- Walking the Spiritual Path -- An Introduction
- A Guided Counselling Meditation for Self-Awareness
- Transpersonal Psychotherapy -- Dealing with the Core Roadblock
- Spiritual Practice -- Developing A Full Head of Spiritual Steam
To God belongs the East and the West: wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah; Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing. (Qur'an 2:115)
Traditionally, the approach to spirituality can be either exoteric or esoteric. Exoteric refers to outer, more tangible aspects--things that we can see, touch, hear, smell, taste, and do. Examples would be praying, engaging in charitable and volunteer work, singing devotional songs, and attending lessons by a spiritual teacher. Also, some forms of meditation such as Vipassana and Zen are exoteric. For instance, Vipassana aims to keep the mind from wandering about by grounding it in actual experience. The mind is anchored more in the process than the content of direct sensory experience. So for instance, one would be just as aware of the sense of hearing as to what one is hearing. Likewise, Zen emphasises experience in the current moment and takes ordinary everyday activity for its meditational object.
Esoteric refers to inner, more subtle aspects--things that are usually not apparent to our everyday consciousness. Examples would be visualisation practice ( seeing oneself in the form of a deity ), subtle perception ( clairvoyance ), psychic abilities ( telepathy, psychokinesis ), developing subtle energies ( tai chi, pranayama ), communicating with subtle life forms ( occult practices ), and meditations that emphasise deep, unwavering concentration on a single object ( repetition of a short prayer or mantra, holding to a single sensation such as the rise and fall of the abdomen, focus on a subtle energy centre or chakra ).
In fact, exoteric and esoteric are relative terms. They are more a matter of degree along a common spectrum rather than being unrelated spheres of experience. What is taken for esoteric is really just an extension of the exoteric. For instance, praying for a few minutes would be exoteric, but the saying of that same prayer by a devout person for many hours on end would, over time, become esoteric. Similarly, what is taken for exoteric is in fact really esoteric. For example, countless mystics have declared the sheer wonder and mystery of our commonplace experience of day-to-day living. What for us appears normal, and even dull at times, appears as miraculous and worthy of reverence to them.
What this means is that the esoteric is a natural progression to the exoteric. It encompasses the exoteric but does not deny or negate it. Both have their place in human experience. It is simply that our common experience--what we get if we do not develop our spiritual faculties--is exoteric. To experience the esoteric normally requires an informed and sustained effort over many years. Another name for the esoteric is the mystical. And it is mysticism that is the common thread to all of the world's religions and spiritual traditions. On the surface, religions and spiritual practices are quite different, however, at their core they are all very much the same. The world's mystical traditions vary somewhat in their focus and emphasis--some may highlight surrender while others may highlight transformation and purification--but they all follow the same basic progression and formula for reaching complete spiritual maturity--a state known as enlightenment.
Since, at the core, all mystical ways share a common vocabulary, this page uses representative examples from the major eastern and western paths. It describes these esoteric traditions, and relevant modern thinking, in broad terms, and offers a summary of their essential parts. Further, having touched upon key ideas and examples that point to the reality of spiritual experience, this page proceeds to detail how one might practically apply some of these insights into one's own life.
Synopsis for the major metaphysical traditions:
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The following books and Web pages are some places that you can continue with your discovery.
These give the core ideas and practices. They are remarkably well-written and quite fun to read.
Most of these have plenty of links to pages related to the many different spiritual traditions.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions regarding these pages or their contents, you are welcome to send an email to Greg care of greg.c@ihug.co.nz.
| Date Created: July 14, 1995 | Visits from Sept 1996 thru May 2000: 41,093 |
| Last Updated: July 12, 2000 | Visits since May 7, 2000:
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