Contemplative Reflections on Solitude in the Modern Spiritual Quest

Have you ever sat in a room full of people and still felt a pang of loneliness? Or perhaps you've found peace in solitude, sensing a deep connection that transcends physical presence. Join me  as we embark on a contemplative journey to unravel the subtle threads between aloneness and loneliness. This episode offers a rare glimpse into the life of a modern western yogi—a diary of my day-to-day experiences—where I reflect on the emotional landscape of the soul and personality, and how they shape our understanding of connection and separation.

As we navigate the essence of spiritual development, we'll explore the state of soul group consciousness. It's not about finding a kindred spirit in the crowd; it's about resonating with souls on a level that transcends our very existence. I share insights into the nature of divine illumination and the challenge of articulating profound wisdom received through contemplation. This intimate discussion promises to provide a new perspective on the relationships that define us and the extraordinary ways in which we can live out our ordinary lives.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:01

Welcome. My name is Penny Frampton and I am the host of the podcast A Little Light on the Path. A Little Light on the Path is a series of talks about esoteric philosophy from a practical and experiential perspective, and I'll be presenting intellectual concepts but from a point of view of how they impact our lives and our spiritual journey, how those ideas work out through our ordinary daily living, in other words, how to live an ordinary life in an extraordinary way, and part of this podcast is the diary of a modern western yogi. That is, my experiences on a day-to-day level, and I will just be talking about them as if I was talking to a diary. So today has been a very reflective day. I've been reflecting on a lot of things, musing about things, contemplating about things. There's been two main musings, along with a lot of thoughts and reflections on talks that I have taken part of and esoteric discussions that I have taken part of on the Wisdom app, of which I play a part, and one of the main musings today has been around aloneness, not loneliness. Loneliness is an emotion and a feeling that is felt by the personality. It is the personality feeling separation and, rather than seeking union within, projecting outward and seeking recognition and union with another. Projecting outward and seeking recognition and union with another. Aloneness does not have any feeling, not sadness or any emotion attached to it. It's just a state of being and it is very much a part of being a yogi. And that's because when you reach a stage on your spiritual development where you are aware and then unified with soul consciousness, you're at a point where there are less and less people in the world who can relate to or who can relate to you on that level of understanding, and so finding an actual physical partner is probably almost impossible.

Speaker 1: 3:50

Finding friends is always possible and always exciting and interesting and they can reflect to you many things that you don't see about yourself and to a certain extent they can be supportive. But unless these friends are also aware at a soul consciousness level, you can only relate intellectually. But you can have some great spirited and intellectual discussions and they are fun and they are challenging and they bring awareness of your own personality to the fore and they can challenge you to express ideas and concepts in words. But those friends will never truly understand what it is to be connected with soul consciousness. They will never understand what it is to have a sense of being beyond time, and they will never understand what it feels like to have a divine illumination, which means that whatever question you might have, if you hold it in contemplation at that level, you will receive an answer. You will just know an answer now. I'm not saying that answer is the truth or that it won't change at some point in the future. As I grow and become more discerning in different levels of consciousness, that answer will change, but there is always an answer and it is always very wise and an enlightened answer.

Speaker 1: 5:23

The difficulty, of course, is putting it into words, because it usually comes in the form of a symbolic vision and is always there. It is a pure light that just completely transcends thought and literally pierces, through the question, the idea and the concept, through the question, the idea and the concept and, as a yogi, tends to find themselves in this state of aloneness. However, that state is balanced out by another state, which I would have to explain in terms of soul consciousness. There is a level where soul is all one and all of us are part of that one. There are many allegories a drop of water in the ocean or a spark within a fire. There is always that, one of which you are a part. But a little spark or a little drop of that ocean manifests itself as the personality you are in this moment. But at the level of soul awareness or soul consciousness, you become aware of these little sparks of soul consciousness. They might not necessarily be incarnation at the moment, or they may be, and all those other individual souls resonate to different qualities and you start to draw towards yourself, or to magnetize to you, if you like, or maybe they are already there and you just become aware of them. But you find these other individual souls that resonate with yourself, and this is called soul group consciousness. And there is a sense within that soul group which is something beyond anything you might experience in a friendship or a relationship at a personality level. You just know each other completely because you resonate as a part of that group.

Speaker 1: 7:55

So, although you have, as a yogi, this aloneness as a personality, in this modern world there is this balance and you experience a pure group consciousness together at that level of awareness. And, as a yogi, it is part of the reason for our being, of our purpose, because at that level of soul group we work together with focusing energies and forces at various levels of consciousness. This is not something easily described with words and it's not something you know until it's going to happen. It slowly filters into your awareness that this is what is happening and there are certain veils that are in place to start with, and the veils are there to prevent you from channeling powerful forces through a personality that is not clear and ready for them. But over time you find that these veils slowly become thinner and then the power of the forces you are then able to hold, become aware of and to utilize, grow in strength, become aware of and to utilize, grow in strength. So that is one of my musings today the aloneness of a yogi in a modern world, the acceptance that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to actually meet one person, let alone several that are in incarnation on this planet at this time. That would truly understand your position and what you are experiencing. But even so, there is a part of my personality that does feel a little sad perhaps. That does feel a little sad perhaps, but the greater part of me accepts that this is part of the path, part of what I am, who I am and the spiritual path that I'm on. And if you read what masters have said and yogis have given before you. They all describe this sense of aloneness given before you. They all describe this sense of aloneness. So that was a lot of my musing, my contemplation, today.

Speaker 1: 10:34

So what was the second musing about? Well, it was around the use of money on a spiritual path. What is money, what's it used for, do we need it, how do we get it? And, beyond the personality, morality of the use of money, the actual gaining of money, with a lot of people who are on a spiritual path or profess to be spiritual, there are huge moral issues that they debate around the use of money. And is it actually spiritual to be rich? And I was thinking on this question and and in fact, over the years it's come up again and again for me, because I actually don't have any surplus money, I have enough to live relatively comfortably, but not having anything I can fall back on should there be an emergency. And I know, in the modern day now, that this is a situation that a lot of people are experiencing they're getting back to the idea and concept of what is money.

Speaker 1: 11:50

Well, as I understand it, money is an energy, an energy which we call etheric energy, and it's not actually solid or tangible. And in this day and age, when money is almost entirely digital, it's interesting to realise that digital currency is just energy. It can be created now without actually minting a coin. It can be created now without actually minting a coin. With all the online banking and purchasing apps. It is just an energy flowing from one place to another and numbers on a screen define just how much of that energy you have in the moment.

Speaker 1: 12:42

And as to the morality of having more than you need, I have come to understand through my musing today. There is nothing good or bad about money per se, or even the energy that money represents. In and of itself, it's very neutral. But the interesting thing is what is the intention behind the receiving, the storing and the use of that energy? Are you using that energy for purely selfish, individual gain or are you using it for the service to the greater good, service to humanity? Are you using it for the service to the greater good, service to humanity, service in a way that makes the world a better place? And I think this is where you can dispense with the personality morality around money, if you are aligned with soul's purpose or a greater divine purpose and you use that energy for that purpose, I get a sense that money, energy, will be attracted to you, because I truly believe that the universe will provide energy in whatever form is necessary to help materialise a more positive outcome for humanity.

Speaker 1: 13:59

So at the end of my musing, I've actually decided that in my work as a mentor or teacher or healer, that I'm going to divide the energy that I receive, the money that I receive I'm not quite sure by what percentage yet, I'm still feeling my way into this I'm going to put a percentage into charities that I resonate with and a percentage into a fund, the funding of businesses or groups or ventures that are doing things that resonate with me in terms of helping the world and service to humanity. However that might be, but it would have to resonate in some way or align with my own purpose in this life. So other musings today there was a lot of really interesting talks today on the wisdom app that I'm a part of and I caught up with a few people that I'm beginning to know and talk to and I guessed on their talks and I really came to realize that it is incredibly wonderful that there are people on a platform of social media out there in the world who are just expressing their belief in a more spiritual understanding and on reflection about aloneness. It is really wonderful to be on a platform where you can just pick up a conversation which has a spiritual basis to it or a more deeper reflection to it. We could never have done this just 20 years ago and I find it amazing that there is a platform where a yogi like myself can just express themselves or anyone with a deeper understanding of life in the world can just express it. I mean, how wonderful is that? It's quite extraordinary and it made me wonder today what the future is going to unfold in that regard. Unfold in that regard.

Speaker 1: 16:17

I mean there is no longer a need for a physical ashram or a centre for the imparting of spiritual training. There are two sides to this. On the one hand, each individual cannot rely on the physical presence of a teacher and is thrown back upon themselves to find the teacher within, and they cannot rely upon the material support of a physical place of spiritual living. So we are thrown back into expressing our spirituality through an ordinary life. On the other hand, this training and experience is available through the internet to everyone, not just someone who can leave ordinary life behind to enter an ashram, or indeed for those who have enough material wealth to pay for the training.

Speaker 1: 17:06

True spiritual training and teaching is not about making money is not about making money. In fact, there are several powerful free spiritual schools out there, including the Arcane School, of which I am a student and which I would recommend to anyone intent upon a focused path of spiritual awareness and growth. Money is not necessary for spiritual training. It's now freely available for every one of us. It's no longer esoteric. It just takes the courage and focus to begin the journey, as I did, and then anyone can become a little light on the path and live an ordinary life in an extraordinary way. If you're interested to find me, I am live on the Wisdom app at 7pm every Saturday and Sunday evening that's GMT and we discuss all sorts of subjects and you can guest on my talks and get to know me one-on-one if you like. I'm also on various social media sites, including Wisdom and other social media sites as well. Take care out there, everyone. Much love to you all. That's me signing off for today.