The Taos
Discussion
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Communicated,
by David S., to the BCNGroup Founding
Committee,
Time To Integrate
Spiritual Plateaus
It is a natural part of spiritual development to have periods of
activity and growth followed by periods of relative quiet. Sometimes we need to
rest in order to integrate a new vision of the world, or ourselves, taking time
to assimilate new realizations and to let old patterns and habits fall away.
The purpose of times like these is to stabilize our new growth. While it may
appear that nothing is happening, these can be necessary periods of rest and
integration.
Sometimes, though, slow growth or no growth can actually be
stagnation. We may have become attached to keeping things as they are, afraid
to invite more change. And yet, change is the nature of reality and when we
resist it, we fall out of sync with what is. Just as a plateau is a good place
to get our bearings, to see where we've come from and where we might go next,
it is also a place we must not be afraid to leave if we are to move to the next
level.
There is a Zen expression: Practice as if your hair were on fire.
What this is meant to inspire is the sense that there is no good time not to be
on your spiritual path. This doesn't mean that you can't ever rest, or stop. It
is not about overachieving or overworking yourself. It is just about
challenging yourself to always be awake in your life, to keep showing up in the
moment. If you need to rest, rest in the moment. But if you are
stagnating-numbing out, escaping, or being unconscious-it is up to you to
acknowledge it.
Often, stagnation settles in just before an important breakthrough. It may be a symptom of fear, one last wall thrown up by our small self in order to protect us from a life-changing realization. Sometimes it helps to explore the stagnation in order to move beyond it. Have compassion for yourself as you work to remove the obstacles to your progress. With persistence, you will be on your way to the next plateau.