Philosophical Spiritualism

Written by Mathew Naismith

“Life is about the inner quality of substance not the outer vessel for the outer vessel is only what substance makes it” ….Love Mathew
http://www.flickspire.com/m/MBT/LifeIsLikeCoffee?lsid=1b5a87107e2f292c565ef3ac4b86ab86
I would advise everyone to watch this short video; it’s about making a cuppa but with an interesting message to it.
This is funny because if the content of the cup was unsavoury no matter how glamorous the vessel one wouldn’t enjoy the vessel as much if at all than if the substance inside the vessel was enjoyable, that’s life to a tee!!

Yogic Practices: What is philosophical spiritualism? This came up in discussion recently on a forum site; one person said that “western spirituality especially new age spirituality is all about philosophical spiritualism which denotes thinking where the eastern spiritual religion Buddhism is of non-thinking.  The eastern spiritual religion of Buddhism is more correct because that is what true spiritualism is all about”. This at first glance seems feasible however when one brings into the equation of the practice of Yoga which stemmed from Buddhism & Hinduism we see a different picture.

Yoga is all about science, philosophy & spiritualism & it’s one of a few practices that one can witness improvements not just spiritually but mentally & physically as well as it works on all these things where’s Buddhism only works on the spiritual but in saying that transformational changes of the human physical self can also occur with just Buddhist practices but not really on the same level as Yogic practices.  However in saying that Yoga is profoundly more beneficial for the whole self not just the spiritual self isn’t quite correct if one wants to just practice in certain Yogic practices like with the stretches or a more profound exercise program, Yoga gives you what you want from it not what it wants you to do like you don’t have to mediate if you don’t want too.  This is why Yoga is so popular in western cultured countries it has no set rules that one must abide by to benefit from as one can benefit from any one practice one wishes to take on with Yoga.


New Age Spiritualism:  Where does this leave new age spiritualism for those not practicing in Yogic practices? If one practices in meditation with philosophy similar to what Yoga teachers you to do this leaves you in similar circumstances as if you were practicing Yoga but without the physical exercise which is fundamental in Yogic practices. So is new age spiritualism & Yoga not of a truer spiritual virtue than Buddhism because it incorporates philosophy & even science in the equation which denotes thought? As I have stated in previous posts scientists have conducted experiments with people praying, singing hymns & meditating & have found that all these practices incite different parts of the brain into action above all other parts of the brain & seem to create endorphin’s which give us pleasant feelings. Yes scientist have proven that even when in a deep meditative states parts of the brain are still active, in actual fact certain parts of the brain become even more active so the old wives tale that one doesn’t think in a meditative state isn’t true.

New age spirituality incorporates so called non-thinking practices like meditation into main stream western spirituality which gives us more balanced modes of thought to live by instead of the church driven doctrinal religions of mode of thoughts to live by.  So is new age spirituality better than church driven spirituality? No because as the science studies have confirmed praying & singing hymns can also be beneficial in the same way as if one was meditating.  It has been proven that even when meditating one is thinking as you are when praying so you could say that when praying one is also meditating & that is exactly what one is doing.

It has been scientifically proven that when meditating one is still thinking but it’s the way we are thinking that is important not the act of not thinking because what meditation & praying give you is focus & it’s this focus that gives you a different mode of thought which in turn gives one an endorphin boost  & a related pleasant feelings.  If it’s been proven that we still think in a meditative state what benefits are there in meditating other than giving us an endorphin rush?  I know focus seems to insinuate thinking but we have now accepted that we do think in meditative states so when we focus on one point like with praying & singing hymns we especially know off by heart without too much thought we are focusing on one point which is enhanced by the endorphin rush.

Note, this is very important to know: By focussing on one point at any given time one can literally change one mode of thought quite dramatically & it’s this mode of thought, especially when it take you away from you life’s dramas, can give you contentment, unconditional love & connectedness to your inner self. This is what meditation does,  praying & singing hymns are just another form of eastern meditation & are just as beneficial to one’s wellbeing.

Unconditional Love Endorphin Rush:  This part will probably upset a few new age spiritualists in particular who have a set mode of thought as it would anyone with a set mode of thought that they religiously live by.

When focussing in a meditative state of consciousness we get an endorphin rush, as discussed earlier, which bring us various feelings usually a feeling of unconditional love & oneness & at this point we can, at times, get insights & even visions which are quite profound & real in all sense however it’s the endorphin’s that only give us this rush & the feelings of unconditional love & oneness but one mustn’t forget they also give us insights & visions as well.  This sounds like utter nonsense doesn’t it; let me explain why our feelings of unconditional love & oneness are only endorphin induced.

Take a spiritualist, not a spiritual aware person, from over in India for example, when in a deep meditative state of consciousness they can feel whatever they like for instance hate compared to love without any brain changing occurring but ask yourself this, can a western spiritually aware person do the same without brain changes occurring? Can a spiritually aware person feel anything else other than pleasant thoughts? It is virtually impossible for a spiritual aware person in a meditative state to change modes of thought to begin with while receiving endorphins rushes to something more unpleasant to start with but it would be totally impossible for them to change modes of thought without brain changes occurring but a true spiritualist can & this is another fundamental difference between spiritually aware people & spiritualists. So how do they do this? Simple, focus, the more one practices focussing on one point in a meditative state of consciousness the less affective any physical or mental attachment has on one, one is then able to focus on just being connected to one’s inner self while experiencing other modes of thought without effecting the connectedness to one’s inner self no matter what the mode of thought is, it’s really groovy stuff.

To do this, as described in past posts, you must go past the pleasurable feelings of unconditional love & oneness which isn’t easy especially when you have desired such feelings in the first palce. It doesn’t matter how much you focus if you don’t go past these feelings induced by our endorphins you won’t reach the stage of complete & utter connectedness which makes you feel that nothing that happens to you your connectedness to your inner self would never be compromised, in actual fact it would be utterly impossible for anything or anyone to break that connection once fully connected I this way.


Eastern meditation; should really be conducted in groups like praying or singing hymns as this is when you will get the best effects of such meditative practices. Where I also disagree with spiritual teachings even from practices like Yoga is when first meditating you don’t have to sit up correctly according to certain beliefs, all you need to do is be comfortable & especially relaxed, you could be lying down or hanging upside down if that is what’s most comfortable for you. Meditating doesn’t mean you have to sit in quietness either or with your eyes shut however for starters you might like to do this because it can give you more focus.

Try finding a group that you are comfortable with, it doesn’t have to be a large group either you & another person you are comfortable with will do.  I suggest that you rid yourself of any desires by looking at the people in your group as you or just another vibrative form nothing more. Look directly at each other & focus on anyone person & allow your inhibitions to fade away, smile if that pleases you. You can also daydream but tell others within the group of your daydreams as daydreaming is but another form of meditation for the main reason it has you focussing on one point which takes you away from your life dramas.  Why meditate in groups? What in life does our dramatic life revolve around? Most everything revolves around people so when you are in groups & you start to lose your inhibitions with other people you tend to have more trust, your comfort level rises thus you become more relaxed & relaxing is one of the most important thing we should do for a successful meditation to take place.  Ask yourself, does it look like when religious or church groups get together at times that they seem to have no inhibition problems with other members of their congregation?