I found this quote a while back, I think it is dead on:
"Eliphas Levi defines the Great Work like this: '[It] is, before all things, the creation of man by himself, that is to say, the full and entire conquest of his faculties and his future; it is especially the perfect emancipation of his will.' I don't think you are going to accomplish that unless you situate it within the reality of your life. I don't see how a person might gain greater control of their faculties and future, or emancipate their will, if that process isn't enacted right here on Earth in the context of what is actually happening to them in their life." -- Gypsy Lantern
This has been really meaningful to me as I firmly feel that if "spiritual development" means anything to me, it means living a life well lived (and discovering what that means to me). And it all takes place in my life as it is now and with all the things in it.
At the same time, I do know that I personally benefit from some kind structured spiritual practice. Without that I have trouble holdinng onto the sacred in the everyday. It helps me find my compass, for lack of a better analogy. (That may not be the case for you certainly, but it is for me.)
"Eliphas Levi defines the Great Work like this: '[It] is, before all things, the creation of man by himself, that is to say, the full and entire conquest of his faculties and his future; it is especially the perfect emancipation of his will.' I don't think you are going to accomplish that unless you situate it within the reality of your life. I don't see how a person might gain greater control of their faculties and future, or emancipate their will, if that process isn't enacted right here on Earth in the context of what is actually happening to them in their life." -- Gypsy Lantern
This has been really meaningful to me as I firmly feel that if "spiritual development" means anything to me, it means living a life well lived (and discovering what that means to me). And it all takes place in my life as it is now and with all the things in it.
At the same time, I do know that I personally benefit from some kind structured spiritual practice. Without that I have trouble holdinng onto the sacred in the everyday. It helps me find my compass, for lack of a better analogy. (That may not be the case for you certainly, but it is for me.)
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