Spiritual Practices

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Spiritual Practices
Spiritual Practices from ancient wisdom traditions.

Spiritual Practices Spiritual Practices exist in all traditions and cultures. The techniques are different but the goal is usually the same: to calm the mind and integrate the higer aspects of our being (higher self, Soul, Spirit) into our lower self (ego, personality, body). Postures, breathing exercises, chanting, prayers, rituals, ceremonies, exercises, diet are all examples of ways of doing spiritual practices.

We recommend this article: Spiritual Practices - 1, and also this: Spiritual Practices - 2.

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Resources on Spiritual Practices

Vipassana Meditation

Vipassana Meditation is an ancient practice that help us move beyound the five senses and become still to hear the voice of the Spirit inside ourselves. This article offer both a thoeretical and practical introduction to this ancient spiritual practice from the Indian/Tibetan tradition.
Vipassana Meditation: The Sound Current and Vipassana Meditation (2003-11-15)

The ancient spiritual practice and philosophy of Yoga

The roots of Yoga can be traced back roughly 5,000 years to the Indus Valley civilization, where seals depicting people performing asanas (yoga postures) were used in trade along the river. The word Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word "Yuj" meaning to yoke, join or unite. It is the union of all aspects of an individual: body, mind and soul. Hence, Yoga reunites all opposites - mind and body, stillness and movement, masculine and feminine, sun and moon - in order to bring reconciliation between them. Yoga is one of the six branches in Indian philosophy and is referred to throughout the Vedas � the ancient scriptures of India. There is a legend that says that the knowledge of Yoga was first offered by Lord Shiva to his wife Parvati and then passed on to the world.
Read this article about the Yoga Philosophy explained thru the Patanjali Yoga Sutras:
Yoga Philosophy and the Patanjali Yoga Sutras (2003-05-22)

Homa - The Ancient fire ritual

Homas are powerful ancient fire rituals that have been performed in India by the Vedic sages for over 5000 years. Sri Krishna in Bhagavad Gita quotes, "This creation is a yagna". Yagna also means sacrifice and by this he meant that creation is an eternal flow of birth and death; it is a sacrifice where one�s death gives way for the birth of another, continuously, something gets sacrificed for something to arise. This is how the Vedas interpret the creation and in the purview of the Vedas, the homa is but a miniature model of this Universal Sacrifice.

A homa can help you to get well, have good relationships, find a partner, have children and it may even remove bad karma or negative aspects in a horoscope or with Vastu. Read more About different Homas and their purpose.

Fire constitutes the basis of the homa, but apart from that the procedure and ingredients are quite different, all depending on the purpose. During a homa, various rituals are performed successively in order to activate various energies and to also develop the right emotion to perform the homa. Some of these rituals are common and must be observed before every homa. Read more about The different steps in a Homa and their significance.

At The Oneness Festival you are invited to participate in several different homas during the festival which is included in the festival fee.

ARTICLES RELATED TO Spiritual Practices

Spiritual Practices: Seeing Work as a Spiritual Practice

Susan, a telephone service representative for a large health insurance company, once taught us an extremely important lesson about "work as a spiritual practice."

She was known as one of the best at her job. Whenever she received a call from an angry person complaining that a huge bill had not yet been paid, she silently kept a spiritual mantra going in her head as she listened to the caller. It helped her maintain a peaceful mind and reminded her that the caller was a spiritual being in his or her own right. She kept connecting with the caller, heart to heart, in every word she said and patiently demonstrated her accurate listening. Soon, angry callers became calm, and began to trust that she would really do her best to help them.

Read more here: » Work As A Spiritual Practice: Seeing Work as a Spiritual Practice

Spiritual Practices: The Power of Spiritual Character

In high school and college, Debra excelled in accounting and William in mathematics. So, from time to time we love to represent new ideas using numbers or equations. As we were looking at the components that make up our view of spiritual character, we realised there was a great equation we could use:

Spiritual Character = Spiritual Context + Spiritual Purpose + Spiritual Values

______________________________________ Ego Desires

Read more here: » Work As A Spiritual Practice: The Power of Spiritual Character

Spiritual Practices: Siddha Yoga Dictionary on Spiritual practices

Spiritual practices:

Activities that purify and strengthen the mind and body for the spiritual path. Siddha Yoga practices include chanting, meditation, mantra repetition, hatha yoga, seva (selfless service), and contemplation.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V X Y Z

For more dictionary entries, see » Spiritual Practices Dictionary

Spiritual Practices: The Spiritual Basis Of Creativity

In the mid-1980's, while William was consulting on corporate creativity, he began to recognise a similarity in the language that people used to describe their moments of creative insight and their experience of spiritual inspiration. It dawned on him that the similarities were not by accident; but rather, it's because our spiritual nature literally means we are co-creators with the Divine...as Martin Buber, a 20 th century Jewish philosopher, reminds us:

"Destiny is not where we wait for God to push us. We take part in creation, meet the Creator, reach out to Him, helpers and companions."

Read more here: » Work As A Spiritual Practice: The Spiritual Basis Of Creativity

Spiritual Practices: Working With Devotion

You may know people who are "devoted to their work" - meaning that they are dedicated to their careers and their jobs. If this comes from the ego, it means that they experience self-gratification from what they do. The reasons could be many: perhaps the power they enjoy, perhaps the use of their talents, perhaps the difference they make through their work. There's nothing wrong with this type of devotion and certainly it has contributed to the betterment of our world in many ways.

However, if our devotion to our work only remains at this self-gratifying level, we are missing a huge opportunity for spiritual growth. So come with us as we explore this path of devotion as a spiritual practice at work.

Read more here: » Work As A Spiritual Practice: Working With Devotion

Spiritual Practices: Putting Your Spirituality To Work

"Spirituality at work." Seeing or hearing these words, some people feel sceptical about whether spirituality can mix with work. Others feel cautious that some religious pressure will be put on them at work. Still others feel enthused at the possibility of expressing a more meaningful part of themselves through their jobs.

How about you? What comes to mind when you think about spirituality at work? People often ask us, "Can I really be spiritual at work? Can work really be a part of my spiritual path?" For us, the answer is unequivocally "Yes." With confidence, we invite you to join us in the weeks to come in exploring how you can indeed put your spirituality to work in practical and fulfilling ways.

Read more here: » Work As A Spiritual Practice: Putting Your Spirituality To Work

Spiritual Practices: Spiritual Character Part I: Defining Your Spiritual Context

In our 1st article on spiritual character ("The Power of Spiritual Character"), we shared with you the following equation that we use to define and develop spiritual character:

Spiritual Character = Spiritual Context + Spiritual Purpose + Spiritual Values

______________________________________ Ego Desires

The first element of this equation, your spiritual context, represents your spiritual view of life. The dictionary defines context as: the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs: an environment . So your spiritual context is the spiritual 'container' or 'frame of reference' within which you experience all of life, including your work.

Read more here: » Work As A Spiritual Practice: Spiritual Character Part I: Defining Your Spiritual Context

Spiritual Practices: Creating A Safe Landing

In our previous article about the "Creative Journey", we described four stages to creatively respond to the challenges we face at work. At this point you may be wondering, "Isn't creativity a spontaneous experience? Won't it suppress creativity to follow some prescribed process?"

To the contrary. In his 20 years in the field of innovation and creativity, William has observed that, ironically, discipline enables our creativity . For example, highly artistic dancers or musicians spend years in training to be able to express their creativity in ways that few people can even dream of.

Read more here: » Work As A Spiritual Practice: Creating A Safe Landing

Spiritual Practices: Reducing Ego Desires

Have you ever known someone at work who always focused on "me, me, me" - preoccupied with enhancing their reputation or career, even at the expense of other people? You might have thought, "This person has such a big ego." The desires that spring from such an ego greatly diminish spiritual character.

What exactly are "ego desires"? The word "ego" is the Latin language word for "I" and means "the self, especially as contrasted with another self or the world." An ego desire originates from a feeling of separateness; its motivation is to satisfy individual wants and needs for our own self-centred, even selfish, benefit.

Read more here: » Work As A Spiritual Practice: Reducing Ego Desires

Spiritual Practices: Emphasis On Spiritual Practice

Hinduism is not a religion of mere theories. It is eminently practical. In no religion you will find such a variety of practical Yoga practised and such sublime unique philosophy expounded. That is the reason why India is the only glorious land of sages, Rishis, Yogins and saints.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Spiritual Practices: Christian Mantras And Meditation

Chanting of mantras and the practice of meditation are time-honoured traditions in oriental religions like Hinduism and Buddhism. Christians use the concept of chanting in a variety of ways in their prayer. The Divine Office or Prayer of the Church is a rhythmic recitation or singing of the Psalms in monastic communities. For a Christian the practice of meditation is the practice of an 'awareness' of God in Christ. Equally, at the heart of the practice of Christian meditation is the essential onslaught on the 'ego' so that we may be completely free from its domination. Prophet Isaiah says (30:15): "In conversion and tranquillity lies your salvation".

Spiritual Practices: Mobile Temples of Mind and Body

In Vedic times, there were no temples as we know them today. Temples were constructed when kingdoms began to flourish. Anand Coomaraswamy observes that the rise of the temple represents the softening of the practice of yagya or sacrifice into puja.

A constructed temple is only a symbol of the original, the body. Is it wise then to chase the symbol, when you have the original?

Spiritual Practices: Aids to Positivity - Meditation and Yoga

If there are two piles, one of gold and one of dirt, which one will you choose? The gold one. If there is only one pile in which the dirt and gold are mixed you would try to separate the gold from the dirt and take the gold. We need to do the same with our personality.

In the beginning yoga is a practice, then it becomes a way of life. When it becomes a way of life identification with and expression of the balanced, positive and optimistic nature takes place and then one attains physical, mental and spiritual wealth.

Spiritual Practices: Practising Sacrifice at Work

"Sacrifice" is a word that has many unpleasant connotations for people, especially in the workplace. When a manager says, "We have to make some sacrifices around here," it usually means giving something up, or doing without something, either of which would make things more difficult.

But there's an entirely different way to look at sacrifice, from a spiritual point of view. From its Latin roots, the word sacrifice actually means "to make sacred." Following the chain of original meanings, sacred means "holy," holy means "whole," and whole means "healthy." Thus, sacrifice is anything that takes a situation and makes it sacred, holy, whole and healthy.

Read more here: » Work As A Spiritual Practice: Practising Sacrifice at Work

Spiritual Practices: Waking Up Spiritual Wisdom

In all major religions, the path of spiritual wisdom ( jnana yoga) is the awakening of consciousness to see the inherent Divinity in all beings - which literally means to be aware of the "substance behind the form." As the Christian mystic Meister Eckhart once wrote:

Whoever has God truly as a companion is with Him in all places... When a person keeps their gaze fixed upon God, all things become God for him or her.

Imagine the difference it could make in the quality of your work, and in the satisfaction you derive from your work, if you were steeped in this unitive consciousness that Divinity resides in all of creation.

Read more here: » Work As A Spiritual Practice: Waking Up Spiritual Wisdom

Spiritual Practices: Shifting To A Spiritual View Of Work

A financial consultant once spent many hours working to secure prospective clients, but was unable to close the sales. His manager told him that either he would need to improve his numbers or the company might ask him to go. The consultant began to view both his manager and his prospects as adversaries. He became skeptical whether his work would ever pay off and despaired about his career.

At this point, we invited him to see his work from a spiritual view. He realised that his spiritual view involved the notion of deep, inner trust. He discovered that when he saw his work situations through the spiritual lens of "trust," he could release his negative judgments and feel in

Read more here: » Work As A Spiritual Practice: Shifting To A Spiritual View Of Work

Spiritual Practices: Seeing The Eternal In The Temporal

Have you ever faced a challenge at work and felt stuck in finding a solution? Or, felt alone in your work with no one to support you in your efforts? These are examples of when it's important to step back and see our work from a broader perspective. Einstein explained this well when he said that we cannot solve our problems at the same level that we created them.

We've found that this ability to see our work from a broader perspective requires an internal shift in our vision that we like to describe as "seeing the eternal in the temporal". This is the wisdom that Krishna taught Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita:

When one sees Eternity in things that pass away and Infinity in finite things, then one has pure knowledge . (18:20)

Read more here: » Work As A Spiritual Practice: Seeing The Eternal In The Temporal

OTHER RELEVANT RESOURCES

Alchemy

Alchemy

Sub topics

Meditation for beginners, Meditation Techniques, Meditation and Health, Meditation Obstacles, Benefits Of Meditation
Meditation and Concentration (Dhayana), Meditation and Relaxation, Meditation and Visualisation, Meditation and Stress
Meditation and Prayer

Types of Meditation

Sitting Meditation (Zazen), Walking Meditation (Kinhin), Breathing Meditation (Pranayama), Chanting, Dance Meditation, Laughter Meditation, Meditation and Prayer
Mantra Meditation (Mantra, Mantra Yoga), Vipassana Meditation (Vipassana), Kundalini Meditation (Kundalini, Kundalini Yoga), Yantra Meditation (Yantra, Yantra Yoga), Chakra Meditation (Chakra, Chakra Yoga), Object Meditation (Trataka)
Sivananda Meditation (Sivananda), Patanjali Meditation (Patanjali), Osho Meditation (Osho), Transcendental Meditation (Maharishi)
Nadabrahma Meditation, Gourishankar Meditation, Golden light meditation
Vipassana, Samatha, Zazen, Kinhin, Simran, Hong Sau, Surat shabd yoga, Baguazhang, Pa Kua Chang

Traditions

Buddhism Meditation (Samatha, Jhana, Vipassana)
Tibetan Buddhism Meditation (Samatha)
Zen Buddhism Meditation (Zazen, Kinhin)
Sikhism Meditation (Simran)
Christian Meditation
Jewish Meditation (Kabbala)
Hindu Meditation (Dhyana, Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Samadhi).
Muslim Meditation (Sufism)
Taoism Meditation (Baguazhang, Pa Kua Chang)

Meditation Experiences

Mystic Experience in Meditation, Siddhis, Anahata Sounds

Yoga, Mudras, Bandhas
Affirmations, Visualisation

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