...it is the cornerstone to spiritual development...the temptation to embrace something which makes you feel normal when things start to come apart, the temptation to accent certain occasions with food or alcohol or drugs, the temptation to ignore something you've already discovered to be true because it doesn't quite feel safe.
All of these temptations are real, powerful, and have a very important place in our lives.
I first began my warrior training six years after I had read Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. This was not for a blatant desire to ignore what I knew to be true. Millman has suggested in other works that we zone in and out of spirituality like the zoom on a camera lens, backing off when we need to apply it practically, losing interest when we need to forget about it and reapplying ourselves when we realize that we still have not achieved the perfect balance.
It took me six years, a marriage, a divorce, and parenthood for me to realize that I still wasn't happy.
One thing I did feel about six years ago was that avoiding temptation would strengthen my spiritual muscles. I vaguely remember trying social isolation and a couple other things that didn't work.
Revisiting the temptation idea when I was ready to begin my training, I decided to eliminate one variable in my life at a time, in short intervals. I started with going longer and longer amounts of time without looking at my phone. I would go into the task with the mental stamina required for me to avoid the temptation long-term. Then, with say, a couple hours left in the ordeal, I would think about giving in, making up excuses in my head for why I should turn my phone back on. It was at this point that the meat of my training would commence.
Such periods of discipline of the mind also included avoiding looking at certain clocks in the room, doing the speed limit when I was late for work or had a line of cars behind me on the highway, and the like.
In the short term, these training sessions acted like the contrast they give you before you go in for an MRI. The energy I normally would have invested in these things was redistributed, highlighting my strengths and my weaknesses. Over time, I was able to focus under intense pressure when those around me began to lose control.
I zoom in and out on my training. I'm not perfect. There are times when I consciously give in to temptation. There are times when I'm not even aware that I have it, or that I am giving into it. I do not always give my training sessions 100% like I probably should, and I still have a hard time admitting when I'm wrong.
The next time you have a temptation of which you are aware, consider the effect that the temptation has on you physically. If you give in, look for the emotional flat-line that occurs in the split second after you've decided to embrace what is comfortable. If you do not give in, listen for the crowd of spiritual spectators cheering!
No comments:
Post a Comment