A few "first steps" for someone new to spiritual awakening.

I found this article on a website by Tom Stine. These eight tips are probably worth more than a whole bookstore filled with metaphysical and spiritual books. Since they are so common sense and clear, I've reposted here.

Just basic common sense tips. These tips also highlight where 90% of spiritual aspirants get lost, or fool themselves into believing they are doing work when in fact nothing is being done besides "armchair spirituality", conditioned thinking and talking.

Enjoy (and thanks to Tom Stine for writing these).


Tom Stine: 8 “First Steps” for Someone New (or Old) to Spiritual Awakening

* Start sitting. As I often say, you probably can’t sit too much. I’m far less interested in what you do while sitting, more interested in that you spend time sitting often. However, I think it safe to say that fantasizing and planning your day are not the best uses of your time. Rather, spend time doing absolutely nothing. You are not trying to still your mind, you are not trying to focus on breathing or a thousand other meditation techniques. You are just sitting still, maybe noticing what is here, what is now, what is your current experience. There are no mental tricks or games or practices. Just sitting and being. That’s really enough. Maybe try doing some sitting, allowing everything to simply be, for 15 minutes every day.

* A little bit each day, put your attention on awareness. (Many ways for doing this)

* Find a teacher or two or three, and pay attention to their teachings. Don’t try to precisely comprehend it all, but instead allow the teachings to “soak in.” You don’t need to become a follower of these teachers, take them as your “gurus” or send them all your money. But having someone (or several someones) to guide you along the way can be very, very helpful.

* Read a wide variety of spiritual books. These books can be very helpful. Don’t try to find “the answers” in those books. Rather, allow them to move you and guide you, not satisfy your minds desire to figure out everything.

* Make-up your own damn mind about what’s what in the spiritual world. Don’t believe a single word any teacher says, any books says, nothing(!), unless it really resonates with you. You don’t need to be an out and out skeptic. But don’t take anyone’s word for it. So what if Swami Salami says that enlightenment is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Is it? Do you know that? How about sitting with it and seeing what arises in you?

* Attend a few satsangs. Satsang means “talk or gathering about truth,” and attending, - watching or listening to one can be extremely helpful. If you don’t live near a teacher with whom you resonate, then watch satsang online (and no, that isn’t just a plug for online live satsang with yours truly). There are a number of teachers doing satsang and posting videos online. YouTube has more videos on spiritual awakening than you could ever hope to watch. For those of you who live in Hooterville like I do, the Internet is a veritable godsend.

* Recognize one very important truth about spiritual awakening and spirituality in general: most of what passes for spirituality is not going to help you in the slightest. I know that sounds extremely critical, but I don’t intend it to be. The issue at hand is really simple: what is going to help you the most on your journey? That’s all the matters. And the crazy part is that there is no “one-size-fits-all” path or approach that works for everyone. In a very real sense, you have to discover the unique path that is for you and you alone. And so the obvious realization: most of what’s out there just isn’t going to work. That’s why I keep encouraging you to…

* Sit some more. Really. I know I am making a big deal about sitting, both in this article, during satsang, and in the Shortcuts, but it really can’t be over-emphasized. It is a rare person who sits too much. If you will notice, most of the teachers and gurus out there, as well as most historical “enlightened” folks, did a lot of sitting. It’s about seeing how the mind/ego ticks. Most people won’t see through it without some time getting familiar with it. Sitting is the best way to do that. Remember, how is less important than actually doing it.

(Original article here: http://tomstine.com/8-first-steps-for-someone-new-or-old-to-spiritual-awakening-a-beginners-guide-part-1/)


As I understand from his website, Tom seems to have finished posting new material on his website, and has gone offline since then for various reasons. However, there is still some very worthwhile material on the site which I would highly recommend for reading.

DP.

Food and physical diet

A few thoughts on food and diet

I'd like to address a few points on food, physical diet and its relationship to spiritual practice and life in general.

Some esoteric systems delineate "food" into three categories, being physical foodstuffs (ie. plants, meat etc.), air or breath, and impressions or vibrations. For the purposes of this article, we will consider just physical food for now.

For most people in Western society, and now increasingly in the East, it seems that diet, foodstuffs, and "how to eat" has become a big deal. This is even more so for those trying to engage in a spiritual practice, or generally increase their health in order to perform whatever aims they've decided for in life.

In regards to one's aims in life, this will depend almost fully on one's prior conditioning, current situation, and automatic factors being played out in one's life. By very small chance though, it may be that an individual catches a glimpse of something "else" in life, or the idea that perhaps not everything is truly as it appears, and thus the inclination to awaken from deep hypnosis arises. This can also be caused by suffering, and a general feeling of dissatisfaction with life, but not always. Some individuals just feel that "something isn't right here", and that there may be another way to exist besides following the automatic processes one finds oneself involved in from sunrise to sunset each day.

However, returning to diet. Compounding the confusion around diet, besides centuries of writings about what is "good", and what is "bad" in terms of health in mind and body, is also the fact that our modern day foodstuffs are being altered drastically, in comparison to just a century ago.

In terms of physical health, there's no hiding the fact that the less processed, more natural, and closer to nature the foodstuff is (ie. actual plants, vegetables, fruits, and non-modified animal products), then the better assimilated it will be for our physical bodies and state of health. Continuing from this idea then, it may seem logical that diets such as the paleo diet, SCD, 'caveman diet', and other such diets which our ancestors in physical form ate prior to a few thousand years ago, would best match the body's biological needs. I say logic, since the human body has been around for more than a few thousand years, likely through evolution of around 100,000 years. In contrast, the agricultural revolution took place only a few thousand years ago via the Middle East through Asia, whereby grains, farming and mass production of specific foods for the masses began to be utilized.

It is thus that my own experiences regarding diet have weighed heavily in favour of the paleo/caveman diet in terms of physical (body and mental) health and even in terms of performing psycho-spiritual activities. I also noticed some interesting occurrences such as the natural extinction of certain cravings for sugar, caffeine, energy-boosters, and processed foods, which had been a large part of my eating before, and which diminished without any effort on my part while on such a diet or way of eating.

This is in contrast to so much writing in the spiritual area however, that recommends vegetarianism, veganism, grains, fruits, dairy products and other such "sattvic" or calming type foods. The aim here being that the primary activity for a spiritual seeker being contemplation, meditation and calm, tranquil living giving rise to insight (and eventual freedom) can be aided by dietary considerations such as these. There is also the issue of ethics that rates high on most spiritual seekers' lists. Further, this line of thinking originated in India under certain religious/cultural conditions. It most definitely suits a very specific type of individual in terms of time and place.

I set aside ethics and morality for the moment, since an artificially imposed ethical system is yet another trap for the spiritual seeker, attempting to add more strength to an identity already overloaded with features. Further, most imposed ethical systems in human society have dismally failed over the centuries, resulting in little more than a set of "good"/"bad" actions that people miserably attempt to adhere to, or possibly on a few days throughout the year. This is in contrast to a naturally arising and authentic sense of ethics that may come about through no effort on the individual's part, once alignment has been attained with basic Nature.

Provided that an individual then, is on a natural evolutionary-fit diet, it would seem that the considerations of diet are then put on a secondary level of importance.

In summary, I'd like to propose that diet, which is important for maintaining the food-body, should be taken care of as an initial step on any spiritual path. Without the physical body/mind functioning at workable levels, little progress can be made in the higher arenas of psycho-spiritual development. Experiences and results may easily be distorted coming from a malfunctioning machine. However, once this has been attended to, diet should be a secondary consideration at best, and the primary focus of one's intention to awaken, and for self-inquiry should then take a front-seat necessary for the importance and urgency of the work. Externals such as diet, environmental considerations, clothes, physical aids (e.g. amulets, objects etc.), all should be relegated to the "minimal consideration" table. The practices of intention, concentration, insight, and self-inquiry vastly eclipse any benefits or results coming from secondary external objects or considerations. In other words, don't become a vegetarian in order to become spiritual- start with your intention, begin the practice, and see what happens.