My Favorites Spiritual Tools for Those Looking
- Sahana Jayaraman
- Nov 29, 2021
- 5 min read
I am spiritual and believe in a higher power, a force greater than each of us. I am no “yogi,” but I have felt the influence of positive energy from people, places, and objects. I also believe in the sacred connection between the body and mind.
As part of my spiritual journey over the years, I started reading books that influenced how I approach my day-to-day life. Here are a few favorites that I recommend to anyone exploring their path to growth and enlightenment.
The Art of Living
This practice was introduced to me by my sister-in-law. I had heard of the Art of Living but assumed it wasn’t for me before I tried it.
What got me to try The Art of Living was a breathing practice called Sudarshan Kriya (SKY). This technique profoundly affects your body’s ability to manage emotions, reduce stress, increase focus and promote positive health. Learning the practice requires one weekend with three workshops. Each workshop consists of two to three hours of instruction, after which you are ready to practice on your own.
I did this training out of peer pressure from my family at home. I went in with no expectations. Like most things, I figured I would give it a solid try before I judge it further. When you complete the guided workshop, they ask you to keep it going for at least three weeks to see the full results. As skeptical as I was even after the instruction, I decided to stick with it.
The practice includes a sequence of breathwork – three sets of deep belly-breathing, three sets of fast breathing, and three sets of short and shallow breaths set to a specific tempo – with varying benefits on the body. To be clear, this is not meditation; it is breathing. However, when you do the breathing, you are encouraged to meditate in the following short order. I have never achieved a still mind in all my years trying to meditate until I started doing SKY breathing before my practice.
I pursued it and noticed a significant impact on my ability to focus, be present, and tune with my emotions throughout the day. It was almost like my senses were all on, but in a good way!
There is evidence that SKY can naturally heal anxiety and depression in those who practice it regularly. In addition, it supports hormone regulation and regulates your blood pressure. So I looked into it further, and it turns out that Harvard University offers it to students to help them cope with the stress of school. There have even been Harvard studies on the practice of SKY breathwork. They have proven their significant and beneficial impact on your mental health and physiological aspects of the brain.
I cannot sing this practice’s praises more. If you are interested in checking out an introductory session, you can check it out at www.artofliving.org.
Think Like A Monk
I recently read this one. Jay Shetty, the author, is an influencer I’ve been following for years now. When he wrote his book, I was a little skeptical (a trend with me) that it would be a lot to do with meditation, positive thinking, and other stuff I already knew. Non the less I was curious and had it on my list. A cousin of mine gifted me the book, and I started digging in. To my surprise, the book had a lot of really relevant points. Jay is exceptional at taking his monk wisdom and modernizing it for the world most of us have to live in today.
What I gained from this book were helpful exercises to check my inner critic and curb my ego. Jay’s articulation of the impact of one’s ego on our ability to conquer fears necessary to succeed resonated. It was a timely read and frankly contributed to pursuing this blog a year after putting it on hold.
This book is a quick read and has a lot of practical advice that we all could use. You can order it on Amazon here.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat Hanh was recommended to me first by my therapist nearly 12 years ago. I had been going through some personal struggles and found myself experiencing situational anxiety.
My therapist offered me the book The Miracle of Mindfulness. I ordered it immediately from Book Inc., my neighborhood bookstore in San Francisco, to grow and learn.
It isn’t an uncommon book, but it isn’t a book always just sitting on the shelves. This book was hard to get through at first because it felt too spiritual. However, by the end of it, I understood and practiced mindfulness before mindfulness was a trend.
The book shows you through stories that mindfulness is a very natural form of meditation. For example, meditation can be sitting with a bowl of cereal and just eating with a single focus on the food in front of you, nothing more.
It was after reading The Miracle of Mindfulness that I started my morning coffee ritual. I would take time to make myself a cup of South Indian filter coffee (a form of espresso with steamed milk) each morning and take 10 minutes to do nothing else but enjoy it. I would be grateful for everything that went into a single cup of coffee each morning. This gratitude expressed had the power to change the course of my entire day. To this day, my morning coffee ritual is sacred.
Bhagavat Gita
Now I come to religious scriptures. I cannot say I have read the Holy Bible in its entirety or the Quran or other religious texts, but I have started reading the Bhagavat Gita. The Gita is the sixth book of the Mahabharat, one of India’s most famous and epic poems. The story takes place on a battlefield between a Noble King and Lord Krishna.
The Gita is the holy book of the Hindu faith and a universal spiritual masterpiece. If you are in touch with yoga or any other form of South Asian practice, you have probably heard teachings from The Gita.
The book is heavy yet straightforward, and the more you read and reread it, the more you can grasp and understand. I’m still wrapping my head around it, but I get nuggets that have proven helpful in navigating some profound questions about life. My father once told me to read it every few years as different teachings will stand out based on my life.
The Gita is such an essential scripture that it can help us in every stage of life and guide us from birth to death. If you look close enough, there is an answer in the Gita to any problem in life.
Sadhguru
Finally, if you haven’t seen the bearded Yogi on YouTube yet, you ought to. He is well-spoken, articulate, and a spiritual leader who can take complex topics and simplify them into analogies and stories we can relate to at any age. He uses metaphors that can be grasped quickly and makes things current, which I love.
Sometimes, like most self-help stuff out there, you feel like it all sounds good but is too hard to keep up with practically. However, I find some of Sadhguru’s teachings practical and valuable. They are simple things that just require small shifts in our habits or outlook.
He talks a lot about purifying and cleansing the body so that we can live better lives. In his teachings, he carefully distinguishes lifestyle and energy, which I did not think about before.
He has a distinct personal brand and persona, but if you can get over the foreignness of that and hear what he has to say, there is a lot to be gained. Each video is about 6 mins, and they range in topics from a peaceful sleep to fasting to immunity and managing emotions. Highly recommend you check it out.
While not an exhaustive list of the resources I’ve leveraged along my spiritual journey – I hope these help you, as they have helped me get started! I’m always looking to expand my horizon, so please share comments below if you recommend others.
تعليقات