Practical Spirituality Versus Woo Woo: Becoming a Self Made Human Being

The new possibilities in our lives today, especially in the West, are amazing. It is possible for us to recreate ourselves and our environments by using the many of the accessible books and videos, and the information on the internet. We can explore information that has been kept secret for years. Meditation techniques, Tai-Chi, Yoga, Chi-Gong and Chi-Gong meditation is available to anyone who would like to explore it and do the exercises. Many people, however, don't take advantage of the new technology.

We are in the throes of a paradigm shift, but many people are still stuck in the old paradigm. Instead of learning all of the things available we go to very expensive workshops run at very expensive centers. Most middle class people cannot even afford some of the workshops, let alone those who are poor and struggling. It seems, almost, that spirituality is only for the rich. It was the same in India for quite some time. Most of the Vedas and Vedic Meditation were for the priestly class, but out of the common people Bhava Yoga, the Yoga of Sound and Devotion, and Shakti Yoga developed. It is amazing that this happened because now we have several great Gurus telling us that we cannot learn these things without their help, and they are charging a great deal-especially the western teachers.

It is time that we realize that isn't true. We can learn them the same way as the originators did with the benefit of more technology. We can learn these things through practice, feedback, and DVDs. By practice I mean that we do them. The feedback comes from ourselves-we know in our hearts if they are really working after a period of time, and it can come from a teacher (one who is on the path a little ahead of us).

As the paradigm shifts I would like to challenge you to begin to take advantage of some of the new ways of learning practical spirituality. Practical spirituality is somewhat like renewable energy. Solar energy isn't enough, or tidal energy, or geothermal energy, or wind turbines, but when we put these things together and use a little of each we cut the amount of fossil fuel that we need drastically. We don't get rid of it completely, but we use it less. The same is true when it comes to learning and studying spirituality. When we go to lectures, listen to DVDs and CDs, and read various books while doing the practice we cut down the need for a teacher being with every second of the day down to a minimum. The teacher then becomes a guide and adviser and we learn the lessons and techniques we need to enhance our spirituality and our abilities to reduce stress and maintain good health.

This, eventually, spreads out into the community and the whole society becomes more grounded and more healthy mentally, spiritually, and physically. This all happens as a result of our decision to act. Firstly, we take the chance to learn the material correctly, secondly, we practice it correctly even if it is only one step at a time for a long period of time, thirdly, we get feedback on how we are doing from someone with a great deal of experience. After these three steps we are home free when it comes to self development. We begin to make the practice our own over time. Let's push that paradigm just a bit by being the first ones to step through that door.