Quotes About Spiritual practice

"Any activity that brings you into contact with Spirit—in other words, any activity that engages you with Knowledge—is, in essence, a spiritual practice and a form of spiritual development."

Not an escape

"Never think that spiritual practice is to escape the world because you will all escape the world, sooner or later."

"If spiritual practice disables a person from being able to participate effectively in life and takes them away from their fundamental responsibilities to such an extent that they become estranged from other people and estranged from their existence in the world, is this a healthy thing?"

"Spiritual practice is not to transcend the world or to cavort with angels or to experience unlimited bliss. Spiritual practice is really about becoming re-engaged with Knowledge within yourself, the deeper intelligence within yourself, and to become truly engaged with the world around you and with other people. Here spiritual practice is not a form of escape. It is not a personal obsession. It is the road back to real engagement with yourself and the world. It is the road out of separation. It is the road out of isolation. It is moving your life in a true direction. It is building the necessary awareness and skills. It is developing new habits of thinking and observation. And it is giving you the strength to overcome your past tendencies, many of which you have simply adopted from the culture around you."

"It is not appropriate, then, to seek escape in spiritual study from the difficulties of being in relationships with others. Though you may achieve a certain proficiency in spiritual practice, you will gain no true advancement without becoming discerning, genuine and effective in your relationships."

"Spiritual practice is important. Yet you must determine whether you need to have a formal spiritual practice or not. Spiritual practice is an expedient here. It will save you valuable time. Yet it must be wedded with meaningful work and honest engagement with others. In this way, you will reap its great benefits. Without an arena of expression, however, spiritual practices are like seeds that will not sprout, a crop that will not produce, an endeavor that will not yield its intended benefits. That is why when you speak of spirituality, speak of work in the world and of meaningful relationships, for this is where spirituality lives and expresses itself through the love and labor of people."

"Spiritual practice is not merely a form of stress release. It becomes now the central power building, the central focus of your activities. Here you bring your spiritual practice into everything that you do because it is relevant to everything that you do, and it will assist you and bring clarity in everything that you do."

A bridge from your mind to Knowledge

"Spiritual practice is essential for learning greater things about yourself and about life. Having philosophies or making assumptions or reading books that fill your mind with more ideas and assumptions, well, that cannot work. You must build the bridge from your mind to Knowledge, and that bridge is not built in a day or a week or a month. You are undertaking something very great here, and it requires perseverance and a commitment."

"To develop a spiritual practice" ... "requires first that you show up every day, which means that you must adjust other parts of your life and gain greater control over your circumstances, and this in itself is a very significant step because many people really don’t think they have any control over their life, and beginning a spiritual practice gives you the opportunity to do just that. People go to the bathroom several times a day, they perhaps take a shower every day, they eat food every day. Why not a spiritual practice every day? You make time for these other things because they are recognized as being important or even necessary. When you recognize that your spiritual practice is important and necessary, well, you will begin to carve out time to give to it, and this is needed."

"Some people want it to move very fast and so they do extreme and difficult spiritual practices, the hardest they can find—the 'path of fire,' they call it. But those who follow the slow, methodical way go faster."

“Receive the benefit of all who practice with you. Remind yourself that you are not alone and that their rewards are given to you as your rewards are given to them. Thus, you share in your accomplishments together. The power of your undertaking is so tremendously supported by the endeavor and the giving of others that it far exceeds your own abilities. When this is realized, it will give you all manner of encouragement and will banish forever the idea that you are inadequate to the tasks that are given to you. For your giving is supplemented by the giving of others, and this represents the Will of God in the universe.”

"Fundamentally, spiritual practice is about bringing your surface mind, your social personal mind—the mind that has been formed and created by your social conditioning, by your family and by your experiences in the world—to bring this mind into contact with the power and the presence of Knowledge within yourself."

The Way of Knowledge

"Humility, honesty, openness, discernment, restraint, discretion, tolerance and compassion—these are qualities that result from preparation and advancement in The Way of Knowledge."

"Spiritual practices for learning and living The Way are presented in Steps to Knowledge. When you are ready to have a real practice in life, a practice you can carry into all of your activities, then you can begin to take the steps to Knowledge. Practicing will lead you one step at a time, to bring your mind into harmony with Knowledge and to teach you a way of seeing the world as the world really is. It will provide a means of escape from the conventional myths and falsities that condition humanity and have led it astray, even in the face of the Greater Community."

“You are undertaking an Ancient Rite in the reclamation of Knowledge. Born of the Great Will of the Universe, this preparation has been constructed for the advancement of students of Knowledge. You are working in tandem now with many other individuals, both within this world and within other worlds as well. For Knowledge is being taught in all worlds where intelligent life exists.”

"Great truths, potent spiritual practices, awareness of angels and the existence of spiritual forces may be quite intriguing and engaging, but they cannot rest upon a foundation that is not built upon advancement in the way of Knowledge."

The way of stillness

"The way of stillness" ... "produces an environment in which Knowledge can emerge within you.

"It is very important in practice not to try to get results. Most forms of spiritual practice—which is training your mind and applying your abilities—involve simple observation without judgment."

The Watchtower as spiritual practice

"Part of your spiritual practice is to cultivate a Watchtower, where you look at the world around you and you look at your circumstances with great objectivity—discerning any problems before they arise, discerning hazards before they come upon you, discerning the nature and intentions of people around you and whether any of them have yet discovered the power and the presence of Knowledge within themselves. This is an antidote to self-obsession and really to obsession of any kind because you cannot be paying attention to your own inner experience and the world around you and be obsessed with other things."

"The Watchtower is a spiritual practice, something you learn to do. You sit quietly and watch the world without judgment and without conclusions. You sit quietly and watch others without judgment and without conclusions, trying to feel the mental environment, listening for Knowledge as you do so. Here you listen to others. Instead of being caught up in your conversation, you listen to hear and to experience their deeper nature and their true condition at this moment. Here you are not judging them. Instead, you are discerning them. You are present to them. And if this is carried out correctly, you will learn a great deal about them in a short time. You will also feel compassion towards them; you will understand them, and you will not deny their humanity."

See also

The Great Practices

Stillness

Eclectic spirituality

The Watchtower

Further study about spiritual practice

• Steps to Knowledge

• Building the Four Pillars of Your Life (September 15, 2008)

• Wisdom from the Greater Community, Book 2, Chapter 11: Spiritual Practice

• Wisdom from the Greater Community, Book 1, Chapter 26: Stillness

• Living The Way of Knowledge, Chapter 6: The Pillar of Spiritual Development

• Deepening Your Spiritual Practice: Deepening Your Spiritual Practice

• Deepening Your Spiritual Practice: Going Beneath the Surface of the Mind