“Individual life is caught by identification with desires, thoughts and possessions. This is like losing a million dollars to find a dime”
MSI, Ascension!
Having a spiritual practice and an interest in expanding one’s consciousness is a worthy goal in life, some may say it’s the only goal. Many may have a strong desire to commit to a spiritual practice and may even declare a willingness to give up all of their worldly attachments. However, it is easier said than done. Even with the best intentions, we may still hold, underneath, a hope for some kind of personal gain – to be happy, to be something greater. There is nothing wrong with wanting this, in fact it is normal to start a spiritual journey in hopes to attain a certain state of awareness different or better than the current one. However, this is still a form of the ego, and leads to a continual monitoring to ensure success. There will come a time when we will need to let go of these images and ideals, so that we can be open to just experience it for ourselves. True surrender and letting go does not entail any hope for getting anything in return. It is a letting go for the sake of letting go; to surrender the trying. When we give up the control, we open up to more acceptance, appreciation and awareness of what is.
Adyasanti, Emptiness Dancing
“When we sit without a demand on this moment, without waiting for the next moment, without waiting to get it – whatever “it” is – when we are not waiting to get enlightened or to get love, peace, or a quiet mind, and when we stop demanding anything from ourselves – then the sacred open up simply because there is no demand being made upon it ”
Having a meditation or spiritual practice and a genuine desire for exploration and growth can take us far. However, I believe there is a time when we have to take responsibility for our own path and turn inward and trust in our practice. Letting go of the need, even to have a spiritual awakening, is a further surrendering of the ego and an important stage of any true growth to real knowledge. In the words of Morpheus in the Matrix as he speaks to Neo: “Stop trying to hit me and hit me”. The ideas and thoughts about achieving something can get in the way of just returning the mind to the present moment and being with what is.
Rising Beyond 