Udja,
These are good reflections an your current state of practice and you have acknowledged the ideal of Integral practice. An important technique you can work to implement is extending the ideas you had in your last statement:
- “I plan to continue to make my spiritual practice as consistent as possible. I also make use of opportunities to practice the teachings through my interactions with others, singing chants to myself throughout the day, and so on. In time, I hope my life becomes less complex so that I can further develop my spiritual studies.”
to the previous statement:
“Sometimes it is difficult to prevent becoming frustrated, but I do find it rewarding to care for my children, e.t.c.”
Many times people use the word “rewarding” in a human relationship context. That has its place but in the context of the teaching the reward is purity of heart and detachment and dispassion. If the reward is attachment, pride, etc. then it is counterproductive or a horizontal spiritual movement. Better is to apply the teaching to those times and witness the enjoyments with wisdom instead of with human attachment. Next see those relations as service to humanity in the form of your charges that you facilitated in coming to the world and not for your own satisfaction of seeing progeny grow and develop and having human relations with you for personal pleasure and or satisfaction. Next see this process as opportunities for developing patience and perseverance. In this way see them as little Neterus and you as the senior with responsibility to teach them and in so doing learning for yourself also. But also with the idea that whatever they become is also up to them and you are responsible for your part and in so doing developing detachment, equal vision and freedom from the future need to bring more little neterus into the world. In so doing making this a dynamic and powerful aspect of the shedy and thus experiencing no loss in the movement desired towards the glorious goal.
HTP
HTP
