For those inspired by the monks of antiquity but lacking the time and resources required to go AWOL for weeks at a time, escaping to a spiritual retreat for a couple days makes for a good consolation it definitely beats living in an actual cave! At a typical retreat, you are afforded all the privacy required to keep prying eyes off your tiger-striped yoga tights, but also have the option of connecting with many like-minded souls (pronounced: sympathetic awakening starseeds, in the New-Age lingo) eager to share their preferred religious practices and wear your spiritual t shirts online. Accompanied by vivid descriptions of any metaphysical (out of body) experiences they had had.
The people refusing to participate do so most often out of fear that they will incite the wrath of the gods of their upbringings, yet, the teachings of spirituality pre-date modern religion by millennia some might claim these religious practices are even what lead the prophets of old to have those enlightening experiences that have been passed down to us in the form of gospel.
Modern living takes a heavy toll on the bodies and minds of even the most well-adjusted urbanites. On a daily basis, people living in cities are exposed to a number of factors that, over time, tend to negatively impact their health. Everything from air pollution to modern diets consisting mainly of processed foods to having to sit in traffic for hours while emergency services clear away debris left in the wake of the latest traffic collision relatively harmless on their own, but a combination of these factors leave you shaken and stirred until there is that fatal cocktail of stress hormones; adrenaline and cortisol proven to reduce learning and memory ability rushing through your veins on a daily basis.
And, according to the findings of the American Psychological Association, there is a direct link between chronic stress and the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, irreversible liver damage, suicide, and the negligent kinds of behavior that cause accidents. It becomes cliche to say that the stress is the number one killer, but considering that more than 75 percent of all visits to the doctor are for stress-related ailments, and given their close relationship to cardiac-related issues, more and more people are taking it to heart (pun intended). There's a growing awareness about the importance, some might say necessity, of making regular getaways from the fast-paced rat race that is modern living.
What you believe, you can achieve, has been considered sage advice since time immemorial. But only with the advances of modern science, especially in the realm of quantum physics, have people begun to realize the extent of the influence that their minds exert over the state of their physicality. Developing greater control of their minds has become the prime preoccupation of people in modern times.
And of all mind development tools, few have as many far-reaching consequences as the habit of developing mindfulness. Learning to be more aware in every moment not only helps develop greater levels on concentration, which go on to benefit many other areas of life, but becoming acutely aware of the activities of the mind from moment to moment has helped many unravel the deeper mysteries of their natures; discovering what truly motivates them as human beings in the process.
And if you have ever been involved in a heated debate, you will know it is impossible to both listen and speak at the same time. So, the impossibility of achieving a proper meditative state (inner silence) while having to contend with your inner-dialogue (that constantly chattering voice in your head) has to lead many people, in their desperation, to seek out places of solitude. Many committing to spending weeks and months in total isolation from the world.
But there is no need to adopt practices heavily cloaked in occult meaning while hidden in the shadows away from the prying eyes of neighbors in order to accomplish ones holy aspirations. For a start, all that is required are a few minutes daily spent sitting in quiet contemplation. Eventually, people are overtaken by the wealth of insight being offered up by their subconscious minds. So instead of complaining about the lack of true esoteric experiences to be had in their practice, their complaints lean more towards being overwhelmed by everything they are learning about themselves. And a brief escape to a local retreat is usually what gets people started on the path to having such experiences themselves.
The people refusing to participate do so most often out of fear that they will incite the wrath of the gods of their upbringings, yet, the teachings of spirituality pre-date modern religion by millennia some might claim these religious practices are even what lead the prophets of old to have those enlightening experiences that have been passed down to us in the form of gospel.
Modern living takes a heavy toll on the bodies and minds of even the most well-adjusted urbanites. On a daily basis, people living in cities are exposed to a number of factors that, over time, tend to negatively impact their health. Everything from air pollution to modern diets consisting mainly of processed foods to having to sit in traffic for hours while emergency services clear away debris left in the wake of the latest traffic collision relatively harmless on their own, but a combination of these factors leave you shaken and stirred until there is that fatal cocktail of stress hormones; adrenaline and cortisol proven to reduce learning and memory ability rushing through your veins on a daily basis.
And, according to the findings of the American Psychological Association, there is a direct link between chronic stress and the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, irreversible liver damage, suicide, and the negligent kinds of behavior that cause accidents. It becomes cliche to say that the stress is the number one killer, but considering that more than 75 percent of all visits to the doctor are for stress-related ailments, and given their close relationship to cardiac-related issues, more and more people are taking it to heart (pun intended). There's a growing awareness about the importance, some might say necessity, of making regular getaways from the fast-paced rat race that is modern living.
What you believe, you can achieve, has been considered sage advice since time immemorial. But only with the advances of modern science, especially in the realm of quantum physics, have people begun to realize the extent of the influence that their minds exert over the state of their physicality. Developing greater control of their minds has become the prime preoccupation of people in modern times.
And of all mind development tools, few have as many far-reaching consequences as the habit of developing mindfulness. Learning to be more aware in every moment not only helps develop greater levels on concentration, which go on to benefit many other areas of life, but becoming acutely aware of the activities of the mind from moment to moment has helped many unravel the deeper mysteries of their natures; discovering what truly motivates them as human beings in the process.
And if you have ever been involved in a heated debate, you will know it is impossible to both listen and speak at the same time. So, the impossibility of achieving a proper meditative state (inner silence) while having to contend with your inner-dialogue (that constantly chattering voice in your head) has to lead many people, in their desperation, to seek out places of solitude. Many committing to spending weeks and months in total isolation from the world.
But there is no need to adopt practices heavily cloaked in occult meaning while hidden in the shadows away from the prying eyes of neighbors in order to accomplish ones holy aspirations. For a start, all that is required are a few minutes daily spent sitting in quiet contemplation. Eventually, people are overtaken by the wealth of insight being offered up by their subconscious minds. So instead of complaining about the lack of true esoteric experiences to be had in their practice, their complaints lean more towards being overwhelmed by everything they are learning about themselves. And a brief escape to a local retreat is usually what gets people started on the path to having such experiences themselves.
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