If you don't study, you will be deceived by cults. Spirituality is something that belongs to those who are kings or who study diligently. The "prayers" and "law of attraction" that are casually talked about in the world are almost ineffective. If you are complacent, you will only become prey for cults that deceive you into giving them large sums of money.

Most of the time, people are deceived by things like "feeling good" or "becoming relaxed." Indeed, there may be times when you feel good. There may be times when you feel relaxed. However, is that the goal? If you just want to be relaxed, you can become relaxed by doing things like "not thinking about anything" (if you can actually do that). However, in most cases, that is used as an excuse for enslavement. When you stop thinking, you simply become a person who doesn't think. The true meaning is to stop lower consciousness in order to connect with higher consciousness, but in most cases, people who stop lower consciousness do not reach higher consciousness. And they are used by cults or authorities, manipulated, and fit into a pattern of codependency. Is that really awakening or freedom? It is obvious that it is not.

Then, what about other purposes? For example, there are people who aim for "abilities." For example, some people aim to move objects without touching them, bend spoons, or read minds. In reality, thinking overlaps with the physical layer in lower dimensions, so such things may happen. However, just as there are people who are physically strong, there are people with strong minds. If the ability to influence the physical world is exercised, what is it? For example, when you see a person with strong muscles and strength, you think it is special because they are strong. Similarly, when you see a person with strong mental strength, you think it is special because they are strong. It is up to the individual to think that it is special, but as long as it is in a lower dimension, it is only power in that dimension. If that is what you are seeking, you will obtain it if you seek it. Just as you become stronger by training your muscles, you become stronger by training your mental strength. It is a type of skill that can help with spiritual practice, and it is not something to be denied. However, it should not be the ultimate goal. If having such abilities is the goal, it means that you cannot see beyond that. However, even if you start with a hobby, you may notice its depth when you first see it, so I think it is okay to start with such curiosity. If you say something too rigid from the beginning, it will be difficult to broaden your perspective. If the goal is to have abilities, it should be understood as a skill that is based on mental strength, and it should be recognized as something that belongs to that dimension. However, there are many situations where such abilities are touted as if they were the ultimate enlightenment, and as if they were the essence of spirituality. This situation seems to have not changed much since 2000 years ago when Buddha was alive, and it is common for people to have various abilities but not be enlightened. There is a certain number of people who misunderstand that abilities are the steps of spirituality.

There are people who prioritize knowledge above all else, even with only one eye. They believe that since truth cannot be grasped through the five senses, knowledge is the tool to understand it. While this explains one aspect, the goal should be to directly know the truth. The path of knowledge is also divided into indirect knowledge and direct knowledge. Understanding the literal meaning is indirect knowledge, and then one progresses to direct knowledge. However, intelligent people, when they hear "knowledge is truth," understand it intellectually and mistakenly believe that they have attained truth through "indirect knowledge." This is particularly evident in universities, where people often believe they have fully understood something before actually gaining direct knowledge. This is a defense mechanism stemming from self-esteem, but even when studying, people often don't realize that this perception is merely a defense mechanism, especially at first. And for a while, they continue to believe that they understand. Sometimes, a good mentor can point this out, but even good mentors often don't reach that level of understanding, which is why it is said that "encountering a good mentor is a blessing." Therefore, the tendency to misunderstand is further encouraged, making it necessary to objectively judge one's own perception and to observe oneself over a long period of time.

Also, a common misconception is that tension is bad, and that it is better to be relaxed. Indeed, tension weakens various cognitive processes, and it is true that being relaxed is easier. However, the problem is not the phenomenon itself. Tension has a cause, and the lack of relaxation also has a cause. However, a common tactic used by spiritual groups and cults is to provide salt baths or massages to alleviate this tension, or to offer expensive "healing" sessions (which are sometimes borderline scams). The cause lies elsewhere. The problem could be solved instantly by addressing the root cause, but they repeatedly use short-term measures. In most cases, these are not fundamental solutions.

When it comes to massage, it mostly involves loosening muscles and providing temporary relief. On the other hand, there are massages that aim to treat the root cause, but those are rare. Similarly, if you truly want to heal, you need to touch the person's aura. If you do that, you need to be careful because you might accidentally exchange auras and karma. Therefore, it's best not to casually receive or offer healing. If it's just sending energy at a simple level, almost anyone can do it, and that kind of healing seems harmless. However, if it's that simple, it shouldn't be expensive. Cults often promote the "world's best healing" and sell expensive healing sessions, so it's best to avoid them. Most of the time, they offer poor value for money. Healing and massage are all based on yoga's energy channels (nadis) or the Chinese meridian system. Physical ailments are caused by energy imbalances. Therefore, if something is not working properly, you need to first diagnose which energy channel is constricted and not flowing well. If the channel is blocked, you need to open it, or if it's narrow, you need to widen it. That's the real healing. However, in most cases, energy is simply provided from the outside to temporarily make the person feel better, and it rarely affects the energy channels. Some healing methods adjust the energy channels that surround the body, but if you're not aware of them, you might inadvertently manipulate the energy field and end up causing problems. It's not recommended to entrust your body to inexperienced energy practitioners in such situations.

Energy imbalances can cause symptoms such as "tension," "headaches," and "feeling unwell." And, of course, the solution is to address the energy imbalance.

However, cults or spiritual counselors who don't fully understand the concepts often use psychological approaches, such as "thinking too much" or "trying not to think." This is often completely off the mark. However, they still offer expensive services, such as "I can see spirits (30 minutes for 5,000 yen)" or "I can open chakras (1 million yen per chakra)." The content of the counseling often ends up being just psychological counseling, far from what's advertised as spiritual. Ultimately, they bring up vague concepts like "spiritual vision" or "chakras" and use their knowledge of psychology to offer those services. The menu itself is often nonsensical. There are many things that don't make sense, and the menu might say something like "open one chakra for 1 million yen," but that's not what chakras are. Because they don't understand what chakras are, they offer these meaningless menus and end up making a lot of money from spiritual beginners. Perhaps they genuinely believe they can do it, or they've been led to believe it. Even if they can open something related to the physical body, which is a kind of meridian, that's not the same as opening higher chakras. Even if it makes it a little easier to open, the basic principle is that you need to open them through your own efforts. If the price is for that kind of training, the participants might actually be satisfied, but the menu content is full of deception.

In many spiritual practices, there is a discrepancy between the appealing words used in advertising and the actual reality, which can be effective in marketing, but the core of spirituality lies in the principle that "words manifest reality." Therefore, those who engage in marketing that separates words from reality and use appealing advertising may not have yet reached the level of understanding where "words manifest reality." However, it is also true that individuals at lower levels of understanding may promote their services to even less spiritually advanced beginners, which may create a hierarchy of understanding within spirituality. In any case, attracting people with appealing advertising is generally a lower level of spiritual awareness. As one gains a deeper understanding of spirituality, it becomes increasingly clear that many of these advertisements are either lies or simply marketing slogans, which beginners may not realize.

Ultimately, spirituality leads to energetic aspects. The amount of cosmic energy one can handle is the measure of one's spiritual level. Whether it is high-level energy or strong energy determines the level.

To handle such large amounts of energy within one's own body, the energy channels (nadis in yoga) must be open. In particular, various ailments are closely related to the energy channels in different parts of the body and in the head. Therefore, in many cases, the root of the problem is energy, but even if one addresses it through psychoanalysis or psychological counseling, they may not reach the root of the problem.

Indeed, psychological approaches can be helpful in cases where there is a distorted perception. This is because it addresses cognitive issues, and there may be aspects that one cannot recognize on their own. Psychological approaches are generally effective for individuals who are relatively healthy energetically, but in most cases, people are experiencing energetic problems. Or, many people are not even aware of the existence of energetic problems.

In my case, for a long time, I was led to believe that the problem was somewhere else (based on the words and actions of those around me). However, I have become increasingly convinced recently that the process of rejecting the distorted perceptions of others has led to a self-defense reaction that strongly blocks the energy around the head.

In Adlerian psychology, there are three types of responses when encountering difficulties: avoidance, coping (challenge), and attack (blame). In particular, I often receive statements from those around me that are perceived as attacks, and I have received many statements with distorted perceptions. Now, I understand that such people were twisting things to protect their own ego and attacking others (me). However, I closed my mind to deal with those troublesome individuals who are twisted but physically strong. This has had a lingering effect on me, making it difficult to use the energy in my head during yoga.

Recently, I have been activating the energy in my head through meditation, and I feel like my head has become a little bigger. It seems that the growth of my head was hindered by the violence of words from those around me during my adolescence, and now, I am finally experiencing the head growth that should have occurred during my adolescence, using yoga methods.

There have been research results that show that people who have experienced prolonged verbal violence from those around them during adolescence may not have normal brain development. I can be said to be a victim of that. I am not the only one who has experienced such a thing.

Ultimately, many people are experiencing energetic imbalances, and as a result, there are cults that claim to provide energetic solutions but only offer temporary relief, or spiritual groups that offer psychological counseling without real expertise, or those who claim to have psychic abilities but are just expressing inaccurate intuitions, or those who claim to be "the only one," or those who try to silence people by bringing up classical and misleading ideas like "not thinking." There are many such counseling services that do not understand the essence of the matter.

However, I am still a beginner, so I cannot say much about others. There is a saying that one should not criticize others if one has not achieved much. In most cases, there is a situation where people who say big things are not actually capable of much.

Recently, I have come to understand that ultimately, spiritual problems cannot be solved unless the energy in the head is addressed. This is the same as the third eye (Ajna chakra) that has been talked about for a long time, and ultimately, it leads back to the classics. Although I have taken many detours, it seems that I should have stayed true to the basics.

In most cases, people try something, and if they don't achieve the results that were promised, they often consider it a lie or a mistake. However, for certain types of endeavors, the difficulty is so high that this rarely happens. Also, there are many pitfalls. In many cases, due to the defense mechanisms of the ego, people think, "I should be able to do it," or "If I can't do it, something is wrong, this is not right." However, the truth is often far beyond reach, and many people cannot accept the fact that they are simply not yet capable. Therefore, they often conclude that the literature is wrong because it doesn't align with their perceived abilities. And it is at times like these that cults often appear. They promote sweet-sounding slogans such as, "There is the true teaching here," or "If you undergo this (initiation, etc.), you too can awaken." And then, hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of yen are spent on these activities. In reality, meditating on your own or even doing it yourself is often the same, or even faster. However, these cults often steal the results and take credit for them, so all the achievements are attributed to the cult. Cults that use seemingly good words like "oneness," "non-self," or "eliminating the ego" ultimately use a marketing method of "stealing the results to enhance the cult's authority" to increase their appeal by exploiting others. In reality, the efforts of the participants are considered the achievements of the cult, and that is then used for promotion.

Ultimately, what is needed is self-discipline. Meditating and sometimes doing yoga can be beneficial. And the most important thing is to do your own work properly. Since your own work takes the most time, if you can cultivate your spirit through it, that will be the greatest growth.

Sometimes, people are deceived by the promotion of spirituality and spend a lot of money with a frivolous feeling, but ultimately, they always come back to the realization that self-cultivation is the most important thing.