Hi Everyone!!
I'm lucky in that I have great friends who recommend texts and websites for me to check out. If there is something out there that has helped you or that you think would help others, then please post it in the comments below!
THANKS!!!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Looking inside and out
My friend recently sent me this video:
some-strange-things-are-happening-to-astronauts-returning-to-earth
It is about people who have been in space and the awe they feel when seeing planet Earth from there. For many of them it invokes what could be considered a spiritual reaction. In the video this leads to a feeling of interconnectedness and a desire to take care of the planet. All wonderful things.
I don't know if you need to go all the way to space to have a realization that you could also achieve by walking in a park or a forrest, but I'm happy when anyone shifts into a new state on consciousness.
What I find curious is the dualism between Science expanding us ever further with trips to Mars and beyond and what I see as an increase of inner growth and spirituality on our planet. Is there a connection and how can we use this connection to increase our own spirituality? A few nights ago there was a full moon. It was brilliant and bright and gorgeous. People were posting about it all over facebook. I quipped, "I don't know why everyone is so excited about the moon tonight, the sun did all the work." on my own wall. Perspective. From here on Earth it looked like the Moon was the most magical thing in the sky, however from space, what would the moon look like? A cold rock. Still beautiful, but just a rock.
Perspective. This is what I think science can help us achieve. There are many layers to the universe. Some we have to look outward to see, some we have to look inward. As we get better at looking at one, we inevitably get better at looking at the other.
Science and spirituality often butt heads when the ego gets involved, but it is those moments when each of them inspire awe that we all truly feel connected.
Awe-some!
some-strange-things-are-happening-to-astronauts-returning-to-earth
It is about people who have been in space and the awe they feel when seeing planet Earth from there. For many of them it invokes what could be considered a spiritual reaction. In the video this leads to a feeling of interconnectedness and a desire to take care of the planet. All wonderful things.
I don't know if you need to go all the way to space to have a realization that you could also achieve by walking in a park or a forrest, but I'm happy when anyone shifts into a new state on consciousness.
What I find curious is the dualism between Science expanding us ever further with trips to Mars and beyond and what I see as an increase of inner growth and spirituality on our planet. Is there a connection and how can we use this connection to increase our own spirituality? A few nights ago there was a full moon. It was brilliant and bright and gorgeous. People were posting about it all over facebook. I quipped, "I don't know why everyone is so excited about the moon tonight, the sun did all the work." on my own wall. Perspective. From here on Earth it looked like the Moon was the most magical thing in the sky, however from space, what would the moon look like? A cold rock. Still beautiful, but just a rock.
Perspective. This is what I think science can help us achieve. There are many layers to the universe. Some we have to look outward to see, some we have to look inward. As we get better at looking at one, we inevitably get better at looking at the other.
Science and spirituality often butt heads when the ego gets involved, but it is those moments when each of them inspire awe that we all truly feel connected.
Awe-some!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Catching you up
As I mentioned in my other post, I've been on a spiritual path for about 2 years. Without getting philosophical about what that really means, I will just say that for the past 2 years I have been actively studying and practicing spirituality. It all started when...
I was visiting a friend in Santa Monica. She was upstairs getting ready for our hike. I was downstairs looking through her books. I came across a book called Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom. I had a chance to scan it before my friend came down and it quickly spoke to me. I'd been going through a bit of a depression and was at that point looking for something in the outside world to make me feel better. Buddha's Brain helped me see that what I really needed to do was to change my inner world.
I bought my own copy of Buddha's Brain and shared my excitement over it to some of my friends. The ones that listened, responded with their own suggestions.
Next up on the reading list were Eckhart Tolle and Don Miguel Ruiz. I actually had Don Miguel Ruiz's books, the most famous being The 4 Agreements, as audio books. The audio books were a nice change of pace from reading, but were absorbed just as slowly as Tolle's books, one chapter at a time. To read or listen to more of that left my mind too full to think clearly. Of course at this point I was still relying on my mind (or ego?) to figure things out.
What I summarized in two paragraphs above was about 9 months of work. The work is on going of course, if you choose that name, but that was the primary time when their works were fresh to me.
The next major shift in my spiritual path took the for of Reiki. Another friend had been to a Reiki Tummo healing clinic and suggested I try it. I did and the results were very satisfying. I was so excited by my reaction to the healing that I spent quite a bit of time writing in their comment section about how my 3rd eye was tingling and all the feelings I had of energy moving. At the time I thought they would be very pleased since of course I would prove to be a gifted recipient who would legitimize their practice. Having now become a practitioner, I realize that my experience was much less unique than I originally thought.
After the healing I started to study Reiki on my own, using the internet. Eventually I found that I could download DVDs and receive distance attunements. I should mention at this point that I have very little money to spend on classes or books, so I had to get creative with my learning implements.
I began practicing Usui Reiki on myself and eventually on others, although only after quite a bit of studying and practice. It was during this time that I also began learning about Integral Studies and CIIS. It was also during this time that I had my first peak experience.
Integral Studies helped me see spiritual studying from a new perspective, or to be specific to the field, 3 new perspectives. It also gave me the name "peak experience" to help me define something that I had gone through.
As I recall, there was no great trick to it. I hadn't spent many hours meditating that day or even really that week. I hadn't had any healing done on me nor had much of anything changed for me. However, on that morning, I felt good, blissful. I was running errands, going shopping for clothes I think, and I was happy. I was at ease, floating along, going where the world would take me. It lasted for maybe a few hours, perhaps as long as sunset, I'm not sure any more. Admittedly, not the most profound thing that has happened to anyone, but I felt changed. I felt like I had had a glimpse of the way I could feel, maybe all the time. I could be truly happy and at ease.
This was my first recognizable peak experience. I'm sure that there were others before then and there have been others since, but this was the first I was aware of and had the tools to put it into words. The concept of putting spirit into words or thoughts is something I could talk about at length, but let's just try to catch up on my journey for now.
The next major thing to happen to me happened just under a month ago. I attended a Reiki Tummo level 1 workshop. It was the first time I was attuned in person. The experience was not all that different from the distance attunements or the Reiki Tummo healing that I had received. Energy flowed through me, my mind fought with the experience and my body tried to listen in for every sensation.
I learned a lot of new techniques that day and bathed in a lot of positive energy. What just struck me as I was re-thinking about this experience is how personality still stays with us, even when we are super charged with positive energy. One of my philosophical fears as I grow spiritually is the idea of losing myself. I wonder what my experience says then. Am I holding on? Or will I really always be some version of myself?
Part of the workshop was to do a 21 day self-cleanse afterward. I wish I had started this blog back then because the self-cleansing had some interesting ups and downs. The up mostly being about keeping the positive energy from the class going, the down mostly being about rebelling against the idea of being forced to do something. Ah, inner conflict...
The week following the workshop I went with a friend to Sedona, AZ. An absolutely gorgeous place and well worth visiting. The vortexes there were very powerful and filled with energy. I took a rock from one of them and use it in my reiki practice.
It snowed while we were in Sedona, which was also very pretty, but led to us being inside more than intended. That lead to taking mushrooms. Amongst a wild ride, I found myself at one point laying on the bed with my eyes closed, re-writing some of the negative things that had happened in my life. A tool I had learned about in, you guessed it, Buddha's Brain.
So here we are, that cycle completed, already moving into the next one. Except for this time, you will be coming with me on my journey.
All aboard!!!
I was visiting a friend in Santa Monica. She was upstairs getting ready for our hike. I was downstairs looking through her books. I came across a book called Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom. I had a chance to scan it before my friend came down and it quickly spoke to me. I'd been going through a bit of a depression and was at that point looking for something in the outside world to make me feel better. Buddha's Brain helped me see that what I really needed to do was to change my inner world.
I bought my own copy of Buddha's Brain and shared my excitement over it to some of my friends. The ones that listened, responded with their own suggestions.
Next up on the reading list were Eckhart Tolle and Don Miguel Ruiz. I actually had Don Miguel Ruiz's books, the most famous being The 4 Agreements, as audio books. The audio books were a nice change of pace from reading, but were absorbed just as slowly as Tolle's books, one chapter at a time. To read or listen to more of that left my mind too full to think clearly. Of course at this point I was still relying on my mind (or ego?) to figure things out.
What I summarized in two paragraphs above was about 9 months of work. The work is on going of course, if you choose that name, but that was the primary time when their works were fresh to me.
The next major shift in my spiritual path took the for of Reiki. Another friend had been to a Reiki Tummo healing clinic and suggested I try it. I did and the results were very satisfying. I was so excited by my reaction to the healing that I spent quite a bit of time writing in their comment section about how my 3rd eye was tingling and all the feelings I had of energy moving. At the time I thought they would be very pleased since of course I would prove to be a gifted recipient who would legitimize their practice. Having now become a practitioner, I realize that my experience was much less unique than I originally thought.
After the healing I started to study Reiki on my own, using the internet. Eventually I found that I could download DVDs and receive distance attunements. I should mention at this point that I have very little money to spend on classes or books, so I had to get creative with my learning implements.
I began practicing Usui Reiki on myself and eventually on others, although only after quite a bit of studying and practice. It was during this time that I also began learning about Integral Studies and CIIS. It was also during this time that I had my first peak experience.
Integral Studies helped me see spiritual studying from a new perspective, or to be specific to the field, 3 new perspectives. It also gave me the name "peak experience" to help me define something that I had gone through.
As I recall, there was no great trick to it. I hadn't spent many hours meditating that day or even really that week. I hadn't had any healing done on me nor had much of anything changed for me. However, on that morning, I felt good, blissful. I was running errands, going shopping for clothes I think, and I was happy. I was at ease, floating along, going where the world would take me. It lasted for maybe a few hours, perhaps as long as sunset, I'm not sure any more. Admittedly, not the most profound thing that has happened to anyone, but I felt changed. I felt like I had had a glimpse of the way I could feel, maybe all the time. I could be truly happy and at ease.
This was my first recognizable peak experience. I'm sure that there were others before then and there have been others since, but this was the first I was aware of and had the tools to put it into words. The concept of putting spirit into words or thoughts is something I could talk about at length, but let's just try to catch up on my journey for now.
The next major thing to happen to me happened just under a month ago. I attended a Reiki Tummo level 1 workshop. It was the first time I was attuned in person. The experience was not all that different from the distance attunements or the Reiki Tummo healing that I had received. Energy flowed through me, my mind fought with the experience and my body tried to listen in for every sensation.
I learned a lot of new techniques that day and bathed in a lot of positive energy. What just struck me as I was re-thinking about this experience is how personality still stays with us, even when we are super charged with positive energy. One of my philosophical fears as I grow spiritually is the idea of losing myself. I wonder what my experience says then. Am I holding on? Or will I really always be some version of myself?
Part of the workshop was to do a 21 day self-cleanse afterward. I wish I had started this blog back then because the self-cleansing had some interesting ups and downs. The up mostly being about keeping the positive energy from the class going, the down mostly being about rebelling against the idea of being forced to do something. Ah, inner conflict...
The week following the workshop I went with a friend to Sedona, AZ. An absolutely gorgeous place and well worth visiting. The vortexes there were very powerful and filled with energy. I took a rock from one of them and use it in my reiki practice.
It snowed while we were in Sedona, which was also very pretty, but led to us being inside more than intended. That lead to taking mushrooms. Amongst a wild ride, I found myself at one point laying on the bed with my eyes closed, re-writing some of the negative things that had happened in my life. A tool I had learned about in, you guessed it, Buddha's Brain.
So here we are, that cycle completed, already moving into the next one. Except for this time, you will be coming with me on my journey.
All aboard!!!
So why a blog?
There are many wonderful spiritual teachers out there, some of whom are even enlightened! What a wonderful place to be! I am not enlightned, nor am I guessing are you. That's ok. Maybe we will be some day, maybe it will never happen. That's ok too. However, I am on a spiritual journey and if you are reading this blog, you likely are as well. I've been on my journey for about 2 years now and I've learned some things. The first is that it helps to know people who are also on a spiritual journey because they can help point you in new directions and share their experiences. The second is that spiritual teachers can be extremely vague. There is a reason for this and I actually support the sign post over story method, but I also know how frustrating this can be. So I guess my blog has two purposes. To share my experiences and hopefully hear from you about yours and to help releave some of the frustrations I've felt along the way.
You are loved.
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