#daily spiritual practice

[santmat]

Baba Jaimal Singh On Daily Spiritual Practice - Also: Often Used Mystic Terms of the Masters

"Particularly, just before going to sleep, see that there is no worldly desire or any kind of desire in the mind. Then repeat the Names. Then repeat the word 'Radhasoami'."

Baba Jaimal Singh: "Now I write to you a little about 'Parmarth': When you are free from your work and have leisure, develop that condition of the mind which enjoys 'sushupti' (deep sleep). Particularly, just before going to sleep, see that there is no worldly desire or any kind of desire in the mind. Then repeat the Names. Then repeat the word 'Radhasoami'. Go on putting 'surat' and 'nirat' in the Dhun and listen to the Sound with love and devotion of the 'nij man', and with an intense longing. And you will feel the bliss of the Dhun or the Sound. You may not be able to keep the attention there for long, but you will enjoy the bliss. Practise this every day, whenever you have time or leisure.

"You should not indulge in those actions which are fruitless -- whether they are of the world or of 'Parmarth'. Your spare time should not be wasted because you are allowed a fixed span of time. You take twenty-four thousand breaths every day. They should be utilized either in the performance of your worldly duties or in 'Parmarth', and the mind should be kept under control -- within the bounds of the Satguru's instructions. Then all worldly and spiritual work will go on very nicely and automatically.

"You should do your Bhajan and Simran  every day." (Baba Jaimal Singh, # 118 and 119) 

NOTES - GLOSSARY OF MYSTIC TERMS: 

"Radhaswami: Descriptive Name of God; initially used by Swami Shiv Dayal Singh Ji; literally, "The Lord of the Soul";

Dhun: Sound Current, synonymous with Shabd, Naam, Logos, etc..., lit. “Tune or Melody”;

Nij Man or Mana: true abode at the third eye center;

Surat: lit. “Face”; in the spiritual sense, attention of the soul, or the 'face' of the soul, which is understood to be an outward expression of the soul; also, the soul's faculty of intrinsic hearing; one of the two faculties left to the soul after leaving the realm of the sense organs behind; see also Nirat (soul's faculty of seeing);

Nirat: lit. “Absorption in”; in the spiritual sense, the soul's faculty or power of intrinsic seeing; one of the two faculties (seeing and hearing) left to the soul after leaving the realm of the sense organs behind; see also Surat (soul's faculty of hearing);

Surat Shabd Yoga: The means of reconnection with God; lit. “Yoking the Soul or the soul's hearing faculty (Surat) to the Sound Current (Shabd)”; also provides the power of practical discernment, enabling the attention to rise higher by moving on through the Nirat's (power of seeing) absorption in the Inner Light;

Parmarth - Parmartha: (1) The highest and most sublime truth, true Parmartha spiritual knowledge, knowledge about Supreme Being. 

(2) Truth, reality, earnestness. (3) The best end, highest object. (4) Salvation, spiritual welfare, spiritual regeneration. (5) Religion. 

(6) Religious pursuits. (7) Spiritual matters and affairs. (8) Parmarth is the performance of Bhakti (devotion) and Abhyas (internal practices) with a view to extricating Mana (mind) and Surat (spirit) from the region of Maya;

Parmarthi: (1) One in search or pursuit of Parmarth, a follower of Parmarth. (2) Relating to Parmarth or the highest truth or spiritual knowledge;

Bhajan: Devotional practice of listening to the inner Sound Current; 

Simran: Remembrance of God by repeating a name or names of God; Repetition of names or thoughts; in Sant Mat, the simran of worldly thoughts is controlled through the Simran of the Five Charged Names, repeated by an initiate throughout the day and when sitting for meditation as a means of collecting the thought currents at the Third Eye Center; also used as a password of sorts to higher planes and protection from Negative Power influences; 

Archive of All Posts: 

https://SantMatRadhasoami.blogspot.com

Sant Mat Radhasoami e-Library: 

https://SantMatRadhasoami.blogspot.com/2019/01/sant-mat-radhasoami-books-main-page-e.html

[eyeoftheheart]

“Meditate on harmony, love it, long for it so as to introduce it into your every gesture, every look, every word. Let the word "harmony" impregnate you; keep it within you as a kind of pitch pipe, and when you are feeling worried or upset, take it out and listen to it and do nothing until your whole being is in tune with it once more. In the morning, when you wake, remember to begin your day by tuning yourself to the world of universal harmony… When you enter a house let your first thought be: "May peace and harmony reign in this house.”

~ Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov, Harmony

[cavorta]

September 13, 2023 I like this. "I ditched ALL of my Spiritual Routines and here's what happened" by the Norse Witch.

[evo4soul]

Making the Most of Chaturmas: A Step-by-Step Guide for Spiritual Growth and Transformation

Introduction:Chaturmas, the four-month monsoon season, holds immense significance in Indian religious traditions, particularly in Jainism. It is a time for deep spiritual practice, self-discipline, and introspection. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore step-by-step how to make the most of Chaturmas and derive its benefits. Step 1: Set Your IntentionsBegin by setting clear intentions for…

[cavorta]

I very much agree.

Todays witchcraft is realizing that my body is a temple so taking care of it is actually sacred work✨

When I brush my teeth it’s like intention setting and cleansing of my mouth and all the bad things I’ve said about me

[thespectralcottage]

Spiritual Hygiene

Spiritual hygiene is basically keeping yourself, cleansed, protected and grounded spiritually. People tend to try and do this through daily practices, which for some can be hard to upkeep. As someone with depression and can be lazy at times- sticking to routines can be difficult for me. So here’s some “basics” you can try to slowly add to your day to day that will give you a regular spiritual hygiene routine.

Cleanse yourself when you shower: This can be as simple as asking the water to cleanse you while you shower. Sometimes showering can be hard- for times like this i recommend a cleansing spray. Quick and fairly low spoons. But if you want to put more energy into this step you can enchant your soap/body wash for cleansing, hang eucalyptus above your shower and ask it to cleanse you, make a shower sachet, use spellcrafted oils for cleansing, ect.

Enchant your jewelry and/or skincare for protection: Obviously this one is for when you feel up to doing an actual spell. But, once its done you can just put your jewelry or skincare on for the day and be good to go. Every once in awhile take a moment to check in with your jewelry/items and see if it needs to be cleansed (or make a jewelry cleansing bowl) or needs to be re-enchanted.

Ground yourself when you wake up: once you wake up take even a minute to ground and center yourself. This works both if youre a person like myself who needs to lay in bed for a few minutes before getting up, or if youre a crazy person whos ready to go right away.

Even doing these three things through the week will help build you a strong spiritual hygiene routine and daily practice. Remember to take your time when building a daily practice, and forgive yourself if it’s not done everyday. ✨🫶🏻

[moonlit-hexes]

Witchcraft Practice & Disability

I have often struggled and grappled a lot with the concept of my practice being able to co-exist with my disabilities. I have been practising witchcraft since before I was made aware of my disability, but my disability sure made themselves aware throughout my practice.

From being unable to get up, plan or do Anything for major events and days, to the simple mundane task of going up to my altar and saying thanks to all my spirits. Every single task was dictated or rather, negated by my disability and my inability to function or do anything.

The only discourse for the same, is a persistent reminder of, "meditate everyday only then are you a witch," "you cannot be a witch unless you have a daily routine and do something everyday" and the list just goes on.

When will we have a collective talk about how such ideas are rooted in sheer ableism and the capitalistic idea of constantly working and being active? Rest is objectively a part of the cycle of nature, periods where we flourish and are active and others when we rest.

Why are we not allowed to extend the same to our bodies and our spirit?

And this is not to say that all spirits and deities you will be working with, will be okay with you vanishing for months on end. Unfortunately promises and oaths made to the spirits do not follow the same rules for disabilites. There are deities and your spirit team that might excuse you and give you that time, but not every spirit you make a contract or contact with are obligared for the same. They are not obligated to stay or do anything in the period that they are not being fed or given something in return. And that is okay. That is why we bite how much we can chew.

But that is in very specific situations, with very specific spirits. You are not ruining yourself or your practice by not being active for a week or for months or hell, even years.

Your disability does not make your practice "armchair witchcraft" (i really bloody hate that phrase).

You are allowed to take breaks. You are allowed to come back later. You are allowed to mourn being unable to practice when you want to. And you are allowed to ask for grace and time from your spirit team and deities.

Your practice is your own and it is horrifying how norms are policed by non-disabled, able-bodied and neurotypical witches for what they feel entitled to.

If you are one of them, clearly, this space and post are not for you. If you do not understand how people go months and years away from their practice, then this is also clearly not for you.

I want to talk more about what can be done during the major periods of breaks, and what not to do. This is not to throw shade at the posts that talk about - pulling 1 card from your bed because sometimes even the energy for that is lacking. (and that is for future posts)

We are disabled. We have needs. We will take up space. We matter.

And a special fuck you for the people who believe that taking medications will "hamper" your intuition.

I would love for other disabled witches to also share about their experiences and how they navigate these periods <3

Happy witching to you and a protective period of Samhain for your loved ones ✨🎃🍂

[spiritchill]

Tap the like button if you know you're divinely protected 😇✨️

[brujamala-aka-gigi]

my personal everyday "witchy" habits

drinking green tea with herbs and such depending on how moody i am: chamomile, mint, ginger, cinnamon, rosemary, honey, lavender... based on spiritual and ¿medical? correspondences. i also try to eat as healthy as possible during the weekdays and do some kitchen witchcraft on time to time.

on that sort of same line (and don't take this advice if you're not already a smoker) making my own herbal cigarettes, rolling like 40 cigarettes by hand is a whole meditative process i swear. i do have access to ethically buy some tobacco straight from natives in my area but that and the herbals are not my main smoking choice.

cleaning before going to bed, not even cleansing just cleaning the mess I've made during the day.

lighting candles or incense on my altar: candles are expensive tho so its more common i light different incense sticks during the day. (yes i reek of tobacco and incense).

at least shuffle my comfort tarot deck. i think this is relatable but some of my decks have super strong cut throat energies (we love a no bullshit straight to the point reading but maybe not everyday), but my first tarot deck is always comforting idk.

journal the shit out of my feelings because some days i have a lot of them and I can't even keep up with my own brain being annoying like that. also my therapist appreciates it.

i do wear some protective jewelry but i make sure that the pieces are not easily seen. same with crystals around the house, they are concealed just in case. on time to time i do also stain my skin with protective symbols, but again always concealed.

and shout out to self care, keeping up with my schedule and my mundane tasks. i swear i get so weirded out by free time, like i started this blog because i got a few extra hours to do something other than my job and studying.

[melodyjai]

Although many yoga asana can be seen as sexual it is not the intention of the practice.

Supported child’s pose is what this is asana is called. During a restorative practice you’ll hold this pose for longer periods of time. The bolster offers support by taking the weight of your torso away. Melting into the pose and observing how your body reacts.

[lionheartapothecaryx]

In light of a tragedy involving Mystic Lipstick aka Akoya, here are few quick witch tips that are invaluable for practitioners of any skill level.

[eyeoftheheart]

“In these exercises he thinks of God's nature, qualities, and attributes; he meditates on God's infinity, eternity, and unity. (…) The names of God traditionally used in the Orient, such as the Compassionate, the Guide, the Answerer of Prayer, the Pardoner, the Patient, are helpful as objects of prayer or subjects of meditation.”

~ Notebooks of Paul Brunton

(Photo: Comet C/2023 A3 Bids Farewell To Meteora, Greece by Ioannis C Papachristos)

[chicagognosis]

Everything in nature functions in accordance with rhythms, tempos, ebbs, and flows. The same with the consciousness. Through concentrating one's attention on internal states and expanding one's awareness of external phenomena, meditators learn to access a significant range of their conscious potential. By comprehending how consciousness can both focus and amplify our understanding, we establish a foundation for overcoming the psychological causes of affliction.

[wandoffire]

Swords - A Tarot Poem (Part 2)

A glimmer of reflected light,

All confusion left behind.

Or so you thought, but have you fought

What’s preconceived and useless in your mind?

You will find blades of despair

And before you know they’re there -

You’ve lost too much of yourself.

Take time away but it barely helps.

Feels like everyone is out to get you,

So you pack your bags and leave it all behind you.

Tip toe through unknown

To free yourself from where you stay.

Break this cage

Hanging right over your head,

Weighing down on you like lead,

Until it’s dead.

Opening pages and rushing ahead,

But you got there in the end.

The breeze might shake off leaves

But every stem and branch still stands.

(By wandoffire / @theuniversessoul )

Part 1 - Cups

Part 3 - Wands

Part 4 - Pentacles

[starmothpress]

Poetry, prompts and a guided journey 💜 today sharing my interaction with the guardian of mindfulness.

[dailyanarchistposts]

“For me, wherever I go, I know my natural and eternal environment, and I know it as part of me and me of it. Beyond whatever we think, there is a darkly glimmering mystery far beyond reason and sanity, but full of the wholeness of beauty. It perpetually sustains and bestows all things with their own nature and being- perfectly, fully and without need for further elaboration or rectification. This is the sorcerous conception of deity.”— Robin Artisson, The Toadbone Treatise

It’s December and the air is warm here.

I peer out my window with drink in hand, watching the blood-splashed sun collapse beyond the horizon and into the highway. For a moment I relish being in a State where drinking a lime-juice cocktail isn’t a desperate plea for warmer days. Here winter never comes, and as such, we never need to change our tastes to heartier or heavier food and drink.

The Southeast is the only home I’ve known: a land of sweltering heat, mosquitoes the size of your arm, and uninterrupted madness via Florida Man. Where I dwell is nothing special: an average middle class town, the wonder and mystery of the city far away and only faintly sensed. The hustle and bustle of modern living remains only a faint rumor on the wind. Life moves along uninterrupted, save for twinges of change here and there. I can imagine such a life would not be enough for some, and truthfully it’s not enough for me. But in the meantime, there’s no rush; I drink deeply from the land and Spirits around me.

I think about Gordon’s piece on Natural Magic, the equation of Self+Spirit World+Place. It rings true to me. I think about the natural world around me, my own slice of it. Underneath the regular suburban dregs still beats the heart of that wild Florida, in every thicket and every wood. In them I’ve rattled open doorways between realms in areas smaller than some public parks, I’ve spoken with Swamp Spirits and learned the unspoken keys to plant identification, and I’ve traded payment and favors with the local Dead and seen them manifest right before my eyes. All these things happened in my hometown not in spite of it, but through it.

The great lesson of Folk Magick has always been that magick was right at hand, that you didn’t need a library of books or special clothes and wands to do it. In Hoodoo a quick trip to the grocery store and some significant places around town will allow you to hurl just about anything at people. When I’m particularly stuck for an ingredient I always go Journeying into the Spirit World and ask my friends there what might do the trick. And often the most powerful gifts are the simplest.

I came to read playing cards, to cast my eyes into the twisting nether realm of probability and possibility not through some online course nor through paid lessons from a teacher. I went down to the crossroads for nine nights around 11:45pm and called out to the One Who Dwells There to teach me, the only sacrifice being the time I spent there. And teach me He did. I found whole new ways of looking at the cards, as books and ideas seemed to drop into my view from all over; I read what I could, but the biggest advances seemed to come from just being out there, alone and in the dark, hearing whispers in my head and seeing symbols dance before my eyes. I read the cards now with great accuracy, with my window into the shifting seas of potentiality amounting to an admission fee of one dollar.

Often in life our own worlds can seem disenchanted, our existences too far away from any of “the action” to feel meaningful. As in spirituality so too in politics: the same way my heart longs to stir up the dead in St. Augustine it flutters at thoughts of joining in armed resistance somewhere in the streets of Rojava; as I ponder the possibilities of protective mojos made and blessed with the dirt from Castillo de San Marcos, I wonder what revolutionary potential I could add to the people’s struggles in Baltimore, Oakland, Chiapas, and Greece. Economics and familial ties, at least for the moment, always get the upper hand.

But I do not rest on my laurels. I read, I study, I speak with those around me. I consider myself the advance guard, the agent behind enemy lines. I gather folks of like mind around me and we plan, we plot, we create pockets of resistance and freedom. We are the first cells of the revolution you see, mitochondria that will one day evolve into a greater being. We put pamphlets, we put up posters, we engage in Direct Action. Rather then wait for ‘THE Revolution” I’ll do what I can here and now, building “the new world in the shell of the old.”

Those that simply wait for monumental change, or worse vote in the hopes it will come, display a distinctly unmagical air about them: they don’t believe anything can change unless everything does, they can’t imagine that their actions could move even the tiniest mole hill, they huff that the time is never quite ripe, that until some Unknown Messiah arrives we’d best simply hope for change.

Surely we, through direct experience, know better then this?

Can’t a hidden gesture or half-mumbled phrase move someone’s mind? Won’t a fervent prayer, a simple oil, and an intensity of Will attract unseen hands to guide you? Doesn’t the simplest mix of red pepper, black pepper, and sulpher cause the flames of hell to leap up at our command? You can’t have it both ways: either you and your allies can literally shift the movin’ and shakin’s of the luck plane as well as this artifice we call physical reality, or it’s all a sham.

I don’t know about you but I’ve got notebooks filled with proof that what we deem “inevitable” or “unmalleable” is plainly not so.

Magic presupposes we can change the foundations of the world around us. Why do our political beliefs so often not follow this maxim? Why are we waiting for some Vanguard, some Party, some Candidate, to rip up the noxious weeds of Capitalism and The State? Did we come by any of our magical knowledge by waiting or did we simply go out and start doing what we could? Wasn’t every bump in the road a lesson, every victory a confirmation that even against the odds we can win?

My tradition courses through the land and was born in struggle: against the State, against the Boss, against the Police. Under candle light and shroud of burning herbs I can feel the air thick with those that whispered or sang prayers in other times; they know, they understand: the battles may be different, the symbols may have changed, but the struggle has not. Candle flames burst with the same heat and energy raging away in my heart, teeth gritting in Nietzschean Will to change the world and break anything that stands in my way. Road Opener work or Revolution, what’s the difference?

My tradition is not alone: anyone laying hands on the practical magic of the past is touching a People’s History. You did what you could with what you had on hand, including whatever ghosts and goblins happened to be around. These people were in the same boat we are: under the heel of an oppressive state apparatus, one that could kill them at any time, all for the service of an economic elite. They too watched an increasing portion of all the value they created get siphoned away, hunger pangs and anxiety the mother of many a prosperity spell. Any good witchcraft carries with it the sublime scent of necessity; by the time you’re in the woods at midnight making pacts with unseen things it’s safe to say the usual channels of change have been blocked.

What else is magic but the metaphysical embodiment of Anarchism, of politics on a spiritual plane? That YOU could defy the laws of the “Lord” and make new arrangements for yourself, that YOU could gain insights and knowledge beyond your “station” in life, that YOU needn’t wait for someone to save you because you were going to save YOURSELF? Isn’t that what Sorcery is all about? Wasn’t it a battle against the dragon Zarathustra spoke about, the one that must be defeated, that must be slain?

“Who is the great dragon whom the spirit will no longer call lord and god? ‘Thou shalt’ is the name of the great dragon. But the spirit of the lion says, ‘I will.’ ‘Thou shalt’ lies in his way…”

The day is dead now, street lights and shabby store signs acting as artificial suns. The lights manage to keep the hum-drum thoughts of day still near, a collective religious belief in the firm and unvarying nature of reality, that nothing has nor will it ever change. The lights bring stability and safety. In this warm paradise where winter never comes it’s easy to believe the lie that most things are unwavering, that some things just stay the same.

For instance, global capitalism or a client’s bad luck?

But I have neither the time nor the inclination for such adult bed-time stories. I close the blinds and set about the work of changing the world around me. To succumb to the thoughts of static existence, of even settled accounts is preposterous. I call out to the Unseen with techniques and tricks propelled into the future by the most disadvantaged in this region while the plantations of the past have gone from places of frightening power to mere relics. While others buy and sell my soul flies right down to the primal, throbbing tap-root of the land around me; what was once an altar in any other townhouse becomes the Crossroads of All Existence; my voice no longer my own, my body wracked with spasms, I become a conduit for things that others claim can’t or shouldn’t exist.

Impossible? Can’t? Won’t? Shouldn’t? All these words are nothing to me! There is only The Will. And if you Will it, it is no dream.