by Joop van Dam
Introduction
An increasing number of people feel the need to work at developing their inner self with a certain method, by way of exercises or meditation. It sometimes makes you wonder what motivates people in taking the extra effort this requires.
Looking for how to gain a firmer grip on yourself is often caused by feeling uncomfortable about the way you function in certain areas. You notice for instance that your thoughts are a reflection of other people’s opinions, while your own ideas have already stopped flowing for some time. Or you observe that you find it hard to control your feelings; they drive you along with them so fast that you are unable to retain them long enough to understand what they want to tell you. It can also happen that in the area of doing, in our actions, all we do is reacting to what is happening around us. Together this can create such discomfort that you decide to start doing something to become like a captain in command of the ordinary faculties it takes to navigate the ship of your soul.
Not just your own inner world, also the way you relate to other people can prompt questions in your mind. In doing so it may occur to you that there is some room for improvement where it concerns how you respond to others and that you respond in an adult way in all situations. Or you notice how hard it is to deal with people at work in such a way that nobody feels excluded. In family life a certain routine can develop, while each day you would like to experience new things together. In today’s world, living in a community with others has become almost impossible without giving this extra effort.
A third element inducing the will in people for inner schooling is the growing sense we develop for experiences which are metaphysical. Particularly in young people this is progressively the case. This leads to the question of how you can school your soul to become an objective instrument to perceive and prevent yourself at the same time from entering into a world of illusion, fantasies or of your own wishes.
The six fold path is not always easy to embark on in a way that your practicing is effective. There are numerous circumstances which can prevent you from doing so and the exercises will not always succeed as planned. How can you keep fueling the fire of the activity needed during a longer period?
One way which is helpful is to practice together with others. That way you will see that you are not the only one who has difficulty in sticking to the exercises and you can be of support to each other. It also helps to look at your early and often clumsy developmental steps from a wider perspective.
It was not until early in the 19th century that the whole concept of development started to dawn on people. Initially it was the English geologist Lyell, to whom it occurred that planet earth in the course of time went through different phases of development. Darwin applied the idea of evolution to the kingdom of the plants and of the animals. Only during the 20th century the thought arose that there is such a thing as psychological growth where it concerns human beings. In the sixties this awakened the consciousness in people that each person can take up this developmental process which is mobilized in our early youth by our environment.
These days’ people all over the world decide to take the path of inner development. The thought that you embark on this relatively new road with so many others can be of help in fueling your enthusiasm and energy and the persistence you will need to walk this path of exercise.
An increasing number of people feel the need to work at developing their inner self with a certain method, by way of exercises or meditation. It sometimes makes you wonder what motivates people in taking the extra effort this requires.
Looking for how to gain a firmer grip on yourself is often caused by feeling uncomfortable about the way you function in certain areas. You notice for instance that your thoughts are a reflection of other people’s opinions, while your own ideas have already stopped flowing for some time. Or you observe that you find it hard to control your feelings; they drive you along with them so fast that you are unable to retain them long enough to understand what they want to tell you. It can also happen that in the area of doing, in our actions, all we do is reacting to what is happening around us. Together this can create such discomfort that you decide to start doing something to become like a captain in command of the ordinary faculties it takes to navigate the ship of your soul.
Not just your own inner world, also the way you relate to other people can prompt questions in your mind. In doing so it may occur to you that there is some room for improvement where it concerns how you respond to others and that you respond in an adult way in all situations. Or you notice how hard it is to deal with people at work in such a way that nobody feels excluded. In family life a certain routine can develop, while each day you would like to experience new things together. In today’s world, living in a community with others has become almost impossible without giving this extra effort.
A third element inducing the will in people for inner schooling is the growing sense we develop for experiences which are metaphysical. Particularly in young people this is progressively the case. This leads to the question of how you can school your soul to become an objective instrument to perceive and prevent yourself at the same time from entering into a world of illusion, fantasies or of your own wishes.
The six fold path is not always easy to embark on in a way that your practicing is effective. There are numerous circumstances which can prevent you from doing so and the exercises will not always succeed as planned. How can you keep fueling the fire of the activity needed during a longer period?
One way which is helpful is to practice together with others. That way you will see that you are not the only one who has difficulty in sticking to the exercises and you can be of support to each other. It also helps to look at your early and often clumsy developmental steps from a wider perspective.
It was not until early in the 19th century that the whole concept of development started to dawn on people. Initially it was the English geologist Lyell, to whom it occurred that planet earth in the course of time went through different phases of development. Darwin applied the idea of evolution to the kingdom of the plants and of the animals. Only during the 20th century the thought arose that there is such a thing as psychological growth where it concerns human beings. In the sixties this awakened the consciousness in people that each person can take up this developmental process which is mobilized in our early youth by our environment.
These days’ people all over the world decide to take the path of inner development. The thought that you embark on this relatively new road with so many others can be of help in fueling your enthusiasm and energy and the persistence you will need to walk this path of exercise.
