Spiritual Preparedness - simple practices and meditations to increase self-awareness

A little background - As far back as early childhood around age 5 or 6, I remember thinking to myself thoughts like 'If I hadn't ended up here with this mummy and daddy, I'm sure I'd still be here but maybe with a different mummy and daddy, but I know I am supposed to be here' & 'There has got to be more to me than just this body'. I noticed that the 'me' staring out of the eyes of my rapidly changing and growing body remained the same - not in terms of knowledge and education but of personality, of essence whatever it is that makes me 'me' - that was constant and unchanging.

At age 7 my life was impacted by significant loss, loss that made it impossible for me not to seek out confirmation that there was more to existence, that my beloved father had not just disappeared. I had a dream the night he died where he visited me to reassure me I would be ok and when my mother came to collect me from a friend's house the next morning, I said to her 'Daddy is dead isn't he?'. He had not been ill. In a subsequent dream he came to say goodbye and showed me a tunnel of light he had to go into.

Later came more loss, until years back now at age 22, I stood alone in the world save for a few distant relatives a thousand miles from me. Again, I had strong visitation dreams from my mother, this time the message was not to overly focus on the gain of material wealth and possessions (she had been materialistic herself), it released me from feeling I had to be like her. Her early death also made it so clear how love of life and the people in it are too precious to ignore or to waste time chasing after things that we cannot even take with us.

I wanted to give a little personal background, to show that the suggestions I will share in this thread are practices that have helped me maintain spiritual awareness throughout the ups and downs of my life so far. This is not a hippie dippy phase I am going through, it is an essential part of my every day being and has been since I was a child. I am still the very same constant and unchanging essence who peered out of that little body as the older and bigger one I peer from now. It's a fact too that not one cell, tissue, nail, hair or membrane is the same as that young child, they are all replaced many times over, yet still 'I' exist. It is a comforting awareness to hold :)

Last Edited by Pharista on 09/20/2011 09:54 AM

Compassionate bump!

Good post! My mother and I used to always put our forheads together when I was a child and I loved it. I do that with my pets as well, now I know why!

So glad that resonated with you, It's definitely a warm fuzzy feeling

If you do when you are in a giggly or lighthearted mood and have a good emotional connection with a close friend, partner or child, you can feel an expansion of the warm feeling in your eyes/head, this feeling feels like it emanates outwards from this point, through the body and beyond. These are indeed positive and loving vibrations we are feeling ourselves, sharing with a loved one and sending outwards.

Last Edited by Pharista on 09/23/2011 07:35 AM

bump.

Last Edited by Pharista on 09/21/2011 04:43 AM

Yesterday, I shared a practical method and train of thought to begin to become aware of yourself as non-physical energy sitting centre forehead in your body. Some call this energy soul or spirit, but those words can be loaded for many and bring with them all sorts of pre-conditioned reactions, so I would suggest finding a name or word for this energy of 'you' that works, without provoking too many negative reactions.

I choose to simply call me 'me'. Of course for many the word 'me' is deeply entrenched and connected to total identification with the physical body and all it's labels - gender, colour, culture etc. I will go into more depth about the many identities we attach to ourselves in a later post.

We hear terms (especially in Eastern philosophies) like, the body is a temple - again this has connotations of being a 'holy belief' so I prefer to think of it as a car, it is my vehicle to get me around this physical world. If the body is my vehicle, then who am I? I am the driver of course! This body is my car and I am the driver, I am in control of it (all my 5 senses) and not the other way around, at least that's how it should be!

So, becoming conscious of the word 'me' and choosing for it to now mean 'Me the non-physical being' instead of 'me this female/male body' takes a bit of time but it's worth the effort. Also on hearing other people say the word 'me' - this can be used to trigger an awareness that they too are non-physical beings living within bodies of matter - of course we have the double task of also remembering that for the majority of people - they have forgotten this!

So that's the tip for today, to practice attaching meaning to the word 'Me' to be 'Me the non-physical being living within this body of matter, my vehicle' as opposed to 'Me, the body'. Of course it doesn't have to be repeated in words each time, after a while it becomes an awareness, a deep feeling, a knowing.

We also begin to gain awareness of just how body conscious we have become and how deeply entrenched humanity and society is in this false belief system. 7 billion 'drivers' on auto pilot who actually believe themselves to be the cars they are riding in - crazy isn't it?!


Last Edited by Pharista on 09/21/2011 01:34 PM

Make a good Confession, examine your life, confess your
mortal sins to God. Catholics go to Confession.

The Great Warning is close....

Fact, God can't be where sin is...

He can't be in you (His soul saving grace) if you have any mortal sins on your soul.

Bump for the later crew

The tip for today is to recap the first two techniques shared above:-

1. To become aware of self as a non-physical energy sitting behind the eyes and looking out from them. The idea is to start to see the body as a vehicle of transportation for 'I' (the soul), the brain is the onboard computer and 'I', the real I am the driver. It is about regaining control of who I really am and getting back in the driver's seat in the present moment and fully aware. We have all be driving on auto pilot for at least 2,500 years.

2. To begin associating and connecting the word 'Me' (when you use it) with this non-physical energy (your essence of personality that you remember being as far back as early childhood) as opposed to the body on it's own. Remember every cell in your body has been replaced every 7/8 years, there is not one part of your body that still exists from when you were a child - what continues to exist is the 'Real eternal you' that in reality is re-incarnating within the same body as it passes on it's physical journey from birth to death.

I will recap often because like every new habit it takes time to build and change, especially where bad habits have become deeply ingrained. Our body conscious awareness has become so deeply ingrained over time that we completely lost sight of our spiritual identity of being souls who live within bodies of matter.

The body is important, it is our vehicle of expression and transportation as we navigate ourselves around this material world BUT we have to be sure we have our perspectives right - take back control of self, reduce attachment and investment in false identities. With practice of true awareness of self, In time the hold of the false identities will reduce and a more authentic existence will begin to manifest in your every day life.

Later I will share some suggested thoughts for meditation when this awareness can be practiced without the distractions of daily activities and chores.

I cannot give experiences to anyone, I can share my own and my processes but each person must seek his/her own experiences of self - once you have it then it cannot be taken away from you.



Last Edited by Pharista on 09/23/2011 08:39 AM

Bumping for now - new post later.

appreciate being able to perceive the experiences you are having.

I'm so glad this resonates for you, I only post on this thread when my own soul conscious awareness is good and from a place of authentic intention - I hope that is what comes through.

Today I am going to share a practical exercise to learn more about just how many identities we invest in every day of our lives.

On a piece of paper make the heading 'I' and underneath list all the positive non-physical qualities you have; I'll start off with a few:-

'I' =

Conscience
Compassion
Empathy
Grace
Integrity
Awareness of self
Unchanging/Eternal
Observer
Peace
Gratitude
Understanding
Patience/Tolerance
Acceptance
Love
Courage
Forgiveness
Creative expression
authentic passion/vocation....
.........

Now make a list of all the labels attached to you the human identity, we will refer to these as little i's:-

i - the name
i - the gender
i - the race
i - the age/generation
i - the beautiful/ugly
i - the fat/thin
i - the daughter/son
i - the religion
i - the student
i - the friend
i - the career
i - the wife/husband
i - the parent
i - the rich/poor person
i - the young/old
i - the blonde/redhead/brunette woman
i - the bald/grey man
i - the VIP business man-/corporate wife
i - the politician
i - the carnivore/vegetarian
etc etc

attached to these little i's is a lot of body conscious ego and many negative emotions, especially when one of these deeply ingrained identities feels threatened:-

Fear, inappropriate anger/rage, blame, projection, greed, insecurity, jealousy, hatred etc etc

The little i's are all the things we invest in when stuck in body conscious awareness, they are temporary and transient investments which cannot satisfy us in themselves. We juggle these hats we wear, switching quickly from one little identity to the next generating plenty of negative emotional dust as we go and leaving little or no time to tune in to our eternal nature or to just 'be'.

If we draw a large bubble on the paper and write in all the personal little i's we have, how much room is left in the bubble for the Real 'I'? For most of us, not very much space is left for 'Real I' awareness and so we need to make a conscious effort to make this space for our true Identity to recover.

Of course we can't just throw in the towel and go and live in a monastery in the mountains - we need to learn to still live in the present day world but as much as possible to retain our real Identity of being a soul living in a body of matter. Even though others still identify us by the little i's they see, we no longer (continuously) view ourselves as such or others, and with time and practice more and more of the positive qualities listed under 'I' start to manifest in myself and those around me - this is a very worthwhile investment and it cannot be taken away.

In the words of Bill Hicks 'It's just a ride'.

Last Edited by Pharista on 09/29/2011 05:03 AM

Bumping for soul conscious awareness

Good thread.

Thanks for the bumps Canada and Iceland

Take some time out for a short reflection or meditation, find a quiet neutral space that will not pull your attention to do and distract yourself and sit down for 5 minutes or more:-

Lie or sit, keep eyes open or closed which ever is comfortable. Open the chest and breathe fully and naturally, in and out through the nose.

As it comes to the point when breath is full and it is time to breathe out, do not pause but rather let the breath roll like a wave and breathe out. The same when it comes to the point to breathe in again, no pause, just a rolling continuous breath. Practice doing this for a few minutes, become aware only of this continuous flow of breath.

Hear the air come in through your nostris, feel it cool against the nasal cavity and your lungs expand and fall. Become aware of the rolling moment when in breath flows to out breath and again hear it and feel it passing through the nasal cavity.

Keep going, but now become aware of the rise and fall of your abdomen as you breath in and out.

By now you should feel more relaxed and centred in the present moment, sitting within your body as it relaxes and breathes in and out. Remind yourself that you are the master of this body and it's five senses, you are the life force that drives it.

Still breathing gentle and even rolling breaths in and out, become aware of your life force energy behind the eyes, looking out from the eyes. (The following is a suggested train of thought)

I become aware of myself right here and now in this present moment, sitting in this body, in this place where I have given myself time to relax, time to put aside the labels I have attached to this physical body. This is my deserved time to just 'be'. Who is it who is looking out? who is it who is aware of these thoughts and experiences? I feel waves of peace washing over me and through me as the body breathes in and out. This is the experience of being 'Me'.


Become aware of the feelings and emotions that come with this experience. Become aware of the negative thoughts or distractions that have crowded in for attention and accept that this will happen, know that with practice and in time you will be able to tune into this feeling of peace with ease.

Continue breathing rolling breaths with awareness for as long as you feel comfortable and then slowly return to daily activities. You should feel both rested and energised.

Throughout the day see if you can tune into that present moment awareness wherever you are and whatever you are doing. When you catch your mind wandering past or future, notice it and gently return it without chastisement to present moment.


I will share more meditation suggestions as the thread progresses.


Last Edited by Pharista on 10/06/2011 04:16 AM

This is kind of eerie. Your path in life (at least what you have written spiritually) has mirrored mine, even the death of my father at a young age (I was 6).....wow

-B

For a long time I never came across others who were parentally bereaved at a young age. Then I read this great book on the subject 'The Loss that is Forever' - I forget the author without hunting the book out. After that I came across more and more who had shared similar experiences and I didn't feel so 'odd'.

Would you care to share a little about your own spiritual journey? and do you think you were motivated spiritually by the losses in your life?

Thanks for sharing, sorry to hear this feels a bit eerie for you.

I've noticed myself touching foreheads with my pet, I do this subconsciously every day, and I get that warm feeling, it's almost like she can feel it too. We both lay there content, bathing in each others love. Unconditional love. Thanks for pointing that out, it makes total sense.

5 stars, and

Thanks for sharing your experience of this Gods3nd and for the 5 stars. My aim in this thread is to share experiences and give suggestions of how people can experience being 'soul' energy for themselves. Experience is the only way to make truth our own.

Your bond with your pet sounds very special.

Last Edited by Pharista on 10/06/2011 03:55 AM

My experience is that the pineal gland is not the center of awareness. A couple people I know that are Freemasons have tried to explain this theory to me in the past.

But they also believed in karma and reincarnation which I also don't believe in either.

we only have our own personal experience to really go on, no-one else's

Bumping for spiritual awareness