|
|
 |
|
| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
beetsmyth
USA
104 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 30 2012 : 6:29:09 PM
|
Just wondering what everyone here does for a living that allows you as much time as possible for deep practices?
I've had several over the last decade from recording engineer, welder, store manager, etc. I've found that if I can save money, then that allows me time to take off in between jobs for long periods of practice, retreats, spiritual travels.
Just wondering what everyone else here in the AYP community does for a living that allows you sufficient time for practice, or what the best job would be to allow for the most amount of time for practice, short of actually moving to a monastery.
Thanks guys,
I Love you all!!!
|
|
|
AYPforum
351 Posts |
Posted - Nov 30 2012 : 10:44:18 PM
|
| Moderator note: Topic moved for better placement |
 |
|
|
Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Nov 30 2012 : 11:34:56 PM
|
I just work a normal 8 hour day and do a short practice in the morning and one in the evening, and sometimes forget. It is very effective for me to balance long days of normal activity with short practices. Before AYP I followed a system that encouraged meditating as many hours as possible, and it wasn't nearly as effective for me. I couldn't survive a monastery. I believe anything you don't like about the "real" world would be amplified in a secluded life.  |
|
|
|
beetsmyth
USA
104 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2012 : 02:13:42 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Etherfish
I just work a normal 8 hour day and do a short practice in the morning and one in the evening, and sometimes forget. It is very effective for me to balance long days of normal activity with short practices. Before AYP I followed a system that encouraged meditating as many hours as possible, and it wasn't nearly as effective for me. I couldn't survive a monastery. I believe anything you don't like about the "real" world would be amplified in a secluded life.
Really? There are many things I didn't like in the "real" world and spent a year as a Hermit in a non-secular loose knit hermitage. It was AWESOME!!!!! It was home, it was all day in practice, getting real deep on the inner life and insights, breakthroughs, etc....
...however life calls, family members need help, elders need someone to feed them, grandma to the grocery store, sick need medicine ....
There is more balance now for me, but solitude, silence and going within is Home |
|
|
|
maheswari
Lebanon
2516 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2012 : 02:38:09 AM
|
quote:
There are many things I didn't like in the "real" world
those things also are part of the One...so better integrate them in unity |
|
|
|
k123
118 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2012 : 1:53:35 PM
|
I work every day and like Ether practise before and after work, although as an over sensitive meditator, sometimes I don't manage twice a day.
I find the work environment throws up plenty of opportunities to see my reactions and issues and so in many ways is perfect as practice in self enquiry 
|
|
|
|
maheswari
Lebanon
2516 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2012 : 4:35:16 PM
|
quote:
I find the work environment throws up plenty of opportunities to see my reactions and issues and so in many ways is perfect as practice in self enquiry
very true |
Edited by - maheswari on Dec 01 2012 4:35:35 PM |
|
|
|
Radharani
USA
843 Posts |
Posted - Jan 28 2013 : 10:03:19 PM
|
| Beetsmyth, all the best to you in finding something suitable! As for me, right now I am in the process of just trying to find a way to survive. My spiritual life is awesome but we're going to be homeless if we don't figure something out to generate more income. I have 4 "jobs" (= contracts; not employee positions), none of which is a reliable income, including teaching yoga. Obviously my favorite thing is teaching yoga; I almost feel guilty accepting $$ because it is so enjoyable and doesn't feel like "work"' it's like getting paid to pray. It's my vocation here on earth. Unfortunately I live in an impoverished town and hardly anyone can afford to pay for classes... If you even HAVE a choice in jobs and you are able to pay your bills and still have time for twice a day practice, then God bless you, you're a lucky person. But whatever we do, it all ends up becoming part of our path, obviously, as k123 pointed out. It's karma yoga one way or another, isn't it?! |
|
|
|
mikkiji
USA
219 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2013 : 2:48:49 PM
|
I was a special education teacher for 35 years. The work schedule gave me plenty of time to do a fairly long meditation practice every morning and every evening, I had summers off to go on longer retreats, and the pay was good and got better as the years went by. I had spent 2 years in ashram before beginning my career, and found the balance of my teaching career, home, family and spiritual practices afforded me a balance in my life which always caused me to be joyous. Teaching is, of course, not for everyone, but the best career choices for spiritual seekers will always be some field in which you do no damage to the environment, to people, to anything or anyone. Oh, and what you do in your job should be something you enjoy doing. I love kids, and loved guiding them and leading them toward knowledge. I could never sell things, but many do find great joy in helping others find the right house or car or suit of clothes. So, do what makes you happy as long as it does no harm!
Michael |
|
|
|
Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2013 : 8:45:48 PM
|
Of course you have to use your inner guru to decide what harms and what doesn't. Humans survive by killing plants, animals, and the environment.
Usually considered the most despicable people on earth are those who kill humans to save plants, animals, and the environment. . . . |
|
|
|
illkeepmysol
USA
25 Posts |
Posted - Apr 24 2013 : 11:35:59 AM
|
| well ether we have to sustain ourself.. I stay at an organic farm so really, as long as you give back, and seek god.. in every moment.. life is gonna be alright. |
|
|
|
bewell
1275 Posts |
Posted - Apr 25 2013 : 10:31:51 AM
|
Work and Yoga practice:
For four years I worked part time for my yoga teacher (Satyananda hatha yoga) who was an independent builder specializing in remodeling and new home construction. I did a lot of travel then: Africa, Spain, Mexico, Thailand (in a Buddhist monastery) about a month each, each time learning from the traditional cultures there, and doing yoga practices/ meditation daily.
I have worked in artisan bakeries for about three years, always less than full time, but sometimes not much less. I liked having my hands in dough. Also, in both jobs, I had bosses who had previously done some spiritual practices, one had lived in India at a Muktananda ashram.
Now, I find that I am really skillful at not spending much due to refraining from using some basic things like refrigeration and heat, due to having a simple diet, and due to living in an urban neighborhood with very low property values and thus low taxes.
I have a 'patron' a wealthy elderly woman who I visit weekly for spriritual conversation, and who 'pays/gives' me $65 per week. I pretty much am able to live on that.
Also I do occasional drywall jobs for a contractor who is a friend, and that has enabled me to go to a rather pricey local non-duality retreat this year.
I am married to a woman who respects my path, although she admits it is difficult to adjust to the changes as she did not know that the man she married would turn out like this. Recently I was telling her the scene in the book Secrets of Wilder where John 'ascends' -- disappears in a show of spiritual light, leaving behind his clothes and a cross pendant. She asked, 'what did his wife do when that happened.' I told her that his wife cried, because she lost her husband. Then my wife wept. She felt like she lost me too, years ago when I had my own ascension experience. She said I was never the same since.
She is more activist, compared to my more contemplative way of living. When I asked her to marry me in '83, she was on her way to India where she then spent six months traveling and learning about Gandhian organizing in rural development. She had an offer of marriage from an Indian activist, scholar, but she came back to the US to marry me. (Perhaps that would give you an idea of the sort of woman who can relate to a man like me). She lives in the low income neighborhood with me, and we each have our own houses. 'Two houses, one marriage' I tell neighbors. We used to live in a more middle class neighborhood, and we now rent out that house -- we rent to the middle class, live with the poor. |
|
|
|
Holy
796 Posts |
Posted - Apr 26 2013 : 9:30:48 PM
|
quote:
Best job to allow time for practice?
Himalayan yogi  |
|
|
|
mr_anderson
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2013 : 11:24:30 AM
|
Everyone has their own path.
During adolescence I was very unhappy, and just took to hedonism (drugs etc) as my only real purpose. After a total nervous breakdown at 18/19 years old, a few self-development books found their way to me.
The message was pretty simple: Think about how you'd really like your life to be, and plan out what actions you'll take to make that dream into reality. Focus on what you want, rather than what you don't want. Think positively and constructively instead of pulling things down. Become an objective observer of your own thoughts, emotions and beliefs and inquire into them.
I think perhaps due to my extremely vulnerable state, I was completely broken open, the message sank in very deep and made strong roots in me. It was the first time in my life I’d really heard a coherent message from anyone about how to find a productive, useful, positive and happy way to be.
The one word that resonates with me, as perhaps the central desire in my life is "Freedom". I’ve always hated bonds, restrictions, rules…
So along with the other types of freedom I sought (awakening, inner freedom from suffering, self-transformation and freedom from the person I used to be), a very grounded sort of Financial Freedom was always very important to me. It always struck me that most people’s primary expenditure is rent or mortgage payments, and both tie you into wage slavery – i.e. having to work whether you feel like it or not.
And it also appeared to me that the second enemy of freedom is having to trade your time for money. I always wanted to instead gain money to invest, into real estate, loans and so on – until my primary source of income would be passive income, that required no trading of my time, excepting perhaps a little administrative work now and then.
I must say, all of this came out of a very strong hatred of having to live my life by pre-set schedules. From when I was young as I can remember, I hated school, because I hated spending every day in the boring confines of a schedule which had been set for me, without my input. Then moving into adult work life seemed even worse, the schedule just becomes more unpleasant, and more demanding.
I know some people say “Find your passion” – but my passion is watching the rain on rainy days, perhaps even sitting out and letting it get me soaked through, lying on the grass in summer, reading books all day, swimming in the ocean… Just being. Unfortunately generally nobody will pay you and give you stuff to eat for “Just Being”. Many times I’ve desired to simply let everything go and be homeless or live in the woods, but I think the hardship that would accompany that would not be very pleasant.
Instead I worked very hard. I got into a ‘sales’ oriented career. And I found that non-attachment worked in my favor: instead of wanting to manipulate everyone into doing what would make me the maximum profit, I trusted the universe would produce the right outcome in every situation, whether or not it was the most profitable one for “me”: so whilst I had a burning desire for success which drove me to make a good effort, I was able to let go of fear-based attachments to needing certain things to happen. And this led to people trusting me – “this guy really doesn’t care if he sells me anything, he’s not trying to force an outcome on me”. It gives you self-respect, instead of being a “sales person”, you’re just someone who has helpful advice and services. The right people, who were more powerful and successful than me, seemed to vibe with me – because I just met them as equals and didn’t want anything from them, or feel that I had to pander to them. I was ready to tell them when I thought they were wrong about something. I didn’t go to college, but I found my way into a relatively high-powered career in “hedge fund consulting” – so the clients I’m selling my services to are financial corporations run often by billionaires or at least multi-multi-millionaires.
I’m a long way to achieving the freedom I wanted. I just bought a nice, but modest, apartment and I’ve got enough money to pay the mortgage off in one year. The deals I do pay out annuities for 5 years, so I could stop working now and still get paid well for the next 4 or 5 years, or continue working and build a more and more abundant pipeline. I work totally according to my own schedule, often doing only 3 or 4 full days of work in a week. I don’t have to deal or interact with anyone, client or colleague, who I don’t respect, like and trust.
That freedom gives me the space to think clearly, and a lot of time for living a quiet, contemplative life when I’m not working. And at the same time as having a quiet, peaceful, contemplative life, there’s always money available when needed. I have more free time which I can use for volunteering and helping others. However, for whatever reason, the deepest call I feel within in me is just to enjoy the presence of being, to live joyously and happily, and in my own way. Truthfully, I have no desire to dramatically change the world, except to perhaps just help uplift things in my own little way, and marvel at the wonderful illusion of it all. |
|
|
|
bewell
1275 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2013 : 4:10:11 PM
|
Hi Mr. Anderson:
Cool way of finding freedom!
Be |
|
|
|
coleen07
Philippines
1 Posts |
Posted - May 06 2013 : 05:20:16 AM
|
| I am not an IT but there is some people that give them time for their practice to make their skill develop. |
|
|
|
AumNaturel
Canada
687 Posts |
Posted - May 06 2013 : 1:31:17 PM
|
| Mr Anderson, glad to see your approach and efforts working out towards greater personal independence. Clearly, at least some of it is an absolute necessity in just getting to the point of understanding what certain teachings even point towards, much less having the energy-time to their contemplation and pursuit, such as 'freedom to do what one likes is really bondage, while being free to do what one must, what is right, is real freedom,' and 'to act from desire and fear is bondage, to act from love is freedom.' - Sri N. Maharaj. Still searching for that inner love on this end among my endless fog that may as well be smoke rising out of what's become a war with myself in trying to clear it. Each aftermath is followed by a period of disinterest, stagnation, and time-wasting, where the only constant is my practice. A brute force approach of will is unsustainable. Been there to do that, paid the price one too many times bordering on self-abandon were it not for some divine grace of having a positive attitude to heal and let go. Lila may be a wonderful purposeful divine play, but we really arise out of its most contracted, dense, and artificially-amplified (to the point of novelty) aspects of maya ignorance illusion; of this the rishis seers are undeniably spot on, at least to my intuition and life events I've seen first hand to date even in this very house. So in reply to the topic, I'm running into my own dead end trying to understand and more importantly find a place in this flow of life here (which looks equally chaotic or non-existent as it does orderly and perfect), and it's been years already since having graduated something that requires further institutional-education to do something with. |
|
|
|
nookslist
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2013 : 08:45:06 AM
|
| I work in a office and stick to a daily routine of 2 hours of practice in the morning. It helps me to work all the day and give me more energy to stay active all the day. I think it is enough for me.. |
|
|
|
adishivayogi
USA
197 Posts |
Posted - Aug 16 2013 : 02:14:11 AM
|
| my job is horrible for the yogic process, but onthe other hand it makes for an intense lifestyle. i work probably atleast 100 hours a week. some times im up for 40 hours straight. i have to stay extremely disciplined and get very little sleep just to keep my practices up. but i do however get a week off out of every month. |
|
|
|
maheswari
Lebanon
2516 Posts |
Posted - Aug 16 2013 : 04:25:43 AM
|
oh 100 hours per week? that is so much work....glad you are handling it well
i am curious...may i ask what is your job? |
|
|
|
adishivayogi
USA
197 Posts |
Posted - Dec 22 2013 : 09:19:45 AM
|
| i work between 100-120 hours a week. sometimes i go days without sleeping. last hitch i was up on jobs for close to 80 hours with 3 hours of sleep on a boat ride somewhere in there. while on the surface it may seems the jobs we have been placed in may be in direct conflict with our yogic practises. but deeper it is not in so much conflict. a very intense work schedule makes you..well intense. intensity is good. especially if your practices are everything to you. for me its sometimes just a drag race back home from work so i can do my yoga... eating and sleeping is so secondary lol. i feel if not for me benig over worked and demanded so much of i would not be disciplined enough for the intensive sadhana im doing. (its no ayp) |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
| AYP Public Forum |
© Contributing Authors (opinions and advice belong to the respective authors) |
|
|
|
|
Best jobs to allow time for practice?
