Inner  Frontier
Fourth Way Spiritual Practice

 

Obstacles

Without obstacles, it seems that our path to the higher would be smooth and fast. We are constructed in such a way, however, that obstacles abound and even proliferate. The spiritual usefulness of obstacles is that by working against them or despite them, we gain strength, wisdom, and humility.

Each religion presents a view of the obstacles to spiritual freedom and love. The Buddha taught about five hindrances on the path: grasping, ill will, sloth and torpor, agitation, hurry and worry, and doubt. To those five, the Buddha added the core fetter of belief in a separate self: egoism. The Christian seven deadly sins present a similar view of the obstacles: pride and vanity, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth.

In the context of the spiritual path, sloth is perhaps one of the least obvious but most detrimental hindrances. Its source is a lack of need for liberation and love. This lackadaisical attitude stops us before we begin. If we do not have a strong spiritual hunger driving us to practice, then spiritual sloth rules and we do not move. We remain lost in our daydreams and thoughts, in unbecoming emotions and desires. Fortunately, the more we practice, the more we see the truth about ourselves, the more we taste the higher possibilities, and the more our longing and determination grow. Furthermore, the realization that our time is limited and relentlessly vanishing also mitigates our inner laziness.

When we lack presence in the here and now, we may fall into haste and anxiety, focusing on our fears and desires for the future. When we live in our superficial layers, not in contact with who we really are, nor with the peace in our depths, we may fall into pride, vanity, envy, gluttony, and greed. When we lack real connection with others, we may relate through anger, jealousy, lust, domination or submissiveness. All of these destructive emotions divert our energy and attention from the path

The doubts that block the path come in several flavors, all centered on asking for assurance and certainty before we have earned them. We doubt the reality of higher worlds, of the Divine, of the possibility of perfecting our soul. We doubt the efficacy of the spiritual path. We doubt our own ability to awaken, to live in presence. All such doubts can only be answered by our own deepening experience, by our own devotion to spiritual practice, come what may. Nothing that we are told or that we read can erase our doubts. The only way to dissolve the knot of doubt is to see the deeper realities directly for ourselves. But in the meantime, doubt need not block our inner work because we need not be certain. Our heart's intuition, faith, and determination can substitute for certainty until, through our continuing practice, we reach the stage where doubts abate in the face of our growing realization. The more we see, the more certain we become.

If we look carefully at our own experience, to see what keeps us from awakening, to see what distracts us from our inner work and from being more present, we will discover our own personalized set of obstacles. We need to know them very well and experiment with how to overcome, avoid, reduce, or neutralize them. This requires true intelligence. Butting heads with deeply ingrained patterns may exacerbate some. Patient, unflinching, and clear seeing can undercut many obstacles. But others do call for active opposition. Bringing intelligence, creativity, discernment, and determination to bear within our daily rounds empty of practice pays handsome dividends.


     

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