Spiritual Practice School

For example, the commandment "thou shalt not kill". Christians generally believe that to observe this commandment, it is sufficient to refrain from killing another person. This is a mistake. One should not treat the sacred scriptures so superficially. It is naive to think that simply by not killing one's own kind, one will avoid falling into the world of hell. No, it is not so. By not killing people, one will avoid accumulating only the heaviest, most dangerous karma. However, to avoid accumulating the karma of hell altogether, one must observe the commandment "thou shalt not kill" not in a narrow, but in a broad sense. And what does this mean? This means the following: do not cause physical pain to anyone, do not kick, push, hit, swing, scare, kill people, animals, fish and insects, do not engage in terrorist activities, do not commit terrorist acts, do not threaten terrorist acts, do not kill or beat anyone who does not agree with you, do not kill or beat anyone who has a different worldview, do not kill or beat anyone who has a different religion, since the production of almost any food is associated with the killing of living beings, therefore, do not eat not only fish or meat, but also try to eat as little as possible of any other food products, and also try not to feed other people or other living beings (unless this is done to save life), do not eat or damage seeds, do not damage plants, do not dig the ground, do not mow, lend a helping hand in trouble, do not cause offense, do not take revenge, do not mock, do not Do not oppress, do not be intrusive, do not perform an abortion, do not assist in performing an abortion.

The commandment "Thou shalt not steal" in a broad sense means the following: do not steal, do not commit robbery, do not appropriate by force, do not appropriate secretly, do not travel without pay, keep a minimum of belongings, do not borrow, do not lend, do not allow default on debts, do not delay repayment of debts, do not take someone else's property without permission, do not use someone else's things without permission, if possible, do not use someone else's things, do not appropriate someone else's items or items of common use, do not appropriate alms intended for others, do not take anything that is not properly laid around, do not throw away any food, including uneaten food, do not throw away anything that is fit for food, do not indulge in reckless behavior, do not live in luxury, do not indulge in debauchery, do not lead a dissolute life, beg, be simple, do not withhold from a worker the wages he deserves, do not appropriate surplus value, do not appropriate someone else's labor, do not live on the results of someone else's labor, do not engage in commerce (an activity the purpose of which is to obtain income), do not appropriate income, spend on yourself (or loved ones) from the income received only a share equal to the invested efforts, do not appropriate someone else's property, do not appropriate public property, do not appropriate income from the sale of public property, do not gamble on the stock exchange, in bets, in casinos and the like, do not gamble, do not play lotteries, do not use insurance, do not speculate, do not abuse a deficit obtained due to a deficit Invest any excess income entirely into a business that eliminates this deficit, do not attend corporate events, do not pocket unearned money, do not receive a salary that exceeds the efforts you have put into this business, make donations, do not own more than one home, do not accept unearned bonuses or prizes, abstain from excessive consumption of food and drink, and practice intermittent dry fasting.

The commandment “You shall not commit adultery” in a broad sense means the following: to abstain from any sexual activity, not to waste sexual energy in any way, not to have lovers, to have intercourse only for the sake of having children, not to cheat on the father (mother) of your child, not to divorce the father (mother) of your child, to remain faithful to the father (mother) of your child even if you are widowed, not to touch people or other living creatures, not to have animals at home, not to entertain yourself with dancing, music or visiting other entertainment events, not to play computer games, not to play other games and not to entertain yourself in any other way, not to use intoxicants, not to smoke, not to use drugs, not to use perfume, cosmetics or other jewelry, not to arrange feasts, not to use a luxurious, large or soft bed, not to communicate with the opposite sex (for the sake of communication), not to seduce persons of the opposite sex, not to conduct seductive conversations, not to look at persons of the opposite sex, do not sleep in the same room with the opposite sex, do not swim, do not shower, do not take a bath or steam room with the opposite sex, do not lie on your stomach, maintain good posture, do not have fun, do not enjoy, do not be captivated by taste, sight, smell, hearing, touch, sensation of movement, delicacies, gluttony, be satisfied with Lenten food, do not watch romance films, do not read depraved books, do not read fiction, do not read vain and soulless books, do not look at shameful images, do not watch erotica or pornography, refrain from seeking impressions, refrain from contemplating anything interesting, do not show curiosity, do not admire, do not do empty, meaningless things.

The commandment “not to speak evil” in a broad sense means the following: not a drop of cold, sharp, evil, not to swear, not to use foul language, not to swear, not to engage in negative conversations, not to be indignant, not to scold, not to shout, not to argue, not to speak in a raised voice, not to reprimand, not to reprimand, not to condemn, not to mention evil spirits, not to insult, not to contradict, not to say abusive, cruel or caustic words, to refrain from blasphemous statements, not to threaten, to speak with honor and respect, silence in front of those who offend, to stop enmity and discord in the family (and not only), not to speak ill of others, not to scold in their faces, not to scold behind their backs, not to curse, not to blame other people or circumstances for your failures or your problems, to listen to another person when he shares his problems with you, not to shut another person’s mouth, to give speak up, give someone the opportunity to speak out, do not block anyone on forums or other social networks and do not delete other people's messages (except in cases where these people themselves violate the commandment "not to speak ill of others"), be accountable for deleting other people's messages, be accountable for blocking on networks to everyone who asks about it, be responsible for your words, be responsible for your actions, be responsible.

The commandment "not to slander" in a broad sense means the following: to refrain from criticizing anyone (unless absolutely necessary), to keep other people's secrets, not to disclose personal information about others without permission, not to suspect, not to ridicule, not to make fun, not to speak mockingly, not to exalt oneself above others, not to assert oneself, not to be arrogant, not to defend oneself in words, not to speak arrogantly, not to talk about loving oneself, not to speak on the basis of loving oneself, to be modest, to be impartial, not to seek glory, not to seek honors, not to boast, to defend the innocent and the righteous.

The commandment "thou shalt not lie" broadly means the following: do not lie, do not deceive, do not cheat, do not speak frankly, do not engage in idle chatter, do not flatter, avoid jokes, speak only to the point, silence is golden, do not engage in seductive conversations, do not mislead others, and keep promises.

Care should be taken not to violate the commandments regarding speech, either in writing or electronically. The commandment “root out anger” in a broad sense means the following: not to allow thoughts based on hatred or anger, not to violate the commandment “not to slander” in thoughts, not to think about breaking the commandment “do not kill”, not to allow yourself to be especially manic with anger, not to get angry, not to allow negative thoughts, to suppress thoughts of revenge, to tolerate insults, to restrain the heart from anger, to avoid the indignation of the heart with anger, to forgive insults, to love offenders, to love enemies, to re-educate innate egoism and love for oneself into altruism. Rejection of the cult of self-love, not wishing evil, eradicating coldness and indifference, not being afraid to die, not killing love, love for one's neighbors that is brotherly, pure, equal to all, impartial, joyful, flaming equally towards friends and enemies, the desire to crucify oneself like Christ, not to explode, not to allow the mind to be clouded by malice, suppress bitterness, suppress irritability, suppress obstinacy, suppress suspicion, suppress suspicion of evil intent, suppress suspicion of violation of norms, suppress suspicion of a bad quality in another person.

The commandment “eradicate greed” in a broad sense means the following: do not allow thoughts based on greed, do not violate the commandment “do not slander” in thoughts, do not think about breaking the commandment “do not steal”, do not especially allow yourself manic greed, do not envy, do not love money, do not want to get rich, do not think about the means to enrichment, do not dream about wealth, do not consider income as your property, do not be selfish, do not be stingy, do not love things, do not have a desire to receive gifts, do not be attached to property, to real estate, to money, to savings, do not have thoughts of ownership of anything in your mind, even to personal belongings, clothes and your own body, eradicate the desire to have a good thing, eradicate the desire to appropriate someone else's thing, eradicate the desire to appropriate a thing that “lies badly” (easily accessible for theft, or is lost), hatred of luxury, not to engage in science and art for the sake of earthly glory, not to despise one's neighbor, not to prefer oneself to everyone, to eradicate pride, to eradicate the desire to support one's own life, to dedicate oneself entirely to the Absolute.

The commandment “root out ignorance” in a broad sense means the following: not to allow thoughts based on ignorance, not to break the commandment “do not lie” in thoughts, not to think about breaking the commandment “do not commit adultery”, not to especially allow yourself manic lust, reject hedonism, not to have fun, not to enjoy, not to have tender feelings (to your activities, to conversations, to communication, to being in company, to rest, to clean water, to tasty food, to food, to good weather, to pleasant experiences, to a change of scenery, to travel, to tourism, to experiences, to the beautiful and the wonderful, to music and songs, to news, to new things), not to show interest in animals, not to have a greed for sleep, don't sleep in complete darkness, not to do anything for the sake of appearance, for the sake of beauty, not to touch the altar or other sacred objects without the appropriate ceremony, refrain from ceremonies and actions with the altar or sacred objects, performed only with the left hand, do not damage or throw away icons and mandalas, sacred objects, portraits of saints, venerate saints from any religion, do not succumb to ignorance (for example, "it's okay if you're a little lazy", or, for example, "it's okay if you relax a little", or, for example, "it's okay if you break the commandment", or "it's okay if you lie around a little", or, for example", it's okay if the child doesn't live with both of its biological parents", or "it's okay if the child lives and is raised in a state institution", or "it's okay to have an abortion", or "it's better to have an abortion than to then abandon your child", or, for example, "it's okay to go for a walk a little", or "it's okay to dream about the sensations and desires of the body, soul and heart", or "there's nothing wrong with enjoying prodigal thoughts"), to observe chastity in thoughts, not to put a loved one above the Absolute, not to put an agreement with a person above an agreement with the Almighty, not to put an agreement above the Truth, not to put any reasons above the Truth, not to put any knowledge above the Truth, not to show laziness (the energy of tamas), not to succumb to tamas, not to allow agnosticism (thoughts that deny the possibility of scientific knowledge). Absolute, God, Holy Spirit, nirvana and other similar spiritual foundations), not to deny the existence of the law of karma and reincarnation, not to allow thoughts that deny the Truth (the need to eradicate worldly desires, the need and benefit of spiritual practice, other foundations of spiritual practice), inactivity of the bodily senses, silence of the mind, repentance, awareness of the fall, a feeling of poverty of soul and spirit, the desire for prayer, solitude, obedience, humility, confession of one's sins, careful observation of all deeds, words, thoughts and feelings, distrust of one's own mind, fear of the Almighty, humility, constant accusation and reproach of oneself, rejection and oblivion of false customs, rejection of erroneous traditions, rejection of erroneous vows and rules, recognition of one's feeblemindedness. To suppress: sadness, despondency, grief, melancholy, cutting off hope for one's spiritual growth, doubt in promises, ingratitude to heaven for everything that happens, faint-heartedness, impatience, lack of self-reproach, grumbling, renunciation of the feat of a difficult spiritual life, the desire to leave one's field, evading the burden of the cross - the struggle with passions and sinfulness, laziness in any good deed, especially spiritual, abandoning the religious or prayer rule, loss of memory of the Absolute, abandoning unceasing prayer (mantra) and soul-profiting reading, inattention, haste, negligence, idleness, carelessness, revelry, drinking, soothing the flesh with sleep, lying down and all kinds of bliss, seeking easy salvation, moving from place to place in order to avoid hardships and deprivations, frequent walks and visiting friends, abandoning bows and other spiritual feats, forgetting one's sins, forgetting the commandments, negligence, self-justification through captivity to passions, absent-mindedness, failure to fulfill promises, despair, fickleness of character, indulgence in passions, lack of conscience, becoming like demons in character and life, lack of diligence, neglect of the spiritual education of children, self-love, self-will, hardening of the heart from successes in spiritual growth, trust in God's long-suffering, hypocritical or deceitful repentance, sinful life.

Intermittent Dry Fasting

Of course, sport and gym workouts are great. Physical exercise helps burn excess fat, boosts metabolism, and balances vitamin levels. Quite often, the body feels unwell precisely because of vitamin imbalance: some vitamins are in excess, while others are critically deficient. Sport helps correct this imbalance by eliminating surplus substances and bringing the body back to a normal state. In essence, sport compensates for overeating.

A person enjoys some tasty food — and, as usual, there’s always a desire to eat more than necessary. Then one must go to the gym or for a walk to burn off the excess calories. Otherwise, health complications may arise, diseases may develop, or one may simply feel very unwell. At first glance, the solution seems simple: eat — overeat — exercise — solve the problem. But that’s not the whole story. The issue is that such a metabolic cycle accelerates the body’s wear and tear. Most notably, this regimen puts the greatest strain on the heart, as it bears the highest and most exhausting loads during exercise.

Fasting as an Alternative to Sport. It’s important to note that balancing the body’s substance imbalance isn’t exclusive to sport — fasting can achieve the same effect. In fact, dry fasting is the most effective method for normalizing vitamin balance. For example, when following a diet (as opposed to fasting), one must supplement with multivitamins to compensate for the inevitable vitamin imbalance that any diet causes. With pure fasting, however, the opposite is true. During fasting, the body essentially becomes a «generator» (so to speak) of nutrients and vitamins — it independently determines which vitamins it needs to produce and absorb at any given moment. Fasting is a powerful detoxifying tool that brings metabolism into proper order.

Spiritual Dimensions of Fasting. In spiritual practice, fasting and bodily purification aren’t the ultimate goals. One of the primary objectives is awakening the kundalini energy and raising it to the upper chakras — and this is precisely what intermittent dry fasting facilitates.

After two days of intermittent dry fasting, you will be allowed to spend one day eating whatever you desire, whatever you please. Though, of course, it’s better not to overindulge.

Hellish beings eat five times a day. Animals eat four times a day. Pretas eat three times a day. Humans eat twice a day. Asuras eat once a day. Devas eat every other day. On the third day, after two days, the saints eat. Two days off, one day on — this three‑day rhythm optimizes both nutrition and hydration, making it the most effective pattern for human health. This dietary approach is physiologically optimal and most beneficial. More frequent intake of food and water is detrimental and unadvisable.

Dry fasting cures virtually all diseases. Dry fasting is a direct path to samadhi.

The practice of intermittent dry fasting exists in both Buddhism and yoga.

Dry fasting is a practice that should be performed during any retreat. Transitioning to intermittent dry fasting is a real path, a real technique for finding the means to further spiritual growth when unfavorable conditions arise, and despite these unfavorable conditions. The practice of intermittent dry fasting allows one to awaken the kundalini in those who have not yet awakened it. Or to more steadily activate it in those who have already dormant it. Or, for those whose kundalini is steadily awakened, this practice will bring one very close to achieving the level of raja yoga.

During dry fasting, the duration of sleep is significantly reduced.

Intermittent dry fasting significantly increases life expectancy.

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You can begin practicing intermittent dry fasting immediately, starting tomorrow, without any warm-up or special preparation; like any other yogic cleansing technique. You need to fast for two days (it's okay if you only manage one day at first). There won't be any particular problems breaking this fast. Basically, if you have any doubts about your body, you should break the fast like this: eat an orange, then an apple, then take a break of at least forty minutes, then eat any regular food. By the second fasting cycle, your body will be sufficiently prepared to break the fast without any preludes.

You'll likely experience headaches, dizziness, or other unpleasant sensations during the fast: pain in various parts of the body, itching, goose bumps, increased body temperature, or something else. All of this is a consequence of the awakening of kundalini energy. During this practice, kundalini energy awakens and rises through the energy channels. In areas where there is impurity in the energy channels, excess friction occurs, resulting in pain or other noticeable sensations. All of this must be endured as long as it is being washed away from your karma. Continue fasting, and your pain will become milder and milder each time. Don't be afraid of anything you have to endure.

Dry fasting must be strict. If you dilute it with water, the body won't realize it's fasting. Furthermore, the need to treat the water will overload the body, already weakened by fasting. During dry fasting, don't gargle with water to relieve dry mouth. This will lead the body to falsely believe it's starting to drink water (and, consequently, to start eating).

Yoga distinguishes between cleansing the body using the elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and space. Each successive element in this sequence represents a higher level, a higher level, than the previous one. During dry fasting, the element of fire will be used to cleanse the body. This is why your body temperature will be slightly higher than usual during a dry fast. This is also why you should not drink water during a dry fast. You should also avoid cooling your body down, and especially avoid overcooling it. You should not bathe. You should dress warmly.

Keeping track of how much time remains until you break the fast is painful. Therefore, it's better to distract yourself with other activities.

The Bible strongly recommends that anyone who considers themselves a true spiritual practitioner (an angel of the church) practice a ten-day retreat without food or water. The preparatory phase for a ten‑day dry fast often involves an initial transition to a dietary protocol in which food and water are consumed every third day, separated by two consecutive days without intake. After a period of one to three months, you may start a new cycle: first, five days of abstinence from food and water; second, five days of regular food and water intake. After one to three months, you can move on to a ten-day dry fast. After this, you need to eat and drink normally for about ten days, and then repeat the retreat for another ten days. You need to repeat the retreat constantly until you achieve liberation. This is the fastest path to liberation. And once you achieve it, you need to continue this retreat regimen for the rest of your life. This lifestyle may initially seem impossible and daunting. However, as it turns out, the human body adapts to such a regimen, quickly gets used to it, and begins to pursue it with increasing passion.

First, you need to train your body on two-day fasts. That is, the body of a person who has experience with two-day intermittent fasting and the body of a person who has not are completely different organisms. You could even say they have completely different constitutions. They are different races. They are different animals. And the rules for one are completely unsuitable as rules for the other.

Those who adapt well to two‑day fasting followed by a day of eating and drinking should advance to the next level: five‑day fasting followed by five consecutive days of eating and drinking. Those who adapt well to five‑day fasting with five subsequent days of eating and drinking should progress further: ten‑day fasting followed by ten consecutive days of eating and drinking. During eating periods, return to your usual dietary habits and consume as much food and water as your body requires.

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Those who have experience with intermittent dry fasting will easily understand the following. It turns out that a person can and should constantly and daily be in a state of dry fasting. It turns out that even on meal days, the practice of dry fasting doesn't stop. What does this mean? It means that when a person ingests food, the body is in a state of absorption. And when a person stops eating, then for the time until the next meal, the body quite quickly switches to fasting mode. The body is in a state of isolated metabolism. However, If you put something, even a small one, in your mouth between two meals, the body will readjust and prepare to process the sudden influx of food. And it's easy to understand that all these unexpected changes the start of a meal, then another pause force the body to readjust itself repeatedly and pointlessly. They cause the body to operate without productive output. This same reasoning also applies to the case where, between meals, you're not drinking food, but simply drinking water. The more prolonged the interval between meals that gets interrupted, the more detrimental it is. The situation takes on a particularly serious form when such an interruption affects the nocturnal (and thus the longest) interval.

Even if a person doesn't practice intermittent dry fasting, but nevertheless begins to maintain dry periods between meals, they will significantly improve their health and significantly extend their lifespan.