Self-development is the fate of man. If we’re not moving forward and becoming more we’re stagnating and becoming less. Things never stay still the universe is in constant motion and we are no different. We must always rise higher and become more. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and walking the path that we were made to walk on this earth.
To develop oneself physically and mentally is relatively straight forward, or at least easier to understand than developing oneself spiritually. To develop physically there are many options to choose from the gym, understanding health, eating a right diet, spending time in nature and getting sunlight, swimming in cool water, hunting, fighting, and so much more. To express oneself physically in a higher and higher form is pretty straightforward.
Same mentally. Read everything you can get your hands on, do the hardest thing in the world for humans to do, which is to think. Think about your life, where you’re at, the world around you, ask yourself why like a child would. Keep following threads and seeing bigger and bigger patterns to how everything works. Play music, write, put together puzzles, to develop oneself mentally is relatively straightforward as well.
But spiritually is a little harder. What I want to do is outline some options for developing yourself spiritually while also understanding of the three “realms” this one is the one that is most personal to you and one that will be the most “unique”. You have to find what works for you.
The Nature & Spirit Connection
I like use to a lot of metaphor and simile in my writing. For example when I say that the modern world is “Satanic” do I mean its ran by a little horned goat fellow who runs around with a pitch fork making people do bad things? No, of course not. I use the mythological term of “Satan” to point out that its against the primal/natural order, the order set down at the beginning of time by what we’d call God. But what does that have to do with spiritual development?
The modern world we all have to live in divorces us from both our primal natures and our spiritual ones. Modern life, cities, suburbs, radio, TV, movies, music, communication, technology separates you from your innate spiritual nature, it deadens and numbs you to be a consuming zombie. In order to reconnect with this inner nature you have to get out of the numbing modern world and back in nature.
This could be as simple as a walk through the park or going on a hike or as elaborate as spending a week in the woods with basic survival gear. The point is to get away from the modern world and modern people. Get to where you hear nothing but the blowing of the wind, the chirping of the birds, the babbling of a brook, the falling of the snow, and spend as much time there as possible. Nature in itself is a form of meditation.
The Spirit & Story
When we look at humanity through the ages one of the most powerful and prized people has been the storyteller. Now at first glance this doesn’t really make sense, especially the further back you go. In a hunter/gather society what was the utility of making up shit and telling it to everyone? There were things to be hunted, gathered, and fought against. Who had times for such nonsense as stories, right?
Well turns out the hunter/gatherers were onto something. Stories are incredibly powerful for a variety of reasons. Shared history, immersion/teaching of culture, “test programs” for dealing with danger, tribal communion, and a whole hell of a lot more. One thing stories do is they, the right ones at least, touch something eternal and deep within us. Not all stories but the mythical ones certainly do this. The stories of myth and legend have power to them that “modern” stories do not.
There are modern myths and legends too. You’ll know when it touches something deep inside of you and spurs you to be, do, and become more. Find out the myths and legends of your heritage, of where you came from. Most of us know Christian myths and legends but what about the culture of your people? Do you know them? I’d recommend looking them up and learning them. There is great spiritual power in myth.
Meditation & Ritual
These are two separate things. By meditation I’m referring to mindfulness meditation, where you sit and focus on your breathing. It does wonders to calm down the mind and sort things out. I think its something that everyone should do. It helps you unplug from the modern world and develop that connection. If you can’t get out in nature then I’d say this is a requirement. Headspace has some good stuff if you want to get started.
Now let’s talk about ritual. Ritual can mean many different things the official definition is “a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order” but my definition is a little more expansive. For example to me there is a somewhat spiritual component to sparring, not that I get all geeked out about it, but there’s something there. So stepping into/onto the ring/cage/mats is somewhat of a ritual for me.
But religious services could be another example of this, prayer times as well. Again different people are going to be different. I’d advise against foreign substances, spirituality is within yourself and doesn’t come from an altered state. Though I guess stillness could be considered and “altered state” but you know what I mean. But again do what works for you.
The Power Of Music
There is something strong and primal about music, real music, not the Satanic commercial crap that is all genres of modern music, but real music. Classics sure, but also instrumentals, hymns, folk music, poems, and much more. Very few things that are commercial or mass produced are going to fit this bill. But true music has a spiritual power, it is good to sit and listen to music sometimes and let yourself be moved by it.
Find the music that works for you, experiment with different types of music, putting you in different moods. Try something you’re not sure of and see what the result is. There are times, especially in nature, when I’ll just sit and listen to music. I used to do this while smoking a cigar or drinking bourbon but I don’t smoke or drink anymore but still get much relaxation from this exercise.
Especially if there’s a storm, but that’s me. You have to find what works for you.
Spiritual Development
So many words in the modern English language have been corrupted or watered down to be almost meaningless, spirituality is one of these words. Spiritual development is important and not something that is all “woo-woo”. It’s not something that any man should neglect. Here are some paths to development, try them, use what works for you, and then develop your own.
If anything I said here interests you I’d highly recommend you check out The Ultimate Alpha Collection which is a compilation of 16 of my books for the price of 5. It covers everything from being a man to making money to getting the right mindset to getting girls to fighting and more and is a resource no man should be without. Pick up your copy today!
-Charles Sledge
