Straight Talk on Spiritual Growth – South Asheville Kriya Satsang – Part 2/3
In this talk, Ryan continues to answer questions about the spiritual path.
A lot of people come to meditation, spiritual practice because their life isn’t what they want it to be and they want to feel better. When you meditate, sometimes good feelings can arise. That’s fine to allow it to happen, but you’re not meditating to experience good feelings. You’re practicing meditation to be able to experience the Seer, the Witnessing Presence. If you are obsessed with experiencing good feelings, that can get be a distraction.
If you struggle with fear and anger, engage the yamas and niyamas, the foundational stages of yoga practice. The yamas and niyamas are about choosing a different state of being. See those emotional states and inquire, “Is this me?”More often than not, you’ll realize it’s not you—it’s just a mood that you want to indulge in for whatever reason. Choose a different way of being. No matter what, you need to be in control of what you’re feeling. The more you do it, the more success you have, the easier it will become. Practice the opposite of whatever you don’t want to feel. Learn accept responsibility for what you feel and then change it because you want to change it.
Quit looking for a reason to be joyful and just choose to be it. There’s really no reason be happy or joyful other than you want to feel it. The same thing with feeling sad, angry, or depressed. There’s really no reason that you feel it that other than you have chosen to feel it consistently. You’re here to learn to choose what you want. To be a co-creator from your Self into life. You have a choice. Choose a different response until it becomes natural to you.
Ishvara is the eternal Witnessing Presence which inspires, directs, and empowers the universe that you’re experiencing.
When things are tough and you’re feeling low of spirit, meditate first early in the morning. Take a look at whatever you’re experiencing in life and ask, “Is this real?” You have to really want to know. You’ll find that something shifts within you and you won’t take it so seriously anymore. Then you have the ability to make choices free of attachment which will allow inspiration to come through.
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