Tag: spirituality

Happiness is a skill

What is the ultimate purpose of a spiritual practice? I’m sure there are many different valid answers, but I’d like to suggest that for the moment we assume that the point is to attain bliss.

The following quote from Sadghuru’s book “Karma” hit me hard:

“The human equation was always meant to be like this: to move from being to doing to having. This means we were never meant to act in order to find fulfillment. Fulfillment was seen as an inner condition. It could not be pursued externally. We act in order to express our fulfillment, not to acquire it. We act in order to celebrate our inner completeness, not to pursue it.”

Now, it would be nice if we could just flip to that state, but most of us cannot (yet). If we could, there would be no need for the concept of spiritual productivity. We would be blissful and fulfilled, and act effectively from there. We would no longer need to react to the world, but could act from our true nature. There would be no resistance to any action that needed to be performed, because there would be no deviation from a blissful state, with no preference expressed. The problem is that we simply do not have the capacity for fulfillment that is required.

Therefore, the state has to be cultivated. This is tricky, because if we try to cultivate it by performing physical actions, we start relying on those physical actions to bring us satisfaction, which means the state is conditional. The answer, in my opinion, is awareness. Notice your preferences when or before performing any action. Notice your resistance to, or eagerness for, the action or condition. When you can discern between the observer and the preference, you can start to notice the gap between consciousness and mind. When that happens, you can start to rest in the blissful consciousness while the mind does its thing. Your job then becomes increasing the gap, and watching like a hawk for when it disappears.

Only when you start to realize that there is nothing you can do to attain fulfillment can you truly start to act.

Spiritual productivity/productive spirituality

I like to be productive. Looking back over a day well spent puts a big grin on my face. Often though, I am bullshitting myself. Nothing was actually accomplished. I managed to tick off all the tasks on my list, but was anything accomplished that would make a difference a few years from now? Usually not. This is like trying to satiate your hunger with chocolate: it’ll work in the short term, but there is a price to pay.

So, what is important? What should you be spending your time on? I contend that refining your mind and building your character are two of the most important things you can do in life. To put that another, less secular way: spiritual practice. How often do we wish that we could only have more time for meditation/yoga/Taiji/philosophy, etc.? How many times have you started a meditation practice, or bought a spiritual book, or signed up for an online course, only to have the pressures of work and family keep you from continuing or finishing? Do you dream of a day when you’ll have enough time and money to truly achieve your spiritual goals?

I have some really good news for you. You’re never going to have the time and money for that. The more money you have, the more your responsibilities seem to escalate, and as for time, we know that work expands to fill the available amount. Don’t think you’re going to retire and meditate four hours a day either. But here’s the thing: you don’t need it. Spiritual practice isn’t sitting in meditation (at least, not only that), it’s everything else.

To put this another way: your life is your spiritual path. Sitting practice (what most of us would call meditation) is great, and you should as much as you can. But spirituality isn’t about becoming an enlightened being for a few minutes or hours each day. It is about being that way all the time. And the best way to practice this is in real life. Every time your boss (or spouse or child or customer) irritates you, that’s the work knocking on your door. If you’re irritated and you wish you could escape into meditation, it means you don’t need more meditation, you need to find your serenity right here.

This implies that we might want to treat work differently. The purpose is not to get done as much as possible, but to use the work as a tool for growth. There is no separation between going to the office and sitting in meditation – they’re complementary tools toward the same goal. If you attain peace in meditation, but are a dick at the office, have you made any progress?

There is a lot to explore here, and I would like to make that the focus of this blog from now on. Are success and ambition incompatible with spiritual practice? Will turning into a total hippie not decrease my chances of promotion? What if I think my company is evil, but I need the paycheck? Is it okay to be a billionaire? Tough questions, but they all have answers. Let’s go find them.