A Secret Practice

When we first hear about secret initiations and practices, Kundalini visions and mysterious third-eye touching guru’s in Himalayan caves, deep samadhi experiences where all sense of self is lost in meditation, we might feel intrigued, we might even want it, so much that we might even book a plane ticket to the other side of the world to find such a thing, or pay a lot of dollars to a course or a teacher promising us some kind of special spiritual state or teaching.

But true spirituality is not about that.

It is not about endless seeking and trying something new every week, or being intellectually entertained with philosophy.

It is not about going from beginner to more special and advanced practice.

It is not about more and more exalted states and esoteric experiences.

If our journey is about that, we have simply put a consumerist mindset and a desire to get high and escape in a new spiritual jacket.

Surely, a secret initiation might be valuable in the sense that it can help to take practice more seriously and reach inner union.

A guru’s gaze or word might impress one so deeply that a fire gets lit for the rest of one’s life that takes one all the way to liberation.

A new practice might be helpful or even needed to go deeper again.

To explore the depths of philosophy will often be crucial to have enough clarity on the path.

But some of the happiest, most vibrant, and clearest beings I personally ever observed were not the new age tantra-initiated wizards with a strong charisma and some siddhi’s,

Or the clever non-dualistic philosophers that have all the concepts right on an internet forum,

Or the the seeker that has done it all, all the trainings, all the courses, all the shamanic rituals and vipassana’s, still trying something new every week,

Instead, they were Buddhists that simply practice breath awareness and loving kindness, devotedly every single day.

Doctors and nurses that have no idea about spirituality or the Bhagavad Gita, but who live naturally as Karma Yogi’s in selfless service to their patients, every single day.

A small farmer that finds great joy in being present with the change of seasons, and the growing of crops, every single day.

If one wants to be entertained, then it’s best to keep searching for something more secret and exciting everytime one gets bored.

But if one wants to go deep, then it’s best to keep it profoundly simple and be consistent with only a few practices that actually work, exploring them all the way into their depths.

Repetition, repetition, repetition.

Until we laugh one day, when all the fancy spiritual practices fall away and we come more and more to an effortless rest, right where we are and always were.

With a relaxed mind, relaxed breath, a joy for life and a good heart.