What does your "Spiritual Development" entail?

[ribiq]

Pretty basic, what is your personal idea (definition) of "Spiritual Development"?

Are you working on developing certain abilities, or are you more oriented toward cultivating a certain outlook in your life, or of course both?

curious

[oliness]

For me it is developing wisdom and compassion. Developing wisdom is the process of recognizing pure consciousness, ultimate truth. Developing compassion is increasing my love for all beings, gaining greater empathy and a desire to end the suffering of everyone.

[Arcturus]

to harmonise the four elements of earth, water, fire and air within my body so that i can realise the universal ideation micro-cosmically- co-create

[Verunia]

For me, it's knowing myself to the best extent I can... And expressing that. And a little delving into the unknown on the side, hehe.

[Dawn1976]

Pretty basic, what is your personal idea (definition) of "Spiritual Development"?

Are you working on developing certain abilities, or are you more oriented toward cultivating a certain outlook in your life, or of course both?

curious

Hi Ribiq :smile:

My personal idea is to further develop and strengthen my abilities, open myself up to new abilities and just explore and have fun. I want to know who I really am.

[WhiteWarrior]

To develop my existing talents further, to the point where I can make a difference with them.
And to understand the combined physical and spiritual world so well that my anger over what I see can be tempered by acceptance.
Believe me, the first objective will be easier to reach than the second.

[froebellian]

Understanding what and who I am.. figuring out what I am supposed to do and learning to have faith.

[Eudaimonist]

Self-knowledge, self-actualization, and self-esteem.


eudaimonia,

Mark

[Emmalevine]

Self awareness, self compassion and acceptance. By acceptance I also mean accepting when I don't display the qualities I wish for, such as complete non judgement. I accept my humanness as well as my spirituality. When I've tried to become 'too spiritual' I've ended up feeling a failure and that's not what it's about. For me, it's all about the love, and love means accepting every aspect of self and others, or at least being aware of when I don't accept myself and accepting my non acceptance!

[Mr Interesting]

I just act like water and go where the next signpost sends me.

I have no idea what's going on and only with hindsight can I see I might be going somewhere... it's all a complete mystery to me!!!

But in saying that I suppose it's akin to knife sharpening... getting a keener edge that cuts with less effort and goes deeper. Don't know why it's even a knife...

[embrace]

Wisdom based on feeling instead of knowing.

[Humm]

FOUNDATION FOUR -Attention. Your imagination is able to do all that you asked in proportion to the degree of your attention. So what kind of attention do you place on your desires? Dr. Dyer says according to Neville there are two kinds of attentions.
Objective (facts, concrete and solid objects ) and Subjective (subject to feelings and emotions).
We want to use Subjective Attention. Why Subjective? Because what we place in our Imagination does not have to be based on concrete, solid facts. Because what we place in our imagination is anything that we want to “call that which does not exist as if it did.” Because what we place in our imagination is whatever we want to wish for and to live and feel as if our wish is already fullfilled. Dr. Dyer says with objective attention, you become the objectified result of other people telling you what you can do and what you can’t do, what’s possible and what’s not possible. Take Dr. Dyer’s suggestion and put a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on your imagination. Do not allow anyone else’s opinions, do not allow what it says on the Internet, do not allow the cost, or the difficulty to distract your attention from the burning desires you place in your imagination. “
~Dr. Wayne Dyer, from http://www.anewdayanewme.com/ANewDayANewMe/dr-wayne-dyer-how-to-attract-health-wealth-and-love-into-your-world/

This is not to strictly endorse Dr. Dyer or Neville, but I do agree that consciousness is the only reality. The Buddha knew that consciousness is the root of suffering, but also the gate to freedom, and I agree completely with these men in this.

Spiritual development, to me, is to fully cultivate and expand the subjective consciousness of the mind into realization of and accordance with the objective unity of the heart.

Incidentally, we don't do this by convincing others to conform to our desires, but instead by taking total responsibility for our own consciousness.

Further readings of Neville Goddard:
http://www.nevillelecturehall.com/neville-lecture-lesson01.html

[3dnow]

Question everything
Never judge

I need to be free. This planet is really a Maggi's trick.

http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/the-sun-in-drag-by-hafiz/

3d

[Humm]

There is nothing to change but our concept of
self. Humanity is a single being in spite of its many
forms and faces, and there is in it only such seeming
separation as we find in our own being when we
are dreaming. The pictures and circumstances we
see in dreams are creations of our own imagination
and have no existence save in ourselves. The same
is true of the pictures and circumstances we see in
this dream of life. They reveal our concepts of ourselves.
As soon as we succeed in transforming self,
our world will dissolve and reshape itself in harmony
with that which our change affirms.
The universe which we study with such care is a
dream, and we the dreamers of the dream, eternal
dreamers dreaming noneternal dreams. One day,
like Nebuchadnezzar we shall awaken from the
dream, from the nightmare in which we fought
with demons, to find that we really never left our
eternal home; that we were never born and have
never died save in our dream.

~Neville Goddard, last words from his book Awakened Imagination~

[Mountain-Goat]

Pretty basic, what is your personal idea (definition) of "Spiritual Development"?

Are you working on developing certain abilities, or are you more oriented toward cultivating a certain outlook in your life, or of course both?

curious
Inner stillness, that is comprised of peace\harmony between all aspects of myself, ie no inner turmoil, no self condemnation,
of which enables me a clarity of sight to see into anything i choose to observe\explore.

Know myself first, then all else.

[Mr Interesting]

Those were nice quotes you gave us Humm but I'm such a dummy I couldn't really understand them. I mentioned somewhere else that I find it very difficult to understand the difference between subjective and objective, I kinda get the difference between facts and feelings, but still find it difficult to define the edge between them.

Lately I looked into the action of freezing water in granite, which expands and over time fissures become lakes, and it's because the water becomes still.

So while this is an objective reality we can also look at it subjectively as a metaphor while also seeing beauty in it which is also subjective so I find it difficult to split the two into areas.

All that exists was subjective at one stage and became objective but in being we must view it as subjective otherwise we couldn't have it of use within out lives.

This may be what spiritual development is about for me - un-splitting the divisions we have created to get back to the wholeness of all.

Even in this I can't explain as the objectiveness of my opinion has always much unknown subjectiveness supporting it - enmeshed within it.

[ribiq]

So I think I get what most of you are saying, but I'm wondering, what specific practices do you guys use to achieve these goals?

Simple day-to-day mindfulness, meditation, astral projection, etc...?

[Humm]

Those were nice quotes you gave us Humm but I'm such a dummy I couldn't really understand them. I mentioned somewhere else that I find it very difficult to understand the difference between subjective and objective, I kinda get the difference between facts and feelings, but still find it difficult to define the edge between them.

Lately I looked into the action of freezing water in granite, which expands and over time fissures become lakes, and it's because the water becomes still.

So while this is an objective reality we can also look at it subjectively as a metaphor while also seeing beauty in it which is also subjective so I find it difficult to split the two into areas.

All that exists was subjective at one stage and became objective but in being we must view it as subjective otherwise we couldn't have it of use within out lives.

This may be what spiritual development is about for me - un-splitting the divisions we have created to get back to the wholeness of all.

Even in this I can't explain as the objectiveness of my opinion has always much unknown subjectiveness supporting it - enmeshed within it.
Well said! Of course as a person who lives from his imagination, I should have expected you would see right through it.

What we think does matter.

[Mr Interesting]

So many mistakes in my writing and it seems so disjointed... almost just like brief sketches, a shorthand to myself... sorry folks!

What do I do specifically?

As much meditation as I can fit in, maybe an hour a day these days, which is less than I'd like.

Also taking that meditation into everyday life. Being mindful and less thinking when going about the everyday tasks that appear..

Going for lots of walks and just looking at stuff without needing anything from the looking. Being less attached to anything being of import except right there in front of one.

No real planning of days except doing what seems right.

[Joshua_G]

There is nothing to change but our concept of
self. Humanity is a single being in spite of its many
forms and faces, and there is in it only such seeming
separation as we find in our own being when we
are dreaming. The pictures and circumstances we
see in dreams are creations of our own imagination
and have no existence save in ourselves. The same
is true of the pictures and circumstances we see in
this dream of life. They reveal our concepts of ourselves.
As soon as we succeed in transforming self,
our world will dissolve and reshape itself in harmony
with that which our change affirms.
The universe which we study with such care is a
dream, and we the dreamers of the dream, eternal
dreamers dreaming noneternal dreams. One day,
like Nebuchadnezzar we shall awaken from the
dream, from the nightmare in which we fought
with demons, to find that we really never left our
eternal home; that we were never born and have
never died save in our dream.

I love that quote.

[Humm]

I love that quote.
Are you a dreamer, Joshua?

[Joshua_G]

Are you a dreamer, Joshua?
I'm not sure what you mean by a dreamer. I believe I am a dreamer in a way.

[Archangel Ivory]

Mine is discovering myself as a microcosmic creator, gaining "perfection" exploring the perfection and then exploring the imperfection in perfection in all the infinite combinations and then continuing the journey back to the macrocosm.

[ThoughtOnFire]

So I think I get what most of you are saying, but I'm wondering, what specific practices do you guys use to achieve these goals?

Simple day-to-day mindfulness, meditation, astral projection, etc...?

Every breath we take, that is the meditation.

Every step we take, that is the martial art.

[BodhiChan]

So I think I get what most of you are saying, but I'm wondering, what specific practices do you guys use to achieve these goals?

Simple day-to-day mindfulness, meditation, astral projection, etc...?

For me it is to become a Bodhisattva and follow the Bodhisattva Path.

Bodhi

[rsingh]

Spiritual development for me is to be more conscious of my thoughts, feelings, actions and sense perceptions. This is an ongoing journey for me and I guess there is no end to it.