THE BASIC SPIRITUAL PURIFICATION PROGRAM

STEP 1 - THE MIND

Write out on paper or record on tape all your thoughts for fifteen minutes, uncensored. Then go through what you have recorded and change all the negative thoughts into positive ones. Do this again and again until you feel good. One whole day per week should be devoted to this process until you feel good or high all week. Then you can reduce to only one hour per week. You can accelerate this process by doing it every day. This exercise should be done every time you feel low or depressed. This exercise will eventually yield total peace and control of your mind, your body and your life. Also for your mind, expose yourself to good literature.

STEP 2 - YOUR BREATH

Do 20 Connected Breaths (link) each day - connecting the inhale to the exhale in a relaxed rhythm. Be gentle and conscious on the inhale and relaxed on the exhale. Let go of the exhale such that gravity causes it - no pushing or holding. In addition, do 10 to 20 spiritual breathing sessions with a well-trained spiritual breathing teacher or Rebirther. This should include warm- and cold-water rebirthing.

STEP 3 - FOOD

Abstain from food for one day each week for a year. It probably should be a weekday. Do only one day per week the first year. Then do two days per week the second year; three days per week the third year. I don't recommend accelerating this program because your mind and body like lots of time and experience to integrate these new food habits and rhythms. It is OK to do half-day fasts and to cheat occasionally in order to process guilt and learn something about the yoga of comfort and pleasure. Liquids are permitted on fast days. I recommend vegetarianism and fruit diets as a regular practice. Macrobiotics is a valuable diet and so is the raw food diet.

STEP 4 - THE NAME OF GOD

Sing the name of God daily. You can sing or chant any name for God, but I have received the greatest value from singing OM NAMAHA SHIVAIYA. The purpose of repeating the Name of God every day is that it evokes the divine presence and all divine emotions. It is wonderful to remember the Name of God constantly throughout the day until it becomes an ever-present thought. This may be the simplest and greatest technique of spiritual purification.

The OM NAMAHA SHIVAIYA mantra or creation sound is of primordial origin and it brings with it a great secret: when singing the five syllables, the five Elements purify our bodies. NA corresponds to the EARTH element. MAH corresponds to the WATER element. SHI corresponds to the FIRE element. VA corresponds to the AIR element. YA corresponds to the ETHER element.

STEP 5 - PHYSICAL EXERCISE

I recommend that you take a walk every day and meditate upon your neighbors for the purpose of loving them. Be conscious of nature. I do my walk after my morning bath and before breakfast.

STEP 6 - SLEEP

Stay awake all night once each month. Mediate on the emotional changes and body feelings. Meditate on the moon and the sunrise. Use the exercise in STEP 1 to process your disturbing thoughts and feelings.

STEP 7 - SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY

Participate in a monthly town meeting on your block or in your watershed. The purpose is to realize a spiritual family and friendships, as well as to fulfill the basic responsibilities of citizenship. If your neighbors aren't receptive to this sort of community, you may want to reconsider being where you are. The more people there are who are interested in physical immortality, the easier it is for all of us. In addition, learn as much as possible from the great saints on Earth.

STEP 8 - HAIR

Shave your head at least once every ten years. I recommend that during one year every decade or so, you shave your head twice per week (Sundays and Wednesdays) for nine months. This cleans your energy body, heals the physical body and reverses the aging process. It also accelerates the youthing process.

STEP 9 - BATHING

Water purification is simple and easy. I have had the practice of meditating while immersed in a warm bathtub for one hour per day for many years. Taking showers daily is effective, but I recommend total immersion in water at least once per week. Doing connected breathing while entering the water produces special value, but you can easily experience your energy body - the human aura - by meditating or feeling changes as you enter the water.

STEP 10 - FIRE

We have taken fire for granted in the 20th century. We use the power of fire in our cars, our homes; it does most of our work for us and is the source of infinite comfort and pleasure. In India and in Native American cultures, people practice a ceremony of feeding a fire with ordinary and as an act of respect and gratitude for what fire does for us. American Indians also sometimes give food to their water sources as well as to feed the gods of nature. These are good practices.

STEP 11 - MANUAL LABOR

Physical work is holy. I recommend that you regularly use your body to do housework, gardening, carrying out your trash, etc. Working with or on the earth produces good feelings and spiritual enlightenment. Farming is the holiest occupation on Earth. Bodywork methods, massage, martial arts and athletic activities also qualify as manual labor. Receiving massage and bodywork is a method of spiritual purification.

STEP 12 - POPULATION CONTROL

Each person must exercise responsibility for his or her reproductive powers to control population growth. As physical immortality becomes more popular, more conscious child-bearing becomes important. Unraveling the trauma of the birth-death cycle rehabilitates our ability to appear and disappear on Earth by choice. Transfiguration is an acceptable altern ative to physical death as a method of reducing overpopulation problems on Earth.

STEP 13 - MONEY

Winning the money game through intelligent, enjoyable and loving service is a method of spiritual purification. Your rewards in life, both tangible and intangible, are directly proportional to the quality and quantity of service that you render to your fellow beings on this planet.

The revelations and freedom that will be inspired in you as a result of practicing these 13 simple and natural spiritual purification practices have the power to realize heaven on Earth. Your personal perfection has been waiting for you throughout all eternity. These spiritual purification exercises will open you up so you can let it in. They will enable you to release all of your negativity. They are both fun and enlightening.