Top 10 Traps of Spiritual Materialism
Walking the spiritual path can be a tricky adventure. Sometimes we make progress and become more free and loving and wise; sometimes we may think our meditation or prayer or ritual is leading toward enlightenment, but really we're just treading water or even going backwards. The great Tibetan meditation teacher, Chogyam Trunpa, wrote that we are often "deceiving ourselves into thinking we are developing spiritually when instead we are strengthening our egocentricity through spiritual techniques." He called this kind of self-deception spiritual materialism. We all deal with spiritual materialism; here's a list, from my book The Seeker's Guide, of 10 common pitfalls of spiritual materialism you may encounter on your spiritual journey and the key signs that you're on the path of progress.
By Elizabeth Lesser
The Inner-Child Tantrum
I once heard someone say, "Some people just don't seem to realize, when they're moaning about not getting prayers answered, that no is the answer." Knowing what you want, and honestly asking for it, is a monumental achievement. But so is learning to gracefully accept God's wisdom—when "He giveth and when he taketh away."
Published 12/11/2009