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Spiritual Science Mar - Apr 2020 Magazine PDF
Spiritual Science Mar - Apr 2020 Magazine PDF
Spiritual Science
INDIAN FEDERATION OF SPIRITUAL SCIENTISTS
Cover Page : Ken Wilber
CONTENTS
Ken Wilber www.integralworld.net 2
business, medicine, politics, sports, and art. Wilber is also the founder of the
“ Integral Institute ”, which is the first
organization fully dedicated to advancement
Wilber explains the need for an Integral
and application of the Integral Approach in
Approach in the following way:
relation to contemporary global issues. It was
In our current post-modern world, we formed in collaboration with over 200
possess an abundance of methodologies and scholars and experts, specializing in
practices belonging to a multitude of fields education, politics, business, medicine,
and knowledge traditions. What is utterly psychology, spirituality, as well as, law and
lacking however, is a coherent organization, criminal justice.
and coordination of all these various In the year 2007 Wilber co-founded
practices, as well as their respective data-sets. “ Integral Life ”, a social media-hub dedicated
What is needed is an approach that moves to sharing the integral vision with the world
beyond this indiscriminate eclectic- wide community, as well as documenting
pluralism, to an “ Integral Methodological and catalyzing the progress of the integral
Pluralism ” .. driving toward a genuine movement.
“ Ever-Present Awareness ”
This primordial recognition of One Taste In that simple witnessing awareness,
.. not the creation but the recognition of the you might notice:
fact that you and the Cosmos are One Spirit “ I am aware of my body, and therefore I am
.. One Taste .. One Gesture is the great gift of not just my body; ”
the Non-dual traditions. And in simplified
“ I am aware of my mind, and therefore I am
form, this recognition goes like this: not just my mind; ”
We begin with the realization that the “ I am aware of myself, and therefore I am not
pure “ Self ” or “ Transpersonal Witness ” is just that self; ”
an ever-present consciousness, even when “ Rather, I seem somehow to be the Witness
we doubt its existence. You are right now of my body, my mind, myself. ”
aware of, say, this book .. the room .. a
This is truly fascinating. I can see my
window .. the sky .. the cloud .. you can sit
thoughts, so I am not those thoughts. I am
back and simply notice that you are aware aware of bodily sensations, so I am not those
of all those objects floating by. Clouds float sensations. I am aware of my emotions, so I
through the sky, thoughts float through the am not merely those emotions. I am
mind, and when you notice them, you are somehow the Witness of all of that!
That simple witnessing awareness, the In other words, the ultimate reality is not
traditions maintain, is “ Spirit Itself ” .. is the something seen, but rather the ever-present
enlightened mind itself .. is Buddha-nature itself Seer. Things that are seen come and go are:
.. is “ God Itself ” .. in its entirety. happy or sad, pleasant or painful, but the
Seer is none of those things, and it does not
Thus, according to the traditions, getting
come and go.
in touch with Spirit or God or the enlightened
mind is not something difficult to achieve. It The Witness does not waver, does not
is your own simple witnessing awareness in wobble, does not enter that stream of time.
exactly this moment. If you see this page, The Witness is not an object, not a thing seen,
you already have that awareness .. all of it .. but the ever-present Seer of all things, the
right now. simple Witness that is the ‘ I ’ of Spirit .. the
Center of the cyclone .. the Opening that is
A very famous text from Dzogchen or
God .. the Clearing that is pure Emptiness.
Maha-Ati Buddhism (one of the very greatest
of the Nondual traditions) puts it like this:
“ At times it happens that some meditators say There is never a time that you do not
that it is difficult to recognize the nature of the have access to this Witnessing Awareness.
mind ” .. in Dzogchen, “ the nature of the mind ” At every single moment, there is a
means primordial Purity or radical spontaneous awareness of whatever happens
emptiness .. it means non-dual Spirit by to be present .. and that simple, spontaneous,
whatever name. The point is that this “ nature effortless awareness is ever-present Spirit
of the mind ” is ever-present witnessing itself. Even if you think you don’t see it, that
awareness, and some meditators, find this very awareness is it.
hard to believe. They imagine it is difficult
And thus, the ultimate state of
or even impossible to recognize this ever-
consciousness .. intrinsic Spirit itself .. is not
present awareness, and that they have to
hard to reach but impossible to avoid.
work very hard and meditate very long in
Source : www.integralworld.net
““ Going
Going Inside”
Inside”
“ Establish a Regular, Daily Meditation Practice ”
Joseph Goldstein has been leading insight and lovingkindness
meditation retreats worldwide since the year 1974. After studying
philosophy as an undergraduate at Columbia University, Joseph
Goldstein joined the Peace Corps in the year 1965 to spend two years in
Thailand; it was there that he took an interest in Buddhism and began to
explore meditation practice. .
In the year 1976, with Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield, Goldstein cofounded
the “ Insight Meditation Society (IMS) ”, in Barre, Massachusetts. IMS is now one of the
largest and most influential Buddhist meditation retreat centers in the West. A few excerpts
from his book “ A Heart Full of Peace ”
edit-team
In our busy lives in this complex and Regularity of practice is what effects a
often confusing world, what practical steps transformation. If we do it, it begins to
can we take to train our minds? happen; if we don’t do it, we continue acting
The first step is to establish a regular, out the various patterns of our conditioning.
daily meditation practice. This takes
discipline.
The second step is to train ourselves in
It’s not always easy to set aside time each
staying mindful and aware of the body
day for meditation; so many other things call
throughout the day. As we go through our
to us. But as with any training, if we practice
daily activities, we frequently get lost in
regularly we begin to enjoy the fruits. Of
thoughts of past and future, not staying
course, not every sitting will be concentrated.
grounded in the awareness of our bodies.
Sometimes we’ll be feeling bored or restless.
These are the inevitable ups and downs of For simple, useful feedback when we’re
practice. It’s the commitment and regularity lost in thought, we can use the very common
of practice that is important, not how any one feeling of rushing. Rushing is a feeling of
sitting feels. toppling forward. Our minds run ahead of
This training will only happen through us, focusing on where we want to go, instead
your own effort. No one can do it for you. of settling into our bodies where we are.
rushing .. which does not particularly have Retreat time is not a luxury. If we are
to do with how fast we are going. We can genuinely and deeply committed to
feel rushed while moving slowly, and we can awakening, to freedom .. to whatever words
be moving quickly and still be settled in our express the highest value you hold .. a retreat
bodies. is an essential part of the path.
The feeling of rushing simply reminds We need to create a rhythm in our lives,
us that we’re not present. If you can, notice establishing a balance between times when
what thought or emotion has captured the we are engaged, active, and relating in the
attention. Then, just for a moment, stop and world and times when we turn inward.
settle back into the body: feel the foot on the Pascal, the French philosopher and
ground, feel the next step. mathematician, very aptly noted, “ Most of
the problems in the world would be solved if people
The Buddha made a very powerful spent time sitting quietly in their room. ”
statement about this practice: “ Mindfulness At first this “ going inside ” could be for a
of the body leads to nirvana. ” This is not a day, a weekend, or for ten days. At our
superficial practice. Mindfulness of body meditation center we offer a three-month
keeps us present .. and therefore, we know retreat every year; and at the new Forest
what’s going on. The practice is difficult to
Refuge, people have come for as long as a
remember, but not difficult to do. It’s all in
year. In the Tibetan tradition, there are three-
the training: sitting regularly and being
year retreats.
mindful of the body during the day.
We can do whatever feels appropriate
To develop deeper concentration and
and possible to find some balanced rhythm
mindfulness, to be more present in our
between our lives in the world and the inner
bodies, and to have a skillful relationship
silence of a retreat. In this way we develop
with thoughts and emotions, we need not
concentration and mindfulness on deeper
only daily training, but also time for retreat.
and deeper levels, which then makes it
It’s very helpful, at times, to disengage from
possible to be in the world in a more loving
the busyness of our lives, for intensive
and compassionate way.
spiritual practice.
material excerpted from the book " A Heart Full of Peace " by Goldstein (Wisdom Publications)
Several years ago, while surveying the number of people from the Christian
participants at a Buddhist Meditation Contemplative Movement in attendance.
Retreat I was teaching in Victoria, British
This was new for me, and I found the
Columbia, I became aware of something that
presence of this group .. and the suggestion
struck me as unusual.
of an intersection between belief and direct
In addition to what I playfully refer to experience .. both intriguing and
as “ the usual Buddhist suspects ” who regularly exhilarating, if a bit puzzling at first.
attend my retreats .. largely middle-class, Over the course of the retreat I came to
educated, big-hearted folks, most of whom understand that these folks, deeply and
had been raised as Christian, Muslim, or Jew traditionally Christian in their faith and
but had left the fold of the religion of their outlook, were .. much like their Buddhist
birth to probe the interior space of their brothers and sisters .. exploring breath as
bodies and minds through Buddhist their primary vehicle for coming closer to a
Meditational Practices .. there were also a direct experience of what they used the word
slowly, but radically, alter consciousness we take so for granted and whose presence
over time in a way that leaves me feeling so we’re so rarely ever aware of?
refreshed as to feel reborn.
Becoming aware of the breath is to begin
We’re like caged animals who’ve been the journey back to becoming aware of the
kept captive for so long that they’ve forgotten presence of God.
material excerpted from the book “ Breathing as Spiritual Practice ” by Will Johnosn
.. published by Inner Traditions .. grateful acknowledgments .. edit-team
however, more spiritually essential for the BREATH. Keep only to natural, normal, soft
For over a decade Jason has been teaching the philosophy of the East and their
meditative practices, expounding the benefits of their importance in the modern world
and, as a result, how they will transform our lives to live more optimally and peacefully.
Jason travels worldwide lecturing about the East, its science of mind, and the methods
and practices that define the East, and how its philosophy is a cure not only for the
individual’s mind but also for the cultural, social, and religious problems in the world
today. A few excerpts from his book “ Fasting the Mind ”.
edit-team
The epidemic of our times is not a war truth is that you have waged war upon
on terror or a war among nations and yourself.
religions, nor is it any conflict between
We are not even conscious of this fact
opposites that we can conceive of.
because we are asleep at the wheel of our
It is a war so subtle that we are not even own life. We often play the victim card, as if
conscious of the battle being waged. It is a the world is against us. In truth this mentality
psychological war: a war against our mind, eclipses the real problem, which is that you
a war on consciousness. But this war is not are against yourself .. not intentionally, but
being waged upon us from the outside world rather due to your inability to be your true
.. at least not entirely so. The deep-down and authentic self.
thoughts, feelings, and emotions are not The real intention behind Gurdjieff’s words
really the problem because they are what is to liberate you from the impermanence of
color the world, making it beautiful or life and the illusion of this permanent ego,
dramatic, bringing inspiration into the world which you believe you are and which
when they are recognized in their truest supposedly suffers from the impermanent
context. roller coaster of life.
So the real problem exists when we People believe they are this “ I, ” “ me, ”
begin to identify with our thoughts, feelings, “ mine, ” and so on. As a result we become
and emotions as if they are permanent and excessively self-interested. We try to sustain
something that we can hold on to. We suffer and maintain this permanent sense of “ I, ”
as a result of this process. This suffering was which in truth changes like the wind from
one of the key aspects of human life that moment to moment, with no permanent
Gautama the Buddha realized. state.
Mind-fasting has a direct impact on the
root cause of all our suffering.
In ancient times, and some what still in
the modren era, when a physician would Fasting the mind is the process of
examine a sick individual and realize that eliminating all the content that stimulates
their lifestyle chocies were leading to bad our mind and refraining from the habit of
eating habits centered around momentary trying to stimulate it out of fear of boredom.
pleasures, they would offer the radical
The sage’s secret is that if we can starve
prescription of physically fasting the body
the mind .. fast the mind .. then we will begin to
so that all of the internal organs could finally
feel a state of equanimity that is not
be given the time to rest and repair from the
dependent on excessive stimulation. By
damage done by such excess.
dealing with our boredom through fasting
Fasting the body helps it repair itself, the mind we begin to feel that sense of unity
and we begin to correct our bad eating habits. within .. the Atman and Purusha .. which the
As a result we cultivate new, healthy habits agitation of boredom eclipses. Fasting the
that contribute to well-being and longevity. mind means we don’t respond to any
And so we change a part of our lifestyle, but sensations like boredom.
only a part.
The great sages of the East realized that. Fasting the mind is the ultimate cure to
They understood that fasting the body is suffering because, as with fasting the body,
great and can have a wonderful effect on our we have given the mind time to truly relax
mind and life. But bodily fasting in no way from any sort of stimulation so it can repair
ceases the mind’s excessive need to do, to itself and come back into equilibrium. In
achieve, to strive, and to be a person who is fasting the mind we come back to our
material excerpted from the book “ Fasting the Mind ” by Jason Gregory
.. published by Inner Traditions .. grateful acknowledgments .. edit-team
Base – Hips, kidneys, adrenal glands, The centers and their power lines form
spinal column an invisible network of energies that flow
Although these seven centers are at throughout your physical body in a complex
various phases of development, all seven are and intricate distribution system. Inergy
material excerpted from the book “ Endless Energy: The Essential Guide to Energy Health ” by
Debra Greene .. published by MetaComm Media .. grateful acknowledgments .. edit-team
“ Understanding
the Power of Meditation ”
Tibetan monks meditate for hours upon better able to control a computer cursor with
hours each week. their mind than those without it. Since
Tibetan monks spend years of their lives
Their devotion to their religious
engaged in the practice of meditation, He was
traditions makes them experts in the practice
curious to see if there might be any
of meditation. Turns out those experts have
significant differences in brain activation that
a lot to teach us about how sustained
might offer a hint into how meditation leads
mindfulness affects the brain.
to so many beneficial effects.
Meditation and Mindfulness induce a
“We went to Tibet and measured activity
heightened state of awareness and focused
in the brains of monks who had, on average,
attention. Various studies demonstrate the
practice can help relieve stress, as well as 15 years of meditation experience .. between
manage anxiety, reduce inflammation, and 5 and 35 years,” He said. “We then compared
improve memory and attention to boot. Such those results to native Tibetans who had
striking results have many doctors, across never meditated before.”
specialties, prescribing meditation just as Using Electro Encephalo Graphy (EEG),
they would an anti-depressant or blood a series of electrodes placed on the scalp to
pressure medication. But it remains unclear measure brain activity, He and his colleagues
just how meditation confers so many health found that long-term, active meditative
benefits. practice decreases activity in the default
That’s why Bin He, a neuroengineer at network. This is the brain network associated
Carnegie Mellon University, decided to look with the brain at rest .. just letting your mind
at the brains of Tibetan monks. In a previous wander with no particular goal in mind .. and
study, He and colleagues saw that includes brain areas like the
individuals with meditation experience were medial Prefrontal Cortex and the
The lesson is plain: when we harden The unremitting conflict and oppression
ourselves to the suffering we inflict on of history are inevitable by-products of
animals in our own interest, and justify it by confining and killing animals for food, as is
proclaiming our superiority or specialness, the male role model of macho toughness that
feminine, have so far almost completely If we look around us, he says, to the
failed to see the connection between the core cosmos, to our Earth, and to nature and
ritual of our herding culture .. eating animals animals, we find an infinity of action
.. and our destructive values and institutions. unfolding continually, with every part
Whether we’re of the right, left, or in playing its assigned and vital role. Every
between, we all agree to ignore this basic part, every cell, plant, animal, planet, and
causal root of our problems. For example, in star, has a function to fulfill in the larger
his book “ The Reinvention of Work ”, unfolding, and this is its work.
progressive theologian and priest Matthew Fox argues that to do this work is to
Fox probes deeply into the values and beliefs participate in the becoming of the infinite
that underlie our experience of work and our universe, and that this is thus both sacred and
attitudes toward it. Drawing upon a wide ecstatic. “ [A]ll of creation, ” he writes,
range of scriptures including the Bible, the “ exists because of the ‘ sheer joy ’ of God.
Bhagavad-Gita, and the Tao Te Ching, as well The work of creation was a work of joy whose
disconnection from nature and spirituality killing animals for food to protecting and
caring for life, we will never “ reinvent ” work
caused by the scientific and industrial
in our culture.
revolutions and urges us to become more
creative, more loving, and more joyful in our We will only make technological
work, to care more for the Earth and each progress that gives us the means to exploit
to honor this responsibility to our brothers The fall from grace, innocence, freedom,
and sisters. and mercy began when we ate of the fruit of
Because of the fundamentally violent the illusion of dualistic separatism and
nature of its defining work .. herding and stopped showing mercy to those at our
killing animals .. our culture has a basic mercy. The fall came when we began
distaste for work itself. We all hear that commodifying animals. We can resurrect
our work from defiling slavery to joyous
working less is better than working more,
participation.
and not working at all is best of all.
The path simply requires that we give
the same opportunities to the animals who
The story we all learned in Genesis, of
are at our mercy: release them from slavery
being cast out of the garden, is significant,
and grant them freedom to once again fully
for it was then that God punished us with
participate in the unfolding of their unique
enforced hard labor while we live on this
purpose and consciousness. What we would
Earth.
wish for ourselves we must first give to
This metaphor, part of the herding others: this is, it seems, an everlasting
mythos, is revealing, for it depicts work as a spiritual principle.
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