AYP Lesson 311 - Inner Silence, Eating Habits and Mind-Body-Spirit Connection

Advanced Yoga Practices
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Lesson 311 - Inner Silence, Eating Habits and Mind-Body-Spirit Connection (Audio)

From: Yogani
Date: Feb 26, 2009

New Visitors: 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?"

There can be no doubt that the eating habits we form and live with will influence our health and our progress in spiritual practices. If we are engaged in deep meditation, we will have inner silence rising from within, and this will aid us greatly in making adjustments in our habits in what we eat, and when and how we eat it. We may find ourselves eating lighter more nutritious foods, taking our time doing it, and chewing our food much better. In fact, it can be said that the rise of inner silence is a primary influence in lifting all of our habits up to support increasing levels of health and happiness in all avenues of life.

As we are growing inside, we will find ourselves much more able to act on information and methods we encounter on the outside. What is true will ring true more readily as we grow from within, and we will find the strength to reprogram any unhealthy ingrained habits to operate on a higher level. This is the primary dynamic involved in improving our life in all areas.

With inner silence comes a greater faith in our ability to change, to grow, and to expand in joy and love. As we become more aware, we can overcome our old habits and cultivate new ones that enable us to forge ahead in life. It has been said that those who have the desire to change can. The rise of inner silence elevates our desires and our ability to act on them in the direction of permanent positive change.

Of course, raw willpower can be used to accomplish things also. But willpower alone will eventually tire if it is not rooted in our steady stillness, and in our connection within ourselves to something greater than the limits of time and space. The source of steadfast willpower is inner silence. Habit is what determines our actions in life, and rising inner silence is what gives us the ability to lift our habits to a higher plane.

We know from modern physics that the world as we see it is made up of miniscule bits of energy polarity interacting with each other in vast empty space to form the appearance of substance and sequence of events we are familiar with in everyday living. Likewise, the scriptures of the world, in one terminology or another, point to omnipresent unmanifest spirit permeating and upholding all that is manifest.

There is really nothing here at all but energy moving in empty space. And yet, here we are going about the daily business of our lives. It is a mystery.

While many have borne witness over the centuries to the profound benefits of realizing our spiritual nature, many of us remain somewhat unconvinced, even as our vast religious institutions stand as constant reminders (albeit, distorted at times) of what sages and prophets have lived and shared throughout history. Today, the evidence is mounting through the direct experiences of a fast-growing number of spiritual practitioners everywhere around the world.

The message is simple. We are eternal spirit, manifesting through body and mind. In our hearts we know this is true, for it is in the heart where we are joined in Oneness, and can directly experience that we are constantly connected in body, mind and spirit.

Within the human body, there are numerous processes at work that will naturally support our evolution toward full realization, if we but encourage them to do so. This is the essence of yoga, the application of a range of methods leading to full expression of spirit through us. In these lessons we have called it the emergence of stillness in action, or the rise of outpouring of divine love. This is our destiny as we travel along the evolutionary pathway of life.

The food we eat has a direct relationship to our evolution. While it is not the primary means for spiritual transformation, food plays an important supporting role, especially as we become more advanced on our path. We cannot force our evolution by changing our diet, but we can enhance our progress by heeding the inner call.

As we rise in our sensitivity through daily deep meditation, we will hear the call and adjust our habits in ways that can dramatically enhance our realization of the mind/body/spirit connection. In time, we will come to know that this connection encompasses everyone and everything. Through direct experience, we come to know ourselves as that Oneness, and we conduct ourselves accordingly in our daily affairs, serving the greater good as we serve our own.

The guru is in you.