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“Exploring our real self”: a new lab on Ostadelahi-inPractice
After “One character weak point after another – delving within our unconscious psyche”, elaborated from an extract of The Path of Perfection, OstadElahi inPractice, filled with enthusiasm for the recent publication in English of the Fundamentals of Spiritual Perfection: A Practical Guide, is now launching a series of labs dedicated to the study and in-depth practical approach of this book by Bahram Elahi.
The first lab of this series opens with the words that introduce the book and that perfectly illustrate, in both form and substance, the scientific approach of a manual of medicine.
Here is the teaser:
Exploring our real self
Defining and grasping the faculties of the human soul
“Before proceeding further, it is recommended that readers carefully study and commit to memory the figures introduced at the outset of this Practical Guide. Keeping these figures at the forefront of their mind, readers should look at them as reflections of their own self. In a way, these concepts and figures can be considered as direct depictions of their own soul. These figures represent the structural and functional* organization of our real self (our soul) and its psychospiritual faculties. Without conceptualizing these realities of one’s soul (which is a psychospiritual organism), how is one to know the object of one’s pursuit or the means of going about it?” From the very first pages of the Fundamentals of Spiritual Perfection: A Practical Guide**, published in April 2022, the reader is forewarned! Students in the “new medicine of the soul” must get to know their subject matter, that is, their true self.
The goal of this lab is to provide help and support in this exploration. Projecting ourselves into these figures means that we should memorize and understand the faculties of the soul from a perspective of functional anatomy (definition, origin, role, relationship to the other faculties, etc.), but it also entails that we practice perceiving and concretely grasping them within ourselves, in vivo, in order to eventually master them and fulfill their potentials.
For each of the faculties proposed in this lab, begin by testing and improving your theoretical knowledge with the help of a selection of excerpts from the Practical Guide. Then, determine and implement a practical exercise that will allow you to better grasp this faculty within yourself in your daily life, thereby improving your knowledge of your true self.
* “Functional” indicates that these figures represent a system of dynamic relations among the different faculties or forces of the soul, considered here as a psychospiritual organism.
** Bahram Elahi, Fundamentals of Spiritual Perfection: A Practical Guide, Rhinebeck, NY: Monkfish Book Publishing, 2022.
This lab entitled Exploring our real self – Defining and grasping the faculties of the human soul suggests that we begin at the beginning and start the program of students in Medicine of the Soul with the knowledge of our psychospiritual organism.
It was thus necessary to adapt the structure of 28 days straight labs to the approach and the frame of mind needed to tackle the Fundamentals of Spiritual Perfection. OstadElahi-inPractice has done so thanks to new functionalities. It proposes, for each studied faculty of the soul, an approach that is both in vitro and in vivo, without ever interfering in the choices of users. It is indeed always up to users to autonomously manage their reflection and the nature of their practical exercises.
“In vitro practice involves theoretically learning and memorizing a real divine truth, and then reflecting upon and persuading oneself of that truth in preparation for its in vivo application. Following this mental preparation, in vivo practice entails personally applying this divine truth within the concrete reality of daily life and in our interaction with others. Thus, the complete practice of living real divine truths consists of two phases: a preparatory mental phase (memorization, reflection, and self-persuasion), which is carried out in vitro, and a practical phase (within real-life situations), which is carried out in vivo.”
Fundamentals of the Process of Spiritual Perfection: A Practical Guide, op. cit., p. 87.
The program can be summed up in three words: define, study and grasp within the context of daily life each faculty of the human soul. At every stage, students will have to refer to the figures and insights taken from their practical guide.
You will find all complementary explanations in the tutorial of this new lab, Exploring our real self – Defining and grasping the faculties of the human soul, that will be available online on 15 June 2022.
NB: The illustration of this article is inspired by B. Elahi, Fundamentals of Spiritual Perfection: A Practical Guide, figure 1a.
The labs available on OstadElahi inPractice:
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One character weak point after another
Perfecting one’s humanity requires that we establish a precise diagnosis of our character weak points or flaws relating to ethical and divine matters so as to tame and control them. The reservoir of our character weak points is however located in a zone that seems at first to be out of range of our ordinary self-consciousness, namely, our unconscious psyche. How then can we still attempt to concretely make a diagnosis of our character weak points? (…) |
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In Ostad Elahi’s footsteps – 28 days straight
One day, one saying, and the possibility to deeply reflect on its content and to build upon it in vivo, at the heart of our daily lives. This time, a selection of 40 excerpts from Words of Truth will take us as close as possible to an approach Ostad Elahi vividly embodied in the smallest details of his life. (…) |
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One day, one Maxim – 28 days straight
For those wishing to travel on the road to self-knowledge, it may at times seem more like a maze than a road. How is one to keep moving in the right direction and avoid getting lost? Meditating on principles of wisdom can help us find our way, but there can be no progress unless we put them into practice. How can we then go about combining action and meditation? (…) |
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Breaking free from backbiting
“Are you prone to backbiting?” Our immediate response to this question would certainly leave room for no doubt: “Of course not!” Backbiting seems so obviously unethical that no one would think of themselves as a “backbiter”. Yet, there is no single path to backbiting. No matter how obvious or subtle they may be, experience has shown that we go down such paths much more often than we would like to admit. (…) |
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Connecting with the Divine
What is prayer? What purpose does it serve? What is its role in the process of spiritual perfection? Under what conditions can one best benefit from prayer? This lab aims at helping you better understand the goal, the effects, and the conditions of prayer, and make the practice of prayer a part of your daily life. |
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Toward an in vivo practice
What would be the best approach to begin an ethical and spiritual practice? Focusing on one’s thoughts? On concepts? On actions? What method would be most effective? How can one avoid falling into an imaginary practice with only the illusion of progress? In this first open curriculum lab, it will be up to you to progressively define the content of your work by exploring the foundations of an ethical and spiritual practice that is truly adapted to the soul—that is, an in vivo practice. |
See also:
- “The Exercise of Attention-Dialogue”: a pillar of the process of spiritual perfection in a lab
- “One character weak point after another”: a new lab on OstadElahi-inPractice
- Breaking free from backbiting: first steps toward “good words” on OstadElahi inPractice
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Thank you for providing us this in vivo opportunity to work on ourselves!
This is so exciting. Thank you for all the hard work that goes into the site, and for the opportunity to strengthen both our in vitro understanding and our in vivo practice in such an easily accessible way. With these tools, we are much more prepared for the relentless battle with the imperious self.
Such great news! Thank you so much.
I feel so blessed for reading this handbook and so thankful and excited about starting this lab. No excuse left for not practicing.