Spirituality & Meditation – Positive Reflection Of The Week
Is Spirituality Only About Meditation?
For ages, we know there is a way we can try to connect to our inner self. Many of us turn towards the seeking mode and we join different schools offering such techniques. We meditate for different reasons and may find our path of connecting to self or gain inner peace, which is fantastic! However, many of us may not know that the search for self does not stop with meditation. There is a lot to achieve to get to that level of knowing oneself.
One of the most important aspects of spiritual practice in any religion or spiritual school has been ‘Character-building’ – the practice of virtues. ‘Good Thoughts’, ‘Good Words’ and ‘Good Deeds’ have been the essence of ancient religions such as Zoroastrianism and have been emphasized in almost all religions throughout history. That’s the missing gear in many of our daily lives! Once we understand that, character-building by following the Golden Rule of life can be much better and easier to manage. Think about this, where are you, what are you thinking? Where do you want to go?
The practice of virtues not only leads to maturity and being a better person but also leads to acquiring more inner powers. This is related to the Law of Karma – The Law of Cause & Effect. We attract what we plant, and we will not reap the fruits of seeds we do not plant. So this means, if we don’t have negative karma of harming others, we will not receive harm and injury and if we have planted seeds of prosperity by tithing and service, we will have a prosperous life! In this way, practising the virtues brings about empowerment, protection, and abundance into our lives.
These teachings are given in every religion and in every Spiritual school. Have a road map that follows the Golden Rule. The most familiar version of the Golden Rule says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It’s simple, however, the practice of this makes you closer to yourself rather than the growth of spirituality!
Watch what we say and do.
Right Thoughts
Right Words
Right Action
Some directions we can read on are; The teachings of the Buddha that are aimed solely at liberating sentient beings from suffering. The Basic Teachings of Buddha which are core to Buddhism are The Three Universal Truths, The Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path.
Another road map we could follow is:
Take a moment to acknowledge your positive qualities and find a way to share them with others. To truly love others, we must first learn to forgive and love ourselves.
The Prophet said: “As you would have people do to you, do to them; and what you dislike to be done to you, don’t do to them. Now let the stirrup go!” “[This maxim is enough for you; go and act in accordance with it!]”; “None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
One direction we can start with is the practice of the virtue of Love & Kindness & NON INJURY.
Love brings protection! Just as the negative result of being injurious to others in thoughts, words and deeds is harm and injury – be it physical, emotional or mental – abstaining from injuring others, offers protection from being injured by ourselves.
There are many mythical stories in traditional literature of many cultures referring to the truth that a person with the karma of zero injuries can pass through a bonfire and come out without any harm. One such story is the story of Siyavash in Shahnameh written by Ferdowsi between 977–1010 CE. “Siyavash, an heir to the throne of Iran, rejected the seductive behaviour of one of his father’s wives. Furious, she accused him of rape and causing her to miscarry twins. Although the king doubted her word, he was unable to deny her demand that Siyavash undergoes a trial by fire. A great pyre was built and soaked with pitch; when torched, flames shot into the sky and the heat scorched the earth. Crowds that had gathered… wept to see the prince, who came alone on a black horse before his father’s throne; His helmet was of gold, his clothes were white and camphor-strewn, according to the rite that’s used in the preparation of a shroud. … Siyavash drove his horse into the fire, and soon both disappeared in the flames. Suddenly the crowd roared, “The young prince has escaped the fire!” He emerged unscathed; proof of his innocence.” Therefore, the gift of practising and mastering the virtue of Loving-Kindness and Non-Injury is immunity from harm and danger.
So friends once there is a change in character, the spiritual enhancement starts happening & the growth begins.
– some messages have been extracted from Pranaworld.org Spirituality & Meditation
Shahwana Khanam – Pranic Healer