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We are very pleased to welcome Chrissie Blaze to
SoulfulLiving.com as our newest monthly columnist!
Each month, Chrissie will share one of her Eight Steps
to Inner Fitness from her book, "Workout for the Soul."
The Eternal Quest
Last month we
began our journey towards inner fitness. We
remembered that we are not physical beings trapped in
the limitations of body, however fit and healthy that
body may be. Instead we are spiritual beings learning
and gaining experience in this flesh and blood temple of
the soul. In the ensuing months, we will continue with
our inner journey to spiritual fitness: the eternal
quest and holy grail of all deep-thinking people
throughout the ages. Today let us take the first step
towards contacting our inner sacred space – the temple
of our soul.
Many of us have an innate desire to keep our lives as
they are, but once we start to glimpse the wonder and
beauty that is within us, we will not hesitate to delve
deeper. We will be like the man dying of thirst in the
desert who sees an oasis before him. He would not just
stop and stare; he would be filled with hope and joy at
the glimpse of this sparkling water, just as our souls
will delight when they glimpse the sparkling waters of
truth and wonder that reside within us all – the Spark
of God.
These first steps involve character-building that is
essential on any spiritual path. They are steps of
faith, hope, bravery love and perseverance – the keys
to success in every spiritual endeavor.
Many people attempt to live at a superficial level,
skating across the surface. Unfortunately, the wake-up
call usually comes through painful experience. The
universe doesn’t care about our career status or our
make of car. We are conditioned to think that to be
responsible we must have all these things, which
continues to stifle our soul. Where is our real
responsibility? It is to break free of the limitations
of convention by thinking our own thoughts, by trusting
our intuition, applying discrimination and awakening our
full potential.
In this journey of courage, the first step is to
analyze and challenge even our own beliefs and
prejudices. If we do so, then at every step of the
journey we will find ourselves opening up to forces
beyond our comprehension. Again, it takes courage to go
deeper, beyond where we have gone before, into the
uncharted territories of our soul.
First we must take this leap of faith; most of
us are resistant to change, even when we know
intuitively that the time has come for us to do so. We
feel we can no longer hold onto the past, but are afraid
to go forward into an unknown future. That is why so
many people desperately try to stay where they are,
afraid to change and not sure how to do so anyway.
However, once we have taken the leap of faith, we will
find that although we may not yet be able to fly, we can
experience equally magical things.
There are so many distractions in life, so many
things to pull us off our paths. Even if you already
practice meditation – and indeed any of the spiritual
practices in the upcoming parts of this series - you may
still find it difficult to commit to your inner fitness,
even though it takes only a few minutes of your time.
However, the more you persist, the more you will build
your soul qualities of will and strength, which will
help you to continue. Perseverance and practice really
are the keys, just as in learning and acquiring any new
skill. The rewards with this particular skill – soul
awakening – are far greater, and they will last
forever. Every day you can build a stronger bridge to
the jewels that reside within.
This series towards inner fitness is designed to be
read and, far more importantly, practiced. All I ask of
you is a few minutes of your time. During this time you
won’t just become a better writer, carpenter or cook,
you will become a better person. If you regularly
practice the exercises outlined - taught to me by a
truly enlightened yoga master, Dr. George King - you
will not only change your own life for the better, but
you will also help to make a better world. May you,
through regular and diligent spiritual practices, be
firmly on the road to lasting joy and spiritual
enlightenment.
Begin by sitting quietly in contemplation. Breathe
deeply and allow yourself to go deep within where you
can contact the Spark of God within. This aspect,
although often cloaked by thick layers in many of us,
binds us together in our journey back to our source.
Now think of yourself standing on the shores of a
vast universe. Despite recent developments in rockets,
computers, and other marvels of science, we are
painfully ignorant of the world in which we live. We are
even more ignorant of our inner universe, which for some
reason many have forgotten about and ignore, despite an
ever more urgent need to uncover the truth of our
existence. If we take the time to be silent and reflect,
if we are really honest, somewhere deep within us we
know that something is missing.
Think of how our everyday life has become
increasingly competitive, full of anxiety, disease,
stress and the pursuit of materialism. Most of us are on
a seemingly endless treadmill with little relief in
sight. Because of this we often develop an inner
emptiness, sense of futility and restlessness. Why?
Because by being caught in the traps of material life,
we are in effect putting our hands over our eyes – the
mirrors of our souls – and are left groping in the
dark.
What really is the use of spending all our time and
energy on our worldly dreams? Even if we were to become
a great singer, we would eventually lose our voice;
every great athlete eventually has his or her day. The
businessman who amasses a fortune will have to leave it
behind him when he dies. Determine to spend some time
and energy this month increasing your spiritual wealth,
for this never goes to waste. Spiritual wealth, amassed
through your good thoughts and actions, will grow and
accumulate in your "spiritual bank account."
This spiritual bank account pays dividends forever and
forever.
Read
Chrissie's Introductory Article, "Workout for the Soul."
© Copyright Chrissie Blaze.
Excerpted from "Workout for the Soul: 8 Steps to
Inner Fitness," published by AsLan
Publishing, Inc., November 2001.
| The Nature of the Soul
Dr. George King (1919-1997) was my Spiritual Master
from 1972 until his passing in 1997. He was an
enlightened Western Master of Yoga and Founder/President
of The Aetherius Society, who had gained the highest
states of consciousness. This monthly series, Workout
for the Soul is based on his profound spiritual
teachings. Each month I will present you with a glimpse
into the wisdom and personality of this amazing man and
Master.
"If man were to regard himself in the correct
manner he would see that he was an essence of the
Divine, and that essence had clothed itself in a
workable but nevertheless robot-like machine, driven by
mind and electrical impulses in order to gain
experience. That this Divine Spark had formulated what,
for want of a better word, may be termed the soul.
Beneath this, it had also formulated sensory abilities
controlled by the superconscious, conscious and
subconscious mind levels so that it could not only gain
experience, but understand this experience. That this
Divine Spark had existed ever since Creation began and
that it moved with its mental counterparts through
experience cycle after experience cycle – through life
after life – gaining further experience and conscious
control over matter as this long journey was made."
Excerpted from Visit to the Logos
of Earth, published by The Aetherius Press, Los
Angeles, 1986. © 2002 The Aetherius Society. All
rights reserved. No publication in whole or part can be
done without written permission from The Aetherius
Society. For further information, contact The Aetherius
Society, www.aetherius.org
or telephone (323) 465 9652. For a brief biography of
Dr. George King visit www.chrissieblaze.com. |
Chrissie Blaze, a teacher, author, astrologer,
media personality and senior Aetherius Church minister
was a close student of Dr. George King (Yoga Master and
founder of The Aetherius Society) for 25 years. Chrissie
Blaze has written books including Workout for the
Soul: Eight Steps to Inner Fitness, AsLan
Publishing, Inc., November, 2001, Mercury Retrograde:
Your Survival Guide to Astrology’s Most Precarious
Times of the Year, Warner Books, Inc., April, 2002,
and The Baby’s Astrologer: Your Guide to Good
Parenting Is In the Stars, Warner Books, Inc., 2003
publication. For further information and details of
classes and workshops in the Los Angeles area, please
visit www.chrissieblaze.com.
Tel: (213) 598 9552 (voicemail) or (323) 465 9652.
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