At the beginning of the path, many of us have dreamed of becoming a hermit or monk in some remote and idyllic land.
Some still think that in contemporary society time is the problem.  But time is never the problem as, both in contemporary society or in a monastery, if you do not spend your time in one thing, life will give you another.
Many of the presumptions that we have about a spiritual lifestyle are not founded in truth, but in our ideals and desires.

Spiritual Life in Contemporary Society
By Isaac Portilla

It is not up to you to decide the ideal framework for your spiritual life.  At the beginning of the path, many of us have dreamed of becoming a hermit or monk in some remote and idyllic land.  However, this is unlikely in the current times ― unnecessary for most of us.  There is no need to go anywhere for serious spiritual work, and better conditions than a modern lifestyle are difficult to be found in those remote places of our dreams.  In caves water and food are scarce.  In monasteries, ashrams, and spiritual communities, conditions are not as pleasant as we may expect and physical work is abundant.  However, here, in the modern world, you have food and pleasant conditions ― conditions set up by you according to your preferences.  Here, the challenges are others, mainly the distractions of the world around you.  It is a constant test through which you know for sure how the spiritual dimension is affecting all the other areas of your life (e.g., relationships, work, nutrition, preferences and tastes, arts, etc.).  For those who have a real thirst for truth, these challenges should not be an impediment for progress, but opportunities for learning.  If you are not sure to have transcended some negative pattern, you just can go to the street, to work, or to a family get together, and have a “fire-test” of what you have accomplished, or not.  Some still think that in contemporary society time is the problem.  But time is never the problem as, both in contemporary society or in a monastery, if you do not spend your time in one thing, life will give you another.

                The possibility of experiencing a genuine spiritual life in contemporary society is not a mere good idea for yourself, but also for the world around you.  We all affect each other as our fields of being and awareness interact at various levels.  A day would come when spirituality is not separate from any other aspect of life.  If we are able to live spirituality while maintaining a modern life, this will mean that life and Spirit are becoming one single reality.  The most limiting factors for this to happen are our ignorance and preconceptions.  We have an inheritance, a deep spiritual subconscious that pulls us toward the separation between spiritual life and contemporary life, and if we let it operate in us, it will draw us down, it will withdraw the Spirit from our lives.  The ancient approach to spirituality is the way of renunciation ― one “renounces the world” to enter the realm of Spirit.  However, one can never renounce life, because Spirit is life.  If so, we may well consider another possibility ― not to renounce the world, but to transform it, so that it breathes according to the rhythms of Spirit and life.  Additionally, spirituality is often sought as a refuge from troubles, a place where we can hide from those aspects of life that we are not willing to face, or we do not have the tools to face.  But spirituality will never be a long term “refuge” because it will ask for personal transformation and eventually, for commitment to the world.  Thus, many of the presumptions that we have about a spiritual lifestyle are not founded in truth, but in our ideals and desires.

                To integrate spiritual life in contemporary society is the challenge of our times.  It means accepting the advantages of our modern world, at the cost of the possibility of being distracted.  Nevertheless, I do not want to convey the idea that contemporary society should be the place for everyone, nor that it is the best place, but that it is an equally valid place to start our path, a place as any other.  Thus, if your way is to go to a monastery or a secluded place, that is your way, but that is not the only way.  Moreover, you do not need to choose one setting for all your life.  You can start in one place and change along your journey, according to Spirit’s will.  If so, why not start wherever you are now?
© 2015 Isaac Portilla
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