Pieces of the Puzzle

This page provides brief explanations of common terms, phrases, and concepts that you'll find on this site. These concepts form the basis for my world view. You may be already familiar with some of them, but even if you are, I've included my own perspective that you might find interesting.

Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction is considered to be a universal law that dictates our experiences. Simple put, it states that whatever we think and feel influences - even creates - what manifests in our lives. Supposedly, this has been understood by select people throughout history, and much to their benefit. Even in this century, books have been written by people seeking to share their secret of financial success. Napolean Hill's Think and Grow Rich is one such example. In my blog I'll share my thoughts on the law of attraction and try to explain how it has manifested its truth in my life. 

Meditation

Practicing meditation brings many benefits.  Relaxation and stress-reduction are some reasons why many people take up meditation. One reason why meditation is important to me, however, is that it provides the opportunity to practice such powerful states of mind as letting go, non-attachment, increased self-awareness, and experiencing the Now. These are things that I strive to experience on a regular basis in day-day life, but it takes a dedicated period of focus to help bring those states more into my awareness. For example, during meditation I might think "aha, so this is what being in the Now feels like", and so I know what to strive for while in a non-meditative state. The same can be said for other spiritual practices, such as hatha yoga, or bhakti yoga.    

Self-Realization

As I understand it, self-realization is that psychological state whereby the individual knows who he/she really is. There is little, if any, ego remaining and the person is in a perpetual state of intunement with the higher self. It's actually pretty difficult to describe without resorting to a host of new-agey terms such as 'higher self', 'true self', of just 'Self' with a capital 'S'.  But the truth is that the full state of self-realization needs to be experienced to understand it. You won't fully 'get it' by reading someone else's description. However, it is possible, through regular and consistent spiritual practice, to catch a glimpse of it.

Throughout history there have been individuals that can be described as self-realized. They were either born that way, or achieved that state through faithful spiritual practice or even as the result of an intense "dark night of the soul" type experience.  To listen to how these people talk and try to explain what they are experiencing and how they look at the world ... I can't help but conclude that this is something real. But like most everything else, the most compelling influence is personal experience that lets you understand, however slight, what these people are trying to describe.