What constitutes best spiritual practice?
Occasionally we feel the call to actively engage spiritually, to join our personal energies with the universal quest for positive outcomes … but we are blinded and confused by a torrent of choices. What are the best spiritual practices for individual enlightenment, sustainable civilization and a more beautiful and humane society?
International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine
Esoteric Science
Because consciousness, agriculture and community are three essential pillars of civilization, the Noetic Order of Jedi postulates that meditation, gardening and acts of kindness are ideal spiritual practices for stabilizing and perpetuating civilization in the past, present and future.
I. Meditation. Meditation is the principal spiritual practice of Buddhism, among other ancient wisdom traditions, primarily because it leads one on a path of self-discovery toward mindfulness, which might be described as mental, emotional and spiritual alignment with the Universe. In the West, many of us are engaged in noisy transmission in the form of prayer. Yet we discount the clinically proven benefits of meditation, including reduced stress hormones, reduced blood pressure, the development of a more peaceful and mindful disposition, enhanced potential for creative breakthrough and an overall more positive outlook on life. Meditation has more active variant forms, including mind-body practices such as tai chi, yoga and qigong.
http://stress.about.com/od/tensiontamers/p/profilemeditati.htm
http://www.aboutmeditation.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation
II. Gardening. It’s easy to forget that all of our civilized progress and scientific knowledge ultimately derives from an intimate relationship with, and observation of, Nature. Yet the artifice and arbitrary, mechanized nature of our faster-stronger-cheaper civilization separates us as individuals from the essential wellspring of human experience. A best approach is to re-engage the process that began civilization by planting some heirloom (non-genetically modified) seeds into the ground. This process will teach us and our family all sorts of things about Nature experientially, through direct hands-on experience. As a form of meditation, it will return health benefits such as reduced stress, reduced blood pressure and a more positive outlook. Further, it will allow us to derive some of our own food from our back yard, taking some power away from the mechanized system of exploitation manifest worldwide as monoculture farms sprayed with poison, not to mention the fossil fuels necessary to transport foods. Edible plants can be beautiful, and ornamental plants can be edible!
http://organicgardening.about.com/
http://www.backyardgardener.com/veg/
http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index.php/site/index/
III. Acts of Kindness. Be an anti-criminal, and resolve to commit one premeditated random act of kindness per day. Just one. We are surrounded by lost, lonely and hurting individuals. Foster enlightened community by acting daily to alleviate some of that suffering. Invite an unpopular friend to do something social together. Host a movie night for out-of-town transplants or singles with minimal family ties. Bring some of those seedlings you germinated over to a neighbor: infect your entire neighborhood with organic victory gardens! Call an elder or a younger who you expect might be lonely. On the next holiday, make sure you save at least one spot at the table for a friendless or homeless person. If you’re running short of ideas, then consider the following resources:
http://www.actsofkindness.org/community
http://www.helpothers.org/ideas.php
