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..:: Grace II ::..
By
Alan Schneider
In many ways, the attainment of a
state of grace, that is, calm repose in the face of lifes
eternal turbulence, is the goal of living, whether we consciously know
and accept this, or not. Do we feel that peace is what we seek?
Then this can only be had when grace is first understood and attained.
Do we seek personal satisfaction? This, too, occurs within the
framework of grace, because it is only with the successful realization
of grace that any form of satisfaction or gratification has more than a
transitory meaning. Do we seek power? The ultimate power in the
universe can only be had through the personal surrender to, and
acceptance of, grace as the more potent, indeed, the most potent,
condition of consciousness. How can this be so? And, how can this
manifestation be personally realized?
The entire thrust of
consciousness as determined by the central nervous system is the
transitory fixation on sense objects. The more powerful the
biological incentive for this fixation is, the more potentially
addictive it will be, or habit forming at the very least. In
this regard, the undisciplined body is our worst enemy in the
lack of discipline, we are all our own worst enemies. And most
of us are more or less undisciplined in both body and mind the two go
together, and what is needed to balance one is frequently needed to
balance the other. Balance is the obverse condition to fixation
when we are seeking balance, we are necessarily also seeking control
over unbridled obsessions and fixations, the twin banes of human
consciousness. What, then, are the elements of this condition of
balance that is so necessary for graceful living?
As was just suggested above,
the development of discipline is a primary prerequisite for the
attainment of balance, and this entails both mental and physical
discipline. The art of discipline on the physical level involves
training the body in the practices of healthful living and appetite
restraint until these practices become automatic and second nature to
the organism. This training is a matter of determined operant
conditioning, as the elements of physical behavior are shaped into a
modified complex consistent with the goals and aspirations of higher
consciousness, the mental aspects of discipline. And, while it
is true that both of these may be treated without reference to
spiritual discipline, this is the third, and possibly most
important, aspect of the equation, because it transcends and supersedes
the first two. Without the spiritual aspect of consciousness held
clearly in focus, the point of living is obscured by the senses, which
will quickly begin to erode the gains made in disciplinary practice in
the physical and mental realms by themselves. What is needed is the
institution of disciplined living in all three areas of endeavor.
In the experience of this
author, the most effective source of such a unified practice of
discipline is Yoga physically practiced in Asana (postures),
mentally practiced as well in Asana, and in the Yamas and Niyamas (the
Yoga codes of conduct), and spiritually practiced in the theories of
Kundalini, Jnana, Raja, Bhakti, and Hatha, the various schools of Yoga
philosophy. To my knowledge, no other methods of disciplinary practice
are as effective as this approach.
Yoga itself is a form of the
larger discipline of meditation, the ultimate key process
in the attainment of balance and grace. In this practice, we see the
roots of another element of balanced living detachment from the
material goals of the ego. This detachment is accomplished by literally
detaching the mind from the senses in a state of greater or lesser
self-induced trance. One simply closes the eyes and closes off
the senses as much as is practical and safe, and turns the awareness
inward in inner contemplation. There may or may not be objects of this
contemplation present in consciousness, but the goal of the practice is
to negate the persistent effect of the body and senses on that
consciousness. Naturally, the initial attempts at meditation are often
quite frustrating, as the discipline associated with the practice is
instituted in the mind against the determined resistance of the ego, but
things eventually will become much more fluid as one persists on the
course.
The great strength of the
combined practice of the Yogas is that it addresses all three of the
areas of conscious awareness that define the human being body, mind,
and spirit. It is unfortunately true that, although the mind may remain
acute, and the spirit radiantly focused in higher consciousness, as life
advances, eventually the body is doomed to retreat, no matter how
vigorously postural Yoga is applied. This is why the practice of
meditation is held to supersede Yoga per se one can meditate in almost
any extremity of physical or mental distress or disadvantage, attaining
the key quality of detachment from sense objects, and attachment thereby
to spiritual grace.
Apart from discipline and
detachment, what are the additional aspects of balance the key to the
attainment of the grace in our human condition that is the subject of
this essay? Perhaps a key of the utmost importance is fluidity
flexibility in ones awareness and aspirations. This fluidity is a
matter of much more than an overall notice given to the general state of
equipoise of the consciousness it is a minute by minute, hour by hour,
day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year ongoing
assessment of the total Self from the highest level to the lowest
in awareness. This is a dynamic gestalt process that encompasses
more than the simple sum of its parts one is required to
simultaneously know and experience in all of the three areas
noted here. How can this be done? Through the practice and attainment
of intuitive perception. Intuition is the key to the level of
sophisticated self-assessment needed to maintain balance and grace.
Intuition is distinctly a
quality of higher consciousness, one most accurately ascribed to the
Yoga Heart Chakra, Anahata, although it has its progenitive roots
in the Solar Plexus Chakra, Manipura, as expressed by gut
instinct, a related (but somewhat less graceful!) phenomenon. When
personal gut instinct is raised to the level of universal compassion, we
have genuine intuitive perception the profound universal level of
realization concerning physical, mental, and spiritual processes that,
in fact, proceeds from the highest level of awareness attainable,
located in Sahasrara, the Crown Chakra, as it flows forth from
Ajna, the Brow Chakra (and Third Eye), as the stream of Divine
Knowledge. When we process this stream of consciousness in Anahata, and
allow the result to manifest in the lower three Chakras, the result is
transcendental intuitive awareness. This is the most authentic mode of
knowing, and the one that is required to maintain the perceptual balance
so necessary for the attainment of lasting grace.
Perhaps the single most
significant reason for seeking grace in living, apart from the obvious
personal benefits seen in healthful living, is the manifestation of a
condition that can then be offered to the struggling humanity around
us. Thus, communication becomes the fifth, and final element of
grace it is not intended to be held in isolation for personal benefit
alone, but offered freely and openly in example, word, and deed to
others. This is the thrust of this essay to communicate the truth
of grace to my fellow human beings, without regard to the personal
consequences for the little ego here on our struggling planet, be they
positive or negative, great or small. As the reader of this essay well
knows, I have constructed an extended edifice of communication to just
this end, and will continue to do so as long as I am at all able.
Namaste!!
- With Love, Alan -
(Copyright 2009, by Alan Schneider)
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