Is Spirituality Inevitable?

[RossE]

Many spiritual teachers, famous people-turned spiritual junkies, and just regular spiritual folks, including myself and other forum members, maybe yourself!, seem to have a few things in common in their journey. 

1. They buy into the common notions of success and fame, power, status, money, etc: egoic success.

2. After perhaps many years, they become materially or "egoically" successful. This part is not actually essential - see Eckhart Tolle as a prime example.

3. Eventually they realise that this is not fulfilling them, they feel empty and perhaps even fall into deep depression. They are confused as to why the success has not given them lasting peace and happiness.

4. From somewhere, like a miracle, they have some sort of spiritual realisation, or an event occurs which pulls them into spirituality. Example: George Harrison was spiked with LSD, saw beyond himself and from this pursued a spiritual path which changed his life, and his music forever. (PS definitely check out Harrison's lovely solo music for heavy spiritual references/stories. My Sweet Lord is a prime example ).

5. This path changes their life forever and they end up preaching/teaching spirituality, possibly having become enlightened.

I have used many examples to build this model, and my life fits this model too. I won't go into much detail, but around 18 months after quitting therapy and coming off anti-depressents I stumbled upon a weird video for me to be watching at the time: The Beatles and Meditation. I was intrigued, seeing the four legends preaching about meditation! After this video I begin watching videos on how to meditate and eventually come across Leo's very popular one. 14 months later, I consider myself to be on the spiritual path and "awake", to an extent. I didn't have a clue about meditation or spirituality before this, not a clue, then it seemed to just come over me like a tidal wave. 

Does your life fit this model?

It's such an incredibly common path that it seems almost "designed" to me. It's as though the ego recognises its own limitations and begins to slowly eat itself up, inside out. 

What's incredibly striking about this pattern is that perhaps around 90% of Western society is at stage 1, 2 or 3 in this model. Have a look at people in your life who are at these stages where you know that spirituality would help them, maybe even yourself  I know of many people who have problems that the spiritual path would almost certainly solve.

Even the fact that the path finds itself in worldwide cultures and mystical traditions millenia apart is very striking. This almost rules out cultural, social and historical parameters influencing the recognition and practice of spirituality within the human species.

Is it naive to claim that all human beings with find themselves on the spiritual path if they survive long enough?

Edited July 9, 2017 by RossE

[Leo Gura]

Classic hero's journey.

Everyone is on the spiritual path all the time. Most people just die never realizing it.

[JustinS]

To me it seems Universal and definitely inevitable. Just the Universe realizing itself at the experiential level. 

[krazzer]

7 hours ago, RossE said:

2. After perhaps many years, they become materially or "egoically" successful. This part is not actually essential - see Eckhart Tolle as a prime example.

Eckhart Tolle was no exception, check this video:

 

[RossE]

@krazzer I'll be damned! Thanks for sharing that. I didn't know he used to be an acadmeic.

[Flow With Life]

A more direct way would be to be have experienced trauma or depression as a child, then one can skip steps 1 & 2, and go straight to step 3. Granted, one is never truly immune to societal conditioning, but damn if depression aint a great way to disillusion oneself of such conditioning!

[Joseph Maynor]

I think so.  Spirituality should be a need on Maslow's hierarchy.  Without spirituality we don't experience a sense of holism.  Without spirituality we never surrender into the hands of God.  Without doing this at some point, our lives are going to be neurotic and depressing.   Perhaps this explains why there are so many religions around.  People need spirituality to live a fulfilling, self-actualized life.  

Edited July 11, 2017 by Joseph Maynor