What Motivates and Satisfies our Spiritual Quest?

[Guest guest]

Individuals come to a spirtual " path " or " discipline " , or develop an

interest in a religion for various reasons...............Some individuals have

developed an awareness that what they have acheived or experienced in

life is not stimulating them anymore, or fulfilling them.........We have

been through relationships, promotions, frustrations, dissapointments,

and we are still, to a large degree, the way we have always

been.....matter, energy, elements, emotions...we get tired, we clean up

ourselves and our environment, we maintain our body and mind, we

sleep...........Somewhere along the line, some individuals start to see

that the body and mind are instruments that we can use in various

ways.............ways that may be more fruitful for ourselves and

others......That the satisfaction of our sensual desires does not always

bring us what we hoped it would, and in many instances, can bring us a

degree of discomfort, confusion or pain...................It happens to the

middle class, the poor, the rich and famous, the influential, the not so

well known, the one who is alone in many ways..........we want to feel

good, more appreciated, more loved...................Some individuals, as

an extension of their confused ego, may choose a path that is popular or

fashionable at the moment, in order to feel special, unique, better then

others, more wise, spiritual or insightful then others..........It may be

nothing more then a statement about oneself...........an extension of

their conditioned ego...sometimes referred to in scripture, as the false

ego.

 

The spiritual awareness comes about when we realize that everything is

spiritual and all of our actions, past and present have a spiritual aspect

to them. Through our ignorance, meaning, not stupidity, but our lack of

awareness, we did or do not realize it............Spiritual ignorance is one

of the five mental defilements that we seek to minimize and alleviate

through the practice of Yoga..........

 

For some, the spiritual quest is ridiculed or abandoned, lost interst in,

when it gets tough..................Part of the spiritual quest involves a

healing stage...this may be most painful and difficult for some to deal

with........this all depends to a large extent on the state of mind and past

actions and experiences of the individual....................The sanskrit

word " abhyasa " conceptualizes of how to deal with this...It

means " steady effort " , " perseverance " ...............Sometimes we need

the assistance, the nurturing, the guidance of a spiritual friend to

encourage us, to reinvigorate us and remind us of

this..............Teachers that ridicule and cajole may not be the best to

work with for some individuals though others may respond to this

approach...............

 

One should not feel frustrated.................there are ups and downs to all

aspects of life........If we can not practice the physical aspect of the

discipline we prefer, we can share with others..............And if that is

becoming stressful, we can sit and read....and then there is our action,

because the spiritual quest and practice is to make our action

wiser...........What we do alone, in cleaning the house, in interacting

with others in business, work, pleasure, relationships..............This is

where the real fruit of the spiritual path should be manifesting

itself..........Not talking about our spirirtual practice and debating the

merits of it with others, or trying to convince others of it's

benefits............we all know that loneliness and discouragement are as

much a part of the spiritual practitioner's life as one who does not

practice.....but, one who practices has, and is, developing an inner

strength and wisdom to better understand and handle those feelings of

loneliness, discouragement, etc.......