III. Overall Practice

Cleaning House

As is made clear in all the major spiritual disciplines, for us to make optimal progress at the personal level and toward the transpersonal, we must first order our life along moral and practical guidelines. We must clean up daily living before we can optimally transcend it. Many people hope that spiritual work will somehow absolve them from the mess they have created in their personal and interpersonal lives. Although there are considerable grace and “miracles” in the game, we will continually get thrown back on unresolved issues and problems. Transpersonal practices may help us see and approach the problems better, but the problems still need to be dealt with at their level.

In terms of our “levels of being” (Chapter 3), we need to resolve issues at the biological level before we can optimally work on the behavioral level. We need to deal with nutrition, exercise, breathing, and drugs to purify, strengthen, and come into greater harmony with the temple of the body. Similarly, we must deal with issues at the behavioral level before we can work optimally at the personal level—including psychological concerns related to thoughts, emotions, interpersonal interactions, and personal skills. We must confront practical issues, such as those related to vocation and social problems. Finally, we must deal with matters at the personal level before we can most effectively move toward the transpersonal. We must resolve problems related to self-concept, self-esteem, and fragmentation of the self.

The transpersonal is always present and available and is not “achievable” by changes at the biological, behavioral, and personal levels. However, by removing problems at these three levels, we clear the way for transpersonal realizations and transformation of being. Zen is filled with stories of “instant enlightenment.” But what is not stressed enough in the West is the many years of training the Zen practitioner went through to prepare for the sudden experience of enlightenment.

In a previous book, Skills of Living, I summarized many of the practical things we can do to get control over our lives and to clear up problems at the biological, behavioral, and personal levels, with emphasis on the behavioral. I discuss methods such as how to restructure the environment, relax body and mind, get motivated, get organized, alter habits, work with thoughts and images, choose appropriate nutrition and exercise, and deal with many common problems such as fears, weight control, and smoking. With these issues as a basis, in the last part of that book I move into those areas that overlap the domain of this book: personal freedom, happiness, love, inner peace, and mindfulness.

Over and above these specific topics, there are more general themes that run throughout Skills of Living. One is the importance of continually developing objective observation of one’s feelings, thoughts, and other behaviors. This is accomplished through record-keeping and logs, specific exercises, and mindfulness practices. A second general theme is the basic strategy of taking small steps and being committed to a plan of action that often needs to be revised. Finally, there is the importance of cultivating unconditional acceptance of oneself while simultaneously recognizing the desirability of change.

The key here for many people is developing discipline. A person often knows what needs to be done but somehow never seems to have the time or energy to get around to it. The melodrama of daily living has us too tied up. Some convince themselves that discipline is somehow counter to their personality, philosophy of living, or spiritual path. These people are usually greatly impaired in any attempt at self-improvement.

As the spiritual warrior ready to grab hold of our lives and move on, we can recognize the value of precision and discipline in everything we do. We may even do things simply for the sake of developing discipline. Thus we take the things we must do or want to do—like meditation—and simply do them, with precision and awareness and without making a big deal of it. This then gradually leads to more power, freedom, and choice.

In addition to cleaning up our lives in practical and psychological ways, we must also order them along ethical principles. In all the major spiritual disciplines there are general rules of conduct that include avoiding undesired behaviors and encouraging desired behaviors, the two limbs of yoga called yama and niyama respectively. Thus we have the Ten Commandments of Judaism and Christianity, the various precepts of Buddhism (see appendices), and many other ethical codes that discourage killing, violence, stealing, lying, and greed, and that encourage appropriate respect and devotion.

In the domain of religion, people are told to obey the ethical codes to achieve certain rewards and avoid certain punishments. This might be conceptualized in terms of heaven and hell, karma, or more immediate worldly effects. But as we progress spiritually, ethical behavior becomes more and more natural and obvious, and thus less effortful. The awakened being does not avoid stealing or lying because he is very “good” or because he fears the consequences of stealing and lying. Rather, it simply makes no sense to steal or lie. The awakened or enlightened being is motivated by compassion and a cosmic perspective, not the grasping and clinging that motivates most unethical behavior.

The various ethical codes basically describe the way a spiritually advanced person would normally act. So a good part of a spiritual practice is to adopt such an ethical code as a way to predispose your understanding and progress toward a more advanced position. And changes in overt behavior often lead to changes in thoughts, attitudes, and sense of self.

It is also worthwhile to reflect on the great depth and generality of most ethical injunctions. For example, the yama of yoga includes non-violence. Overt violence is easy to see, but what about the violence in thoughts and subtle mental Predispositions toward negative judgments. One of the Judeo-Christian commandments is against coveting, the craving for something not yours.

Dealing with coveting is very difficult and involves subtle cravings and attachments of the mind. And what about stealing? What should not be stolen? What about stealing things, ideas, people’s time? What about truthfulness? Do you always tell the truth? If not, why not? We can profit from pursuing the practical implications of the ethical principles at increasingly more general and more subtle levels, rather than just trying to follow the principles superficially and understanding them philosophically or religiously.

Finally, it is worth repeating that very many people would do better relative to transpersonal goals if they spent less time thinking and reading about spiritual topics and more time cleaning up and ordering their lives along moral and practical guidelines. This will then facilitate their spiritual progress, which will lead to spiritual insights and understanding. From this more advanced perspective, they will see that many of the philosophical issues that seemed important before are now no longer significant or meaningful.

When the Buddha was asked metaphysical questions, about such matters as previous lives or levels of heaven, he usually told the questioner it is more important to tend to more practical concerns, such as interpersonal and vocational problems.

Of course, all of this interacts with other aspects of transpersonal practice, such as opening the heart, quieting the mind, and reducing attachments. In Buddhism it is said that morality (sila), concentration (samadhi), and insight (prajna) all influence each other. An improvement in one leads to improvement in the others. For example, cleaning up ethical issues in one’s daily life makes it easier to develop concentration during meditation, for the meditation is less disrupted by ethical concerns and their consequences. And conversely, as you quiet your mind, it is easier to see and work with moral concerns.

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Readiness to Know

In the domains of personal and transpersonal knowledge, we are continually bombarded by teachings and information. But most people miss most of this because they are not ready to see and hear the teachings. Their attachments limit their ability to perceive and understand those things they want and/or need to know. Often the more basic and important the teaching, the harder it is to hear.

So in personal and transpersonal growth, it is not enough just to seek out information. We also need to cultivate readiness to hear and know the lesson, the truth, the broader perspective, and the fundamental insight. The teachings are ever present. It is a matter of quieting the mind and opening the heart so we can hear and see better. It is a common spiritual maxim that the teacher will appear when the student is ready.

One block to readiness to know is intellectual closed-mindedness. We can get so caught up in a particular set of ideas or forms that we are not open to new experiences and knowledge. We are more interested in defending, justifying, and explaining our own positions. In an oft-told Zen story, a university professor goes to visit the master Nan-in to learn about Zen. While serving tea, Nan-in fills the professor’s cup and keeps on pouring though the cup is overflowing. When the professor finally points this out, Nan-in says, “Like this cup, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

Now if what we need to learn is a challenge to our images of self or world, then we often are not ready to hear. We misperceive, lie to ourselves, and have distorted memories rather than seeing and learning something that confronts our sense of self. Bob will have complex reasons for why he is not doing well at work rather than realizing it is his attitude toward his coworkers that is causing the problem. Sue is fearful of developing close relationships with men because whenever she does they end up leaving her. She is not ready to hear how she drives men away in order to maintain her belief about them. Often the problem gets worse and worse as we resist learning. Bob’s job situation and Sue’s relationships with men both deteriorate and lead to other problems.

All of us have lessons to learn about ourselves and our relationships with others and the world. When we learn the lessons our lives will be easier and happier. But our attachments blind us so that we resist learning. It is as if we get a little bump to point out the lesson, but we don’t hear. So we are hit a little harder to point out the lesson again. Still we don’t hear. Each time we get hit harder and harder until we finally pay attention and are motivated to hear. It is amazing how hard people can get hit and still not listen.

One can reduce some of the blocks by a change in attitude about self-discovery. Rather than feeling anxious or threatened by what you may learn about yourself, cultivate a positive attitude toward whatever you discover, for the discovery will help you move on. Take delight in discovering attachments, barriers, and assumptions that are limiting your personal and transpersonal growth. Have a good time on the journey.

A problem in hearing spiritual truths is that many of them are so simple and basic that they usually are understood superficially. It is in generality, depth, and subtlety that the power of spiritual truth lies, not in philosophical and conceptual understanding. Intellectual understanding of the Buddha’s idea of impermanence is quite different from a direct experience of the impermanence of everything.

Moving toward the spiritual and transpersonal realms is moving in a direction that gets simpler, not more complex. Life gets lighter, not heavier. Spiritual teachings, like ethical principles, are known in many ways other than conceptual knowledge alone. They are best known through direct experience resulting from a continually evolving journey into the nature of one’s being and beyond.

As an exercise, consider the next paragraph carefully. It is a commonly held postulate from the Perennial Philosophy, an enduring and fairly universal spiritual perspective. It doesn’t matter for the exercise whether the statement is true or false. Simply read and consider it carefully. Note your thoughts and reactions and how they relate to readiness to hear.

The highest spiritual levels cannot be obtained. For if they could, they would be limited in time, Occurring after some time, and separable from you, since it is something you obtain. Rather, these higher levels are one without a second, unlimited, and outside of time and space. Therefore, they are always already here. You are already enlightened, even if “you” don’t “realize” it.

Now even if this is true, just reading it will not make it self-evident to most people. They are not able to hear it in a way that transforms them. The practices surveyed in this book help cultivate the readiness to hear and know, even though there is nothing you have to do.

So how can you tell when you are understanding clearly as opposed to being caught in one of your attachments? How can you tell true spiritual insight from tricks of the mind? There are no simple answers to such questions. We must learn for ourselves, making mistakes along the way. As we learn to quiet our minds and open our hearts, we find a fundamental level of sanity prior to all the melodrama. We learn to tune in to the still small voice within. We learn to identify a sense of clarity and obviousness that is part of basic insights. We come to see how such insights alter our perceptions, values, and behaviors.

After the last supper when Jesus was leaving his disciples, they were concerned about what they would do when their teacher was gone. Jesus told them not to worry for he would send the Holy Spirit to be their inner guide.

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Finding Your Way

When a person decides to pursue a spiritual path, the question is often which path to follow. Sometimes circumstances dictate a particular path. But often one is confronted by a variety of paths with associated stories and promises. Which path to take? What are some general guidelines for making such decisions?

First, it must be realized that finding your way is part of the path itself. Learning how and why you choose different paths is an important part of the overall process. What attachments are involved? What entices you in the spiritual supermarket? Cultivating a readiness to hear and know is important here.

Along the way, you may make many mistakes; this is the norm. But don’t be anxious about this or be obsessed with not making mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes and they are wonderful opportunities to learn.

Different paths are right for different people at different times. One’s personality, attachments, Psychological needs, and readiness to know may lead to a particular path. Of the major world systems, yoga more than any other recognizes the need for different paths (yogas) for people with different needs. For example, there is hatha yoga, the yoga best known in the West, which emphasizes working with the body, including postures, breathing, nutrition, and cleansing. There is karma yoga, which stresses selfless service, action without attachment, and spiritualizing work in daily life. Bhakti yoga is the yoga of love, devotion, and ritual worship. Jnana yoga is built on self-analysis, awareness, and discrimination, while raja yoga, as codified by Patanjali, includes all of these yogas.

Along with finding your way is the recognition that the path which is right for you is not necessarily right for someone else. Thus, an important part of spiritual practice is developing unconditional respect for the paths of others and the realization that there is much to be learned from people on other paths and with other perspectives. The American Indians’ use of the medicine wheel often incorporated this understanding. People with different perspectives and understandings would sit together at the wheel to share their different views. It was understood that the Great Way encompasses all the points of the wheel.

It is often the case that the strength of a particular path is also the cause of many of its problems. For example, one person’s path may be largely intellectual, with a lot of reading, thinking, and philosophizing. This can be good to a point, but it can also result in the person being lost in his own conceptual knowledge and not moving into other types of knowing. Or one may be on a devotional path. A common trap here is distorting reality so it takes a form that is easier to love. More important is learning to perceive and love reality as it is.

Another common trap is the difficulty in letting go of a particular method, group, teacher, or path after its usefulness is past. You may still respect, honor, and value it; but you need to be able to let it go. Say you come to a difficult river that you wish to cross and eventually find a boat that gets you to the other side. You may appreciate the boat, but you need to leave it at the shore and travel on. It would be a mistake to carry the boat on your back because it had helped you. It would also be a mistake to argue that everyone should have a boat like yours, and the only way across the river is the way you came.

Related to this is the more-is-never-enough trap. Because a particular method or teacher has been helpful to you does not mean that more of the same will be more helpful. Realize when you have had enough and move on. Don’t be attached to just more of the same.

It is important to follow your path with great precision, willfulness, and skill. You need to give your path the importance it deserves without getting lost in its forms. You need to stay with your path through all its obstacles and not jump from path to path. Yet you need to be able to take a new path when the time has come.

There is an important paradox in the analogy of following a path. That is, the essence of the ultimate spiritual path is not to get you somewhere else at some other time. Rather, it is a matter of being more fully in the here and now. All the practices described in this book are intended to bring you into a more direct experience of reality here and now. It is not an issue of getting “there”; it is an issue of being “here. “It is not “then,” but “now.”

As in dancing, it is not so much where meditation takes you that is important. Rather, it is how you do the activity itself. Where a spiritual path may lead is of secondary importance to the here and now of how you are traveling the path. You need to let go of the past and take responsibility for your current psychological and spiritual state. You need to let go of anticipations of the future and confront the present. Pets can be good teachers in this area, for animals appear to live much more in the here and now than humans.

In fact, you are always only in the here and now. No matter where you go, if you ask where you are, the answer is “here.” And no matter when you ask yourself what time it is, the answer is “now.” But most people’s minds are dominated by memories of the past and plans and fantasies of the future. So they get lost in this imaginary mind stuff and don’t recognize the reality of the here and now. However, if one looks closely, it is clear that there is no past, only memories now, and no future, only plans and fantasies now. Spiritual practices bring one more into the here and now. Enlightened persons do not disappear into some cosmic cloud. Instead, they are more fully in the here and now. This does not mean they become irresponsible or no longer plan for the future. They still think and plan appropriately, but do not get lost in the contents of the thoughts and plans.

Finally, the hardest and most subtle teaching in finding our way is the basic fallacy of “seeking” itself. If the highest spiritual levels cannot be obtained and are already always there, then anything which suggests the idea of seeking or obtaining them perpetuates a myth and a dilemma which is a fundamental obstacle. Zen is based on the premise that a person is already free, that the chains are an illusion. We are free as soon as we cease to believe we need to free ourselves. Thus, many contemporary teachers, such as Krishnamurti and Da Free John, have continued to attack the search itself.

But this teaching is very difficult to hear and has not been particularly useful or practical. How do you stop seeking? How do you realize the chains are illusions? So one follows a path until one is ready to really hear, in a way that transforms one’s being, that the path was both unnecessary and necessary. Meditation is a good place for many people first to come to grips with being involved in a spiritual practice without trying to obtain anything.

It is important to be able to relax into a spiritual path and not make it unnecessarily unpleasant or heavy. So, follow the path with precision, compassion, and clarity. But relax and enjoy it.

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Teachers

Most people on a spiritual path can profit from the input of spiritual teachers (gurus), and many spiritual traditions consider this necessary, although many people have done well without one.

There are many ways a teacher can help. In some cases, it is useful to get practical advice from someone who is further along the path. Some teachers act as mirrors and help us see ourselves more accurately and expose our “games.” Often we don’t like the reflection in the mirror and we blame the mirror. Some teachers can pull the student more into the here and now or into particular conscious spaces. Some teachers can fill one with love or spiritual energy (e.g., shaktipat). Some offer themselves as the personification of what they teach, while others are only passing on spiritual information.

Unfortunately, many people who publicly function as spiritual teachers are not very spiritually advanced or are outright frauds, whether they know it or not. There are a lot of power traps in being a public guru, and a teacher who gets caught in such attachments may do more enslaving than freeing of the student. The amount of jealousy, competition, empire-building, and sexual misconduct among major contemporary spiritual teachers is amazing. Few teachers who rise to a position of great power, respect, and adoration seem able to handle it. Thus the most popular teachers are not necessarily the best teachers. On the other hand, among the better known teachers are many legitimate, sincere, powerful, advanced gurus.

As a general rule, a spiritual teacher should be trying to incorporate spiritual ideals and practices into his or her own life. Thus, there should be evidence of such things as a quieting mind, opening heart, and getting free from attachments. One should be suspect of a guru whose personal life and relationships are out of order and causing suffering. Since spiritual progress usually leads to a freer and lighter position, an advanced guru will seldom impose unnecessary heaviness and will often have a sense of humor about the game of life. On the other hand, many spiritual teachers choose to act in outrageous ways to challenge the students’ preconceptions about the form spirituality must take.

An enlightened being does not necessarily choose to be a visible public guru or to assume the form that one might expect. Thus, it could be that the bus driver or Aunt Sally might be an awakened being, but most people do not realize them as such because they are not ready to know. Historically, there have been many great gurus that people thought were fools.

In fact, everyone is your guru in that you can learn from everyone. Adopting this perspective toward others can help open the heart. For various reasons, you have more intense relationships with some of these gurus, such as your family and friends. With these people it is important always to recognize the spiritual component. Thus, in addition to all the other things a marriage relationship is, it also is a tremendous opportunity for two people to help each other and learn from each other on the spiritual path. Your spouse can be your best guru since he or she knows you so well, and since ideally you are merging in being, although not necessarily in personality.

Children are often incredible teachers. A parent can learn much from the clarity and innocence of the child. And the parent has the opportunity to help the child learn and develop in a way that will facilitate later spiritual work. In addition, the drama of the family is an excellent arena for personal and transpersonal learning, from basic behavioral and personal issues to more general concerns such as loyalty and protection.

Many people involved in spiritual work seek and value associating with others with similar interests, perhaps through a church, discussion group, or community. Through such organized meetings people share ideas and discoveries, raise questions, provide support and encouragement to each other, bring in teachers, and initiate various activities. Several of the great spiritual traditions, such as Buddhism, emphasize the value of such a community of spiritually-minded people.

Finally, teachers can occur in many forms including animals, phenomena in nature, guides within consciousness, books, and everything else. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. The form of the teacher is not as important as the essence of the teaching.

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Continual Practice

At first, spiritual practice is something one does every now and then, such as going to church once a week, meditating periodically, or working for a charity on some afternoons. There is a sense that there is a real difference between the sacred and the profane.

But as our spiritual practice becomes more sophisticated, these distinctions break down. Everything that we do can be approached spiritually. Taking out the garbage can be as spiritual as doing religious chants in a temple. Washing dishes can be as good an opportunity for spiritual awakening as meditating in the Himalayas. The form of what one does should not be confused with the essence of spirituality.

Associated with this is the practical realization that every instant of one’s life is an opportunity to do spiritual work. Every moment is an opportunity for one to do things such as quiet the mind, increase mindfulness, open the heart, or reduce attachments. Every situation is an opportunity to choose to wake up or to stay lost in the dream. At any time and place you can catch yourself, relax, pull into the here and now, and apply one or more of your spiritual practices.

Although disciplined times of formal sitting meditation are important, each day is filled with many opportunities for mini-meditations. A good time for a mini-meditation might be just before others wake up, during a break in work, while sitting in a waiting room, or while waiting for a bus. You don’t need to assume a particular form or make a big deal of it. Just close your eyes, put your attention on your breathing, quiet your mind, and increase your awareness. It can be for just a couple of minutes. Even one minute is helpful. Mini-meditations allow you to take time out from the game and recenter yourself. By having a number of mini-meditations throughout the day, you increase your meditation skills and facilitate the development of a meditative stance in daily living. And you loosen your attachments for the moment.

At first, concentration is usually best developed during formal meditation. But with practice we gradually become more and more aware of how focused or one-pointed our minds are in all situations. When listening to a friend or listening to music, we can be aware of how much the mind stays on what we want to hear and how much it runs off to other things, such as sensations, thoughts, and fantasies. We can then apply and develop concentration skills by gently and firmly bringing the mind back to what is to be heard. Thus most of the time you have an opportunity to be aware of how one-pointed your mind is, and to practice developing concentration on whatever you are seeing, hearing, feeling, thinking, smelling, or tasting. When you are eating, how much are you attending to the sensations of eating? When you are reading, how often do you find that you have “completed” a paragraph or page and don’t know what you read?

The same applies to mindfulness. At almost any instant you can practice being aware of body sensations, breathing, feelings, one-pointedness of mind, specific thoughts and images, intentions, and/or processes of the mind. You can be aware of the functioning and effects of the attachments. You can notice the opening and closing of your heart or mind. Thus situations like brushing your teeth, washing dishes, or driving a car are wonderful opportunities to develop mindfulness. Often people treat such routines as boring and distract themselves by day-dreaming, planning, listening to music, and other diversions. But these moments are rich with sensations to be mindful of. In addition, one can be mindful of the reactions to the sensations and the situation in general.

Thus throughout the day one can develop concentration and mindfulness. But you need to gradually build it up, doing it more and more, so you don’t overwhelm yourself or make it an unpleasant task. Relax and have a good time. Some days you might wear a “reminder” such as a particular necklace or ring which reminds you to be more mindful whenever you notice it. As concentration and mindfulness are gradually cultivated throughout the day, and as mini-meditations are incorporated, the distinctions between when one is meditating and when one is not start to dissolve. What you do when meditating involves a widening range of situations and forms. Sometimes you are sitting on a cushion watching your breath. Sometimes you are raking leaves.

Throughout the day you can be aware of and cultivate opening the heart. For example, notice bow open you are to experiencing reality as it is. How much do you distort reality to fit some model in your mind? How much do your judgments and attachments keep you from unconditionally accepting yourself or someone else? How can you better make friends with yourself? To what extent can you see the spiritual aspect of another person beyond his or her personality and behavior? “Namaste” is a common Hindu greeting in Nepal and India. It means, “I greet the spiritual within you.”

In the Christian monastic tradition is the prayer of the heart or “Jesus prayer.” This involves keeping Jesus ever present in the ground of one’s being. This intense practice often involves invocations such as “Jesus” or “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” By keeping Jesus ever in one’s awareness, by always praying at one level of consciousness, one can control thoughts and temptations, guard and purify the mind, lose pre-occupations with the limited self, bring the holy spirit into the heart, and become one in spirit with Christ. Similar practices are the “practice of the presence of God” and the “remembrance of the name,” both of which involve continual remembrance of God. Mahatma Gandhi practiced keeping the name “Ram” always on his mind. Ram is one of the Hindu manifestations of God.

Retrospection is a useful practice to help cultivate a more continual spiritual perspective. Retrospection is done near the end of each day. You quiet your mind and then try to maintain a meditative stance as you let the events of the day freely pass through your consciousness. This need only take about ten minutes; but it will vary from day to day and person to person. The purpose is to let issues resolve themselves, to see things more clearly when you are less pulled into them, and to notice the subtle attachments you overlooked earlier.

Finally, many people find that keeping a journal is a valuable aid in personal and transpersonal growth. The journal of writings and drawings can include many things, such as one or more of the following: a meditation log reporting daily perceptions, experiences, and thoughts about your meditation practice; an attachment log each day noting attachments of particular interest and significance and what you are learning about dealing with them; a dream diary kept by your bedside for recording dreams as soon afterward they occur as possible; and a daily or weekly spiritual journal in which you note ideas, lessons, quotes, reminders, etc. about your spiritual practice. Keeping a journal can help you think more clearly about your practices and notice patterns and interrelationships you might otherwise overlook. It can also help you see progress where you think there is none. Reading over a journal you have kept for a while gives you a good perspective of yourself.

The act of writing down things relating to problems may help you better define the issue, see resolutions, or come up with new ideas and perceptions about the problem. Sometimes the act of writing gives you a chance to release emotions. It can also be a way to put down and throw away some attachments, finished business, and old ideas.

So the serious practitioner of a spiritual/transpersonal path recognizes that the overall practice is applicable all the time. This is not instead of whatever else one does, but in addition to it and inclusive of it. Formal sitting meditation, mini- meditations, retrospection, and journal-keeping are some of the ways gradually to cultivate a more general and more continual spiritual perspective.

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Retreats

It is very helpful for most people periodically to step out of their lives, to take a time-out from the game. This helps us get a better perspective on our life, to see and think more clearly about what we are doing. Meditation is a good and easy way to do this, but we occasionally need a bigger change of scene. We need periodically to get out of town, or some equivalent.

Vacations are a common way to do this and can be fun, interesting, stimulating, and a distraction from many of our usual concerns. When geographically far away, we can look back on our life differently and perhaps see things in a better perspective. But vacations often are so filled with activities that we do not have the opportunity really to step out of our life; rather, we just change the events in our life. People often return from vacations tired and stressed. Thus, although vacations can be therapeutic in many ways, they are seldom the optimal way to develop transpersonal perspective. Usually we are so caught up in the events of a vacation we have little time for spiritual practice.

So in terms of personal and transpersonal growth, it is helpful to take periodic retreats in which we step out of our routines and do not fill the time with events. Parents need time away from the children, time they can devote to themselves and/or their spouses. And individuals need time alone, time to regroup, recenter, and intensify spiritual practices.

The retreat might be an afternoon each week in which we leave the daily routine and go for quiet drives and walks alone. The retreat might be a day each week in which we rest from the usual activities and cultivate the spiritual. This is one of the Judeo-Christian commandments.

Every now and then a retreat of a few days or more can be useful. This might involve staying in a motel in a nearby town, staying in the house of friends while they are away, camping out, or going to a lodge in a state park or church camp.

Retreat time is a time to be quiet and introspective, a time to get out of the melodrama of daily living and reflect on it. It is a time to quiet the mind and pull into the here and now. It is a time to let go of some past attachments and resolve to begin anew. Some of the time might be devoted to reading spiritual and/or inspirational materials, but the retreat should not be filled with reading. The retreat is an opportunity for intensive meditation practice.

Although much can be accomplished in daily meditation, even more can be accomplished by the addition of retreats in which one meditates for many hours a day for a number of days. In such intensive meditation one can reach depths that are hard to reach in shorter sessions. This will also facilitate daily practice, making it easier to achieve these levels again. In addition, powerful insights may arise during intense practice.

Of course, one has to build up to such intense practice. A beginner would probably have more negative than positive results from five days of intensive meditation. After you have been meditating regularly for a while, set aside a day in which you meditate for several hours. Alternate sitting and walking meditations in a pattern that works well for you. One pattern might be forty-five-minute sitting periods alternated with thirty-minute walking periods. Longer sitting periods can be good. Walking meditations can help overcome drowsiness that comes with sitting. Finding your own rhythm is important.

You can also set up your own intensive meditation retreat. Find a place such as those mentioned above, where you can be alone and undisturbed. Make living there as simple as possible. Eat the minimum amount necessary and stick to simple, basic foods. Avoid television, music, day-dreaming, and excessive or non-spiritual reading. Establish a simple routine of sleeping, eating, cleaning, and exercise. Perhaps you can provide a little spiritual input from books or tapes, but meditate as much as possible, alternating sitting and walking meditations.

Throughout the United States and the world there are many meditation retreat centers. Many are inexpensive and open to the public. Some are church sponsored; some are not. Some provide instruction in meditation; some just provide a place for you to meditate. If you are serious about meditation and wish to pursue the practice beyond the basics outlined in this book, it would be advantageous for you to seek personal instruction, such as is found at many meditation retreats.

When one has been out of the routine of life for a while, as when on vacation or retreat, one needs to attend carefully to re-entry. You don’t want to jump back into your ordinary life as it was with the same old thoughts and feelings. Rather, you want to re-enter more gradually, being mindful of your old thoughts, reactions, habits, and attachments. Schedule your time so you can do this slowly. Don’t arrive home late on Sunday and then start work early Monday. Try to keep your mind as quiet and aware for as long as possible. Avoid old attachments. Intentionally break undesired habits. Be a warrior. Approach the game of life with new clarity, compassion, and precision. Avoid getting pulled into the melodrama.

Slowly you will get pulled more and more into the dream of your daily life until eventually you will be asleep again. But the longer you stay awake during re-entry, the easier it will to be wake up again.

This book summarizes the practices for gradual awakening. These practices can improve daily living as well as leading to that which is beyond. There is little more you need to know. But you need to incorporate these practices, in whatever form is appropriate, into your daily living. You need to do the practices, not just think about them.

Of course, there is much more that could be said on any of the topics covered here and many more practices that could be useful to you. You should seek out those that you need and utilize those that your particular path leads you to. But the basics, as outlined in this book, are fairly universal; you will keep coming back to the basics. It is all very simple.

I wish you well on the journey and offer this book to help you along the way.