Conditioning and the Spiritual Path

November 28, 2009

** Conditioning and the Spiritual Path **

This post was inspired by a few different elements which I've seen in various

threads. Fenzero's writings and topics from Jaff's " How I see it " group have

really made me want to know what everyone thinks regarding the conditioning's we

all receive throughout our lives and how it affects our own spiritual paths.

I have quite a passion for cross-cultural spiritual studies and I have always

ran into the same " teachings " in every single one that promotes spiritual

growth. They all stress the utter importance of learning to " uncondition " many

aspects of our lives in order to see the way things truly are which is by

definition the term " enlightenment " . Each has their own techniques, but the

importance of making the first step is always there, even if they have

completely different cultures and values. I do not to any one

particular path, mine is my own, however for me there has been plenty of great

knowledge passed down over the years. It is quite obvious that as children we

need to learn many things in order to adapt to reality and " fit in " with our

current culture, but is there such a thing as too much conditioning? Or perhaps

just plain wrong conditioning? I assume most would say " yes " , so I would love to

hear your thoughts on what's too much, maybe why and perhaps share a life story

or two. Listening to eachother's hardships and triumphs might just give that

person who has been feeling confined or trapped the courage to make a change in

their lives which would enable them to grow and move past obstacles. Mine was

the conditioning of organized religion and issues with an angry father. I grew

up with all sorts of rules and dogma which I rebelled against in my teenage

years and happily found my own path, but I still find to this day many latent

patterns of thought and behaviour which reflect that early conditioning. It's

amazing when you realize just how deep into every day activities conditioning

can run. I was told very early on to only " play " after all the hard work is done

and to be quiet and reverent around other people. Even after all these years I

find I have to remind myself that " I " truly have the power of choice to do as I

will in that moment. It's easy to think that we always have the ability to

choose our actions, however on deep introspection I think we can find an

overwhelming number of " habits " and patterns of thinking and feeling which are

really the determinates in our actions. For me, to truly be able to say " I

choose freely " without any guilt, shame, regrets, rewards/punishments or

attachment is the magnum opus of Spiritual achievement which I hope to awaken as

I traverse my path. Any thoughts?

Answers so far for this post can be found at :

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