Why must we pay for things on the spiritual path?

 

Why must we 'pay' for things on the spiritual path?

I will tell you an almost immutable law of human behaviour that is relatively simple to understand and that has far reaching consequences.

That law is:

People only value what they must pay for..

This can look like a number of different things, practically speaking..

- Having to pay money or financial consideration for a course or seminar or teaching

- Having to expend effort in receiving information, teachings, assistance, support etc.

- Having to use time and spend large amounts of time working with a teaching before any sort of understanding takes place.

A number of teachers used this law. It was fundamental in all of the Gurdjieff and Fourth Way teachings and groups last century. Freud makes mention of this during his writings, as a strongly conditioned response in people that is largely inherited. Lester Levenson mentions it in his talks and his experiences in teaching Sedona Method and Release work. 

Even the Bible seems to condition people (or make use of this law), in places like The Golden Rule of behaviour (New Testament), or in the ways of justice throughout may places in the Old Testament. 

How can we make use of this conditioned behavioural response that goes fairly deep in the human psyche?

Some ways:

- Consider the effort required and what you're prepared to give in receiving and working with a teaching. How much earnestness and devotion can you commit?

- Money considerations, donations, supporting the teaching that you're receiving and working with.. or other ways to 'give back'

- How much time are you willing to spend sticking to a teaching or approach? Could you commit even a few months of honestly using and trying out the teaching and being faithful to it before moving on?

"But teachings and spirituality should be free!!!"

The teachings ARE already free.. there's nothing out there that is new, or hasn't been said already. Every method, approach, way, insight etc. is already out there, free and available in books, videos, on the Internet, in person with people who 'get it' etc. But again, we don't value those avenues, and we quickly consume them and move on, discarding it later like used packaging.

So be aware of this behavioural law in the coming days, and note how much effort you actually put into the path, which will determine how much you get out of the path that you've chosen or that resonates with you at this moment in time.

Effort vs Surrender

 

I have been reflecting on the dichotomy between Effort and Surrender recently.

Initially, Effort can be quite beneficial, especially when one feels disconnected. It provides the mind with a purpose and aids in developing valuable skills such as concentration, positive habits, and ethical behavior. 

However, as time progresses, Effort may transform into an obstacle or create a metaphorical “wall” that hinders further insights. In such cases, Surrender can prove to be immensely valuable. Surrender allows us to release ingrained patterns, overcome ignorance, and intuitively embrace “grace” or naturalness. It enables us to perceive reality beyond the confines of our ego/mind’s fixed perspective. 

Even on a smaller scale, finding the right balance between Effort and Surrender during contemplation is crucial. This balance ensures that we avoid excessive rigidity while also preventing excessive slack or relaxation.

Is effort required for self-inquiry and Self-Realization?

From Michael James' blog "Happiness of Being", on the topic of whether effort is required for self-inquiry and self-attentiveness.


Is effort required, as do assert some traditional paths of awakening (e.g. early Buddhism, traditional Advaita Vedanta etc.), or is no effort required for what is already present, as do assert neo-Advaita teachers and some modern proponents of 'nonduality'?




1. We are always self-aware, but we must make effort to be attentively self-aware

We are always self-aware, because self-awareness is our very nature (what we actually are), so we do not need to make any effort to be self-aware. However, though we are always self-aware, we are generally not attentively self-aware, because most of our attention is taken up with being aware of other things, since we find it more interesting and appealing to be aware of other things than to be attentively aware of ourself alone.

This self-negligence or lack of self-attentiveness is what is called pramāda, and it is the root of all our problems, because it is the very nature of the ego and the means by which the ego seems to rise, stand and flourish. Therefore all our efforts should be directed towards being self-attentive and thereby overcoming our pramāda.


~ Michael James

Make it yours..

"Remember, wonder, ponder, live with it, love it, grow into it, grow with it, make it your own – the word of your Guru, outer or inner. Put in all and you will get all. I was doing it. All my time I was giving to my Guru and to what he told me."

Nisargadatta, 'I Am That'.

Man cannot do.

This was a question from someone online, actually they went on to justify why the idea 'Man cannot do' (Gurdjieff, Ouspensky) was just an excuse to do nothing etc. and that we should all involve ourselves in 'self effort'.


Q: 'Isn't the idea "Man cannot do" an excuse to do nothing? Aren't we told to struggle for self-effort, and to involve ourselves in 'conscious labour and intentional suffering'?'

A: "Man cannot do" is a necessary starting point, IMV. Equally dangerous is the illusion that we can all 'fix ourselves' and the 'world', we just need the right conditions or right time or motivation. We think we already have all the answers and know 'what to do'. Governments work on this principle. And as a result, nothing is done or fixed, but just happens reactively. Direct and clear observation of things as-they-are actually confirms this, and interestingly opens the way for new approaches to be possible, which otherwise would have never appeared.