A Moral Obligation to Transform.
May 23rd, 2007We might call it the malady of contemporary spirituality. As a speaker, workshop leader and teacher of transformation, I hear it all the time. The refrain usually goes something like this:
“I’ve been on the spiritual path for years. I’ve meditated, gone to therapy, and attended dozens (if not hundreds) of workshops, seminars, satsangs, and retreats. I’ve had a lot of peak experiences. But, I’m still not fundamentally different from when I started. I’m still plagued by many of the same recurring negative patterns. I’m still not sure what I’m doing here. I’m still not deeply happy. I’m still not free.�?
Why is it that so few of us get the results our spiritual practices are designed to deliver? How is it that after decades of earnest spiritual seeking, most of us ultimately settle for an attainment far less profound or dramatic than the one we were aiming for when we started on the path?
Is it, as some ancient eastern traditions tell us, that enlightenment is such a lofty goal that we should not expect to experience any radical transformation in one lifetime, but should instead see our current incarnation as but one of millions of baby steps toward that supreme attainment?
Or is it, as many contemporary teachers are fond of saying, that the attempt to change ourselves in any way is in fact misguided, that we should simply “accept what is,�? “call off the search,�? and realize that ordinary life, in all of its neurotic frailty, is enough?
With all due respect to those of differing opinion, I would like to propose another possibility.
I would like to suggest that the supreme and lofty goal of profound, life transforming spiritual liberation is not only possible in this lifetime, but is in fact well within reach of anyone of reasonably sound mind and stable character. And that the reason it is not happening for the vast majority of those who are seeking it is that, for most of us, our context is just too small.
To paraphrase spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen, imagine for a moment that the fate of the entire human race rested on your shoulders alone. That humanity’s evolution out of brute self-interest depended entirely on your willingness to transform your consciousness, to rise above your smallness, purify yourself of negative conditioning, and become an exemplar of humanity’s highest potential for the world. Imagine, in other words, that for you, waking up from ignorance and self-centeredness became a moral issue.
Would you approach your path any differently? Would the energy you brought to your spiritual practice intensify? Would the quality of awareness and care with which you approached your interactions with others become more profound? Would you find yourself reaching with muscles you didn’t even know you had to be awake to the true context of your life? If you knew it all rested on you, would you have any choice but to change?
The Indian sage Ramana Maharshi once said that the spiritual aspirant must want liberation like a drowning man wants air. But the painful truth is that even when we recognize that we are drowning spiritually, most of us don’t care enough to struggle to keep our head above water. The challenges of the spiritual path are so immense that most of us will choose to continue suffering in our smallness over feeling the pain of allowing that smallness to die forever. But how many of us would do the same if we realized that it wasn’t only our own suffering we were perpetuating, but the suffering of the entire human race?
Now, you may be thinking to yourself, “That’s a nice thought experiment. Sure, it makes me realize I could be more earnest on my path, but what does it really have to do with me? I’m no megalomaniac. I know that my transformation alone isn’t enough to liberate the human race.�?
And it is here that I would ask you to reconsider.
Modern chaos and complexity science has in recent years been verifying what the ancient traditions intuited long ago: that, in both tangible and mysterious ways, we are all interconnected, and any one of us can have a profound effect on the whole. And, if you accept the perennial mystical teaching that, at the level of consciousness, we are not only interconnected, but are actually one Self seeing through many eyes, then it should be clear that, like it or not, in the way we conduct our inner and outer lives, each of us is in fact always having an effect on the whole. Add to that the reality that we are evolving beings living in an evolving universe, that we are all part of a grand, cosmic evolutionary process, and the question of our moral obligation to the whole starts to cut close to the bone.
To reframe my earlier question: What would you do if you realized that the entire human endeavor, the evolution of consciousness itself, depended on your willingness to evolve your own consciousness? How would it affect the choices you make every day if you knew that those choices were, in a very real sense, either contributing to the evolution of the whole or holding it back? At this time when it seems that our very future depends on our willingness to evolve as a species, would you have any choice but to act in alignment with the greatest evolutionary good?
The point I’m trying to make is that when we take a closer look at what spiritual transformation is actually for, it quickly becomes clear that the path of transformation is not primarily about freeing ourselves from suffering and securing our own happiness. Sure, that’s a nice by-product. But, as long as that’s all we’re seeking, we probably won’t get very far.
Where the spiritual path really begins to get interesting is when we recognize that transforming ourselves in the deepest possible way is in fact a moral obligation, an evolutionary imperative with profound consequences far beyond ourselves. When we begin to embrace the fact that our lives really are not our own to do with as we please, that in everything we do, we are in fact accountable to the Whole, something truly miraculous begins to happen. Faced with the moral responsibility to transform for a greater good, we find that we suddenly have access to a seemingly infinite source of energy, intention, passion and courage to confront whatever challenges present themselves on our path. What’s more, all of the personal issues and problems, all of the fears and doubts and resistances that once seemed so insurmountable begin to seem a lot less significant. Why? Because our attention is now captivated by something much bigger than ourselves. Ignited by a noble calling to participate in the grand adventure of conscious evolution, we find we no longer have time to worry about ourselves. And in this freedom from self-concern, before long we discover that the deep inner peace and joy we were seeking all along has become the very ground we are walking on.
June 26th, 2007 at 6:21 am
Thank you so much for this article. It’s something that resounds with me as I’ve felt, for some time, that a lot of people (living and living on the other side) depend on me somehow. I felt it was a little egotistical in some respects but what you say makes sense.
Knowing that others depend on us does become a driving force for good. We can become so self-absorbed we don’t notice the struggles of others. Thanks.
July 1st, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Hi Craig,
first if all, I just wanted to say that I always enjoyed your work at WIE. It was always very sound, clearly presented, and interesting. I do have some thoughts/questions about evolutionary enlightenment though. First of all, there is so much talk of transformation, but what does that really mean? What does a transformed person look like? How do they act? If they liked listening to the Grateful Dead before enlightenment, will they cease listening `for the greater good of human-kind’? Sometimes all of this talk on collective consciousness makes it sound as though one becomes a mere cog in some larger machine, devoid of free-will, something like the Borg on Star trek. Is that whats’ implied?
I agree that we all need to deepen in awareness, wisdom, and compassion, which we all do at differing rates if we are open to the process; and I think that, as ripples in a pond, the kind of existence that stems from that deepening will automatically effect those around us. I’ve experienced this myself. As human beings, I think we just naturally resonate with those who are wise, compassionate, and aware. So can evolutionary enlightenment mean something other than that? What else is there? We make such a big issue out of transformation as some huge goal to be attained, yet it seems to me that transformation is a given of life, if we are willing to engage in the challenge of living itself. Now of course, spiritual practice is very helpful in all of this, as it does help bring about this deepening process, but it seems as though we cannot divorce any of this from life itself, in whatever package we find it. In that sense, the outward `product’ if you will, will be highly individualized and unique (not to be confused with narcissistic).
Anyway, just a few thoughts on the subject. Always interested in what you have to say on the subject. Hope you are well.
Peace,
Michael
July 2nd, 2007 at 11:04 am
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Michael. In my own experience, and the experience of those I’ve worked with, engaging in what I would call higher evolution beyond ego leads simultaneously to a more profound individuation and a deepening capacity for transparent collaboration, communion, and union with others. So, no, I don’t think it looks at all like the individuality diminishing Borg. But at the same time, there is an unimaginable freedom to be discovered in letting go of attachment to our personal story, the fictional self in the mind, and allowing our individuality to find its truest expression in unyielding service to, participation in, and union with the greater field and flow of life.
Your statement that transformation is a given of life is, of course, absolutely true. But how many of us are truly willing to pay the price of, as you say, “engaging the challenge of living itself.”? Extensive developmental research shows that, with very few exceptions, the vast majority of adults don’t change in any meaningful way between the ages of 30 and 60. The need for wholehearted engagement with the path is therefore absolutely necessary for anyone remotely interested in real transformation. Even then, however, it is often hard to find the determination to unseat deeply rooted structures in the psyche. This is why I am placing the emphasis on context, and specifically, the moral context for our transformation. Most of us aren’t willing to change for ourselves alone. We’ll usually stay happily stuck in our patterns for decades rather than face the discomfort of letting them go for good. But when we realize that the whole universe either benefits or suffers as a result of our actions, it can be possible to find a higher will to evolve. And that higher will can change everything in ways we could never imagine from the perspective of the lower self struggling to relieve itself from egoic suffering.
Andrew Cohen has written and spoken extensively on this topic. Check out the chapter “For the Sake of the Whole” in Embracing Heaven and Earth for the most thorough and impassioned treatment of this I’ve seen.
Thanks again for your thoughts.
Craig
July 3rd, 2007 at 3:34 am
Thanks for your wise words Craig, I’ll certainly take them to heart. I have no problem with any path of human evolution, as long as it honors the beautiful diversity that is the very expression of our `humaness’ and the essence of life itself. I look forward to reading more of your work…
Peace,
Michael
September 4th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
“…. but is in fact well within reach of anyone of reasonably sound mind and stable character.”
Not sure I’m tracking with you on that. I would say it’s well within reach of anyone - period. Otherwise, you’re judging people as salvageable or not. And who is to define ’sound’ and ’stable’? I’ve read of great sages and other spiritual seekers going through their ‘dark night of the soul’ (or dark decade, or dark lifetime) and being incredibly depressed and suicidal. And if you’re talking about a need for intention, that seems to be mere human logic. You read about people like Eckhart Tolle who became ‘enlightened’ when they were at their most critical, lowest ebb, ready to end it all.
As for ’stable character,’ read the book ‘Shantaram,’ and it shows the most incredible heart in a man who was an escaped convict and part of a mafia. Then there’s the well-known idea that the man who picks up our garbage may be much more enlightened than we are. In the same way, maybe that person deemed ‘unsound’ or ‘unstable’ is more enlightened than we are. Besides, since we’re all One, aren’t you one with all those you might consider unsound or unstable? Would true compassion separate them out?
The truth, at least to me, is that every single person on the planet is an infinite being, a divine idea. The material exterior is just temporary wrapping. How can someone be a healing force if they judge someone as less than in any way & so incapable of spiritual growth? I can’t imagine Jesus saying, ‘Look buddy, you don’t seem too stable to me. Better luck next lifetime.’ He healed anyone - lunatics and even the dead (!) - instantaneously, by looking beyond the exterior and seeing the divinity within.
Anyway, just a thought.
September 4th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Hi Ellen,
Thanks for your thoughts. I, of course, agree that we all have the potential to attain wisdom and enlightenment. This is the message of all the great masters across the ages. And, indeed, as your examples point out, it is exceedingly hard to predict exactly what qualities of character and mind best contribute to improving one’s success on the path. Equally true is that bursts of insight and expanded consciousness can come entirely unbidden. Yet, as all the great mystical traditions have always held, the disciplined cultivation of character and consciousness is an almost always necessary prerequisite to stable and lasting transformation. For those of us who aspire to reach the Ultimate, the wisest thing we can do is to engage the often extremely difficult work of purifying our motivations so that when that glorious Mystery does come knocking on our door, we will be ready to receive it, and follow its call.
Best wishes,
Craig
August 6th, 2008 at 3:12 am
Hi Craig,
Well said! Just what I needed to rev me up this morning. We need this kind of vision when inertia and despair nip at our heels and try to convince us that our own efforts toward transformation don’t matter, or that transformation is impossible. It IS possible! But it takes concentration, perseverance, strength, humility … and surrender.
Think I’ll post your last paragraph on my refrigerator…