From Golf to Spiritual Bliss

From Golf to Spiritual Bliss

My husband used to take me to the driving range in an effort to cultivate an interest in golf. He enjoyed it and I thought I might enjoy it with him. He always kept me on the driving range though, realising that to allow me to play some holes would only frustrate me, frustrate him, and frustrate those playing behind us! I never quite got the knack of it. But there were moments when I hit the ball just so, and it would fly. It would literally sing though the air. Those were magic moments. Form, contact, swing - everything - was perfect and resulted in a perfect delivery. Good golfers aim to make these moments a regular constant occurrence. I could only manage a few of these, probably by accident! Still, I know the feeling you get when it does happen, I know that it's possible for it to happen and I know that given the time, practice and effort I could become a decent golfer.

Now lets use the same model for seeking happiness, enlightenment, or spiritual bliss. We can experience any one of these in fleeting moments. They happen upon us accidentally. We know they exist. Probably we believe they are gifts, that we have no control over when they come and go. But some make it their life study to make these momentary experiences occur with greater frequency and consistency. And a few have been rather successful at it. Just like golf, it takes a certain practice or effort to increase these spiritual moments. How?

Meditation seems to be the most popular tool. If you consider that happiness, bliss, and enlightenment are stages of the mind, then learning to master the mind and thought processes would seem the logical practice for achieving these. So we light a candle, put on some background music and sit cross-legged verbalizing 'om'. Any results yet?

Meditation is a good starting point. But there is something more, something extra required. Something that takes us beyond a daily physical practice. What is that thing?

I'll stop there to let you think about that. Reply with your thoughts - what do you think that extra something is. Together we can explore and perhaps even answer this deep riddle. Om shanti.

Thank you for reading. For more information on Raja Yoga philosophy see www.bkwsu.org.