In order to transform and improve our outer-life must begin with the healing and transformation of our inner-life. The spiritual life lies within, not on the outside. Those who achieve personal growth make a vow to their Soul to persistently work on themselves on the inside, and to apply spiritual principles and the laws of nature to themselves.
In order to transform others, we must first transform ourselves. To love others, we must first love ourselves. To be able to serve others, we must absolutely and always serve our own Soul (Higher Self).
The spiritual warrior is constantly studying his or her own mind, thoughts, and actions in order to dive deeper and understand the Self (soul). To accomplish anything, we must first develop our character, courage, a healthy mind & nervous system.
Study yourself everyday by observing your mind and emotions. Like I mentioned before, always nourish your mind and feed it uplifting thoughts. What you put into your mind is what you experience in daily life.
Releasing Our Resistance to Change
The God Force is subatomic energy that is fluid and constantly reshaping itself into millions of different forms. All of nature is constantly changing and evolving every second. Us humans who are God’s creation must also change and evolve everyday in order to be in harmony with the laws of nature. When we resist change, we are sabotage the process of self-transformation. When we resist the changes that this moment brings, we experience stress. Be fluid like water; embrace the moment, and by doing so, you will find the most appropriate path for your next step.
Those parts of us that resist change are the mind and ego. Ego and mind cling to the familiar and strongly resist stepping into the unknown. Since the spiritual world and your inner-life are a mystery, they are a world unknown to your mind and ego.
Through meditation, spiritual study, and other spiritual practices, we train the mind and ego to feel more comfortable with stepping into the unknown.
Fear
Fear is the source of all personal resistance; fear stops us from following our dreams. Think about all the ways that you have wanted to grow and how you sabotaged that transformation process. In your final analysis, you discover that the force blocking all personal change and growth is fear.
Fear is not something real; we manufacture fear in our minds; fear is a product of the mind. The instant fear comes up in your mind, brush it away by thinking the opposite, positive & constructive thought. This practice will take energy away from fearful impulses and will not allow fears to multiply and drain your Life Force. When fear attacks, take a few moments and breathe deeply, taking full breaths into your stomach. This type of breathing will immediately affect your physiology by changing your blood-chemistry from acid blood to base. Deep breathing, with deep concentration on the inhalation and exhalation, will also empty your mind of fearful and distracting thoughts. Let each exhalation be a wave that washes away all thoughts. Allow each exhalation to wash away your fearful thoughts right out of your nostrils.
Another very powerful practice is to do all the things that you fear most. When you put yourself in a fearful situation and you are willing to directly face your fears, you will witness your fears vanishing like a mirage in the desert. Know that all our fears will vanish the instant we face them and look them straight in the eyes while maintaining our awareness of the present moment.
Know Your Self
Spiritual growth requires that we go deeper and deeper in order to know our self. Meditate daily; observe your thoughts and emotions from a higher elevation, without being entangled with passing thoughts and emotions. When you witness passing thoughts and emotions, you are detached but you feel your emotions at the same time. Each time you meditate dive deeper into emptiness. Make it the intention of your spiritual practice to know your self spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically.
Knowing the self is not an intellectual effort, you do not have to strain your mind- just the opposite, ride the motion of your breath or a mantra during meditation and let the busy mind vanish into nothingness. In that vast, empty space, you will meet your most authentic Self.
Study Your Thoughts, Emotions, and Physical Sensations
Emotional intelligence means knowing what you are thinking, the emotions you are feeling, and your physical sensations at any given moment. Through this constant practice, you will come to know yourself intimately. You will know what feels right and when you are on the wrong path.
Know Your Self and Your Priorities
Once you get to know yourself, you will understand your life-purpose. Your life-purpose is your mission to God and also your passion. You were born for that purpose during in this life-time. Your life-purpose is your promise to your inner-God, how to serve your inner-God and society through your most natural, god-given talents.
When you understand your reason for being in this life, you will know what your most important life-priorities are. When you understand what your life is all about, you will wake up each morning with energy, joy, and direction.
Time Management
Having understood your highest life-priorities, follow the important spiritual practice of throwing away all useless distractions that take you away from your life-priorities. Time is invaluable; we only have so much of it in each lifetime, and once lost, we can never retrieve lost time. Develop personal discipline to minimize distractions. Learn to say “no” to any activity that distracts you from your main mission. Work steadily everyday to fulfill your life-purpose. Whatever your life-passion may be, serve other people as you follow your own destiny.
Defining Your Goals
Your destiny has to do with the overall direction and purpose of your life. To carry out your mission, you need to translate your broader vision into smaller, more detailed goals and steps. These goals represent steps that you will need to take that will deliver you to your final destination.
Take a few minutes each month to write down your goals. When you set goals for yourself, you will be sending a message to your mind that it should organize all necessary resources to achieve your goals. Goal-setting automatically triggers your mind and the Life-Force to mobilize all resources in the necessary direction.
When you set personal goals, be sure to attach a deadline to each goal. Defining a timeframe for each goal energizes that goal and commits the mind and spirit to achieving that goal within the specified timeframe.
You can define goals for all areas of your life: spiritual, financial, emotional, and physical. For example, you can set a spiritual goal to get up earlier in the morning, do your Yoga exercises, eat fresh fruit and vegetables, meditate, study spiritual literature and develop a clear mind plus a calm nervous system.
The minute you set your goals and commit to their achievement, all natural forces within and outside of you will unite to support you in your cause. Your life will be transformed the instant you truly commit to a goal. Remember this spiritual law: whatever you put your attention on, will grow. Goal-setting is a means of focusing your personal attention on something.
Creative Visualization
The human mind understands images much better than verbal orders. When you come to know who you are, and once you set your goals, spend 5 minutes each evening, visualizing the outcome of your life, exactly the way your heart wants it. Visualize the life that fulfills you. During your visualization exercise, go into full detail; imagine everything, every step leading to the life your truly want. Visualize the greatest that you can be; even visualize your own joy at living the life you wish to live.
Creative visualization gives us a clear vision of the outcome of our life’s work. Visualization programs our subconscious mind to believe what we are visualizing. The subconscious mind does not differentiate between your present reality and the one that you are visualizing for your future. Once your mind truly believes in the possibility of an alternative reality, the mind acts like a powerful magnet to attract exactly those circumstances that correspond to your new beliefs.
Daily Reading as a Spiritual Practice
Expanding our knowledge is an important part of daily spiritual practice. Take some time during your day, or right before sleeping, to read.
Reading this material just before you sleep is especially beneficial because whatever enters your mind right before deep sleep, will program and train your subconscious mind. When you wake up the next morning, that inspiring information will have deeply penetrated your mind during the restful hours of the night.
Choose reading material that is uplifting to your spirit and mind. Be very selective about what you read. Classic scriptures, spiritual books, and autobiographies of inspiring people will give you powerful energy.
When you read this material, do not skim over or skip pages. Read slowly and absorb the information in your heart. Contemplate the truth of what you are reading; does the material ring true in your heart?
Do not just read books; studying inspiring books without applying their truth to your life, makes spiritual reading just another burdensome chore.
Daily Contemplation
Late in the evening, before you sleep, take some time to contemplate that day’s thoughts, emotions, actions, and activities that you were engaged in.
Which ones made you a better person? Which of them contributed to you being the greatest person you can be? Which of these belittled your Soul? I believe that God is very happy with us when we love ourselves deeply. If you believe that God was holding your hand during this entire day, what part of your day would make God smile?
At the end of your silent contemplation period, make a vow to your Self that you will only give energy to those elements that deepen your Self-love (not egotistical selfishness), and enhance your personal growth.
Applying the Rule of 21 Days
Research shows that it takes the human mind 21 days of practice to adopt something new as a routine habit. If you stay focused on your personal goals and any positive, new habit for 21 days, that new habit will become part of your natural qualities.
