attitudes

There are certain attitudes which are worth nurturing on the spiritual path. These will help in the whole endeavour. To begin with it may take some effort to try and encourage these attitudes within oneself, but eventually they will come easily.

One of the main attitudes that we need, during the spiritual journey, is courage. We will face all sorts of obstacles and great fears will arise within us. For we are stepping out of all the frames of reference that we have ever known, in our search for truth. Ultimately, we stand alone. To reach this point a great courage is needed, courage to step into the unknown when the fear is great, courage to walk through the fires of hell when the heat is unbearable, courage to face our deep aloneness. So courage, a courageous attitude, is worth developing.

Another key attribute or attitude is curiosity. This journey is a journey of discovery – discovery of oneself, discovery of the deepest truths of existence. And there are many secrets which will be shown to us during our long journey. So to keep us moving on, to keep us inspired, this attitude of curiosity is needed. Be like a little child, interested in everything, intrigued, wanting to know what it is all about. Explore everything with this innocent curiosity.

Another key attitude is one of being non-judgemental. We are going to face demons much worse than anything we have seen before. These demons are part of us and if we feel them to be evil, bad, unacceptable, we will not be able to go beyond them, they will stay in our unconscious and continue to cause the suffering that we live in. So taking a non-judgemental attitude to everything that we discover on the way, especially everything that is within us – accepting it without labelling it good or bad, without trying to cling onto it or push it away – this non-judgemental attitude will help us greatly.

Another key attitude which will come eventually but which we can help nurture a little, is love. Try to nurture a loving attitude to everything, to everything that comes into your life, to everybody. Here of course I am not talking about sexual love, that desire for intimacy with a particular person. I am talking about the deepest appreciation of something, as it is. If we can find this loving attitude towards everything that is, then life begins to flow in a beautiful way, in harmony, without conflict.

Trust, trust in existence itself, is another key attitude which develops along the spiritual path. Slowly we come to realise that we are not in control of our life in the way we once wished we were. We can let go of this need to feel in control more easily if we can trust existence, trust in the whole process of existence, trust in God if you want to use this word. So, a trusting attitude is also eventually an essential part of the spiritual journey and if we can nurture it early on, the journey becomes easier.

Related to trust is surrender, another key attitude on the spiritual path. We surrender to what is. We surrender to existence. We surrender to the will of God. In this surrender we can become effortless. Life can become a gift to be enjoyed, not fought against.

Sincerity is another key attitude which we must have in our approach to the spiritual journey. This is the most important thing in our life. Indeed without it we will miss life completely. So, we should undertake this journey with a feeling of sincerity, a sincere desire to find our deepest truth, a sincere yearning to be at peace in the world, a sincere search for our very essence. So, sincerity is key. Without it we are just wasting time.

Perseverance is another key attitude or attribute which we will need. The journey can be long and arduous, with many pitfalls. Many times we will find we have gone astray. Many times we will struggle and wonder is it worth it. Many doubts will arise. Perseverance will help us overcome these obstacles. Perseverance will see us through the troubled times, through the difficult stages of the path.

Patience is also needed to sit out long years of struggle, long years of doubt, long years of effort. Patience is needed.

Here I have talked about a few of the attitudes which we need to encourage, in order to undertake the spiritual journey. They will come naturally in the end, without any effort at all, but to begin with they need to be nurtured within us.