Promptly Written Spiritual Prompt for the Week of February 27th to March 5th

Summary

The website content presents a spiritual prompt based on a quote from Hermann Hesse's "Siddhartha," encouraging readers to write a poem, essay, or fiction in response to the quote, and shares a personal tanka poem and reflections on spiritual awakening and synchronicities.

Abstract

The web content introduces a weekly spiritual prompt inspired by a quote from Hermann Hesse's novel "Siddhartha," which emphasizes the distinction between searching with a fixed objective and finding with openness and freedom. It invites readers to engage with the quote by creating their own written pieces, be it poetry, essays, or fiction. The author also shares a personal tanka poem that reflects on their own spiritual journey, touching upon the themes of synchronicities, resonance, and discernment. The content further delves into the author's experiences post-spiritual awakening, discussing the interpretation of signs and the importance of avoiding confirmation bias through the practice of discernment. The author, known as Marcus or Gregory Maidman, encourages participants to tag him and use specific tags when publishing their responses to the prompt on Medium.

Opinions

The author holds "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse in high regard, considering it a profoundly transformative spiritual text.
The quote from "Siddhartha" is seen as a guide to spiritual seeking, advocating for an open and discovery-oriented approach rather than a fixed pursuit.
The author believes in the significance of synchronicities as meaningful signs from the universe that guide one's spiritual path.
There is an acknowledgment of the tendency to fall into confirmation bias when interpreting spiritual signs, with an emphasis on the need for discernment.
The author values the process of writing as a means of spiritual exploration and expression, suggesting it as a tool for understanding and personal growth.
By sharing a personal tanka, the author demonstrates a subjective application of the quote in their life, illustrating a journey from spiritual awakening to a more nuanced understanding of spiritual guidance.

A quote from my favorite author — Hermann Hesse

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One of the most life-altering spiritual books one can read is not written by a self-help, nor a self-improvement, nor a spiritual or another sort of guru of any type. I speak of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. I suspect I will issue several prompts using Hesse quotes from this and other books of his. Here is the first, which is from Siddhartha:

“When someone searches for something, it can easily be that they see only the thing they have in mind: they are unable to take in anything else, unable to accept anything else, because they are fixated on that one thing to the exclusion of everything else. Pursuing the truth means having an objective in mind. Finding, on the other hand, is about freedom, about being open to discovery, about knowing one’s ultimate destination.”

Write a poem, essay, or fiction that comes to your mind from reading that quote.

Last April, with that quote in mind, I wrote this tanka:

Transformative signs Spiritual decoding Impulse resonates Discernment confirmation Alignment defeats bias

Regarding the meaning of the poem, I wrote in part:

On the heels of my spiritual awakening, I began to perceive an abundance of synchronicities — signals from the universe via breadcrumbs of various shapes and forms to lead me to my path — “meaningful coincidences” in the words of Carl Jung. When an interpretation resonated with me, I would jump to that conclusion — confirmation bias. I noticed that Rama never used the word “resonate.” … Rama used the words “discern” or “discernment” and counseled me to stay in the process till I achieved that with respect to a decision/determination.

Reminder: You can use this prompt here on PW or anywhere else on Medium. Regardless of where you publish, please tag me, Marcus aka Gregory Maidman and Ravyne Hawke, use “promptly written” as one of your reader interest tags, and include a link to this prompt.

In Rama I create, with soul-energy surging through my body, inspiring me and breathing wind into my sails,