Well, is it true? Do you really, really, really, want enlightenment? What if I said that to reach that exalted state of enlightenment: you would have to end up looking like one of these two guys? A lifetime of penance and ritual prayers could surely do the trick, right? But... you and I both know that neither of us actually wants to look like these dudes -- let alone live a life of penance and ritual prayers -- so do we just hope for the best -- or accept as "truth" a theology or a "God" that will "save" us (and exempt us from any effort too grand or too big)?
On the other hand, there are the sincere spiritual seekers who have dedicated years and years to a steady meditation practice and deepened their meditation with mindfulness trainings... mixing in a little hatha yoga, laughing yoga, tantric yoga, kirtan, vegetarianism, walking meditation, retreats - advances, nudist cruises, and spiritual video purchases by the hundreds -- and they are still looking at "incarnation-after-incarnation" before anything approaching enlightenment actually settles in... the temptation to "throw in the towel" begins to gnaw at the mind until a secret despair descends into the bones... and, while the "face" of practice is maintained, the haunting reality of depression, hopelessness, and alcohol (or whatever drug / diversion of choice) becomes the cold, hard, fact of one's existence...
Of course, these are not the only possibilities... and actually, they are probably not the thoughts, aspirations, or experiences of most folks. Most folks are content with "enough" -- even "enough" in the spiritual realm: a good minister, a welcoming fellowship, a sense of being "okay"... And so it goes... But for you and I, we are both convicted, right? In spiritual parlance, "convicted" simply means that we are aware on some level that the Holy One has got us by the scruff of our necks and won't let go -- no matter how much we might shake, shimmy, ignore, forget, respond, beg, howl, or set out once again to try again... holy, holy, holy...
But for each of us and for all, why is it just so impossible to "get somewhere" on the spiritual path? Why does enlightenment, why does Self Realization, why does holiness continue to elude us? Why do all of our efforts seemingly amount to just so much straw in the wind of life? ... and don't these questions boil down to the very real possibility that it is all an illusion anyway... that "God" is and always will be an unproven theory (for weak and shallow minds at that)...
One could respond to these ruminations with "Pass the bottle... or, maybe we should just move to Colorado and light up"... While neither of these two responses are especially good -- let alone, profound -- they are actually a turn in the right direction...
Come back tomorrow for the conclusion...
On the other hand, there are the sincere spiritual seekers who have dedicated years and years to a steady meditation practice and deepened their meditation with mindfulness trainings... mixing in a little hatha yoga, laughing yoga, tantric yoga, kirtan, vegetarianism, walking meditation, retreats - advances, nudist cruises, and spiritual video purchases by the hundreds -- and they are still looking at "incarnation-after-incarnation" before anything approaching enlightenment actually settles in... the temptation to "throw in the towel" begins to gnaw at the mind until a secret despair descends into the bones... and, while the "face" of practice is maintained, the haunting reality of depression, hopelessness, and alcohol (or whatever drug / diversion of choice) becomes the cold, hard, fact of one's existence...
Of course, these are not the only possibilities... and actually, they are probably not the thoughts, aspirations, or experiences of most folks. Most folks are content with "enough" -- even "enough" in the spiritual realm: a good minister, a welcoming fellowship, a sense of being "okay"... And so it goes... But for you and I, we are both convicted, right? In spiritual parlance, "convicted" simply means that we are aware on some level that the Holy One has got us by the scruff of our necks and won't let go -- no matter how much we might shake, shimmy, ignore, forget, respond, beg, howl, or set out once again to try again... holy, holy, holy...
But for each of us and for all, why is it just so impossible to "get somewhere" on the spiritual path? Why does enlightenment, why does Self Realization, why does holiness continue to elude us? Why do all of our efforts seemingly amount to just so much straw in the wind of life? ... and don't these questions boil down to the very real possibility that it is all an illusion anyway... that "God" is and always will be an unproven theory (for weak and shallow minds at that)...
One could respond to these ruminations with "Pass the bottle... or, maybe we should just move to Colorado and light up"... While neither of these two responses are especially good -- let alone, profound -- they are actually a turn in the right direction...
Come back tomorrow for the conclusion...
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