Basics of spiritual practice

A brief outline of a(n imagined) course on spiritual practice:

1. What it is, and is not
   1. What it is: Training the mind (just like training the body, or training any skill)
   2. What it is not: It’s not airy fairy, or “mystical” in the sense of strange or hidden
   3. Overview of the course + tasters + Q&A
2. Stability practice
   1. Training a more stable attention, creating a new groove for attention
   2. Bring attention to an object, for instance (a) the breath, the sensations of the breath at the nostrils or (b) a visual object
   3. Insight: Notice attention wander, being drawn into compelling stories (beliefs), bring it back (grace when notice it’s wandering)
3. Mindfulness / Natural Rest
   1. Body scan, feel sensations, allow what’s here to be here
   2. Notice all is already allowed as is
4. Insight / inquiry
   1. Insight that comes from the other practices
   2. Insight from inquiry, f.ex. The Work, Living Inquiries, sense field exploration, labeling, Big Mind process, holding satsang
5. Devotion / Heart Centered
   1. Prayer – (a) Jesus/Heart Prayer, (b) Christ meditation (visualize Christ at the seven points), (c) asking for guidance etc.
   2. Ho’oponopono, tonglen, metta
6. Body Centered
   1. Yoga, tai chi, chi gong, Breema etc.
   2. A form of stability practice + mindfulness + body awareness practice + grounding (psychologically and energetically)
7. Life / Guidelines
   1. Simple guidelines for life
   2. Reduces turmoil and drama (suffering + distractions) + mimics a life lived from love and clarity
   3. Shows us what’s left to look at (get to see beliefs, take to inquiry)
8. Spiritual Emergence / Emergency / Maps
   1. Map of stages and quadrants (AQAL)
   2. Spiritual emergence – definition, typical unfolding, sign posts
   3. Spiritual emergency – definition, possible triggers, types + symptoms, how to best relate to it

Fleshing out:

• Spirituality = human, very ordinary, training the mind
• Basic insights
  • Fear –> identification with a view (image, word) to find a sense of safety, appears to “become” that idea or view
• …..

…………
…………
…………

– stability practice
– mindfulness
– insight – inquiry
– devotion/heart centered – prayer, ho’o, tonglen
– body centered – tai chi, chi gong, yoga, breema etc.
– life – guidelines, to simplify life, reduce turmoil and distractions
– spiritual emergence, emergency – maps, symptoms, how to relate to