Title: Living the Practice
Author: Rohini Ralby
Publisher: Bancroft Press
Genre: Spirituality
First Publication: 2022
Language: English
Book Summary: Living the Practice by Rohini Ralby
For over three decades, Rohini Ralby has shared the spiritual practice she learned through years of one-on-one instruction from her Guru, Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa. As her practice has deepened, she has found different ways to give outward expression to inward experience and understanding.
In her 2012 book Walking Home with Baba: The Heart of Spiritual Practice, Rohini interspersed illuminating stories from her life and discipleship with chapters on tools and techniques for the spiritual practice her Guru taught her. Here, in the first of two volumes, she gathers a collection of prose teachings, poems, and paintings, organized thematically to explore the dimensions and stages of true spiritual practice, or sadhana. Showing not only the depth and discernment she has gained through the grace of her Guru, but also an artistry informed by her many years of training and education in dance as well as her mastery of Tai Chi Chuan, these pieces communicate the lived actuality of spiritual practice, and serve as lamps along the path.
Book Review: Living the Practice by Rohini Ralby
When we allow ourselves to be healed, we open the door for the power that creates worlds to flow through us and guide us on our journey. We practice being present, we pay close attention, and we let ourselves exist. The book Living the Practice by Rohini Ralby provides an illustration of this practice via psychological knowledge and insight, teaching on how to meditate, and spiritual awareness. To understand the many facets and levels of genuine spiritual practice (sadhana), Rohini Ralby has compiled a collection of teachings (in prose, poetry, and art) that she has arranged thematically.
It was through her Guru, Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa, that Rohini acquired the actual spiritual practice, which she teaches in her book Living the Practice. True spiritual practice doesn’t supplement your life; it replaces and revolutionizes everything in your life. The content of this book is divided into nine chapters, each of which is arranged thematically around important facets of spiritual practice. The poetry and paintings of Rohini that accompany each chapter convey the direct experience of spiritual practice and, like the textual lessons, deepen and reveal more with each reading.
Living the Practice by Rohini Ralby is both deeply spiritual and highly practical, giving you specific steps to take to overcome the emotions, beliefs, and routines that are holding you back from mending the wounds of your past and reclaiming your spiritual freedom. With each turn of the page, you’ll get a more in-depth appreciation for the origins of your mental and emotional processes and how they influence your spiritual power. After reading only a few pages, I was thoroughly immersed in her way of thinking and viewpoint, and I almost instantly started looking at the world and the people around me differently.
Effective spiritual practices provide not just a safe haven but also the opportunity for healing in chaotic times. The author has a genuine respect for the reader’s right to their own spiritual independence and has written the book with the intention of assisting readers in making more informed decisions as they explore spiritual practices. Rohini Ralby draws inspiration from authoritative writings and respected spiritual guru, with a particular focus on the methodologies associated with the Yoga Sutras. In addition to this, she incorporates modern experience and psychological insights.
This remarkable book will guide you toward a life of freedom, tranquility, openness, and self-knowledge by demonstrating how to put the spiritual teachings of Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa into practice on a daily basis. Thorough, nuanced, and substantive, and at the same time concise, breezy, and easy to digest, Living the Practice is chock full of instructions, guidelines, exercises, and recommendations.
Rohini Rably provided excellent examples drawn from real life, which made the concepts that were presented in the book much easier to absorb and comprehend. She discusses principles and offers suggestions for how to go through our human predicament with less pain and a greater sense of acceptance. It is one of those writings that will take some time to process, and you will probably need to return to it in order to have a deeper understanding.
