The Discovery of the "Path"

Today I wanted to share a bit about the unveiling and discovery of the "path".

Many are turning to spiritual practice, enticed by a variety of promises and benefits that are often associated with spirituality.

However these benefits are the "side-show" -- valid & legitimate yes, by not the true intent or purpose of spiritual practice.

For someone starting out, this may be an interesting discovery to make, but sure enough, with enough time and practice, this may be realized along the way.

The importance of recognizing what we turn to spiritual practice for cannot be understated.

In Tantrik traditions this is seen as the "View"; becoming established in our seeing behind the practices can enliven and empower the activity that we are doing.

For some, spiritual practice can remain a mechanistic process driven by the very conditioned mindset which we'd like to eradicate, IF the pursuit of true freedom is of interest to us.

Just taking a look at Yoga practice today might reveal some of what I am referring to here.

Whilst there surely are authentic sadhus and sadhakas out there, engaged in hardcore practice and spiritual technology, social media dominates the scene. Few legitimate practitioners are marketing their attainments for social proof or sale-ability.

This could be something to look at and speculate about. Is it possible that the very act of publicly revealing one's sadhana is counterproductive to one's results along the way? Certainly this is hinted at in the scripture that supports these wisdom traditions. Often, in Yogic and Tantrik shastra (scripture), we see the importance of "keeping one's sadhana secret" .

I think this has a lot to do with the fact that any authentic spiritual process is meant to be an internal journey. When the numinous inner realm become more attractive than the apparent world, one begins to turn away from projected consciousness and searches instead for the Source of the Light; it's a bit like looking for the One who is looking.

Usually we see a world "out there" but, through the practices of interiorizing one's sense perceptions, we may notice that what we see "out there" is actually a projection of our own mind. Our belief systems create the architecture in which the world appears. As they say, we see what we are. This may make sense conceptually but living it is a different thing entirely.

As one begins to turn away from the world of form, we "wake up" into a world of further and further abstraction. This can be de-stabilizing. Realizing that what we experience in the relative reality is actually not the complete truth is alarming to say the least, because the brain assumes that what we experience is real. And, to an extent, it is. Initially, the world we experience through the sense organs is the only world we "know". We become identified with the experiences we have and these experiences shape us into who we think we are. We then defend this self-image and identify with it completely.

Spiritual practice is not meant to add anything at all to this self-image; it is intended to clarify the processes behind this self-image and open us up to higher possibility. When we approach authentic spirituality, we are asked to let go of the masks we hold dear and realize a higher truth. This "higher truth" is the universal spiritual notion that we are not who, or what, we think we are.

Although we appear to be human beings, we also possess within us a divine current of energy. This energy propels us forward into our human experience, and without it, the spark of life which animates us would flicker out. The lights turn off.

Unfortunately, quite a few people have already let this spark die. Becoming engrossed with the world and attached to sensory experience, one might never look inward to examine the Source of experience. The relative world is "real enough" and everything that goes along with this. Spirituality remains a distant dream and one that does not adequately grip someone and pull them inward. Rather, that divine energy of life continues to pour through them, unnoticed, until the end of their days.

Spiritual life begins when the ideas & questions presented here in this essay are internalized. Who am I? Where did I come from? and what am I doing here?

Then, the path might be discovered... for real.

Grant & BYA