When it comes to spiritual practice, I prefer not to use the word “should.” “Should” implies that you ought to do something because that is the right and only thing to do. That you are not a good, spiritual person if you don’t do it. Unfortunately, this leads to spiritual oneupmanship and a holier-than-thou attitude: “I sat for 36 hours in the lotus position focussing on my breath. How about you?” Or, “The physical me focussed on the eternal me all day as I sat and did nothing.”
I would rather say, “I practiced what brought me the most joy on my spiritual path.” That might be something active, such as helping people and animals. It might be something creative, like producing art, music, and beautiful gardens.
Too much dogma about the right spiritual practice has created huge conflicts on our planet. People are more concerned with the right way of doing something than with the spirit behind it. We are sinners and infidels if we don’t follow some practice to the letter. We are not going to progress to heaven unless we chant millions of prayers and prostrate ourselves countless times a day.
If chanting and prostrating yourself brings you joy and a sense of being closer to the Holy Spirit, then great. But don’t think that the rest of the world should do it. Some people have spontaneous enlightenment through grace. They followed no spiritual practice at all and it still came to them. Therefore, I say only practice self-awareness because you want to and because it works for you. Not because you should.
I would rather say, “I practiced what brought me the most joy on my spiritual path.” That might be something active, such as helping people and animals. It might be something creative, like producing art, music, and beautiful gardens.
Too much dogma about the right spiritual practice has created huge conflicts on our planet. People are more concerned with the right way of doing something than with the spirit behind it. We are sinners and infidels if we don’t follow some practice to the letter. We are not going to progress to heaven unless we chant millions of prayers and prostrate ourselves countless times a day.
If chanting and prostrating yourself brings you joy and a sense of being closer to the Holy Spirit, then great. But don’t think that the rest of the world should do it. Some people have spontaneous enlightenment through grace. They followed no spiritual practice at all and it still came to them. Therefore, I say only practice self-awareness because you want to and because it works for you. Not because you should.
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