Note to my rationalists and materialists friends: This is an esoteric note on occultic spirituality in which you may not be interested, and it may even seem bizarre or insane. You were warned!
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All religious traditions have mortification of the flesh. Too much sensory stimulation for pleasure or otherwise drowns out the sensory acuity necessary for spiritual awakening. Spiritual awakening is a sixth organ, or a sixth sense. This is not figurative; it is literal. Another sensory organ develops in spiritual awakening.
Think about if you have an itch on your foot. Then, what happens if you smash your fingers with a hammer? Then your foot itch would go away. A similar phenomenon happens when you see spiritual awakening. The sensory organs can drown out the small tingling of sensation developing when your spiritual organ awakens.
There are many ways to perform the mortification of the flesh. It is not usually meant to be destructive, but I suppose some of the flogging that happen in places like the Philippines during Lent could be damaging if the people doing it were not smart.
What are some of my favorite mortifications of the flesh? I prefer the ones that increase health, but include a large dose of discomfort - at least at the beginning.
A cold shower is perfect. If you are more adventurous, you can take a hot bath, and follow it with a Cold Soak in the water until you begin shivering. Shivering is a sure sign that you have achieved mortification of the flesh! Some guys are crazy enough to take ice baths. I have not yet achieved that advanced level of mortification!
Long bike rides are also mortification of the flesh. Any bike ride longer than 10 miles may fall into this category. Boredom, pain, heat, cold, muscle aches, etc, all contribute to the mortification of the flesh, without permanent damage since bike riding increases fitness up to a point.
Fasting is a traditional mortification of the flesh during Lent and Ramadan. It is often beneficial for purging the body of toxins, but with no permanent damage if done properly.
We are attenuating the senses in most of these cases to make the spiritual organ more sensitive so we can sense the spiritual world, and develop the spiritual organ into a higher spiritual intelligence. But, the organ must first awaken.
The Spirit is often referred to as a Wind, since the root meaning in the ancient languages is breath or air. This is because there is no material cause and effect relationship with Spirituality and Spiritual practices. Sometimes we see the white light and hear symphony of the spirit world, and sometimes we do not. The Spirit goes where it wants. It comes to you when it is ready.
Personally, I have had exactly Two major Spiritual experiences during meditation where the Spiritual Sense organ awakened and the sensory perception was so bright my entire body was vibrating from the energy. The first of these experiences was scary beyond all belief since I was not prepared for the experience. The second time I was prepared. I felt like an unworthy animal in the presence of the Spirit world, unmerited favor, as the scripture says. But, after these experiences, there was an attenuation effect in the background of my consciousness where I can perceive sensations in the Spirit world during conscious days occasionally, but on a lower level of intensity just barely above the perception of consciousness.
This is not exactly extraordinary. You can Google meditation experiences, and many all over the world have had similar awakening experiences. Throughout history, many Esoteric cults and religions were centered around mystical experiences that elevated the mind to a point where the rulers and priests were expected to be "enlightened" with these experiences, which, of course, were deeper than my own described above.
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All religious traditions have mortification of the flesh. Too much sensory stimulation for pleasure or otherwise drowns out the sensory acuity necessary for spiritual awakening. Spiritual awakening is a sixth organ, or a sixth sense. This is not figurative; it is literal. Another sensory organ develops in spiritual awakening.
Think about if you have an itch on your foot. Then, what happens if you smash your fingers with a hammer? Then your foot itch would go away. A similar phenomenon happens when you see spiritual awakening. The sensory organs can drown out the small tingling of sensation developing when your spiritual organ awakens.
There are many ways to perform the mortification of the flesh. It is not usually meant to be destructive, but I suppose some of the flogging that happen in places like the Philippines during Lent could be damaging if the people doing it were not smart.
What are some of my favorite mortifications of the flesh? I prefer the ones that increase health, but include a large dose of discomfort - at least at the beginning.
A cold shower is perfect. If you are more adventurous, you can take a hot bath, and follow it with a Cold Soak in the water until you begin shivering. Shivering is a sure sign that you have achieved mortification of the flesh! Some guys are crazy enough to take ice baths. I have not yet achieved that advanced level of mortification!
Long bike rides are also mortification of the flesh. Any bike ride longer than 10 miles may fall into this category. Boredom, pain, heat, cold, muscle aches, etc, all contribute to the mortification of the flesh, without permanent damage since bike riding increases fitness up to a point.
Fasting is a traditional mortification of the flesh during Lent and Ramadan. It is often beneficial for purging the body of toxins, but with no permanent damage if done properly.
We are attenuating the senses in most of these cases to make the spiritual organ more sensitive so we can sense the spiritual world, and develop the spiritual organ into a higher spiritual intelligence. But, the organ must first awaken.
The Spirit is often referred to as a Wind, since the root meaning in the ancient languages is breath or air. This is because there is no material cause and effect relationship with Spirituality and Spiritual practices. Sometimes we see the white light and hear symphony of the spirit world, and sometimes we do not. The Spirit goes where it wants. It comes to you when it is ready.
Personally, I have had exactly Two major Spiritual experiences during meditation where the Spiritual Sense organ awakened and the sensory perception was so bright my entire body was vibrating from the energy. The first of these experiences was scary beyond all belief since I was not prepared for the experience. The second time I was prepared. I felt like an unworthy animal in the presence of the Spirit world, unmerited favor, as the scripture says. But, after these experiences, there was an attenuation effect in the background of my consciousness where I can perceive sensations in the Spirit world during conscious days occasionally, but on a lower level of intensity just barely above the perception of consciousness.
This is not exactly extraordinary. You can Google meditation experiences, and many all over the world have had similar awakening experiences. Throughout history, many Esoteric cults and religions were centered around mystical experiences that elevated the mind to a point where the rulers and priests were expected to be "enlightened" with these experiences, which, of course, were deeper than my own described above.
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