Sitting, meditating, going within, practicing, praying, pushing our bodies to the limits. There is a goal within our own inner search to go deeper… ever deeper… to find that next inspiration or healing or insight. But taking more classes, following new teachers and lecturers, or sitting for a longer period does not equate to deeper insight.
We must commit to a sacrifice if we wish to go into that deeper, next level. Giving up something of meaning as a payment for entry, with the most effective being the thing we do not want to give up. Our sacrifice may be money or time or just pure attention. It may be simple patience or pushing oneself physically to pray in extraordinary ways. It could also be to build or clean or complete an important project.
We must also see our sacrifice as a gift we are giving. This removes any resentments, as this is a gift with zero expectation of exchange or compensation, given unconditionally from the heart. When giving in this way, we should first recognize the importance of how this sacrifice helps and improves who we are, and only then should we examine the more external usefulness of the sacrifice toward loved ones or community or the world. Sacrifice is first a method to help us personally, but only then can it benefit the external needs around us.
With a true and honest sacrifice, we can expect to slip past the next layer of our own spiritual understanding of the world, and into a place where insight grows all around. And we can be there in that next level until we are ready to sacrifice again and to move even deeper.
This is my journey,
— Nate Long “Owl”