Last night I taught a class on the perennial philosophy, which is a school of thinking that has attempted to track the common or universal spiritual practices that are found in all religions and spiritualities worldwide. It is a school of thought that I have a lot of time for, and that I consider to have a large part to play in the re-integration of authentic spirituality our modern and post-modern society and culture.
What I wanted to look at in this article is an immediate and practical way in which we can discover what perennial spiritual practices, if any we have in our own personal life right now that are impacting our experience in a real and visceral way. To this end I am going to describe an exercise below that will help those who engage in it to start to measure this for themselves. Here it is:
Sit in a quiet place, with a pen and a piece of paper handy. Take a few moments to set aside any practical affairs that may be occupying your mind, so that it is ready for a period of relatively focused contemplation and reflection. When you are ready, imagine as follows:
“I have unexpectedly had my lifespan cut short, such that I only have twenty four hours to live. During this time I have to reconcile myself to the fact that I shall be leaving my family, friends and loved ones behind permanently, never to meet again on the physical plane. I will also have to leave behind all the possessions, money, property that I have gathered, not to mention my reputation, career and other worldly enjoyments. The tide of my life has taken an irreversible turn toward death, which will come to me shortly.”
Take a little bit of time to see and visualize yourself in the above situation, perhaps lying in hospital with a fatal disease or after a traumatic accident. You are able to think clearly enough to understand fully the situation that you are in, but have no power to change it.
After you have spent a few minutes entering into this situation and getting a feeling for some of the uncomfortable feelings that arise upon its contemplation, then ask yourself the question:
“What experience of inner wisdom or universal truths have I built within my being that will be of practical help to me at this time? What inner guidance can I find within me at this time that will step forward and hold my hand as I prepare myself for a final departure from my body and from life as I have known it?’’
As you contemplate this question try not to lose touch with the vividness of your imagined situation, where you really feel you are approaching death. If you are going to find our what it really going to be of use to you, this must not turn into a mere intellectual exercise, it must be deeply felt. After you have thought about it for a short while, then write down your response to the question. I recommend you put pen to paper and just keep writing until there is nothing more left to put down. Try not to “edit” what you write, just be honest and write down what is coming to you. After you have finished writing, read through what you have written. Then put the piece of paper aside for twenty four hours, then read it again.
What the answer that you have written to the question will have revealed to you is the current connection that you have your own inner perennial or universal wisdom, that is to say the inner guidance that, when you find yourself faced with deep challenge, change and transformation in your life, you can truly rely upon to be your friend and protector.
So, one way of answering the question ‘’Why should I make time each day for spiritual practice and reflection on what is most important to me?” (for details of my recent article on “What is spiritual practice?” click HERE), The answer comes back; “In order to keep consistently keep articulating, cultivating and building my own deepest inner wisdom and personal truth, so that when the suffering, pain and challenges come in my life, I shall have something within me that I know I can rely upon to be my friend and guide.’’ I would also add the following as being equally important: “I make time for the daily cultivation of my inner wisdom so that when true happiness, rapture, joy and bliss come knocking on my door, I shall be able to recognize them and accept them fully into the depths of my being!!”
The perennial philosophy asserts that it is a basic tenet of all spiritual faiths that genuine spiritual practice is accessed through the gateway of contemplating death and impermanence. It is also an assertion of the perennial philosophy (and one that I share most fully) that the purpose of engaging in genuine spiritual practice is to reveal the imminent and transcendent bliss, joy and rapture that, as human beings participating in the manifest world is our birth right.
An authentic spiritual journey tends to take us to inner spaces where polar opposites such as happiness and sadness, or life and death are brought together in a single, unified awareness.
© Toby Ouvry 2010, Please do not reproduce without permission.
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