We hear a lot of late about something called a “spiritual path.” Is there indeed a spiritual path, and if so, what is it? For example, in the context of Christianity, the spiritual path would involve the activity called prayer. In Buddhism, meditation would be a practice at the heart of that religion. For less traditional belief systems or worldviews, centered on unconventional revelations such as A Course in Miracles (the channeled voice of Jesus), the behavior of forgiveness would be the focus. In the Seth books written by Jane Roberts, we have another “disembodies voice” urging humanity to deeply examine the content of our narrative, especially our beliefs about the nature of reality.
In each of the aforementioned spiritual path “narratives,” the central practice suggests that there is something we must “do.” If we have to “do” something, we must be trying to attain a “goal.” Have these various spiritual practices resulted in the attainment of the desired goals?
What about prayer? The prayer practice is central to the so-called religions of the Book (the Bible), Judaism, Christianity and Islam. With prayer, the goal is often to influence God to intervene and “help” a given situation. Something is assumed to be “wrong” which God has failed to notice and make “right.” Or God’s response or love was conditional, that is, based on the petitioner’s behavior. Conditional in what way?
Many of the faithful believe that their prayers or their behavior must be acceptable to God. If the experience of life is positive for those accepted by God and negative for those rejected by God, then that would explain the enormous amount of fear experienced by many people on our planet. Seth was right, beliefs are important.
Let’s add another dimension to our brief essay. The shadow, energized by our existential fear, is projected on people who practice a religion different than our own. Shadow projection can result in violence between people of different faiths. Many people believe that God plays a part in such human activities. A God whose love is conditional, a vengeful God, does not inspire peace in the global village.
The spiritual path outlined in the religions of the Book, wherein prayer in a central practice, is a P-B path and is anything but “spiritual.” It is not that prayer doesn’t work but that prayer in the wrong context doesn’t work. The goal of any effective practice is to change human behavior not to control the unfolding of Creation. In the P-A narrative, for example, we can turn to a couple of mystics with True-self identities and ask them about what an effective prayer would be and what healthy human behavior would look like.
If the only prayer you say in your whole life is ‘thank you,’ it would suffice. Meister Eckhart
I don’t mind what’s happening. J. Krishnamurti
Turning now to the East where meditation is the key practice along with various forms of prayer. Krishnamurti’s very simple and comprehensive definition of meditation is universal, that is to say, any person religious or not would find it acceptable. Responding to life with acceptance and surrender (a response), not resistance (a reaction) would mean that this practice of meditation, this spiritual path, guarantees success.
Of course, there are other definitions of meditation and the East has not experienced any more success than the West in creating sustainable human communities. Again, that failure has more to do with the story that people tell themselves and the resulting identities than with the practice of meditation itself.
In A Course in Miracles we find the same Jesus speaking as we find in the New Testament. “Love they neighbor as thyself” could be another way of saying “forgive your neighbor and yourself.” And then “love God” could be “forgive God.” The Course urges us to stop looking for what is wrong with other people or Creation. Life is good and the universe is friendly despite appearances to the contrary. Don’t trust appearances, trust your heart. Relax and embrace the beauty of life.
In Simple Reality there is no need for a goal other than to embrace life as it is every moment of every day. If there is no goal then there is no need for a spiritual path. We are not going anywhere. We are already there. Wake up! It’s time for coffee.
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Find a much more in-depth discussion in books by Roy Charles Henry:
Who Am I? The Second Great Question Concerning the Nature of Reality
Where Am I? The First Great Question Concerning the Nature of Reality
Simple Reality: The Key to Serenity and Survival
