The Work - Part 3
March 27, 2025
Spiritual work is not confined to the academic study of spiritual ideas and their application. If that were true, then people who can’t read or study would be limited in their spiritual growth. We know from experience that spiritual growth happens in all lifestyles, regardless of culture, educational status, or the ability to study. Often, I think of the enslaved people in our country and the spiritual strength and wisdom that many of them must have achieved to exist in the most horrendous circumstances imaginable. They had no formal education, but they learned and grew spiritually.
Study is a relative term and can include many methods by which we learn. Some people who are not formally educated learn very well through observation and comparisons. Others may learn primarily through curiosity and a desire to understand the inner workings of things. And others learn by absorbing information from others, being mentored by others, and allowing nature to teach them. These are non-academic methods of learning. However, to grow spiritually, whatever spiritual truths we learn must become part of our being. And this requires the spiritual intention to grow.
So, those who want to learn about spiritual matters do not have to read about or formally study them. For those who learn about these things by alternative ways to formal education, it is up to them to apply what they know to their circumstances and relationships. Everyone who wants to grow spiritually has to do the work. The unchecked ego is rampant in the ranks of the spiritually educated as well as in the least spiritually educated, and regardless of which end of the spectrum we find ourselves, it takes work to deal with our unchecked ego and the suffering it brings.
Whether we are avid students of books, podcasts, or courses in spirituality, or if we simply learn by observation, and other methods, we are all victims and perpetrators of our ego’s resentment, pride, deceit, envy, greed, cowardice, gluttony, lust, and sloth. And we all have access to the virtues of serenity, humility, truthfulness, equanimity, detachment, courage, sobriety, innocence, and love.
Regardless of what station, culture, or study methods we are most identified with, it takes much work to understand and expunge the tyranny of our passions and embody our virtues. In my experience, it is the work of a lifetime.
Spiritual practice: Define your spiritual intention to grow. What words would you use?
Self-inquiry: Why would we ever think that someone more educated could achieve more spiritual growth than the non-formally educated?
Dear God,
I pray for self-affirmation and patience with myself in this work, especially when I fail so very often. Amen
