How to Approach the Spiritual Exercises

A person watching the sun rise over mountains

By Sri Harold Klemp

The Spiritual Exercises of ECK give you confidence in yourself. You learn that you are Soul, you are eternal. Then you know with certainty that you live forever, that death cannot destroy you.

The spiritual exercises work similarly to physical exercises. If you want your body to be strong and healthy, you’ve got to swim or run or do something to keep fit. For the Soul body, you do the Spiritual Exercises of ECK, a form of inner communication also called contemplation.

These spiritual exercises link you with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which is seen as Light and heard as Sound. The inner Sound is the Voice of God calling us home. The inner Light is a beacon to light our way. All the Spiritual Exercises of ECK are built on these two divine aspects of the Holy Spirit.

Experiment with them, and try new things. You’re in your own God Worlds. I’ve gone to different extremes with the spiritual exercises, trying very complicated ones I developed for myself, dropping them when they didn’t work anymore.

It’s like a vein of gold running through a mountain. You’re on it for a while, then the vein runs out and you have to scout around and find another one. Use your creative abilities to go a step further.

Are you learning something new every day from what you’re doing? Are you getting insight and help from within? This is what you ought to be working for.

Do one exercise every day. Spend about twenty minutes on it. This builds your spiritual stamina gently over time. Regular daily practice is the key to success.


Seeds of Destiny

Find a quiet place.  Settle in and take a couple of deep breaths.  You can close your eyes and begin to chant HU in a long drawn out breath.  Repeat this for several moments.

As you do this, imagine seeing the Light of God as a huge golden sun pouring its warmth into your life.  Imagine the seeds of your spiritual destiny opening to this light and taking form in your daily life.

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During your day, ask for inner guidance to show you where new spiritual life is growing in your deeds, thoughts, and actions.  At the end of your day, take time to reflect or journal on this.

―Adapted from Spiritual Exercises for the Shariyat, Book One by Sri Harold Klemp

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