| There can be no spiritual growth without the essential | | | | clings to. Aloneness is our natural nature without the |
| practice of aloneness, or simply put, spending time | | | | charge of loneliness. Once this difference is truly |
| alone. This may be meditation, taking a walk in nature, | | | | understood, and our loneliness acknowledged, the fear |
| reading a spiritual book, or simply contemplation in | | | | of isolation and loneliness gives way to the joy of just |
| peace and quiet. Even in a busy day, 5-10 minutes is | | | | being, which naturally arises from understanding and |
| not too much to find. The 'body-mind' needs rest and | | | | accepting ourselves. |
| balancing. | | | | Self-understanding comes through acceptance of |
| Time spent alone helps us to train ourselves to quieten | | | | what is there - if it's loneliness, then so be it. When we |
| the stories we constantly run in our heads and to see | | | | see that fighting it or hiding from it, as per most |
| the facade that we hold out for others. When we are | | | | people's conscious or unconscious preoccupation, is |
| with others, we perform an act. A carefully-designed | | | | useless because you cannot hide from yourself, then |
| mask appears automatically for the outside world. | | | | we start become conscious. To try to hide from |
| When we are alone, we have no need for this mask, | | | | yourself is frankly impossible, because whether |
| the ego is given a holiday, and thus we have the | | | | consciously or unconsciously tried, it cannot be done. |
| space to just be. | | | | Whenever we hide from feelings, they do not |
| Osho, the Indian sage, said, "The whole life experience | | | | disappear, they simply fester, appearing through our |
| is of being together with people. Aloneness seems | | | | thoughts and actions in covert ways, stripping life of its |
| almost like death. In a way it is a death; it is the death | | | | inherent joy and peace. The irony is that many people |
| of the personality that you have created in the crowd. | | | | think that they are in control of their life, but this is |
| That is the gift of others to you. The moment you | | | | merely self-delusion. What is in fact running the ship |
| move out of the crowd you also move out of your | | | | daily is the perpetual stories and intellectual models we |
| personality....So the first problem for the seeker is to | | | | run in our minds and spend most of our focus on. But |
| understand exactly the nature of aloneness...Those | | | | even this isn't real control, for these stories and |
| who have reached to aloneness have found nobody | | | | thoughts just appear, they have nothing to do with |
| there. I really mean nobody - no name, no form, but a | | | | what is truly real. |
| pure presence, a pure life, nameless, formless. This is | | | | So what is truly real? |
| exactly the true resurrection, and it certainly needs | | | | Now we're talking! This is where real enquiry leads us |
| courage. Only very courageous people have been | | | | from story to truth, and this is the spiritual endeavour. |
| able to accept with joy their pure being; it is death and | | | | These questions are asked in our aloneness. |
| a resurrection both...In aloneness you will disappear as | | | | If we are to truly evolve further, we have to learn to |
| an ego and personality and you will find yourself as life | | | | be honest with ourselves. As a Counsellor and spiritual |
| itself, deathless and eternal. Unless you are capable of | | | | 'aficionado', I have heard on several occasions people |
| being alone your search for truth will remain a failure." | | | | say that they have no pain, no suffering. This is simply |
| Spending time alone is not easy. You may perpetually | | | | part of the self-delusion and ego mask. There is |
| seek to fill the space with activities and busy-ness. | | | | always pain because till we reveal who we really are |
| Even silence in a crowd can be deeply uncomfortable. | | | | (an untarnished Being that is unaffected by story) the |
| This is because when alone we cannot easily hide | | | | separation we feel deep down is in itself pain and |
| from ourselves. And spiritual evolution can only occur | | | | suffering, no matter what angle we may want to |
| when we have some courage to take a look at what | | | | present to ourselves or others. |
| we hide. | | | | As we do take courage to face whatever demons |
| In terms of loneliness, which may be felt acutely but | | | | arise when we are alone, the Universe rushes to our |
| rarely acknowledged, there is a vast difference | | | | aid and reveals who we are. |
| between that and aloneness. Loneliness is an idea | | | | And who are we? |
| based on memory of the past and beliefs our mind | | | | That, is for each of us to discover! |