By AiR – Atman in Ravi: Happiness Ambassador, Author, Spiritual Mentor and Philanthropist
There are several practices that can heal us physically and emotionally. The simplest spiritual practice is meditation, which is about stilling the mind. When we still the mind, we kill the mind. The mind creates fear, worry, stress, anxiety, regret, shame and guilt. Of course, if we meditate and reach the state of Consciousness, we can be free from these seven miseries of life.
In the state of Consciousness, we realize, ‘I am not the body-mind-ego, I am the Divine Soul.’ This is our ultimate goal. We realize that I am not I. We realize that the ego is a lie. Then we overcome the seven monsters of anger, hate, revenge, jealousy, greed, pride and selfishness.
Another spiritual practice that can contribute to our physical and emotional healing is Yoga. Yoga means being in union with the Divine, ever-connected with God through Dhyana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Gyana Yoga or Bhakti Yoga. When we are in Yoga, we are in peace and bliss because we are disengaged from the world of Bhoga.
Isn’t all this magical? Imagine the impact on your physical and emotional health when you overcome the fourteen most miserable emotions in life! These emotions release negative, toxic, chemicals, hormones that affect us both physically and emotionally. Sometimes, we go to a doctor and the doctor tells us that we are sick, not because of what we eat but because of what is eating us. What is eating us is the mind, a mind that we cannot find and toxic thoughts that kill us, that drill us. But when we are engaged in spiritual practices, like meditation, Yoga, in that state, there is no mind, there is no ego. It is the Mind and Ego, ME that creates agony and misery and stops us from being free and happy.
When we look in a mirror, we think we are the one who we see, but in reality, we are the Divine Soul, the Spark Of Unique Life. When we realize this, it is spiritual awakening. Spiritual practices lead to spiritual awakening, which makes us realize that we are manifestations of the Divine. Itmay seem that we are human beings having a spiritual experience, but actually, we arethe Divine Spirit having a human experience.
The most significant spiritual practice is going on a quest with the help and guidance of a Guru, an enlightened master, an awakened Soul. When we take the help of a Guru and we are on the path of awakening, it frees us from the triple suffering of the body, mind and ego. It impacts our well-being, both physical and emotional.
Spiritual practices imply that we don’t sink in the material world. We don’t let the mind ride our horse, we don’t let it become our boss. When our mind rides our life horse, it becomes our boss, then we are at a great loss. But when we put our Consciousness in charge of our life, in that state of Consciousness, there is no mind. We still the mind, we kill the mind and we are in a state where the intellect is activated. When the intellect discriminates, our emotional well-being is taken care of. But we must take care of our thoughts because thoughts create feelings, feelings create actions, actions create habits and habits create life.
Therefore, the most important aspect of life, both physical and emotional, is thought and in thought we should not be caught. To be free from thought, we need that spiritual awakening, that spiritual realization that I am not the body-mind-ego, I’m the Divine Soul.
While spiritual practices may appear spiritual, they are the most practical of all practices. They liberate us from all misery on earth. They also liberate us from the cycle of rebirth. But most importantly, they make us realize that we are God, we are a manifestation of SIP, the Supreme Immortal Power and this gives us an ecstasy of joy. Our life no more enjoys pleasure that comes and goes. We live in eternal bliss that forever flows.
