The Joy of Where We Are Right Now
Why we don’t skip steps on a spiritual journey
So, lately I’ve been reading books from Tibetan Buddhism, Dzogchen, Tantra, Kundalini, etc… and one common thread that I’ve found is that a teacher doesn’t teach people techniques that they aren’t ready for. They require that the student continues with the current teaching until it is mastered and then they can learn a more advanced technique.
There’s some part of my modern mind that has fought against this idea. I would like to go to the most advanced practice and perhaps speed up the process. There is something in my head that thinks that the advanced practice will work faster and be more effective than the earlier practices… so why not just go there first?
I also had some kind of idea that there were times when these teachings were being withheld from the students as some kind of guru-ego trip. So, the rebellious part of me rises up and says “I can do it! Don’t withhold it from me!”
But I’m realizing that none of this is true.
It isn’t that we can’t do the “advanced” practices. We can go through the motions no problem. The point is that we won’t get anything out of them. We won’t have the experiences that these practices are meant to invoke because our minds, psyches and bodies aren’t prepared for them…
