiritual arena where things are so profoundly illusive (the razors edge), yet they are subtle enough to draw some beautiful analogies.
My fitness journey has served as a reminder of how such principles apply to spiritual growth. How easy it is to drift off course without even knowing it… that is a fine example. You have a program. You know what to do. But if you take the time to reflect, it may shock you to realize how far you may have drifted without even knowing it. This is true with your meditation routine as well as with the Knowledge. The Knowledge is so delicate, so subtle. As Adi Shankara said, it must be re-enlivened and purified, generation after generation. This is so very true from day to day, month to month, and year to year for every individual. It is very easy for little compromises to creep in here or there.
This is one of the major roles of a teacher… to keep people on course. I have been struck through the years at how easily the teaching slips away from people, all the while still believing that they have it.
Stay focused. Go 110% for your enlightenment. Listen, ponder, and listen again. This is indeed the final frontier for every individual. It is the ultimate journey, the ultimate quest. Keep a steady hand on the rudder and continue to check and recheck the course you are on. Re-affirm your commitment again and again. Your reward will be the universe and beyond!
Success means never losing your enthusiasm. I have a fitness coach/trainer. I read his blogs regularly. They serve as great inspiration. I hope my blogs are doing the same for you.
The most inspirational and motivating of exercises for me have been going through your blogs of the past 2 years. That was my Christmas gift this year! I love the bite size approach to a poppuri of inspirational insight which make me reflect on the entire puzzle in new ways I never imagined.
Thank you.
Richard
What a perfect time for this blog. Over the last few days, I’ve done my best to get back on course, and go 110% (HAM)… There is only one thing I want.
I truly love reading your blogs Brahmarshi. Not only feeling into them, but what various levels of my mind say about the thoughts that come up with them. Thank you for bringing us back inward again and again…
This fact, that we drift is why I became a Christian.
It is no longer about me trying to save myself or trying to reach a higher level of consciousness.
It is about that higher Being coming to earth, invading our planet. It is about His Power and Light
through His son Jesus and through the present power of the Holy Spirit
energizing us when we don’t have that 110%.
True enlightenment is a humble willingness to admit we are weak, corrupt of heart,
often in a dark place, and in need of something we cannot drum up in our own strength.
What a relief!!
What a great reminder of how slippery the slope is to get off course. I compromise just a wee little bit here, then just a wee little bit there, then… Yes, indeed easy to stray from the path. Thanks Brahmarshi for this reminder to be diligent and uncompromising in our spiritual evolution.
The longer I live the more I realize how fortunate I have been. At times I have thought my life was rough and unfair. The more I ponder the more I realize that most of what I experienced was simply surface tension and related to illusion and conditioning. Digging deeper reveals the truth or at least something closer to the truth. This world is still a rough and tumble desert chaos dotted by (thankfully) thousands of oases. I have simply been fortunate to have been born and lived my life at one, with access to others.
When I venture outside this lovely little oasis of mine, and I don’t have to go far…I am appalled…it is frightening sometimes and I have to put on a mask or two to express an energy of defense…but I want to help those who have not been so fortunate as me…I also realize I am powerless to effect change where change is not welcome…sometimes I get the feeling most people are so lost they do not even know what is good for them…or even to know what direction to turn if they did know…sad.
It is interesting to me that the consciousness of the universe as we know it is expressed by the sum total of the physical and spiritual personal and collective consciousness that exists on this little blue orb diverse as it is…I guess with so many people crowded on one little planet it is understandable that so many of us can lose touch with who we are and how remarkably precious life really is.
I have been in the process of physical and spiritual rehabilitation for some time now and plan to continue. Thank you for your part. And thank you to to all who believe in enlightenment and pursue the same. You are making the world a better place.
Craig’s comment triggered a thought:
It seems most everyone has an oasis in one form or another from which they look out at the world, perhaps watch the evening news, shake their heads and marvel over how crazy the world is.
My question is:
If everyone is looking out from their oasis of sanity, where are all those crazy people? No doubt they too are watching the news from their oasis, shaking their heads, and marveling over all the crazy people that occupy this world.
Identity clouds vision. Perception is rare. Projection is common.
I became aware of projection several years ago. I have caught myself more often and adjusted my thinking to curb it. Many days I think about the task at hand to discover my oblivion and to chip away at my conditioning. It often feels overwhelming however the subtle rewards of change are clearly enough to keep me going . I am doing my best for now and your blogs Brahmarshi are a lifeline. Thank you for guiding me to those subtle rewards.
P.S. I don’t think I am projecting when I say some people are just simply crazy:)
I once heard an expression…the sane must seem insane in an insane world…
I am but a small figure of consciousness in physical form on this wondrous rock. With all humility, if I gave the impression that I was looking out from an oasis of sanity please let me clarify…for I know not whether sanity describes my lovely little oasis or my state of being…I am simply full of questions, plagued by identity and conditioning and grasping for some reason to exist…I am so clueless.
I am not even sure what to make of your question and statement at present. But I’ll bare my soul and say that it first strikes me as an admonishment…that identity is clouding my vision, I lack perception, I am projecting my thoughts on the world view, and your words are instructive…such is my conditioning around self esteem. Personal process thank you.
When I see well documented video journal describing the plight of an 8 year old orphan in North Korea I cannot help but feel moved and think that something is amiss. For my self, I do not see crazy people from my oasis (aka personal space), I see people just like me…crazy maybe…but just like me in that we are all searching for the truth…seeking love and acceptance…wondering just what this life is all about, rich or poor, weak or strong, knowledgeable or ignorant, we all fear the unknown (except of course those among us who are enlightened) and this place is full of unknown.
Then…when I read the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann, I can be at peace…sort of. One line stands out at this moment, “And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”
Bam, clear as a bell. It is not for me to decide how the universe is to unfold. The universe is just fine, thank you very much! Arrghh! Think I’ll go back to my cave, watch TV and marvel at the crazy people!
Hi Craig,
I was careful to say that your comment ‘triggered a thought.’ However, that may not have made it clear enough. Please do not take my comments as a response to you. It was merely a tangential thought. I often have thoughts tangential to what someone says.
We all perceive on to. This does not go away, even in enlightenment. The difference is only that in the state of enlightenment it is merely a thin veil. You see beyond it, even as you function through it. This world is called ‘the world of relativity’ for a very good reason. Few understand this, but it is a very important point. Non-attachment does not mean you do not have your preference or perspectives. As Ramakrishna said, the boat is in the water, but the water is not in the boat. Do not worry, my friend. I was speaking in general terms, not directed at you alone, but to the nature of relativity.
Thank you, always in my heart, moving forward.
Jai Shiva Sankara
Dear Brahmarshi,
Please rest assured, your thought was well received, and my delight was the further exploration of the relative. I have with purpose sometimes experimented with operating from various realities or perspectives in order to experience the outcomes relative to the situation or event at hand. So the thought triggered as you expressed made perfect sense to me. I even explored the thought for my self from both sides of the equation. I felt no diminishment, on the contrary, it was an excellent exercise to which I meant only to add some bemusement of my self and to provide some levity.
Also there was a bit of victory, in that the tools you have taught me, along with my effort to use them, have resulted in a greater awareness on my part and less tendency to be put off by things I do not readily understand. Such was the case here and I am again reminded how cool your work is, and how precisely you teach. Many thanks on many levels. To me exchanges like occurred serve to enhance my journey along the path as I feel comfortable that whatever you share with me or others is a sharing of love and knowledge with my self and all. It is a pleasure to have access to your wonderful blog and your wonderful mastery of the knowledge and your willingness to share what you know as you do.
With gratitude and joy I remain…your humble student,
Craig