Grasping the profound idea of 'know thyself' is more than an ancient maxim—it's the compass by which we navigate the complexities of our inner landscape. We'll dissect the multiplicity of our existence, acknowledging the physical, energetic, emotional, and mental layers that comprise our being. Stepping into powerful spiritual practices unprepared is like sailing into a storm without a map; I'll share insights on how to anchor yourself in self-awareness, ensuring you're fortified against the tempests that powerful energies can unleash.
Your voyage to spiritual evolution is deeply entwined with the temple that is your body. Through this episode, you'll uncover how nurturing your physical health is not just about longevity, but a pillar of spiritual ascension. Acknowledge the symphony played between your body, emotions, and energy, and learn how this harmony can amplify your connection to the universe.
Grasping the profound idea of 'know thyself' is more than an ancient maxim—it's the compass by which we navigate the complexities of our inner landscape. We'll dissect the multiplicity of our existence, acknowledging the physical, energetic, emotional, and mental layers that comprise our being. Stepping into powerful spiritual practices unprepared is like sailing into a storm without a map; I'll share insights on how to anchor yourself in self-awareness, ensuring you're fortified against the tempests that powerful energies can unleash.
Your voyage to spiritual evolution is deeply entwined with the temple that is your body. Through this episode, you'll uncover how nurturing your physical health is not just about longevity, but a pillar of spiritual ascension. Acknowledge the symphony played between your body, emotions, and energy, and learn how this harmony can amplify your connection to the universe.
Welcome. I am Penny Frampton and I am the host of the podcast A Little Light on the Path. A Little Light on the Path is a series of talks about esoteric philosophy from a practical and experiential perspective. I'll be presenting intellectual concepts, but from the point of view of how they impact our lives and our spiritual journey, how those ideas work out through our ordinary daily lives. In other words, how to live an ordinary life in an extraordinary way. Today I want to talk about the basic fundamentals of spiritual living, the basics of a spiritually led life, spiritual practices 101, if you like.
Speaker 1:
Whatever your spiritual belief system, whatever your spiritual path, there are certain practices that people undertake and a lot of people are attracted or drawn to the more glamorous or potentially powerful practices. People are naturally curious about raising kundalini or yogic breathing techniques or taking part in a ritual to manifest something in their lives. To manifest something in their lives. But before entering upon powerful spiritual practices, it is so important to understand and practice the more boring basics because further down the spiritual path, not taking care of the basics will start to have an impact on your life. So what are these basics? They are summed up by the Latin saying Nosque te ipsum, which means a man, know thyself. And I quoted the Latin because it was allegedly one of the several sayings which was carved above the entrance to the temple of Apollo in ancient Delphi, which is well known as the site of the sacred oracle. It was a warning that those who approach to the oracle should be aware of their intentions behind the questions. And this saying has many other implications the questions. And this saying has many other implications.
Speaker 1:
Before you approach the divine, before you undertake practices that will put you in touch with divine forces, you must first understand every aspect of yourself. And what is meant by this? Well, ciaran and Socrates, who were Greek philosophers, both said that, first and foremost, you have to know one's own character. And by knowing one's own character, you can be sure of one's limitations and avoid likening oneself to the gods the gods, in other words, if you are not aware, your ego will get in the way and inflate your understanding of where you stand upon the spiritual path. You may undertake something before you are ready for it.
Speaker 1:
So what is meant by knowing thyself? Who are we as a human being and who are we as an individual? What is it that we are trying to get to know there are two aspects to who we as a human being are the personality aspect, and there is the aspect that is beyond the personality, the spiritual self. The personality is made up of the physical form, the energetic or etheric form, the emotional or astral form and the mental form. These are the aspects of our nature that we have to come to understand, how they function as a human being and how they function within ourselves as an individual. But why is it that we have to get to know ourselves? Why is this a basic, fundamental practice on a spiritual path?
Speaker 1:
When you start to undertake spiritual practices like yogic breathing or meditation, you are beginning to work with and connect to sources of potentially powerful energies and forces, and those energies and forces move through all aspects, all forms which make up your personality. If you are not aware of the imperfections at any level of your personality, these energies and forces will find them as a weakness and this can potentially cause all sorts of problems. For example, if you have a physical weakness or problem with the spine, forcing the rising of the kundalini can actually result in paralysis. If you are prone to emotional depression or anxiety, opening yourself up psychically to the emotions of others can exacerbate your own emotional problems If you are not aware of your own mental belief patterns, as the Greek philosophers said, you can end up delusional and with an inflated opinion of yourself, or indeed the opposite it can cause great self-doubt and a lack of self-worth. It is vitally important to start with these basics. I mean in today's society, with an increasing awareness of emotional and mental health, these practices are becoming common knowledge and are no longer considered a spiritual practice per se, but in the past they were only practiced and understood by members of an esoteric group or a mystery school. Through this and the next few talks, I will be sharing the importance of this awareness and tools and techniques for increasing our awareness at each level of consciousness or each level of personality, at each level of consciousness or each level of personality.
Speaker 1:
First of all, let's begin with becoming aware of the physical body. This is the foundation upon which any spiritual path or practice depends. It is also the aspect which suffers, once you start connecting to powerful forces, if it is not fundamentally sound and healthy. It is important to have a basic, fundamental understanding of the physical form and it's important because you need to develop an awareness of your own body so that you can detect the moment it is being put under undue stress. How deep is your breathing and what does that feel like? What is your normal resting heart rate and what does that feel like? Does your heart sometimes miss a beat or speed up for no apparent reason? How structurally sound is your body? Are there any spinal injuries or structural weakness you should be aware of. How does your digestive system work normally? This is all important information. As you undertake regular yoga or meditation, your body will be placed under all sorts of unusual stress that are not just physical, and you need to be aware of how that is affecting your body, and you cannot know this unless you have a baseline to compare against.
Speaker 1:
Begin to look after your physical body and take care of your physical health. Become aware of what you are eating and drinking and what effect this has on your overall health, and take steps towards improving health and avoiding things that affect you adversely. Do your due diligence. Look into the effects of excess sugar found in TV dinners, tin soups and fizzy drinks. Look into the effects upon the body of caffeine and cocoa. Look into the effects of smoking, vaping, alcohol and drugs, whether prescribed or recreational or recreational. Become aware and start to make changes within your choices towards a healthier and physical body Now.
Speaker 1:
It doesn't really matter when you're at the beginning of a spiritual path whether you still drink coffee or eat meat, because you're not connecting with powerful energies or forces yet. But it is good to get some basic practices in place early, because when it does come time to connect to those energies, there is no point in thinking, oh gosh, I wish I had already given up caffeine, because now when I meditate my heart rate is so fast it's really uncomfortable and my body feels, feels so wired I can't relax properly, or there is a craving for sugar that distracts you from focusing during contemplation. If you have already given up caffeine, sugar, tobacco, vaping or alcohol, you will not have to deal with the cravings at a future critical stage. So start early. Do it now. If you are at all interested in following a spiritual path, it does no harm to begin now and it will improve your physical health anyway. Also, begin, if you don't already, to undertake a simple, gentle exercise routine, even if it's just 10 minutes daily. Or take the stairs at a jog, run for the bus or train, or walk rather than drive to the shops. Take up yoga or tai chi to practice at home daily, not just one class a week, which you sometimes can't get to. Believe me, when you start connecting to some of the energies felt in circulation during yoga, tai chi or meditation, you will want your physical body to be able to cope with them without undue stress or discomfort. The fitter and healthier your body, the easier the spiritual transitions upon the path will be.
Speaker 1:
Let me give you one example from my own recent experience. Very recently, I took a major transition on the spiritual path, during which my body experienced powerful forces and transmutation of energies which I then had to integrate into my daily living. This placed a great stress on my nervous system and I have a weakness in my spine due to a mild double curvature. The day after this event, I started to develop shingles, which is the chickenpox virus, which lays dormant but which exploits any weakness it finds within the nervous system. I developed the spots right over the area of greatest weakness in my spine and it spread down my leg like sciatica, which I was very familiar with in the past due to the problem in my spine. Now, however, due to my diligence in keeping my body fit and healthy, it was very mild and it passed within seven days.
Speaker 1:
The moral of the story days. The moral of the story when you embark upon a focused spiritual path with real intention and purpose. The basics are so important, the foundations are so important. Take care of the health of your physical form, for you never know what the future will bring as you progress upon your spiritual evolution of the etheric, energetic aspect of your personality and how it relates to and connects the emotions to the physical body, and also how it connects us to other energies and forces around us. And if you're interested in talking with me directly, you can find me on the Wisdom app Saturday and Sunday at 7pm GMT, where you can guest on my talks. You can also find me on Instagram or Facebook under A Little Light on the Path.
