more about degrees of intensity

(why do I always use Sufi quotes when I'm talking about yoga? It's because I just love the deep beauty of them)

Because so many refer to Patanjali's sutra 1:22 as being degrees of intensity of practice, I have decided to look at this sutra from that angle. I have already looked at it regarding eagerness.

The degrees of intensity are:

• mild 
• medium
• intense

and of course these can all be applied to our practice. Most definitely, using the correct practices and having them intense techniques, practiced almost everyday an hour or more, gives amazing results.

This, combined with earnest desire is without a doubt, the quickest way to traverse the spiritual realms and have strong spiritual experiences. Of course, it's not rocket science, just common sense.

I did this for years. And, it is quite easy to do if you have to get up at 3.30 or 4.30 before dawn, have a cold shower, do cleansing practices, chanting, an hour's asanas, strong and lengthy pranayama and meditation, before breakfast. I say it's easy, because you have no choice.

What isn't so easy, is when we do have choices about whether or not to get up hours before anyone else, do these lengthy practices which give such amazing results, and carry on daily life in society. Especially if there is a family involved. What do we do then? How can we keep on progressing? 

We can keep progressing. Our degree of eagerness, or intensity of desire, for spiritual growth, that amazing journey, is a strong fuel. So are strong and lengthy practices, but, when we do not have the situation for this, eagerness will and does carry us on The Journey. I am talking from personal experience here.

Nevertheless, some practice is important. Undoubtedly, without continued practice, we will always retain our own inner knowledge. But we don’t maintain the levels of energy, prana and kundalini, which we had previously attained. We stop living in the energy and consciousness levels which our intense practices had produced. It takes about three months for them to diminish. What then? What usually happens is that people then go back into those same advanced practices to retrieve what they are missing. 

Herein lies a problem. Without having maintained our previous elevated levels, our entire system goes into a sort of shock. Our nervous system, emotions and thoughts get “shaken up”, we cannot manage this and we become a mess. So we stop. But, because we truly believe in doing our practices, we start the same advanced methods. We still cannot maintain, get back to where we had been. I have seen this go on for many years with some people. Stop, start again with strong practices, spin out, stop…  and so on.

The trick is to start again at a lesser, more maintainable level, And then carefully work back to a more agreeable level.  A level that does not shake up all of us: nerves, emotions, mind, the five sheaths, all of the hidden realms. 

I can tell you that eventually you won’t need to do this, that you will just be able to close your eyes, and you will be in a High Spiritual state. But. Doing some daily practices will enable you to actually live those states of being, to be those states, on every level.

No matter what spiritual system you are immersed in.