Spiritual Exercises | ECKANKAR Blog

May
15

Spiritual Exercise: For Cleanliness of Spirit

Category: Spiritual Exercises Tags: ECKANKAR, Harold Klemp, Light and Sound, Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, Soul

inner_worlds_25_color_hi By Harold Klemp

“He must practice the disciplines of ECK. The first is to have cleanliness of mind, that no words which would pollute the air enter into his mind. He shall look upon all men as creatures of God and this only; for they, like himself, are temples who shall eventually become Co-workers with God.”

—Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, Bk. 1, p. 100

Close your eyes, and chant the letters H-U for several minutes. In your Spiritual Eye, imagine a beautiful inner temple, constructed of the Light and Sound of God. See how the Light and Sound cleans, polishes, and purifies each detail of the inner temple of Soul. You may want to stay with this exercise for thirty minutes.

In your outer life, give extra care to cleaning one thing with all your love and attention. Be aware of the Light and Sound working through you.

—

From Spiritual Exercises for the Shariyat, Book One, p. 69

Apr
10

By John Villemonte

Searching for Truth

Category: HU, Spiritual Exercises Tags: Harold Klemp, purpose, searching for truth, secrets, spiritual question

In the Journey of Spiritual Discovery Survey, members of Eckankar responded to questions about their experiences. An ECKist from Canada gave the response below to, What unanswered spiritual questions did you have PRIOR to finding ECKANKAR?

What am I doing here? What’s the purpose of life? What is life? How can I know the truth of life? Why does every religion and teaching I explore seem to hit a wall? Isn’t there some teaching somewhere that goes all the way? What are the keys, the secrets, that most teachings don’t seem to know?

Jan
30

By John Villemonte

A Dream Exercise

Category: Dreams, Spiritual Exercises Tags: Divine Spirit, dreams, Spiritual Exercise

Dreams are an easy and natural way to pursue spiritual unfoldment. Here is an exercise you can try before you go to sleep. It can help you see your problems from a higher viewpoint to aid you in your life.

Make a request. Before you go to sleep, write down a question about a problem that bothers you. Ask the Dream Master or your own spiritual teacher for guidance on this question. Lie down, and close your eyes.

Sing HU. Softly sing HU (pronounced like the word hue) for about five minutes. HU is an ancient name for God. It has the unique ability to lift you into a higher state of awareness. Singing HU connects you with Divine Spirit, or ECK, which can be seen as an inner light or heard as sound.

Write down your experiences. When you wake up in the morning, write down any dreams, thoughts, or feelings, even if you don’t think they are significant. As you go through your day, write down any new thoughts or experiences that relate to your problem. Do this for three to five days. Then look over your notes. You may discover that images you first thought were unrelated now make sense and give you clues to the overall pattern of your life.

Jan
9

By John Villemonte

How to Make Good Decisions

Category: Spiritual Exercises Tags: change, decisions, ECK, Harold Klemp, mind

06B44_BF By Harold Klemp

Everyone wants to make good decisions. But how do you know when you are being guided by the ECK or by the mind? Here’s a simple way to tell.

If guided by ECK, you are more likely to change your mind when new information comes along. You’re quicker to admit that an earlier decision based on sketchy information needs to change.

The mind has the power to make you believe you are always right. That’s why a headstrong person acts so smart. He thinks he’s always right, though he’s often wrong.

—

Excerpted from The Spiritual Exercises of ECK, where more than 130 spiritual exercises like this can be found. Learn more about spiritual exercises.

Dec
12

By John Villemonte

Spiritual Exercise: Listening for God

Category: Spiritual Exercises Tags: God, Harold Klemp, Holy Spirit, HU, Light and Sound, Spiritual Exercise

ECKANKAR, God, Holy Spirit By Harold Klemp

Try this simple spiritual exercise to help you hear and see the two aspects of God, the Light and Sound.

Go somewhere quiet. Sit or lie down in a comfortable place. Put your attention on your Spiritual Eye, a point just above and behind your eyebrows. With eyes lightly shut, begin to sing a holy word or phrase, such as HU, God, Holy Spirit, or “Show me thy ways, O Lord.” But fill your heart with love before you approach the altar of God, because only the pure may come.

Be patient. Do this exercise for several weeks, for a limit of twenty minutes each time. Sit, sing, and wait. God speaks to you only when you are able to listen.

—

Excerpted from The Spiritual Exercises of ECK, where more than 130 spiritual exercise like this can be found. Learn more about spiritual exercises.

Oct
6

By John Villemonte

Spiritual Exercise: The Golden Cup

Category: Dreams, Spiritual Exercises Tags: dreams, Harold Klemp, imagination, Soul

HR_Golden-Chalice-blue-bkgnd_lower-res By Harold Klemp

Every evening at bedtime visualize a golden cup by your bed. Its beverage is your dreams. When you first awaken, in the morning contemplation, drink from this cup in your imagination. You are drinking in the night’s experiences. It is a conscious way of saying, I wish to recall my night’s activities on the inner planes while my body slept.

The golden cup is Soul; it is you. You are one and the same.

As you get in the habit of drinking from this cup, this practice takes on a life of its own. The more the ECK (Holy Spirit) refills this cup, the more Soul (you) shines of Its own golden light. You become an ever-brighter instrument for the Holy Spirit.

Your conscious experiences, day and night, will lead to a greater understanding of your place in the spiritual order of life.

—

Excerpted from ECK Wisdom on Dreams.

Sep
15

By John Villemonte

For Love and Acceptance

Category: Spiritual Exercises Tags: ECKANKAR, Harold Klemp, love, Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad

Shariyat SpirEX Bk1_Cover By Harold Klemp

“The wise man is one who stores up the ECK within himself and at the same time distributes the spiritual love which is within himself. He is not one who gives his compassion to a few but to all, whether or not many understand this. He is able to live among the wretched, the thieves, the unhappy, robbers and fools, for he accepts life for whatever it is and gives love to all. He is the wise one who is able to give all that he has to his fellow man. He finds love for those who greedily accept what he gives, and they shall be blessed a thousand times for his love.”

—Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, Bk. 1, p. 147 Read More

Aug
26

By John Villemonte

“The Spiritual Exercises of ECK,” by Harold Klemp, Paperback or E-book!

Category: ECKANKAR News, Spiritual Exercises Tags: dreams, Harold Klemp, master your fate, solve problems, spiritual exercises

ECKANKAR_Spiritual Exercies of ECK Book Would you like to enjoy greater self-confidence? Dream consciously? Solve problems from the inside out? The Spiritual Exercises of ECK are your doorway to the limitless powers of Divine Spirit.

Your life is a laboratory for the creativity of Soul. Each one of the 131 exercises offered here is an opportunity to meet the challenges of life with greater self-mastery, more wisdom, deeper love. Read More

Aug
4

By John Villemonte

Spiritual Exercise: Self-Protection

Category: Spiritual Exercises Tags: Harold Klemp, imagination, self-protection, white light

ECKANKAR, Protection, Healing

By Harold Klemp

To protect yourself you must remember two principles: (1) never believe that you will be harmed by anything or anybody, because you are ageless, eternal Soul; and (2) practice fearlessness by never being afraid of anything or letting the imagination run wild by imagining something happening to your body to harm it.

Three techniques for self-protection are: (1) place a reversed mirror in front of you, which the adversary’s psychic self can see but cannot withstand; (2) place a white light around yourself; and (3) start talking in a normal voice, telling your adversary that he isn’t acting according to the laws of human decency.

—

Excerpted from The Spiritual Exercises of ECK, where more than 130 spiritual exercises like this can be found. Learn more about spiritual exercises.

Jul
14

By John Villemonte

Spiritual Exercise: Law of Reversed Effort

Category: Spiritual Exercises Tags: contemplation, goals, Harold Klemp, imaginative powers

ECKANKAR, Goals, Positive Imagination By Harold Klemp

If you feel you are trying too hard to accomplish something, consider the Law of Reversed Effort. This law is a practical law of nature concerned with the use of the imaginative powers.

It goes like this: The more you concentrate on putting your imaginative powers upon something, the less you are able to do it. Or, the harder one struggles to avoid something the more it will be attracted to him. Read More