¨We cross infinity every step,
We meet eternity every second.¨
- Rabindranath Tagore
If you’re anything like me, you are looking to align yourself with the truth that resides inside of you, as you. The Self that is beyond name and form because that’s the real You. However, you may question what it actually means ¨to live a spiritually aligned life¨ and find out that all you’ve got are concepts.
I catch myself in this space often and notice that I have fallen into a trap of separating my life into different buckets. ¨This is spiritual, that is not.¨ ¨I advance spiritually when I do this, but not when I do this.¨ ¨This is love, not that.¨ Maybe you’ve been here. I’m actually certain you have because it’s a part of the process.
We all have desires, likes and dislikes, creating attraction or aversion to life experiences. When we awaken and realize our pristine nature, a spiritual path is initiated. But it’s not like we weren’t on a spiritual path before. Living and breathing is a spiritual path on its own. Our awakening only makes us a participant in the process.
Nevertheless, the mind seizes any chance to uphold virtue (bless its heart) and then we find ourselves in the world of duality even in circles of community, gatherings, ceremonies, and practices that endorse unity. We are attracted to these spaces because they validate the path. I believe this to be a beautiful and necessary element of a spiritual path.
However, we must understand at some point in the process, the mind will also become righteous around things that are inherently good. When this happens, alignment becomes a concept that we must also release.
What we’re looking for is far beyond concept. ¨The map is not the territory¨, as famous philosopher Alfred Korzybski once said. We are creatures of habit and symbol. The maps we create in our mind about the soul are necessary to navigate, but they are limited in exposing the territory in its fullness. To live beyond the map is to live in the unknown, where thought is unborn. It’s impossible for a physical incarnation of spirit to live continuously in such a space, hence why we create a map.
One, however, can expand, change, and increase the resolution of the map. This is the essence of what spiritual practice does. The awakening process requires the death of many concepts (or forms) in order to experience the Truth (or formless). Whatever practices we have an inclination to participate in, their purpose is to experience life as a seamless whole.
CAUTION: if your spiritual practice is not helping you to walk through life in a more unified way (i.e. you reject less and accept more), in relationship to your mind-body, partner, family, friends, profession, finances, recreation, culture, etc. it may be interesting to investigate why.
You may know that your life is a complete whole. You may know the divine light is shining through you in every moment, whether you are meditating or in an argument with your beloved. Although you may know this to be true, it's more challenging to actualize and embody right? Because if it were actualized it would mean everything in life is just as it is meant to be. Yes, EVERYTHING. And how often are you including that guy that cut you off in traffic and successively waved his middle finger at you, in your awakening? Maybe you’re a saint.
But seriously, how the hell do we truly include every moment of our life as a part of the awakening process? In other words, how do we become open to life as it is in every moment. That’s a damn good question and even if I knew, it would be impossible for me to share that inner knowing with you. This is something for each individual to actualize in their own system. Accessible to all through the ticket of birth.
Which brings me to the main point of this essay. Your path is the expression of life through you. Only you can know if you’re truly aligned to that. Only you can know if you're progressing in a positive direction. Only you can actualize the Self. There’s surely help along the way, but in the end it’s up to you.
When we can relax into the wisdom of the Self, that not a single part of our life is separate or out of place, then we are living beyond a concept of what is True. It’s a lived experience. In that specific moment of time we know who and what we are because we see life as it is.
So then the next question is, how do we relax into our inherent wisdom? Well, there’s certainly no substitute for methods that help us gain clarity on what that wisdom is. Not made up or fantasized, but embodied, known without a doubt, clarity. Consequently, through these methods, clarity will be represented in the way we walk through life.
Your intention of being clear will create a pathway there, so the methods are nothing to obsess over. Obsession will just bring more concepts. I believe if you are sincere and humble in your approach to life, you’ve got it. Nothing needs to be expressed externally for this to be True.
The inner sanctuary is far more profound than anything that can be expressed. And if you’re resting there, in the silence of the heart, you experience the freedom of the ‘I Am.’
It’s always easier said than done, yeah? But the central themes here are less obsession, dramatization, and conceptualization of your path.
The truth is, we have no idea and that’s perfectly fine.