WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE
OF SOLITUDE
You’ve got to put your mind, heart, body and soul into
it. And you need a new body, a heavenly body.
The regular practice of stillness gives birth to this
new body. It actually isn’t new at all. It is ancient but you forgot you had
it! Once you begin to remember how wonderful, how fantastic, this body is, you
want it. You become devoted to it. It is the new you, the real you, the
wonderful you, the fantastic you, the heavenly you.
The essential practice of solitude brings this heavenly body
to life. You are awakened as stillness and silence and their associated
benefits bring you to a blissful state of awareness in solitude. Most of us
avoid this blissful state of awareness because it is the unknown, the
unfamiliar. We fear this state of awareness because we are attached to all
kinds of earthly pleasures which promise satisfaction. But sooner or later we
realize that the promises are false. We realize we need to move on to a
different and greater reality where satisfaction is guaranteed. The essential
practice of solitude offers this satisfaction, this bliss, because your
connection to heaven is deep within yourself.
In this state reached through endless stillness practice,
you can hear God speak to you. It’s not a voice you can ordinarily hear. Find
time and space for this, this bliss. You will be blessed in so many ways as you
practice, practice, practice stillness,
silence, solitude.
Here in solitude you feel more connected to everything.
This includes those closest to you and those far away, even beyond Planet
Earth. You are paradoxically in community like never before. And you take the
gifts of solitude with you wherever you go, with whoever you meet. This is
amazing. Don’t resist it.
Actually you are always in solitude but you don’t know
it. Everything you feel, think, say, do comes from deep within you. All of your
relations with others are completely under the control of your solitude which
never quits and is constantly changing.
Getting to know yourself in solitude is an essential
practice and often very hard work. We avoid it like the plague. But avoiding it
leads to all kinds of woes.
It does get hard here because we have to face ourselves
as we really are and we begin to see the difference, the gap, between our Real
Self and our false self. We have put a lot of time and energy into that false
self, far too much. We need to begin to make solitude work for us rather than
against us. Remember, it is always controlling us so becoming aware of its
presence and power is essential. There is no way around this practice. Our
holiness, our heavenliness, depend on our mastering the practice of solitude.
Enjoy being alone. You always are alone in a real sense.
So enjoy it. Immerse yourself in the joy of solitude. Sooner or later, the bliss will come. This
bliss is worth the struggle. It’s not worldly bliss if there is such a thing
and I know there isn’t. The ego, the false self, simply cannot experience
bliss. Bliss is only for the faithful who strive to “be in the world but not of
it.”
We are striving to be holy and the only way to become
holy is to be devoted to it. Solitude is challenging so devotion becomes
necessary. Devotion is the next practice
which we will explore very soon.
+ Spirituality & Practice offers
many resources on the related spiritual
practice of Questing and a Twelves
Gallery of Memes on Questing. The meme above comes from that gallery.
+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this
practice or any practice. And, I have
work to do on my Solitude Page. Maybe you can help. Send an email with the subject “Solitude” or
“Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.
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