Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by PuzzleSolver on June 17, 2013 at 5:40pm

Practice is extremely important..Just a small section of practice IMO: In theosophy I practice; Practice, meditation, imagination, contemplation and discernment (among a myriad of other things but I find these the basic; notice I didn't put other physical actions like reading) I also find that I use these in day to day life... So in fact parts of Theosophy and Life do work like each other!

In thinking of practice, meditation, etc mentioned above; I used to play semi-pro chess, the biggest things my teachers would say is, "If you read every single freakin' book in the world about chess, you still won't know how to play"This is true, back when I played consistently I read books by the greatest chess minds in the world. At one point I read so much I felt that I could probably win a game with a Grand Master, that was not the case... Not enough practice, I played in a pro tournament and only got 4th place. <--Practice makes perfect and maybe if I chose to practice with the Grand Masters instead of reading their works, that tournament would have played differently ;)
The tournaments of life are played on its chessboard

In Service a great motivational speaker once said 

"You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want" Zig Ziglar
and there are many ways 'Service' or to be of Servitude

Permalink Reply by Jessica R. Huffmeyer on June 17, 2013 at 11:06pm

Thank you, PS for taking your time to share this with us! 

Permalink Reply by Capt. Anand Kumar on June 17, 2013 at 10:40pm

Perhaps you may consider rephrasing the question as it assumes that everyone thinks practice / service is important.

Permalink Reply by Jessica R. Huffmeyer on June 17, 2013 at 11:06pm

I was thinking the same thing earlier. Thank you for the reminder, done!

Permalink Reply by Capt. Anand Kumar on June 18, 2013 at 12:04am

If the word practice here refers to the spiritual practices, as commonly understood and categorized in the other post, I do not think it is important in any way. Historically, such practices have not helped mankind to overcome challenges. The only purpose they have served is to give some satisfaction to the practitioners that they are different from the rest of the humanity. Additionally, they have also created division (practitioners of one form vs. others) violation the law of one, if there is one.

One also wonders if Truth/Honesty can be included in the spirituality. Everyone swears by their version of the truth. Are they honest?

Permalink Reply by Jessica R. Huffmeyer on June 18, 2013 at 2:28am

I have to ask Captain if you have tried to practice anything that deals with connecting to your inner self?  If you have would you share here with the group to how you approached and what it was like for you?

Lets look at this another way, lets use a scientist as an example. In order for a scientist to get to a conclusion they must explore and experiment with their subject, is that not a form of practice? And do they not sometimes swear their conclusions to be the truth and than down the line another scientist comes along and finds a different conclusion through the same explorations and experiments as the last scientist.  

If someone does not try to practice on anything that leads to a dive path to their inner self, than how is it possible for that person to debate the truth and honesty of the service and duty that is owed to their self by the self? 

Permalink Reply by Capt. Anand Kumar on June 18, 2013 at 7:20am

Thanks Jessica.

No. Unfortunately I have not been able to practice anything that will connect me to my inner self. Primarily because I never felt that there is an inner self inside me which is different from my outer self. Now that you have pointed it out I may have to investigate it sometimes.

The nearest thing to a practice that I indulge in occasionally is introspection. It is not a regular practice though.

Since I do not wish to introduce any distraction here, I have posted my views about practices in The Pain of Practice.