PRACTICE/SADHANA

I just began reading the Fall, 2011 issue of my Integral Yoga Magazine.  On the inside of the front cover was this wisdom from Sri Swami Satchidananda, (who took Mahasamadhi, the soul's conscious final exit from the body, in August, 2004), on spiritual practice.  He said it so much better than I, but I thought it fit with my last blog post.

Spiritual practice is not what you are doing, but what you are thinking.  Remember that.  If you could understand the meaning of sadhana you would know how to do it.  You don't have to change your activities and say, "this is sadhana but this is not."  Everything becomes a spiritual practice.  We should transform all our activities into this kind of sadhana.  That means:  "I am doing everything as a meditation, as an offering, as a prayer to serve God through this service to humanity."  


And later on page 7, "...enjoy the practices....However hard, difficult or painful something is, you can still enjoy it.  Think of people who climb Mt. Everest...they invest a lot of time, energy and effort.  They risk their lives, yet they enjoy the challenge...."


So there it is.  Enjoy and maybe be inspired.

PRACTICE

I've been thinking a lot about "practice" the last few days.    

Practice--I do something over and over (like yoga, like singing when I was younger) to get better at it.

Practice--I have a specific set of things I do daily, or nearly daily, that enhances my life.

Practice--I have a psychology and sandplay therapy practice--it's my work.

The first two definitions are what this blog is about today.  Practicing means making a commitment and then showing up and, well, doing it--practicing.  I can trust myself to discipline myself to show up and do my yoga routine, to meditate.  This is even when I don't want to--I'm tired, busy, distracted, lazy--oh there are a zillion excuses aren't there?

If I faithfully show up, I develop a Practice in my life.  This practice feeds my body and nourishes my soul.  I feel calmer and more trusting of the universe in my life.  It's there when much else is falling away.  It can count on me and I can count on it.

So, practice!  

Belief and Struggle

I have been dealing with body stuff lately--pain and tests.  Nothing serious, but difficult for me.  I focus on it.

How do I go to that place of being in this precise moment and going deep within my body, where I could/might merge with Consciousness/Being?

I believe and I struggle.