Awesome Insights: A Digest of Seven Spirituality Books.

Here are excerpts from this compilation of condensed material.

Appendix

Post – Perfection

Now we may have reached the “mountain summit”, and thus we have attained the Journeys’ end point. What happens now?

Well, we descend!  Down off the mountain, even retracing our steps. Go back into the real world of disappointments and suffering, (and occasional fun). We will not be doing any more exercises to alleviate our problems. Now we will have a method. A way of dealing with everything – all that is Life and the Universe. (So, exercises then to solidify that stance or Resilience).

We will be of course – Realistic & Practical.

Some approaches here may be more like an exercise or technique, but they are also G.O.D. – good orderly direction. However, we will have the freedom also to not do what might be deemed socially correct. We might be even just a little bit crazy, at times.

In therapy there is what’s called the Wheel of Change. This was particularly used for addictions therapy. Now there are variations, including a Wheel of Life. A Google search will give a range of options regarding this “wheel”. I quite like variations where there are alternative “entry & exit “points

I like this one:

The Wheel of Change is particularly used to help with recovery from addictions. So this fits here, as in many ways we are addicted to life, lived via ego-identity.

Relapse?

Ideally, we do our “treatment” and if all goes well, we don’t relapse. Thuis can refer to an addiction treatment process. We enter the wheel via Contemplation initially, usually.

For Relapse here however, or “addiction” is thatwe are already entrenched in the world, which we experience through the three qualities of nature. The theory is that at some point in our cosmic journey we fell into illusion – probably deliberately. We relapsed!  We could also have retraced our steps from the lofty heights. (To be more pointedly critical this may be a “fall from grace”, and we have become “fallen angels”).

Here we are not considering the fall from grace perspective. We are inseparable from others through our Journeys through life, and so, at the higher peaks we will still seek to help and serve others. To do this we come down to the human levels of suffering due to Compassion. This is the final grace. Prior to this we needed to be on our Journey.

Contemplation

This is where we entered our Wheel of -Change, when we decided to set out on our Journey. For our purposes here we have reached that, so we use the wheel now differently.

I will call it now the Wheel of Suffering.

The suffering is about experiencing and being aware of the wheel’s components forming a more enlightened perspective. Then we transcend the wheels activities to become entrenched in the Wheel’s Centre.

Firstly however, a bit about the components of what we can now experience

The three qualities of nature

When we contemplate on human nature we get to understand that human nature consists of the three qualities of nature

These qualities translated into human activity within life consist of:

• Purity – living a healthy, “clean”, and selfless life.
• Enjoyment – living out our desires, and doing whatever gives us pleasure.
• Inertia –living in the dark, and doing things that are detrimental to our and others health.

Purity is connected directly to the forces of the light. If you are into healthy activities, healthy diet, and engaging in spiritual or self-development practice, you are engaging within/without yourself in the nature quality of “purity”.

Enjoyment is connectedtothe forces of the pleasure domains. If we are mostly engaged in the world of pleasure seeking, or engaging in life for material benefit mainly we are in this quality.

Inertia is driven bythe forces of darkness. If we are living in darkness, addictions, or suffering very negative thoughts and emotions, we are stuck in this quality, even if it’s not our fault. We may also deliberately do actions that are connected with dark forces.

Therefore, as there are three qualities of nature, there are three types of food, and three types of activities, and so on.

Have a guess where you are primarily! (Most of us vary in the mixture or range).

In Purity mode, meditation becomes spontaneous and it does not necessarily involve sitting in a quiet room. However, it also becomes natural to enjoy contact with like-minded people, who also meditate, or have some elevated philosophy. Although the Self-Actualised person doesn’t feel the need to journey to anywhere on this plane or even to follow any rules, their practice usually mandates an outcome of: “Being in the world to serve others”. Nevertheless, the qualities of nature still exist, until final Transcendence. In this stance we cope with life in equipoise.

We tend to eat simple healthy food and avoid over-stimulating food. We might question our Cappuccino intake! (Not too bad). Alcohol though is a bit trickier as it can be less than “pure”, and we are engaging in our “enjoyment ‘mode. Alcoholic drinking is “in the darkness” as it is destructive or driving “inertia” mode. Going down dark roads and you’re sick of it all? It definitely means you’re in thismode.

From a aware perspective the qualities act at all times, but the inner soul is the witness of those activities. (Thus, the witness state remains in the Centre). So, from that perspective, technically we can be Enlightened, and yet behave in the mode of the “the drunken master”, as described in some Tibetan texts. (It’s theoretical)! Whatever the case, when we enter our wheel, we want to place ourselves at the Centre, where we “watch the world go round”

Remaining here we may examine the Determination segment of the wheel. He we still accept that we may have some lingering attachment to the pleasures of life. As a consequence, we may have suffered physical/mental problems from the minor, to moderate. “Life in the fast lane” have been may be focus when we were entrenched in our Enjoyment mode. We want to be the witness of that activity also, even as some remnants of this mode, pop up semi-automatically from time to time. We stay in our Centre.

We are also aware now of how negativity issues start when we move into “darkness mode”, and they may have included, money loss, addictions, and significant depression/anxiety. We were high sometimes and depressed sometimes. Maybe we raged and ranted, fueled by desire, and aimed for own personal gain. This road though is leading to darker places, and we may have been deeply into seeking pleasure, but now at a painful level. Violent, stupid or destructive, behaviour may be the “rock bottom” outcomes of being in this mode Inertia sets in and it’s hard to move on or get out.

Our task is to enable a stable witness state of tranquility, being centered in our wheel having augmented this stance by our own Actions – the next segment of our Wheel. Because we are in the witness position, our action can be to use our awareness and knowledge to help others who are suffering in some form or other

Staying in the Centre – this is No Action

As per a mental health perspective there are other things we can do: activities to partake in to enhance our Journeys. Here we are examining and continuing to practice what is helpful. It not just for Me now though! We do this to also benefit others. We may be involved in talking therapies. And now we can try to heal others to varying degrees. Personally, we will be attracted to the practice of controlling the breath, listening to soothing music, or practice some mindfulness type exercises.

If we go further still, then there are other things we may do. It seems necessary in life to bring in mechanical means to alleviate suffering. An illustration of this is taking medication for physical or mental health problems. We “forcefully” try to resolve the issue. This is sometimes successful, otherwise people would not bother going to doctors or psychiatrists. We still will need medication at times, and the services of doctors or physicians.

We may also go into the realm of religion/spirituality, and use prayer, liturgical hymns, or mantras. Or do some devotional worship, as for instance performed in temples/churches. This in some sense, it is mechanical. The repetition of a mantra is mechanical at its most basic level.

We want to make it happen. (This staying in the Centre). Some of it we can experience and solidify through meditation. You will still need to expose yourself to the method you use – through your Practice again and again, until there is no more “again”. Then you can help others to stay in their centre of this Wheel of Suffering and not have to go round and around, as may be the case in therapy or treatment for addictions.

So, this daily moment to moment practice is what gives us the moment to moment relief, (from our sufferings), and this is where we can thrive instead of survive.

We can’t so easily wander off to the forest. Even getting to go and live in a monastery has become complicated. Places of sanctuary to actual just walk into and settle down in, are rare, especially in the Westernized world.  So, this is the time for you to be established in Maintenance with your Inner Self.

Can it be done?

Our birth right is ours whether we are monks, rock stars or plumbers. We are our own Guru. Yes, the body/mind provides painful experiences. We agree to participate in this delusory activity until we stop pinching ourselves, and start being who we really are.  Then the body/mind of ourselves, and the environment of the whole universe, ceases to rule our lives or even have much significance. We transcend this Life and the Universe.

We may currently struggle with mental health, addictions, trauma, or relationship disasters. Then we might be impelled to shout out: “I am certainly not Divine/enlightened or whatever auspicious.  Keep on being sad and suffering then if you want to keep on avoiding the Truth of all Life. There is nothing between you and that Truth except this business with the great delusion of all life. One can chose to “wake up” in any circumstance and indeed that is what the Transcendental is.