The presumption was that if one was not productively engaged in life, then the devil would distract or trap us using our own passions of the mind.
Whatever word one uses, whether it be the devil, Satan, Kal, or another name, it seems there is a negative entity or energy that strives to keep us from reaching God. I perceive the devil’s tactic in this day and age has shifted to keeping us too busy to have or make the “idle” time to worship God.
A recent Newsweek magazine cover article was entitled “Does Information Overload Make Your Brain Freeze, Too?”
It presented evidence that information overload doesn’t just stress people out – it actually causes them to make bad decisions.
Our incredible access to information, the article points out, overwhelms our brains to the point that “people’s decisions make less and less sense.”
A recent USA Today article, “Young adults less devoted to faith,” referenced a major survey by a Christian research firm that revealed that 65 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds rarely or never attend worship services or rarely pray with others and 38 percent almost never pray by themselves either.
Aside from beliefs, perhaps one contributing factor for these findings is that life today is just too busy.
However, being too busy should not be a reason for neglecting one’s spirituality; rather it is a challenge to be more effectively managed.
Practicing spiritual exercises is one way to more effectively manage a too-busy life.
I still attend Sunday worship services but do not consider it sufficient.
It is like only going to the gym one day a week and expecting great results.
Building spiritual and physical muscles are alike. Both require regular exercises over time to develop strength and stamina.
No minister, priest, rabbi, or related authority figure can dictate the how, why, and when of our own personal spiritual journey.
So if understanding our unique relationship to God, as soul, involves an expanding awareness learned from personal experiences, how does one obtain or recognize these spiritual insights?
Just as a health club offers a variety of exercise equipment, there are hundreds of different spiritual exercises one can use.
Like physical exercises, spiritual exercises require practice and self-discipline to obtain significant results. ECK is another name for Holy Spirit, Harold Klemp states in The Spiritual Exercises of ECK, “Do one exercise every day. Spend about 20 minutes on it. This builds your spiritual stamina gently over time. Regular daily practice is the key to success.”
I have discovered that if I do not practice daily spiritual exercises, I can come home from a very busy day at work feeling like a gerbil in on a spinning wheel and perceiving everything as a blur.
However, when I regularly do my spiritual exercises, I find I can recognize the reasons for my experiences or the lessons the Holy Spirit is providing me so I can earn my way back home to God.
I am also better able to make good decisions.
In “Spiritual Wisdom on Prayer, Meditation and Contemplation,” Klemp writes, “The spiritual exercises of ECK give you confidence in yourself. You learn that you are Soul, you are eternal. Then you know with certainty that you can live forever, that death cannot destroy you.”
He adds, “Are you learning something new every day from what you are doing? Are you getting insight and help from within. This is what you ought to be working for.”
Rheo Aieta is local cleric of Eckankar, www.eckankar.org.
Perspective is coordinated by Interfaith Works in cooperation with The Olympian. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by Interfaith Works or The Olympian.
