I am amazed by many people’s tales of their spiritual growth.  It seems that their spirituality happens by means of dramatic events or shifts.  “I was on the acupuncturist table and all of a sudden when she put that last needle in, I melted away and everything became one.”  “My life was a mess until I went to this lecture and everything was clear and I understood all the reasons things were falling apart.”  “I had a healing or reading with such-and-such and suddenly my world changed!”  Although, these defining events can represent important shifts in our lives, the truth be told they cannot be sustained unless there is a strong spiritual foundation built on practice and discipline, not drama.  Many so-called New Age Teachers giving endless lectures and dramatic healings or readings end up being flash-in-the-pans.  They disappear almost as quickly as they appeared because of this confusion of spectacle over substance.  I guarantee you, the ego seeks a quick sexy fix, the soul seeks the truth. 

      Bringing an insight into a situation is not the same as bringing experience and practice.  Insight is an important start, but if we truly aspire towards mastery, it cannot be the end.  To know what must be done and to do it are two very different things.  The truth is that each of us knows what we must do.  We may convince ourselves otherwise, or play the game of not really being connected, but when push comes to shove and we quiet ourselves and ask, we get an answer.  We may not be ready to hear that answer or we may not be ready to implement that answer, but there is an answer. 

     Are we able to act on that answer?  Many times no, because we have not developed the discipline to focus our energies and manifest a reality.  As soon as it becomes difficult, or our mood or emotional state has shifted, or another distraction appears, we lose interest and focus.  To enact a realization, to change habits, to conquer addictions, to maintain focus is something of a mystery to our 30 second sound-bite minds.  Don’t feel ashamed, we have been trained that way. If you like it stay there, but real spiritual growth will always seem a pretense and elude you.  So let’s end the constant searching for “the answer.”  We have it already!  

     Let’s roll up our sleeves and begin the practice of what we know to be true.  The time is now!  What is really exciting is that we can begin very simply.  We can take just one discipline and practice it.  Let it be a focal point for the day.  Perhaps our discipline is “I will actually do whatever I promise.”  If I say, “I will be there at 10 AM,” I am there at 10 AM.  If I say, “I will have the report ready,” I have the report ready.  If I can’t have it ready, I don’t promise it.  This becomes my job for the day.  At the end of the day, evaluate how well you did.  Observe where you lapsed on your discipline and decide how you are going to do better tomorrow.  The next morning take up the new challenge with conviction and begin the process again.  Soon if you practice conscientiously, you will see and feel the change.  What’s more, you will now have the foundation and the “spiritual muscle” to take on greater disciplines.  Isn’t it amazing, one can produce dramatic changes in one’s life without having to pay for that $1000 seminar after all.