Joy Of Practice VIII
PRACTICE IS DEVELOPED BY AN INDIVIDUAL, NOT A SYSTEM
Some people think it´s all very easy. Easy to understand and easy to do. And easy to learn, too. Because they follow a system. And they think once they found the right system everything else just follows: success and love in abundance.
If they are interested in love, that is. Otherwise probably money. Well, there should not be any contradiction between the two, right? Although the bible talks about the love for money being quite an evil thing. Let´s call that greed and indeed that is not a very sympathetic state to be confronted with. And maybe ‘love’ is not he right word in the translation of ‘love for money’ because if you connect love to a fluent state of opening, giving and nurturing, somehow clenching your fists (to keep the money so to speak) doesn´t seem to be an adequate metaphor. .
So what am I talking about here? Systems and their advantages and dangers. Systems are principles of order, plans that make complex relationships understandable, an organized whole. This sounds good as long as nobody considers defending them, thus starting their own dogmatism. That is happening when they think that this particular set of principles is the right one, while everything else is wrong or excluded. Some kind of more or less aggressive fundamentalism.
Let´s start with the advantages first. Systems are models to explain a certain set of elements, supposedly a whole. For example one can try to explain the wholebody like modern biology and biochemistry do. But since many things like the brain and the DNA are still not fully understood – and ‘details’ could change the whole - how can one claim to ‘know’? One can offer a preliminary view which then might be countered by another preliminary view. Who is right?
And who finds out more, the person who interprets his life according to a system or the individual who diligently walks the way of self exploration? While the former may lead to integrating new attitudes into a paradigm of oneself the latter consists in an ongoing path of deepening experiences.
Systems are an intellectual concept, maybe based on an initial experience but afterwards continued as a mental operation setting the framework for confirming the beginning. So how far can you gain insights about yourself by following a system? Depends on the system! That’s bad news since you adjust to a framework which quite likely doesn’t fit you. How could it be different since it was not developed for individuals but to show a – however sophisticated – point of view?
Why should it be better to practice as an individual according to one’s own experiences, insights, intuition and inspiration? In any case you integrate just your own findings, not anyone else’s. What you have to go through is your own habits, any mental discussion about it is yours. If you want to escape you can do that but it’s solely your responsibility. By following practices that have proven to be right for you, you are also progressing in exactly the time and rhythm that you chose (consciously or subconsciously).
So what is the downside here?
You might end up re-inventing the wheel many times over. It provides you with experiences but maybe doesn’t let you progress very quickly (which means the fastest you could be capable of). On the other hand your supposed stubbornness might be something to learn from in its own right.
Maybe there is a healthy synthesis. If you want to practice introspection and letting go, meditation might be a good practice to do so. The setting is usually simple, you learn a certain (sitting) posture and watch your breath or just your thoughts and feelings and sit. That’s it. All the rest comes from inside and you know it.
Sometimes even such simple but effective forms can be spiked up by people who love rules and consider them as contributions for your development. Then you have to wear a robe, enter the room only from the left side, put your meditation cushion always in the same place and so on. In that way even meditation can become complicated and too involved in external things.
My point is that the frame work for whatever practice you start – especially if all this is about your inner development – should be as simple and open as possible to let you focus as much as you are able to on your internal processes.
If you learn about pottery, you need to learn the basics but if you are creative you might want to invent your own forms as soon as possible. The same would apply to learn about composing or driving a car. The latter one is possibly more a daily routine as a practice unless you make it a practice of awareness!
Any system that wants to lure you into it’s own esoteric language (without which you are not supposed to understand anything) has an intention to cut your wings instead of let you fly.
Which practice do you chose?
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