Spiritual Plateau and Mastery

[Dodo]

As the title suggests, this is about one of Leo's list of important books - "Mastery" by George Leonard.

It explains how on the road to mastery in anything we absolutely must experience what's called a plateau - when we don't feel like much progress is made and it might seem our efforts are not getting us any closer to the desired mastery. Then if one sticks to it and continues, a spurt of growth will happen before the next period of plateau until eventually mastery is reached.

Obviously this should also apply to mastery of meditation and mastery of any yoga be it hatha, jnana, raja etc.. Self inquiry too.

Here's one of the best exerpts from the book for me so far: 

Quote

Goals and contingencies are important.  But they exist in the future and the past, beyond the pale of the sensory realm. Practice, the path of mastery, exists only in the present. You can see it, hear it, smell it, feel it. To love the plateau is to love the eternal now, to enjoy the inevitable spurts of progress and the fruits of accomplishment, then serenely to accept the new plateau that waits just beyond them. To love the plateau is to love what is most essential and enduring in your life.

Perhaps loving the plateau, where we feel nothing really is happening and our spiritual efforts are useless,  is the enlightenment itself is what this text suggests. Because everyone can be happy when noticeable progress is being made and there are results of one's effort, but when we have to do something that doesnt bring immediate fruit, we feel like crying (at least I do). 

So if you're stuck in a rut with your spiritual practice,  don't be so quick to give up the meditations and inquiry, but perhaps look at this resultlessness as a sure sign that you are on the path to mastery. Keep going and love when there is no result and no spiritual experience as much as when there are resuls and there are spiritual experiences.

Definitely this book is a page turner and extremely important.

PS: Could it also be possible.. just possible that using psychedelics is an attempt to speedrun the advertised plateau? I.e. a way to get continuous growth without having to deal with the stagnant periods that are there when we want to master anything in life?

Edited August 31, 2020 by Dodo