What is asceticism and how to do it?

Self-imposition of any restrictions on oneself is called asceticism. This is done to achieve certain results or to purify karma. The path of asceticism is varied - having set a goal, you can achieve it by physical, energetic, psychological, mental and any other means. To follow the path of asceticism, it is necessary not only to understand how this is done, but also to be clearly aware of what goal you want to achieve as a result. This step can only be voluntary, otherwise the whole meaning of the effort is lost.

The concept of asceticism is reflected in philosophy, in Orthodoxy, Buddhism and a number of other systems of world outlook. In simple words, this path can be explained as a state when a person voluntarily goes beyond the usual, deprives himself of physical or psychological comfort. The benefits of such a step may be global, but its main essence is that in the process of asceticism, a person improves his spiritual development.

Choosing asceticism, one should not be guided by the fact that today's deprivations and limitations will be reckoned by the Higher Forces. If we consider austerities as torture or something burdensome, interfering with life, then with this approach it is no longer a path to self-development, but a movement towards self-destruction.

The emphasis in self-improvement with the help of restrictions should be made on a voluntary and conscious beginning, humility and calmness. Only with this attitude can a person improve the qualities of his soul and improve himself, as well as change his life for the better.Changes will not be long in coming, and everyone who at least once tried to experience himself as austerity notes that after going through it he felt like a completely new person.

People engaged in spiritual practices believe that only those who have a certain inner strength and aspiration can walk the path of self-restraint. All successful individuals who have reached heights in art, business, science, politics, differ from other people in that they worked and devoted themselves to the chosen direction, investing personal time, energy and nerves. This can be called a kind of austerities, thanks to which a person, denying himself something and directing himself to achieve the goal, received the coveted result in the end.

Such people live according to a strict schedule - they not only devote time to the main business to which they devote themselves, but also adhere to a certain diet, get up early, go in for sports, and attend developmental trainings. This is done not only in order to be in good physical and mental shape, but also for self-organization. By and large, such people have enough money for an idle life, but they do not stop there and constantly improve their level of development.

For example, Steve Jobs devoted all his time to creating new software products and promoting the Apple brand, and scientist Thomas Addison, studying the laws of physics, conducted experiments with electricity even at night. All talented people claim that 80% of talent consists of hard work and only 20% of gifts from nature. Working 15-17 hours every day, people achieve impressive results, and this can be safely called asceticism, which is aimed at achieving the set goal.

Gods do not give really valuable things to people, they must be paid for, and asceticism is one of the forms of such payment. Conscious self-restraint is the balance that helps you realize the balance between work and enjoyment.

Most often, people take austerities to fulfill desires or for material well-being, you can impose restrictions on yourself in order to improve health. It has been repeatedly noticed that when planning a project, things go much better and more efficiently if a person simultaneously starts to practice running 5-10 kg in the morning or swims in a pool for 2 kmwhile comprehending your project, thinking positively about it. The result is invariably successful, and the plan is achieved.

This happens because by fulfilling the self-restraints taken on, a person goes beyond his usual framework. He has the ability to see any situation from different angles, and not narrowly. In addition, asceticism extremely disciplines a person, forcing him to be more responsible and obligatory, not afraid of difficulties and humbly doing what is required of him.

The sages said that during self-denial, it is important for a person to feel happy, grateful to fate and the universe for what he has, enjoy every day and find positive aspects in it.

Regular practitioners of asceticism can achieve significant results.

• Cleansing and improving your karma and kind. Negativity will gradually disappear from life, karmic knots will unravel, and debts will be worked out.
• Internal strength and energy balance will increase, the personality will follow the path of development and improvement.
• What was conceived will be easy to accomplish, all areas of life will improve.
• Strength of spirit and will will be strengthened, the person will become organized and motivated to achieve new goals.
• Improve mental and physical health. There will be a feeling of a surge of strength and vivacity.
• Consciousness will be able to gradually cleanse itself of unnecessary information, there will be a reassessment of life priorities and values.
• The character of a person will improve, the desire to gossip, envy will disappear, aggression, greed, and the desire for power will go away.
• Life will become valuable in itself and as it is in the present moment. There will be an opportunity to correctly comprehend and let go of the past in order to be able to move into the future.

The main goal of ascetic self-restraint is not the fulfillment of desires, but the growth of the spiritual principle in a person, the transition of his consciousness to a higher level, the ability to control his thoughts, emotions, feelings. This is the only way to gain control over passions and exorbitant ambitions.

Ascetic options are diverse. For some, fasting or dietary restrictions can be a challenge. Other people find happiness in minimalism or the practice of silence. Spiritual asceticism is often associated with faith, for example, the refusal to eat meat. The ancient Christian tradition may be associated with the ascetic practice of "Great Lent" - this is a voluntary rejection of familiar foods and spiritual prayer.

Yoga is another example. In this case, mundane austerity involves the work of the body and mind. Tapas, known since the times in ancient India, means the process of purifying karma, and people who practice such practices want their inner spiritual part to be in tune with the outer physical body. The Indian spiritual healer Osho is a prime example of this. Life should not be built on the type of a closed chamber, and cruel exhausting asceticism is not required from a person, restrictions must be feasible.

The list can be infinitely long, but all austerities can be divided into 3 large groups.

Restrictions on the physical body allow humans to curb their ancient animal instincts. The main task here is health promotion, education of willpower, control over the general emotional state. As an asceticism of the body, there can be refusal of food that harms the body, reading mantras and prayers, pilgrimage visits to places with strong positive energy, cleanliness of the body and clothes, modesty and contentment with little, refusal from murder and violence, and so on.

Getting up early in the morning and reciting prayers can be an accessible practice of physical asceticism. Such self-restraint unites a person with the universe and gives true pleasure in the process of observing the awakening of all living things.

The thought process is the hardest to control. People are not used to limiting their flow of thoughts, to monitor the purity of thoughts, judgments, assessments. Thoughts at high speed replace each other, forming chaos. Often a person mentally lives not in the present period of time, but goes into the past. Endless self-examination does not bring visible results, does not improve life, but takes away strength and energy.

Austerities of the mind are aimed at restoring order in the mental sphere of a person, improving his mental health. The list of such restrictions includes the practice of repentance, curbing anger and negativity, repentance, reading the scriptures, comprehending the foundations of the world and the universe, their laws and principles. An available option may be showing kindness and warmth to loved ones or strangers, self-sacrifice, charity.

As for the purity of thoughts, you will have to master the practice of stopping the mental flow and directing it in the right direction. There are mantras and prayers for this purpose.

Human communication is a complex and multifaceted process that everyone understands in their own way. Often people do not think about their words and impulsively say whatever comes to their mind. Ascetic speech requires a person to exclude lies, idle talk from his words, and also not to use destructive speech constructions that program the brain to self-destruct.

Taking the asceticism of speech, the adept will need to cleanse his words of filth, learn to express thoughts briefly and calmly, speak only to the point and not offend other people with his words. The list of self-restraints includes a ban on entering into disputes, shouting, swearing, gossip.

To take asceticism, you need to sensibly weigh and assess your strength. Don't choose what you can't do on a regular basis, day in and day out. For example, if you find it difficult to wake up at sunrise, and you will feel miserable and overwhelmed all day, this method of restrictions is not suitable for you and you need to find something more acceptable.

Austerities for men and women can be different, depending on the goals they want to achieve through self-restraint. Not all people can starve for a long time or swim in cold water - choosing a practice, you need to assess your health, and only if there are no contraindications, you can test your body for strength.

The basic rule of self-restraint is that it should not turn into torture and cause suffering to a person. It is necessary to perform asceticism with pleasure, at the call of the soul, while experiencing positive feelings and understanding of what all this is for.

However, you should not think that asceticism is a game or entertainment. Difficulties should not be absent, because it is precisely in overcoming them that the meaning of inner growth lies. The approach to asceticism should be sound, for example, dousing with cold water in the morning will strengthen your immunity, but this does not mean that you can swim in the ice hole in winter.

More experienced mentors and teachers who practice the spiritual path of self-improvement can teach how to take and maintain austerity. Such teachers can be found among spiritual mentors in the church, yoga masters, teachers in the field of Reiki, Qigong, martial arts, and so on. The technique of performing asceticism in each case is different and depends on what you need to work out.

You should not tell someone other than a mentor that you have decided to accept the practice of self-restraint, first you need to adhere to the rule taken upon yourself, and only then, if you are asked about this, you can share your opinion so that the questioner can understand and accept a similar one the path of self-development. Advertising in this case is useless, and it is better to get away from empty talk if a person is driven by empty curiosity.

Any austerity is best to start on the threshold of a new day, that is, in the morning. You need to clearly articulate your intention, say it out loud, or even better - write it down in your diary. It is necessary to formulate the thought as follows: “From today on I accept austerity and will keep it until such and such a date. During practice, I will not (or will) do this and that. I direct the results of this asceticism towards achieving such and such a goal. "

Every day, without missing a single day, you will fulfill the conditions that you voluntarily assumed. And at the end of the asceticism, you say out loud, and then write in your diary: "Today I am completing the practice I have taken, and I give all its fruits to the achievement of such and such a goal."

In the form of self-improvement, you can practice the following options for all available austerities:

• fasting - complete or partial, or restricting yourself in the intake of any foods;
• daily swimming in the pool, jogging or hiking in any weather;
• dousing with cold water;
• rise before sunrise;
• long readings of prayers, mantras, meditations.

For men who want to change their lives and become more organized, purposeful, in addition to the listed practices, there may be other options.

• Prayer or appeal to the Universe. To do this, you will need to choose a time and devote at least 20-30 minutes daily to mental communication with God or the universe. This practice allows you to escape from constant routine affairs and be alone with your thoughts, evaluate your attitude and try to understand the philosophy of the universe. If speaking with the Universe is a difficult task, then reading a prayer will be much easier, but it is important to understand the texts being read and live them in your heart. Mechanical reading is not required here, it must be done consciously. This practice enriches a person spiritually, makes him cleaner and kinder.
• Cold shower. Every day you need to get up under the cold shower jets. This voluntary exit from the comfort zone is easy, but nevertheless, it is not up to everyone. Thanks to this practice, willpower is strengthened, immunity and endurance increase, a person receives a charge of vigor for the whole day, and such an adept is not threatened with apathy or depression. A person gets used to being disciplined, learns to value what he owns, and knows how to be content with little.

Women seeking to reveal their feminine potential, to better understand themselves and their bodies, can also practice austerities that are within their power.

• Nutritional restrictions. To do this practice, a woman will need a lot of willpower and determination. It is quite difficult to give up your favorite, albeit unhealthy, foods. It is important to set yourself a rigid framework and strictly adhere to them, no matter what. The first days of the beginning of asceticism will be the most difficult, but after a week, the body begins to get used to and rebuild. The result of a voluntary restriction will be not only the achievement of the set goal, but also an improvement in well-being, as well as the loss of extra pounds in weight.
• Early awakening. Not everyone can get up at dawn, but everyone can wake up 1 hour earlier than usual. Such austerity is quite simple, but it allows a woman to allocate an hour of free time for herself. During this period of time, you can read prayers or mantras, meditate, do yoga, do exercises or run in the park. You can get involved in such a schedule already after 10 days, the biological clock of the body gets used to the new regime, and awakening becomes easy and not burdensome, while there is no internal resistance and irritation in your soul. The result of early awakening is general vigor, good mood and strengthening of the immune system.

Choosing asceticism, a person plans in advance for himself a period of time for which he takes the practice of restrictions. If desired, the asceticism can be extended, but this is not always advisable. Some mentors believe that it is better to take something new for yourself after completing one austerity.

You need to get out of asceticism with a feeling of gratitude to all living things and to the Universe. After leaving, you do not need to flaunt what you have done - asceticism does not imply boasting, otherwise it will no longer be good, but harmful to your soul.Great deeds need to be done with dignity, and upon their completion, keep your austerity a secret.

Even fasting in Orthodoxy has its own time frame, but a real Christian does not flaunt his faith or asceticism.