Note: For the complete lessons, with additions, see the AYP Easy Lessons for Ecstatic Living Books.

Lesson 214 - Q&A – Finding your spiritual “hook”

From: Yogani
Date: Sun Jul 4, 2004 0:31pm

New Members: It is recommended you read from the beginning of the web archive, as previous lessons are prerequisite to this one. The first lesson is, "Why This Discussion?"


Q: I have a question... It has to do with a general sense I have of feeling unguided and needing of a guru or teacher for my meditation, but unable to find anything that sparks a sense that I have found that... there are many teachers, but no 'hook,' no staying power. There are many out there willing to tell me that they will be my guru, or master... and I have even been told that I cannot know if someone is my guru, that I just have to obey. But somehow this feels wrong. Meanwhile, my practice is erratic... because I don't really trust myself to know what would be my best routine. I've been practicing yoga for over 20 years...


A: I think relying on an outer "hook" is unreliable. Even the best physical gurus have a few failings, and that is okay. No one is perfect. But they are expected to be perfect, and that is a guarantee of failure. Spiritually speaking, the real shortcoming is always in the practitioner who is looking outside for primary inspiration, where the only place it can truly be found is inside.

So the approach in the lessons is for everyone to find their own inner inspiration through solid daily practices, and the resulting experiences that do not deceive us. Inner silence is inner silence. Ecstatic conductivity is just that. Purification and opening of our nervous system is an objective phenomenon, at least from our inner view. The cause and effect of practice and experience belongs to the practitioner. There is no mistake about that. Personal spiritual experience is the best hook. Spiritual practices, done daily, can cultivate it in the yogi/yogini with a high degree of reliability.

The practices in the lessons are not unique, but their integration, combined power, and relative safety are rare. Few have dared to cross the rigid traditional lines and integrate these esoteric methods into a workable system before. It has been done here, and the results have been very good. So the practices are offered openly for wise seekers to explore for themselves. It is an inter-traditional scientific investigation that has been done, and everyone can carry the work forward in their own self-paced application of the methods. Such an approach has been much needed. However, it is not for everyone. If someone needs a lot of hand-holding, ritual, etc., then a physical guru may be necessary. That is not me. I am happy to help with questions on practice, but I am not here to be anyone’s physical guru. I am making some good tools available. Everyone has to take up their own journey, using the best tools they can find. Even with a physical guru this is the case, though few emotionally dependent disciples like to hear that.

I view yoga as neuro-biological science. No mumbo jumbo. Just cause and effect. That is what we'd like to have in our yoga -- good methods that work that we can be confident using year in and year out. Then we know we will find more and more ecstatic bliss and divine love welling up within us over time, and the world will be changed for the better by our unfoldment. What else matters?

Good yoga operates like clockwork. We can see steadily expanding results over time.

So, try the lessons and see for yourself. Start at the beginning. 20 years is a long time on the path. Even so, everyone should start at the beginning, because correct deep meditation is the key to everything in yoga -- at least in this kind of yoga it is. Inner silence is the foundation of all spiritual progress, and that is what deep meditation is about. Then we add very effective spinal breathing pranayama. These two are the core practices, and everything else builds on these. So, starting at the beginning is very important. The lessons can be used as a stand-alone teaching, or to supplement any other path as "food for thought."

No allegiance is necessary here. It is your journey. You are in charge. In time you will come in tune with the primordial guru inside, your inner pure bliss consciousness, and then you will have the real hook. Your bhakti will fly high, and knowledge will come to you from all directions. Then you will know what this game is about. It is not about anything but your own inner purification, opening, and divine union. This is the approach throughout the lessons. Here there are no promises of deliverance by someone outside you. Just practical information on practices, and how to apply them within yourself for the best results.

I wish you all success on your chosen path. Enjoy!

The guru is in you.

Note: For detailed instructions on deep meditation, see the AYP Deep Meditation book.

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