GET A LIFE NOW: Seek and Ye Shall Find

6/20/2014

Seek and Ye Shall Find

Photo: The Body and Self-Recollectedness

The body—the very thing that, knowingly or unknowingly, is an inner hindrance to the human being, and partly the cause of his spiritual fall, ever distracting his attention from where it should be centered—can become the precise means for him to be aware of himself in a new way, and help him in his efforts to rise to the higher realms of his being.

The aspirant can be greatly helped to remain more “present” to himself in outside life by patiently cultivating the habit of using his physical movements and his various postures as a means of reaching a higher state of awareness. Instead of the body unconsciously dragging him down with its never-ending wants and clamors, as it usually does, it can be used as an instrument for a sincere seeker to become conscious of himself in a vastly different manner from his habitual state. This particular kind of self-awareness demands of him a special effort, which, if repeated intelligently with the right inner attitude and approach—that is to say, without forcing—will gradually raise him to the higher levels of his being, eventually leading to spiritual awakening. Even the many physical discomforts, fatigues, and pains themselves can be used as sudden reminders for him to turn his attention inwardly to his cherished ideal and awaken him from this strange state of self-forgetfulness each time it engulfs him.
The Law of attention chap 3

Photo: Abandonment of self
It can be that at the beginning of his mysterious spiritual adventure, the seeker does not realize that the inner act of “abandonment of self,” which little by little must become a way for him of being permanent and natural, constitutes in reality training and important preparation for the hour of his death, the hour of dissolution of his bodily form—a phenomenon which no living creature (which for some commonly elusive reason, has assumed a visible body), no celestial star and not even the Universe can escape.
Knowing how to abandon oneself within will be of incalculable assistance for the aspirant when the moment of his physical death arrives and he will be carried away by an invisible force confronted by which he will be totally powerless. At that fateful instant, it will be so valuable for him already to be familiarized with this subtle inner approach of “abandonment of self.”
In fact, all his spiritual work must be a preparation for this implacable hour, this crucial instant when he will be introduced to something whose immensity he cannot usually conceive—unless over the course of his meditation, he has already had a glimpse of this enigmatic state into which he shall be reabsorbed after his death; from then on, he will be more confident and able to abandon himself within without fear when this moment arrives for him.
translated from French "Pratique spirituelle et Eveil intérieur" (Spiritual practice and inner Awakening) chap 9

Photo: Meditation
One commonly hears it said that all one has to do is observe what is going on in the mind to be freed from it. However, if the seeker tries to follow the working of his rebellious mind from its customary state of consciousness (which, without his usually realizing it is a state of passive consciousness), then, before he realizes what has happened to him, he will find himself taken hostage and enshackled by these very thoughts which are tormenting him. .../
The seeker must succeed in making the crucial effort to stay concentrated, not under duress (as one risks doing at the beginning), but out of a true desire to do it; in other words, he must reach a point where the effort of holding his concentration becomes a real pleasure—as is the case with some rare great painters and composers of music. He must realize that, in this field, any results obtained under duress can only eventually be unsatisfactory or even frustrating, and can, in certain cases, upset him to the point of his perhaps not wanting to meditate anymore.
If, during his meditation sessions, the aspirant succeeds in his concentration becoming truly sustained and unfluctuating for a sufficiently long period, he will then feel overcome by a strange and subtle joy which will flood his being and dazzle him; a joy which is not of this world accompanied by a tranquil bliss, which will help and assist him in all his future efforts to remain concentrated, whatever the spiritual practice to which he is devoting himself.
translated from "Dans le silence de l'Insondable" (In the silence of the Unfathomable" chap 5

Photo: To avoid losing heart, the seeker must know that, contrary to what he might imagine, real practice of meditation is not at all easy to carry out to start with; it demands the most sustained effort of which he is capable, and which he must pursue with tireless determination to attain a quite different state of consciousness in him one day, a completely different state of consciousness which ordinarily he lacks.

He must realize that what is required of him, and which proves to be so different from that which he is commonly used to doing, is to plunge into himself, into an invisible world which was unknown to him up to that time, in search of the Source from which he originally sprang and into which he will be re-immersed at the end of his earthly existence—which, from the start, is bound to be temporary. He must understand that acknowledgement this enigmatic aspect of his nature depends on his capacity to accept letting go of everything—ambitions, imaginings, daydreaming, etc.—when he carries out this descent into his being. �
Translated from French from the book "S'éveiller, une question de vie ou de mort" (To awaken, a matter of life and death) chap 3

The seeker should never despair because of the difficulties he may encounter at the beginning of his meditation and other spiritual practices. Even though it may at times seem to him that he is not advancing at all, he must not at any moment give up his struggles or relax his efforts. He should realize that in this area more than in any other, no effort is ever made in vain if it is done with deep sincerity and respect for what he is seeking. While striving to meditate, he will all the time, without his necessarily being aware of the fact, be accumulating in him a reserve of certain subtle energies, and he cannot know when he is on the point of going beyond a certain threshold in himself and making the supreme discovery for which he has so ardently been waiting. But by quickly losing heart and not persevering in his endeavors, he may be letting go of a precious opportunity just at the very moment when he was about to attain that which is of paramount importance to him.
The Law of Attention - chapter 48