Anatomy of A Practice

Those who write or talk about spirituality often speak of things like ritual, meditation, awe and wonder, ethics, philosophy, practice, ego, non-attachment, science, virtue, religious experience, compassion, and more. While many of these seem beneficial or important, it may be difficult to know how they all relate to one another. How do these pieces fit together into a whole system or practice?

To see our practice as a system, we need to begin by looking at the nature of that thing for which it is designed: the human being. A human is a natural entity – both a part of Nature and having its own objective nature, living in an objective environment. This is a world of consequences. Therefore, ‘how best to live’ is a matter of engineering. That is, the engineering of our subjective experience, our habits, our character, and our life so as to yield flourishing happiness.

A practice should give one a sense of progression. This is why it is often referred to as a path. We should have an idea of where we want to go. As the Roman philosopher Seneca said, if one does not know what harbor they are sailing to, no wind is favorable¹. There should be a feeling that we are in a different place today than we were last year, and will be in a different place next year than we are today.

While all of our paths may intersect on many important and helpful landmarks, each person’s path is unique and must be allowed to unfold naturally. It is not linear and it isn’t a race, but more like a growing tree. Even more important, only you can walk your path. The experience of proceeding along in the practice is the benefit.

We can look at this as a system for building or forming our character in a consciously directed way. All of us have an essential nature - whether we call that the ‘spirit of us’, or our character, personality, etc. It arises out of a general human nature, but takes on a much more specific form in each individual. That character is the result of some very baseline traits provided by nature (DNA) but, in very large part, grown out of the sum of our experiences². So, whether we decide to take on a spiritual practice or not, we are spiritually transforming all the time thanks to these experiences.

In this way, our experiences work somewhat like a natural selection upon our character. Spiritual practice then, could be considered more like artificial selection. That is, in the same way directed breeding programs move species into specific forms more quickly than natural evolution, so too does a consciously designed and implemented spiritual practice direct our character into a specified direction more efficiently than the formative effects of our haphazard experiences in life.

When we decide to take on a spiritual practice, we are grabbing the reins of our own nature and taking charge of who we will be. Spiritual practice is like opening the back panel, voiding the warranty, and changing our root operating system. It is serious business and, if done wrong, can lead to serious consequences. If done right, it can lead to wisdom, enlightenment, and flourishing.

In this sense, taking on a spiritual practice can be liberating and empowering. This is why Epictetus described those without such development as slaves. How can we truly be free if we are directed by the whims of our emotions, ignorance, and unexamined impulses?

Part of the task of this book will be to explain in more detail just how a practice can affect the character in this manner and how that leads to flourishing. For now, let’s consider of what a well-rounded spiritual practice consists. It would be good to consider your approach to these seven elements as you build your practice:

Attention training: Mindfulness meditation and other practices³ increase the mind’s ability to still itself, to gather and maintain concentration in a conscious way, and to remain aware of what is arising within. This is important to a great deal of other practices.
Study of philosophy and wisdom sources: Knowledge cannot be mistaken for wisdom, and intellectual assent cannot be mistaken for deep intuitive understanding. The latter comes only through other practices or experiences. But having a foundation of good intellectual understanding acts as a guide for the rest of our practices and ensures we know what we are doing and why.
Contemplation of wisdom: Writing one’s own papers and notes about what has been studied. Thinking deeply about how the concepts apply to one’s life or inner states, actions, etc. is formative. Comparing and contrasting different traditions or ideas, and working through these for one’s self. Too much of this is ‘giving opinion without listening’ if not balanced with #2 above.
Regular reflection: Journaling or otherwise building a practice of reflecting regularly on one’s performance that day. Honest self evaluation and setting goals for improving habits, ways of thinking or acting, and so on.
Ritual: Rituals can vary widely in their form, function, purpose, complexity, etc. This is setting aside time and space for creating multi-sensory, emotionally impactful, physical expression of the principles being studied. Metaphor and myth can be helpful. When rituals touch on all parts of our perception, thought, emotion, memory, creativity, etc. they are most effective at eliciting transformative experience.
Physical health: Diet, activity, proper sleep, etc. This allows for healthy active brains and minds, making the rest of practice easier⁴. There are also important parallels between the commitment and diligence necessary for both physical and mental training. In this way, tending to physical health can serve as a ritual itself.
Spiritual Community: Having mutual support of peers in spiritual practice is helpful on numerous levels. Interacting with others philosophically can help to get different perspectives on sources of wisdom, gaining greater understanding. It can also keep us from going into unchecked extremes without any kind of alternate viewpoints to help balance us out. Moral support and fellowship can be beneficial as well. This is why so many spiritual traditions formed academies or orders within which to practice. It is also why Buddhism counts Sangha (Buddhist community) as one of its three jewels.

There is literally a lifetime’s worth of possible expressions within each of the above, found within traditions and new thought from around the world. But having listed these general elements, let us look now at how they operate as a system.

This system is cyclical so there is no real ‘beginning’, but for the sake of simplicity I will pick a ‘first’ stage…

From Practices, the arrow circles back around to Perspectives. It continues to be fed by both external basic known facts about the world, but also by those more subtle facts our practice reveals about ourselves and human well-being.

As we build habits of value judgment through various practices, and find new perceptions of wise teachings through rituals designed to elicit epiphany and peak experience, our baseline responses will begin to shift. Through practice and experience, we become one with the truth of existence. As such, our natural responses begin to match the reality of our condition as wisdom teachings outline and prescribe⁵.

Continue >> PART 2: FRAMING THOUGHTS & ACTIONS

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