5 Spiritual Problems (and Solutions)

Here are 5 common questions that stir up debate from within the spiritual community. Many discussions I've witnessed or been a part of revolve around spiritually inclined people taking differing positions on these questions. Of course the descriptions below are simplifications that don’t do justice to all the considerations behind them. The conclusion from doing this exercise is that value conflicts exist no matter how spiritual a person is and that making sense of and communicating those values is an essential part of  understanding your own brand of spiritualism.

THE GURU QUESTION

Receiving training from a mentor or teacher is seen as a major validation for some members of the spiritual community. Then there is the so-called "anti-authoritarian" view, that “I am my own Guru” and that being self-taught in ways to connect to the divine is more meaningful and authentic than surrendering to the feet of any Guru.

 A Solution: Everybody is at a different stage on their spiritual path and need different kinds of inspiration and teaching at different points in life. Some may require sensitivity to independence, others want to be part of a collective and enjoy the communal experience that goes with a religious tradition or the wisdom that is imparted from a religious master. Life provides different lessons at each step of the way. The important thing is to be aware of what the concepts of authority and surrender to that authority create. If anger against all authority is behind the drive for independence, then the matter probably lies much deeper than the Guru question.  

DISCIPLINE OR ADDICTION?

Spiritual practice often requires a daily practice to remain connected or grounded to “the path” but some believe that this can lead to obsessive behavior. Is it a discipline or an addiction to be a daily spiritual practitioner?

A Solution: It shouldn’t matter what someone else is doing for their spiritual nourishment and what the frequency needs to be. There is also no such thing as too much Spirit. Listen to what works for you and drop the idea that the right balance for one person is universal. If God is an external experience to obsess over then no practice will satisfy the urge to be close to the divine. Similarly, the link to divinity is not made full by an empty ritual done just because it’s Friday today.   

SUPPORTING THE SELF OR FEEDING THE EGO?

Some believe that celebrating and promoting the self is purely egotistical behavior and that any demonstration of desire or personal praise runs against the practice of selflessness and humility. Others argue that spiritualists like anyone else need to honor and value what they offer the world, and if we don’t market and promote ourselves, our talents, and our successes that we won’t survive.

A Solution: There is such a thing as a healthy relationship with the ego. Rather than becoming part of life’s proverbial furniture or trying to blend into the background to satisfy the judgment of others, it’s essential to be compassionate with the self, and it’s ok to celebrate your gifts, especially if you've felt others haven’t done so enough. If the self has become falsely inflated then detachment will be the challenge before you. Uniting with the one true source can wait till after you have enjoyed the benefits of grounding in self-appreciation and balanced self-care--even the Buddha understood this reality.

COMMITMENT

"Be in integrity and keep your word when you make a commitment" as opposed to "the only constant is change; and therefore, any commitment is an illusion and not something to limit yourself to."

A Solution: Whichever side you swing on here, make sure the facts about how you view commitment are shared upfront and let the person making the agreement with you decide whether your values in relation to commitment match with theirs beforehand.

TRUSTING IN PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY OR ENABLING THE VICTIM?

Some believe that the best way to be sensitive, compassionate and loving to a companion is by taking on their challenges to minimize their suffering as the best show of support—Others believe that fierce compassion involves stepping out of the way and trusting in the resourcefulness and abilities of the person experiencing the suffering to overcome their challenges.

A Solution: No one can sustainably solve another person’s problems and you may be enabling a sense of helplessness and victimization by believing that your interference will help the situation. Not to mention feeding your own hero complex. That being said, wait for an invitation first before making the choice to get involved and remember that minimizing pain is only compassionate if personal empowerment and personal responsibility are being cultivated too.  Life always creates unfair suffering and support and care for each other are necessary. Just be careful that there is no unwarranted feeding of addictive behavior involved.  

Daniel Pinchbeck Interviewed on Colbert Report (2006)

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An entertaining interview on the Colbert Report with a modern Shaman, Daniel Pinchbeck.

I'm impressed at the amount of info he gets through while challenging stereotypes about shamanism. Still, Colbert’s classic whimsy is priceless.

Note, this is from 2006. Since then, interest continues to grow in the mainstream. 

8 Manifestation Tips Via Miklautsch's "Inner Voice" Method

I took part in an intensive retreat that combined Kabalah, Alchemy, and other mystical traditions at Villa Gaia a while back. The focus of the retreat was visualizations to help activate and manifest positive thoughts. In keeping with what some call the “Laws of Attraction,” “The Inner Voice” was a refreshing departure from hyperbolic, infomercial-driven approaches to manifestation a la brands like "The Secret." At worst, it brought a greater awareness to the process of how thoughts become reality, at best it contributed to improving my life in certain areas.

International spiritual advisor and conflict-resolution expert, Patricia Miklautsch, led the group through a number of visualization "journeys" and empowerment techniques like embodying and integrating the elements (earth, fire, air, water), and simple, practical observations like how time is spent on a day-to-day basis as clues to what stops us from making our dreams a reality.

We followed up with a couple of meetings that aimed to put into practice what was shared at the retreat.  At the time, each of us went round-robin with our visualizations and received support and feedback from the collective. Here are some manifestation pointers from my impressions of the follow-up meetings:

1. Being there is everything. One common misconception about visualization is that you ask for something as if you don’t already have it. Try to support a perception shift, by employing a visual as if it is already in effect. “Be in the moment of having it happen,” instructed Miklautsch.
2. Visualizations benefit from a natural state of harmony. If experiencing fear, phobia or doubt, clear the mind by redirecting concentration on the details and results of what's to be visualized. The fear on its own can become a source of negative attraction.
3. Note how your body reacts. Relish the moment in which you are creating the vision, be present to your body’s sensations and note your reactions to them: are you experiencing joy? duress? physical pain?
4. Be as clear and simple as possible. Specificity in the mental visualization itself, down to the last detail of your surroundings and the sensations felt, helps with realization. Put a finger on what you would like to happen. 
5. Avoid asking for dollars. Rather than asking for money, ask for abundant resources to support the vision—consider what money can provide instead of asking for hard cash.
6. Don’t get carried away by the story behind the vision. This can dilute the energy of what you are trying to achieve. Focus on the fundamentals of what you see rather than the logistics.
7. Keep developing your vision. Often, once a visualization becomes more clearly defined, it will shift and refine itself. A written log containing revisions of the manifestation in progress is an important part of the process.
8. Put service first. Finally, I experience that those visions linked to service and support of humanity tend to have stronger momentum and provide greater long-term rewards. Some masters believe that service-oriented visualizations can improve longevity, and repair “bad karma” which may have built up over generations.      

Patricia is currently in the process of establishing a silent retreat center in Bali. To contact Patricia, go here. For more information about the Inner Voice, read an article about the retreat:

Punnu Wasu and Indian Chant

 From my article about Punnu Wasu:

At an all-day workshop at the Yoga Barn, Bali , Punnu Wasu shared his extensive knowledge of Kirtan’s historic development, educated guests about related Hindu and Sikh devotional practices, shared stories behind the principal gods and goddesses honored, and discussed the benefits of chanting mantras in groups.  

‘Kirtan’ means ‘praise’ or ‘eulogy’, and is a traditional practice for Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists. It involves the chanting of powerful ancient ‘mantras’ (translated as ‘instruments of thought’), and has dramatically grown in world popularity since it was brought to the West in 1923, Punnu shared.

The typical Kirtan performance can involve theatrical storytelling, call and response song, and musical accompaniment. The aim is to create a state of “self-surrender,” to raise a participant’s level of awareness and connection to divine energy, Punnu said. “Our goal is to be highly elevated; we understand when we are fully awakened.”

Chanting hymns, clapping hands, closing the eyes, and repetition of mantras intently supports a Kirtan singer through mental concentration, alignment with breath and synching with rhythm, and this process can send a participant into a natural state of bliss.  “When the group is in synch, Kirtan is enhanced and the atmosphere becomes charged with spiritual energy,” said Punnu.

Punnu fondly recalled the unforgettable experience of chanting at the famous Golden Temple of Amritsar as an illustration of how centuries of non-stop devotional chant in one place can create a significant charge of positive sacred energy, “As you enter the Temple, you can feel the vibration is so great. Every cell in our body is vibrating—everything in theuniverse is nothing but sound.”

Repeatedly praising and invoking divine beings such as certain Hindu gods and goddesses enhances this vibration, according to Punnu. In these supercharged environments prayer, healing, initiation, and a stronger sense of self are more effectively developed and cultivated, he believes.  

Punnu closed the day by explaining the meaning and use of various mantras which are even today recited in the ancient language of Sanskrit. He also shared a few of his favorite hymns and mantras devoted to Hindu deities and shared the stories behind them.  

Punnu will be performing at the Yoga Barn in Ubud this Sunday, May 13^th at 730 p.m.

“Every person has all the possibilities of becoming a Buddha. We are nothing but gods; the only thing is we have to deal with so many layers of beliefs, concepts, practices in front of us. The goal is spiritual ripening.” ~ Punnu Wasu  

About Punnu Wasu:

Musician, spiritual scholar and recording artist, Punnu Wasu has over 35 years of experience in the devotional chant traditions of Kirtan and Bhajans. Born in Hyderabad, India and a devout follower of the Sikh faith, Punnu has been a fixture at the BaliSpirit Festival and regularly performs Kirtan and Bhajans at The Yoga Barn with his beloved partner, Harmony. He led his first workshop in May, 2012.

The Active-Observation (A-O) Principal

Art by Jerome Van Valkenburg

 What is “active-observation”? the Taoists might call it “Wu-Wei: effortless effort, and Quantum theorists might call it the “Observer Effect.” This is when you can step out of the automatic, passive or reactive experiences of life and bring in greater awareness and intention to enhance the experiences of observation and action.

I believe pretty much every aspect of life boils down to an action or an observation. If you “observe” your daily routines, they can be divided into actions/reactions or activities that are observed and recorded.

One involves outward expression that interacts with the physical world, the other involves receiving and inwardly processing info much like an antenna.(While receiving can be an act in itself, it can be done passively—so observation can also be viewed as a passive action).

Adding the element of conscious awareness to either of these two experiences transforms and enhances each one and provides a marble-colored layer of “active-observation” to the mix.

HUMAN AUTOMATONS?

If ‘passively observing’ as we go through life, it can feel like living alongside a conveyer belt, where all sensation becomes attuned to automated and narrowly focused stimulation—It could be tantamount to apathetic mechanistic living or a blind acceptance of whatever comes and goes in front of you.

Similarly, passive action—or action without the added ingredient of active-observation resembles the experience of being the conveyor belt or being on it. Many of our basic survival functions are passive actions, and that’s a good thing. But in these cases we are either preprogrammed to act in a certain way to fit a protocol, or we may be following the brain’s orders out of habit. Like passively observing, the defining feature is the same: a limited cause-effect experience of life. 

When reacting passively, it’s similar, except that the reaction may be an automatic emotional response traced to a wound. New and old hurts, resentments, and negative sensations (and a craving for thrills that get in their way) are a recipe for reactiveness. And in the case of passive reaction, a habitual association with emotions may interfere with life and develop into an addiction as we become dependent on ego-driven feelings giving the orders. 

ACTIVE-OBSERVATION and a MORE INTEGRATED LIFE

Active-observation could be one key to meditation. Indeed it could be the act of bringing a meditative mindset into any interaction with the world. The result is to move beyond survival, reaction and automation and into the realms of creativity, play, inspiration, spontaneity, and healthy natural being. Where the experience of whatever we are doing carries a natural flow of feedback between observer and observed and between actor and action.

Someone who is experienced at active-observation, may develop and refine these skills so they provide the basis for an integrated-existence. Here, a person becomes so familiar with their own unique place as an agent of constructive interplay with conscious observation and action that the two merge and synch guided by an intent of creating more sustainable access to active-observation. Perhaps this integrated state might even begin to wire a person to develop higher brain functions and bring forth Lao Tzu's state of "valuable, necessary, and long lasting service."

The Hindu’s believe that one ideal of life is to experience Satchidananda, or to break out of the action-reaction cycle of karma and live-out our true nature. Could they have considered “active-observation” and integrated-existence as ways of unlocking our highest potential on this path?  

Gaining an awareness of life's essential unity and learning to cooperate with its natural flow and order enables people to attain a state of being that is both fully free and independent and at the same time fully connected to the life flow of the Universe - being at one with the Tao. From the Taoist viewpoint this represents the ultimate stage of human existence. ~ Ted Kardesh

Should We Be Suspicious of All Stories or Just Certain Ones?

When Tyler Cowen says we should be suspicious of stories, he comes across as either an enlightened being or a total hypocrite. I don't buy a lot of his premises--because he adds caveat after caveat in his Tedtalk, and the fact that he's using Tedtalks to share his message, arguably one of the most potent storytelling technologies out there, is tellingly inconsistent in and of itself.


Cowen, an economist by trade, says that storytelling makes life too simple. He uses words such as "self-deceptive," "manipulative," and "predictably irrational" to describe those who harness or are too susceptible to the power of stories.

He may have a point, especially when it comes to societal conflicts and how we add layers of hurt to our lives through certain stories we tell ourselves, which we become attached to over time.

I noted the dangers of clinging to certain stories in a post about September 11th ten years on--but the reality is that human beings have been and always will be fascinated with stories. The man of the millenium is William Shakespeare, not a priest or an economist, or a political leader, but a bard-- a storyteller. Research is showing that the vast majority of people base their view of the world on their values, which may be reflected in stories, and then cherrypick stats, info and evidence when it suits them to support their values-based pre-conclusions.

We are not automaton machines, therefore we can never escape the very things that exist to animate our lives and our souls. Furthermore, many stories can empower us, bring us hope, and teach us about compassion: they reflect our desires, perceptions, and the human condition. In this way, stories are not necessarily the source of self-deception, but rather possible reinforcers and context builders of who we believe we are, and who we can strive to be. In which case, Cowen's ire should not be aimed at stories but rather the content of certain stories.

What might better serve Cowen is a talk that discusses how we sometimes need to trade in the stories we buy into that may decieve, manipulate, and hold us down for ones that are more reflective of simple acceptance and the development of a more mindful lifestyle or higher consciousness.

Here is a nice excerpt from an article by Jungian and Shadow Psychology expert, Jeremiah Abrams, that expands on this point:

We are many-storied creatures. Every morning, we wake up and tell ourselves into our story. When you study a life, as I have many times as a therapist, you realize that how we tell ourselves into our story generally determines how things will go for us. As American Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield says, “We can tell stories that lead us to greater suffering and desperation, blame and fear, or we can use stories to open the heart of compassion. We can use stories to support the generous impulse that’s there in us. We can use stories to connect us to one another.” The problem is that much of our personal story is unconscious to us, a jumble of scripts generated by the imprints of our experiences, often running and ruling us from underneath.


The places where we run into trouble and suffer in life are the places where our stories have gone awry, where things have gone badly and where we have chosen inappropriate responses or just avoided the powerful emotions and effects attending such events.

Which kind of story would you want to live by?