By: Charlie Hogg
Source: The Daily Guardian https://epaper.thedailyguardian.com/view/2701/the-daily-guardian/15
Dated: July 12th, 2025

In this increasingly challenging world of social upheaval, economic transitions, and an ever-faster pace of life, is it possible to remain stable? I think it is. As I look around, I come to three conclusions. Firstly, there is no turning back, no matter how often we wish there was a way to go back to ‘the good old days’ – that is not going to happen; we have to navigate our way through the here and now. Secondly, we need a new approach to the world. Unless I have a new approach, then all of the things that are happening globally, locally, and within my own family circle, are going to impact on my well-being. The most important realisation we can have, is to understand that despite the fact that we are all trying to mentally control what is happening in the world, we cannot. We may be able to influence things in a small way, but the only thing I do have control over is my reaction to what is happening. Spirituality is when I start to take responsibility for myself, my thoughts, reactions, and behaviour. 

The third conclusion is - we need a new wisdom. Intellectual wisdom is needed to understand the world, to develop a career, to provide for my family, but when I feel anxious and the darkness seeps into my being, intellectual capacity does not help very much. Emotional wisdom may be the foundation of building rich, loving, sustainable relationships, but what happens when I am rejected or someone does not like or value me – do I have resources to deal with that?

What we really need to explore is spiritual wisdom; the wisdom that is innate in every single one of us. If emotional intelligence helps us build rich, loving, sustainable relationships with others, then spiritual intelligence helps me to build a rich, loving, sustainable relationship with myself. The first relationship in life is with me. If this relationship is dysfunctional, it pollutes each and every part of my life. 

If we take a look at our world, just a snapshot of the whole planet, there is absolute chaos. In almost every corner of the world there is chaos in institutions, workplaces, chaos in countries, chaos in families – where does it all begin? It begins with this first and most intimate relationship of life – with the self. If this relationship is not healthy, it seeps into every part of my life. This is why, in Rajyoga meditation, we go deeper and deeper into the aspect of knowing the self, realising the self, experiencing the self, and this is the lifelong internal journey of this spiritual path. 

All the signs in the world we see today are telling me one thing – look within and learn about yourself and internally stabilise the self. There are three anchors I can use to stabilise myself as the world swirls around me. 

The anchor of the loving relationship with myself as a soul. It is absolutely fundamental to learn about myself, experience and understand myself. Research shows that 80 per cent of us believe that we are more than bodies, that we have a soul. We may believe that, but it is in meditation that we convert what ‘I believe’ into what ‘I feel’ and what ‘I experience’; turning the theory of ‘yes, I am a soul’ into experiencing that reality. The spark of eternal light, in the middle of the forehead, experiences life on the physical plane, through the body. Realisation of this reality, of being an eternal point of spiritual energy, means that fear has less and less power over me. 

The second anchor is developing a loving relationship with the Supreme, the Divine – God. When the connection with that soul is strong, the opinions of others, their behaviour, and all the myriad challenging situations have less and less effect on me. The meditation process develops the art of being detached from the awareness of my body, which is the first step to making a true connection with the Divine. This is important because it gives me an extraordinary power to deal with life, tolerate situations, to have patience, to be benevolent, to have goodwill for people. The more I am able to step back and withdraw from the awareness of the body, the more I am able to make this connection and develop a living relationship with the Supreme Soul.  

The third anchor is regular practice. The way things are in the world leads me to the conclusion that ultimately only I can help myself. The way to do that is by putting down these anchors of knowing the self and connecting with the Divine. The more I do that, the more I reconnect to an inner peace and inner stability and an extraordinary power. But it needs regular practice.

This is a pure act of love for the self. It is in regular practice that I will find the way to a pristine point of stillness, and then the absolute source of the kind of love I will find nowhere else – the connection with the Divine. And the more I practise, the more stable I become.

Charlie Hogg, based in Sydney,
is the National Coordinator, Brahma Kumaris, Australia.