Doubts I

No one who sets out on a spiritual path has everything go smoothly. As we work with our mind and our habitual patterns, we eventually bump into difficulties. Part of joining a group of practitioners is to immerse yourself in the collective knowledge of others who are traveling a similar path. We listen to others voice their problems and concerns with their practice, hear suggestions from a teacher or others in the group, and we are primed to recall those teachings when those difficulties arise in our own practice. And they WILL arise.

One of the hindrances to practice that often arises is Doubt. This takes the form of questioning many parts of your practice: your motivation, your technique, your commitment, your teachers, even the spiritual path in general.

Why am I doing this? How is it helping?

Why is it so difficult sometimes?

How do I overcome the obstacles in my path?

Our path is about reducing suffering and increasing kindness. Whatever stands in the way needs to be addressed, with openness and kindness.

One way to reduce doubt is to have a clearer understanding of what we do in practice and why we do it.

To that end, here is a short section from the book Befriending the Mind by Doug Kraft:

Nothing in wholesome practice is about intentionally trying to stop desires or needs. The practice is about seeing desires and needs effectively – how they arise, hang around, and fade – and knowing how to release them wisely. The practice is not about getting rid of them. It is about wisely relaxing the tension or drive in them.

As equanimity gets stronger, without becoming one pointed on a single object, awareness opens and becomes more sensitive. We notice subtler and subtler signals and tensions that used to fly below the radar. The tensions may become easier to see and relax into even as they affect us less and less.

So invite your Doubts into your experience. Welcome them in the front door to our practice like old friends come to visit. Then, hopefully, you can address them with compassion and allow them to exit through the back door on their own, without inviting them to stay for dinner.