How To Achieve Personal Development: Spiritual Development.
Hello, and welcome to Uvelopin (which is you developing). The focus for today is spiritual development as a way of achieving personal development.
Some may consider spiritual development somewhat controversial, vague, vast, or unnecessary, but I will say it is the simplest and most important, and all encompassing way to achieve personal development. I say so because, you see with just discipline and attention, you can attain spiritual development. I use the word "just", and you may soon confess my expression of attainment of spiritual development to be an understatement, but... once you let go of your own vices, you become more flexible and easily accept the simplicity of, and dance to the rhythm of "discipline and attention". Once you get a hang of this concept in your spiritual processes and exercises, you begin to achieve spiritual development, and make the attainment of personal development even more of a breeze.
To properly disintegrate this topic for smoother assimilation, I will explain the concept of discipline and the consequences of its lack in one's life, as well as the concept of attention, and the consequences of its lack in one's life. Take note, as usual, that it will be done from my own myopic point of view, and personal experiences. I will also talk about ways in which you can apply discipline and attention in your spiritual endeavours so as to attain personal development.
A little disclaimer notice, discipline and attention are key points in any successful endeavour, however applying them in your spiritual life will introduce a "boom" factor in your overall development. Do you recall the saying of seeking first the kingdom of God and every other thing shall be added unto you? Bearing in mind that the spiritual controls the physical, and nothing in the physical can be manifested without being so first in the spiritual, and, most importantly, that you yourself are a spiritual being, you should see the point in applying these keys (discipline and attention) in your spiritual life in order to develop it and have a more developed personal life (personal development). But, of course, in order to achieve spiritual development, you must first have a spiritual life.
Now, I said before that you are a spiritual being, and you also have to know that you have a spiritual life by default; however, your spiritual life may be dormant. Why so? because, you ignore the need for the pursuit of a better relationship with yourself. We are all too busy chasing life and the things that we have been thought we "need". But, do we really "need" them? Most of us walk around emotionless and oblivious, not knowing what to feel or do, except what we are told or taught by our environment and social media. Don't expect me to say here that social media is bad, because, it is not. It's your use or abuse of it that should be judged to be good or bad, and not the tool (social media) itself. So, what now? You'll need to realise that which you are, a spiritual being and then, we need to move on from there.
Some may consider spiritual development somewhat controversial, vague, vast, or unnecessary, but I will say it is the simplest and most important, and all encompassing way to achieve personal development. I say so because, you see with just discipline and attention, you can attain spiritual development. I use the word "just", and you may soon confess my expression of attainment of spiritual development to be an understatement, but... once you let go of your own vices, you become more flexible and easily accept the simplicity of, and dance to the rhythm of "discipline and attention". Once you get a hang of this concept in your spiritual processes and exercises, you begin to achieve spiritual development, and make the attainment of personal development even more of a breeze.
To properly disintegrate this topic for smoother assimilation, I will explain the concept of discipline and the consequences of its lack in one's life, as well as the concept of attention, and the consequences of its lack in one's life. Take note, as usual, that it will be done from my own myopic point of view, and personal experiences. I will also talk about ways in which you can apply discipline and attention in your spiritual endeavours so as to attain personal development.
A little disclaimer notice, discipline and attention are key points in any successful endeavour, however applying them in your spiritual life will introduce a "boom" factor in your overall development. Do you recall the saying of seeking first the kingdom of God and every other thing shall be added unto you? Bearing in mind that the spiritual controls the physical, and nothing in the physical can be manifested without being so first in the spiritual, and, most importantly, that you yourself are a spiritual being, you should see the point in applying these keys (discipline and attention) in your spiritual life in order to develop it and have a more developed personal life (personal development). But, of course, in order to achieve spiritual development, you must first have a spiritual life.
Now, I said before that you are a spiritual being, and you also have to know that you have a spiritual life by default; however, your spiritual life may be dormant. Why so? because, you ignore the need for the pursuit of a better relationship with yourself. We are all too busy chasing life and the things that we have been thought we "need". But, do we really "need" them? Most of us walk around emotionless and oblivious, not knowing what to feel or do, except what we are told or taught by our environment and social media. Don't expect me to say here that social media is bad, because, it is not. It's your use or abuse of it that should be judged to be good or bad, and not the tool (social media) itself. So, what now? You'll need to realise that which you are, a spiritual being and then, we need to move on from there.
WHY DISCIPLINE?
Now, discipline! Discipline, in this context, is your ability to be regular in the maintenance of a process or schedule, while exhibiting self-control and order. You may even say that there are two types of people in this world, those who have discipline, and those who lack it. You recognise those who have discipline by their show of responsibility in situations. Responsibility is a vast concept, so let's break it down. A responsible person leaves room for no excuses in life. It's that simple. one who lacks discipline always has a reason or an excuse for anything unachieved, regardless of what it is or how important it is.
Remind you of anyone?
The key significance of discipline is in the building of emotional, psychological, and spiritual stamina. Imagine having to achieve something (anything)... You must first train for it, right? If it were a daily training, and you extended the interval between each training to a month or year (rather than a day, as it should be) would it not take you longer than necessary to achieve success? Also, would you not find yourself forgetting the first few things you learnt (which were probably the rudiments) before you get half way to the end of the course? And notice also how you forget something you trained for ages or months ago just because you didn't put it into practice (to keep it fresh in your memory everyday)? Like it or not, it's all about discipline. Discipline is you keeping at something with your eyes on the goal.
Now, discipline! Discipline, in this context, is your ability to be regular in the maintenance of a process or schedule, while exhibiting self-control and order. You may even say that there are two types of people in this world, those who have discipline, and those who lack it. You recognise those who have discipline by their show of responsibility in situations. Responsibility is a vast concept, so let's break it down. A responsible person leaves room for no excuses in life. It's that simple. one who lacks discipline always has a reason or an excuse for anything unachieved, regardless of what it is or how important it is.
Remind you of anyone?
The key significance of discipline is in the building of emotional, psychological, and spiritual stamina. Imagine having to achieve something (anything)... You must first train for it, right? If it were a daily training, and you extended the interval between each training to a month or year (rather than a day, as it should be) would it not take you longer than necessary to achieve success? Also, would you not find yourself forgetting the first few things you learnt (which were probably the rudiments) before you get half way to the end of the course? And notice also how you forget something you trained for ages or months ago just because you didn't put it into practice (to keep it fresh in your memory everyday)? Like it or not, it's all about discipline. Discipline is you keeping at something with your eyes on the goal.
WHY ATTENTION?
And how about "attention"? If discipline is you keeping at something with your eyes on the goal, attention is simply you keeping your eyes on the goal. Attention can sometimes be interchanged with "focus". Attention is very important because any endeavour without attention lacks true substance, even if you are applied discipline. But, get the point here that attention and discipline go hand in hand, except that attention is more like the older sibling with better eyesight and sense of direction leading the younger one (discipline) who happens to have stronger limbs to successfully complete the journey.
Hope you are following.
Attention is key in any endeavour, even the monotonous activities. I know how many times I forgot to put in the packed spice while cooking instant noodles (I'm sure my fellow instant noodle lovers in Nigeria know how frustrating it is eating spice-less instant noodles. The taste alone can depress you for a month, after the mistake), all because I wasn't paying attention. I also lost count as to how many times I put a pot of water (or food I intended to cook) on the fire, and came back several minutes later to check on it only to realise that I hadn't even turned on the fire!
No attention! (SMH).
I hope you are still paying attention!
If a lack of attention could make a simple activity amount to a wasted effort, then imagine what it could do to your spiritual life; praying for hours everyday, with a scattered focus/attention, amounts to so much time wasted. Just about 20 minutes worth of prayer, with focused attention would you do more than 20 days of prayer with you lacking attention. But, let's move on.
And how about "attention"? If discipline is you keeping at something with your eyes on the goal, attention is simply you keeping your eyes on the goal. Attention can sometimes be interchanged with "focus". Attention is very important because any endeavour without attention lacks true substance, even if you are applied discipline. But, get the point here that attention and discipline go hand in hand, except that attention is more like the older sibling with better eyesight and sense of direction leading the younger one (discipline) who happens to have stronger limbs to successfully complete the journey.
Hope you are following.
Attention is key in any endeavour, even the monotonous activities. I know how many times I forgot to put in the packed spice while cooking instant noodles (I'm sure my fellow instant noodle lovers in Nigeria know how frustrating it is eating spice-less instant noodles. The taste alone can depress you for a month, after the mistake), all because I wasn't paying attention. I also lost count as to how many times I put a pot of water (or food I intended to cook) on the fire, and came back several minutes later to check on it only to realise that I hadn't even turned on the fire!
No attention! (SMH).
I hope you are still paying attention!
If a lack of attention could make a simple activity amount to a wasted effort, then imagine what it could do to your spiritual life; praying for hours everyday, with a scattered focus/attention, amounts to so much time wasted. Just about 20 minutes worth of prayer, with focused attention would you do more than 20 days of prayer with you lacking attention. But, let's move on.
HOW TO USE ATTENTION AND DISCIPLINE TO ACHIEVE SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
You may expect these facts to be complicated, or a lot of work, but you are wrong! It's quite simple... But its powerful! There are three major activities you may want to incorporate in your spiritual life right away, and these three activities cover attention and discipline almost completely. But, before I give you the activities, you need to identify your choice of prayer (or prayers) that you know for sure will get your spiritual life back on track, and keep it on track. I cannot do that for you; no one really can. We have various religions, and fight ignorantly over them with each other sometimes, blindly forgetting that all paths eventually lead to the same God (silly us, right?). Religions, or other spiritual practices are meant for our own personal spiritual development, and not the next person. Never forget that! Your spiritual life is all about YOU, and NOT your neighbour.
Personally, I am an ECKist (a member of ECKANKAR), and how I keep my spiritual life on track is by singing HU (pronounced H-I-U or "Hue") regularly and daily. I believe it to be an ancient name for God, and a love song to God. But, that's me! You can do what you know works best for you because, like I said before, you are a spiritual being, and as such, you will know what works best for you. Listen to your instincts.
You may expect these facts to be complicated, or a lot of work, but you are wrong! It's quite simple... But its powerful! There are three major activities you may want to incorporate in your spiritual life right away, and these three activities cover attention and discipline almost completely. But, before I give you the activities, you need to identify your choice of prayer (or prayers) that you know for sure will get your spiritual life back on track, and keep it on track. I cannot do that for you; no one really can. We have various religions, and fight ignorantly over them with each other sometimes, blindly forgetting that all paths eventually lead to the same God (silly us, right?). Religions, or other spiritual practices are meant for our own personal spiritual development, and not the next person. Never forget that! Your spiritual life is all about YOU, and NOT your neighbour.
Personally, I am an ECKist (a member of ECKANKAR), and how I keep my spiritual life on track is by singing HU (pronounced H-I-U or "Hue") regularly and daily. I believe it to be an ancient name for God, and a love song to God. But, that's me! You can do what you know works best for you because, like I said before, you are a spiritual being, and as such, you will know what works best for you. Listen to your instincts.
Now, for the three activities. They are simple, but powerful! First, pick a time of the day when you know you won't be disturbed, for at least 20 to 30 minutes, to pray everyday. This is the application of discipline. What it does is to build your spiritual stamina, and also spiritually charge that period of the day. What you are also doing is making an appointment with God and the Holy Spirit for a meeting at that very time every day. It could also help you to maintain a particular place for your prayer(s), making it be your meeting place for the Divine to join you. If you can't keep a particular place because of the nature of your work, or anything, that's ok. Start with a marked time first. God is with everyone everywhere anyway.
Second, every time you want to pray (when you are about to, and during) fill your heart with love! This is where attention comes in. Focus on something you know makes you happy. You know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you are happy? That's your heart opening up. Now, maintain that image or thought which makes you happy as much as you can throughout the prayer. God is love and life, and it flows better through an open heart than a close one.
Third, make it a point, as much as possible, to declare yourself an instrument of the Holy Spirit (or the Spirit of Life) everytime it crosses your mind (and especially before you pray). this is an added bonus to get you on track all round. I spoke more in-depth about this particular activity in a previous blog (10 Ways To Deal With Depression And Bipolarity Naturally). So, you may want to go and check that out. The basis of this tip is that you are giving carte blanche to the Spirit of Life to take over and set your life straight; so you may want to add it to your spiritual development arsenal.
Second, every time you want to pray (when you are about to, and during) fill your heart with love! This is where attention comes in. Focus on something you know makes you happy. You know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you are happy? That's your heart opening up. Now, maintain that image or thought which makes you happy as much as you can throughout the prayer. God is love and life, and it flows better through an open heart than a close one.
Third, make it a point, as much as possible, to declare yourself an instrument of the Holy Spirit (or the Spirit of Life) everytime it crosses your mind (and especially before you pray). this is an added bonus to get you on track all round. I spoke more in-depth about this particular activity in a previous blog (10 Ways To Deal With Depression And Bipolarity Naturally). So, you may want to go and check that out. The basis of this tip is that you are giving carte blanche to the Spirit of Life to take over and set your life straight; so you may want to add it to your spiritual development arsenal.
So, what do you think? Did you already know about attention and discipline to be keys to spiritual development? How do you apply them? Do you have other keys to spiritual development? Do you also forget to spice your instant noodles at times? Feel free to air your thoughts.
Till next time. I love you. And thanks for reading me write (Lol!).
Till next time. I love you. And thanks for reading me write (Lol!).
Scatter brains might miss their way to God, but God always has a way of realigning us.
ReplyDeleteYes! That's absolutely TRUE!
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