Cheryl “PHOENIX”
Bell
Personal
Spiritual Curriculum
And Goals
The Path of
the Warrior Goddess
(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
The curriculum that I have set forth
for myself is to provide me with the spiritual program that I need to help me
progress through life, and to reach enlightenment. It will include forms of Wicca, Sheya, Buddhism, Hinduism
(Sunaton Dharma), and Zen (including the martial arts). Should I discover another form of
spirituality that resonates with me, I will also include it in my curriculum. This is an ever-growing program. There is no graduation from it, as one
cannot graduate from life, and spirituality is life. One can never learn all that they need to know about a spiritual
path, nor can they teach another all that they need to know, as no one really
can know what another truly needs in spirituality.
Goals of this curriculum:
1) The first goal of this curriculum is to be able to incorporate
my current lifestyle, work responsibilities, and hobbies into my spiritual
path, without adding unnecessary baggage.
In the past, I have taken on the spiritual paths of others, and tried to
learn from them, though ended up with a great deal of extras that were not
meaningful to me.
2) The next goal of my spiritual learning curriculum is to be able
to incorporate many different aspects of my spiritual interests into one
program. Nothing can be considered
truth when it is stated alone. I intend
to spend time studying these paths in order to incorporate them into my daily
practice and spiritual outlook.
3) Another goal is to provide myself with a disciplined system of
study that helps me to look deeply within myself for answers that I need. I will not look to the heavens for deities
that over-power me. Instead, I intend
to work with the Goddess and God inside of myself to become a greater spiritual
individual, look to the Buddha and the Dalai Lama for insight and example, and
look to the energy of the universe for the magick that I can use to create in
myself a better life.
Concepts that I will include:
Taoist concepts:
a. emptiness
b. yin and yang
c. wu-wei (non-action – not indulging in calculated action, and not
acting so as to exceed the very minimum required for effective results.
d. The three jewels: compassion, balance, humility
e. The three treasures: mind, body, breath
f. The five elements: wood, fire, metal, water, earth
g. The five flavors: sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter
Zen concepts:
a. Suffering is caused by selfish craving; there is a way out of
suffering
b. The self is delusion
c. Through practice we realize our own Buddha nature
d. Fulfilling the four great vows:
The many
beings are numberless, I vow to save them
Greed, hatred and ignorance rise
endlessly, I vow to abandon them.
Dharma
gates are countless, I vow to wake to them
Buddha's
way is unsurpassed, I vow to embody it fully
e.
The eight-fold path is the way to nirvana:
a.
right understanding
is the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths. In other words, it is the
understanding of oneself as one really is.
b. right thoughts are
threefold. They are:
·
The thoughts of renunciation
which are opposed to sense-pleasures.
·
Kind Thoughts which are
opposed to ill will.
·
Thoughts of harmlessness
which are opposed to cruelty. These tend to purify the mind.
c. right speech
deals with refraining from falsehood, stealing, slandering, harsh words and
frivolous talks
d. right
action
deals with refraining from killing, stealing and lack of chastity. It helps one
to develop a character that is self-controlled and mindful of rights of others.
e.
right livelihood
deals with the five kinds of trades that should be avoided by a lay disciple. They
are:
·
trade in deadly weapons
·
trade in animals for
slaughter
·
trade in slavery
·
trade in intoxicants
·
trade in poisons
f. right effort is
fourfold, namely:
·
the endeavor to discard evil
that has already arisen.
·
the endeavor to prevent the
arising of evil.
·
the endeavor to develop that
good which has already arisen.
·
the endeavor to promote that
good which has not already arisen.
g. right mindfulness is also
fourfold:
·
mindfulness with regard to
body
·
mindfulness with regard to
feeling
·
mindfulness with regard to
mind
·
mindfulness with regard to
mental objects.
h. right meditation
Meditation means the gradual process of training the mind to focus on a single
object and to remain fixed upon the object without wavering. The constant
practice of meditation helps to develop a calm and concentrated mind and helps
to prepare for the ultimate attainment of Wisdom and Enlightenment.
f.
Karma:
Karma is intentional action. In other
words it is something done deliberately through body, speech or mind. Karma
means good and bad volition (kusala Akusala Centana. Karma is the law of moral causation. It is action and reaction in
the ethical realm. It is natural law that every action produces a certain
effect.
Wiccan concepts:
a. The
Supreme Creative Force
b. Creating
a sense of balance in the individual as well as the individual’s surroundings
c. Acceptance
of magick
d. Cycles of
life; cycles of the seasons/moons/etc
Sheya concepts:
a. Learning
about the different aspects of myself in order to integrate all: Djanna
(mother), Magha (father), Chiata (child), and Enoki
b. Setting
up temple in order to perform magick based on these aspects
c. More will
be added as I learn more of Sheya
Sonaton Dharma (Hinduism)
a. Focus on
the self and the real (Upanishadic sage)
b. The
meditative quest for the self and the real as the central spiritual practice
c. Focus on
religious learning of psychological, metaphysical, cosmological analysis