SWAN a practical spiritual sadhana for upgrading the mind.
For anyone, directing the mind [antah karana] from the mundane, to the transcendental, is an enormous task. The ability to do so is, essentially, mind-management which results in the upgrading of the mind, the easing of tensions and samskaras. SWAN is a brilliant technique for achieving this - SWAN being the acronym for Strengths Weaknesses Ambitions Needs.
SWAN allows the spiritual aspirant to identify a specific requirements they have of themselves - to choose the most important at this point in time and be able to focus on it, reflect on it and implement it.
If you look closely you will find that these 'requirements' we have on ourselves fall under the following 10 headings: 1- non-violence 2- speaking the truth 3- interacting honestly with others 4- non-gratification 5- non-manipulation of others 6- cleanliness 7- contentment 8- willpower 9- detailed self-study and 10- devotion to the God-force within you.
If you look closely you will find that these 'requirements' we have on ourselves fall under the following 10 headings: 1- non-violence 2- speaking the truth 3- interacting honestly with others 4- non-gratification 5- non-manipulation of others 6- cleanliness 7- contentment 8- willpower 9- detailed self-study and 10- devotion to the God-force within you.
SWAN helps you to bring that area of your life which you wish to upgrade, under surveillance, bring it into the sunlight so you can see it more clearly and be able to work with it.
Make a list of your Strengths Weaknesses Ambitions Needs - and then two days later check the list again, make any changes which occur to you, and number the list in order of priority. Every second day over a period of two weeks continue to do this until, at the end of the two weeks, you have a priority list for inner change which can act as your spiritual guide. With this list choose the number one priority and begin to implement the requirement you have on yourself. Remain focused on this one thing despite obstacles which are thrown up in your path. That's life, its full of obstacles. We can learn to remain true to our inner transformation despite these obstacles. That's practicing true austerity. Whereas standing on one leg for ever and a day is no use to anyone.
Make a list of your Strengths Weaknesses Ambitions Needs - and then two days later check the list again, make any changes which occur to you, and number the list in order of priority. Every second day over a period of two weeks continue to do this until, at the end of the two weeks, you have a priority list for inner change which can act as your spiritual guide. With this list choose the number one priority and begin to implement the requirement you have on yourself. Remain focused on this one thing despite obstacles which are thrown up in your path. That's life, its full of obstacles. We can learn to remain true to our inner transformation despite these obstacles. That's practicing true austerity. Whereas standing on one leg for ever and a day is no use to anyone.
Make this requirement into a project that you intend to conquer in 6 weeks. You have taken two weeks to think about it, now formulate a process by which the requirement can be achieved and completed in the next 6 weeks. To help focus your mind onto the new groove mentally repeat an affirmation, or mini-sankalpa, because this will vitalise the conscious and subconcious minds with powerful information, which it will quite quickly acquire a taste for. There is a trick to this, 3 times a day is not much help when conquering something entrenched in the mind - you need to do it 3-400 times a day in the first week, at least. Instead of allowing the mind to think rubbish thoughts, think your affirmation instead. This is not extreme. The
mind thinks all kinds of garbage every day. Replacing 400 of the
rubbish-thoughts with 400 super-quality thoughts is only a minor thing. Gradually scale the number of conscious affirmations down, week
by week, soon you will begin to notice that it is repeating all by itself. It
has reached the subconscious mind and is now working happily away for
you.
The change we are after needs to be done in a kindly, nurturing manner which has willpower and intention behind it. This also is true austerity. As we learn to nourish the mind with positivity the mind will relax - and change will come. It doesn't usually happen overnight, although it could, but at some point it will happen. The old idea of austerity is 'push hard and relentlessly' which seldom works in the longterm because the mind usually reacts at some point and springs back like elastic, deeper into its old patterns. Gentleness takes willpower too.
Over the six weeks keep a spiritual diary i.e. note your ups and downs, note the mental processes involved, note any unrealistic expectations, difficulties and adjustments and progress. Note the ending of any conditioning e.g. inculcated beliefs, patterning, fear, anger, lethargy, etc, etc.
If during a SWAN project it becomes apparent that you took on something too big to manage, then find a smaller aspect of it - abd change to that - its all part of the whole and will help the whole come together. By adapting, adjusting and accomodating you will gently upgrade one aspect of your requirement, which in itself it will bring you closer to your main goal. Every step you take like this is mind management. Upgrading the mind in gentle, powerful increments. That's how it has to be done.
Not only affirmations or mini-sankalpa's will help you during this time, so will yoga nidra. In fact yoga nidra practiced every day is probably your greatest ally for relaxing & refining the mind. Practice yoga nidra every day if possible to relax the mind. Repeat your chosen affirmation 300 - 400 times a day to strengthen the mind.
You will find that when one change is achieved, another is inspired, and, in the same way that dominoes fall, samskaras fall.
Daily sadhana for increasing the kala.
Sadhana is any on-going practice a yogic student does, which will expand prana and liberate the mind from mundane conditioning into the transcendental state - full of light, wisdom and love.
An Attitudunal Sadhana such as 'Adapt, Adjust and Accommodate' is a sadhana because it develops the ability, over time, to flow with life and to decrease tensions associated with neediness and expectation. Going with the flow stops us from 'projecting stuff onto others' and helps us to be happy in the moment - Moment by Moment.
Sadhana also includes many other things, such as asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha, kirtan, meditation, havan (fire ceremony), puja (offering to the Divine), seva (doing the needful unselfishly).
What the sadhana consists of doesn't matter as much as the enjoyment and vigilance of it does.
Wisdom, heart, strength and intuition are continuously being unveiled through personal sadhana throughout the decades - and if this can happen for me it can happen for anyone!
Daily sadhana for increasing the kala.
Sadhana is any on-going practice a yogic student does, which will expand prana and liberate the mind from mundane conditioning into the transcendental state - full of light, wisdom and love.
An Attitudunal Sadhana such as 'Adapt, Adjust and Accommodate' is a sadhana because it develops the ability, over time, to flow with life and to decrease tensions associated with neediness and expectation. Going with the flow stops us from 'projecting stuff onto others' and helps us to be happy in the moment - Moment by Moment.
Sadhana also includes many other things, such as asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha, kirtan, meditation, havan (fire ceremony), puja (offering to the Divine), seva (doing the needful unselfishly).
What the sadhana consists of doesn't matter as much as the enjoyment and vigilance of it does.
Wisdom, heart, strength and intuition are continuously being unveiled through personal sadhana throughout the decades - and if this can happen for me it can happen for anyone!
