The End of Seeking and the Myth of the Spiritual Disciplines Book

We often find ourselves browsing through another spiritual disciplines book, hoping to find the final instruction, the secret technique, or the missing key that will unlock the door to awakening. But who is this "I" that is looking for a key? And where do we think that door leads? The separate self is a master of disguise, and its favorite hiding place is within the search for enlightenment itself. We imagine a future point where, after enough effort and enough meditation, we will finally reach a state of grace. But the absolute is not a destination. It is the very ground upon which the seeker stands while looking for the path. When we talk about meditation or silence, we must be very honest with each other. this stillness can be wonderful. They can harmonize the body-mind, calm the frantic noise of thought, and make the daily experience of living much more comfortable. If you want to learn to play the piano, you go to a pianist who has practiced for years. If you want to learn to quiet the mind, you might find someone who can show you how to sit. This is pragmatism. If a certain way of sitting makes you feel better, then by all means, continue. But let’s not lie to ourselves: no amount of sitting will ever produce the absolute. The absolute is what is already here, expressing itself as the sitting, as the breath, and even as the frustration of the person who thinks they aren't "getting it" yet. The separate self loves to organize the truth. It takes the raw, unnamable reality of what is and tries to turn it into a system. As the old story goes, when a man finds a piece of truth, the devil’s only job is to help him organize it. This is how the spiritual disciplines book becomes a map for a journey that doesn't exist. We create levels, stages, and hierarchies. We put teachers on pedestals, imagining they have attained a "thing" called enlightenment that we lack. But between two people, there is no real difference. We are just two masks of the One. The only difference between a so-called "awakened" person and a "non-awakened" person is that the latter still believes there is a difference to be found. We treat spirituality as an alibi to avoid the prose of daily life. We think that by going to an ashram or retreating into a cave, we can escape our conflicts or our immaturity. But the absolute is not "over there" in the incense smoke; it is expressed in the unpaid bill, the rude clerk at the office, and the aging dog that won't stop barking. When we draw a line between the sacred and the profane, we divide our lives in half. We start living in a state of constant bridge-building, trying to get from the "trivial" present to a "spiritual" future. But there is no sacred separate from the profane. Everything is the totality, or nothing is. The separate self is a mirage that is constantly trying to "fix" life. It thinks that if it practices enough, it can flatten the waves of the ocean. But the waves are the ocean.