Philosophical Speculations

It occurs to me that this is a time for recognizing how I have changed in the past year rather than making resolutions that I would likely not stick to for long. Recognitions of this sort are more akin to what Georg Kuhlewind calls the "gentle will" as distinct from the "hard will" implied when making resolutions. I've recently revisited Kuhlewind's book, Gentle Will: Meditative Guidelines for Creative Consciousness which contains dozens of contemplations and exercises to follow. For those unfamiliar with Kuhlewind, I believe he is regarded as one of the finest interpreters of Rudolf Steiner's writings on spiritual development.

So, I have become a more meditative person in the past year. I have cleared out some of the old assumptions that were sitting around doing me no good. These included ideas about meditation practice itself, and what belongs to that, such as a certain kind of devotional ritual. I never felt quite as devoted as some of my Buddhist peers, back in the day (30+ years ago). With the kind of practice that is described in Kuhlewind's Gentle Will, the question of devotion doesn't arise for me.

I could speak of other recognitions that are less pertinent to this forum, but I will leave it at that for now. Others are of course welcome to share their own recognitions. Happy New Year!

Thank you for sharing.
For me, well I had my first true mystical experience last year which changed my entire outlook on the world.
It sparked a new interest in me concerning things I'd long abandoned as unknowable and therefore useless to think about.
I also progressed a good deal on my way of freeing myself from the social and family conditioning that fuels my anxieties. I've grown more calm and can put life's ups and downs into more of a perspective.