No two people will find that the same spiritual practices work for them in the exact same ways. There are simply too many possibilities of individual nature and circumstance for spiritual practice to be codified into an inflexible plan. The range of possibilities and experiences itself is vast: no two meditations will result in the same experiences, sensations or visions, any more than two dreams will be the same. Every artistic experience can lead to a spiritual experience, which tells us that the number of possible spiritual experiences is as vast as the number of potential artworks; work can be used as a spiritual practice, so the number of experiences of ways of practicing is as vast as the number of types of human work, or conditions and circumstances of completing tasks. Spiritual life and practice has as many possibilities as life itself, and more, since spirituality opens us up to higher and deeper levels of experience.
Even within the course of one’s individual life, different practices may resonate with the individual differently at different times. Just as religious systems and symbols grow or decline in relevance with changing times and conditions, so is it possible for certain forms of practice to lose their resonance and capacity to touch the individual spirit. One may find that, for example, saying prayers to a statue of a favored deity in the morning provides a powerful sense of connection for a time, but that after a few years it seems to be a hollow ritual that slows down the beginning of the day, and it would be better to have an energizing morning to get ready for a workday full of spiritual service. If this change arises, it is important to respect it.
There is a legitimate concern that too much flexibility may lead to an unwillingness or an inability to stick with a difficult practice that may pay off if it is pursued with enough discipline. There is a value to discipline and austerity, and eventually in every spiritual path one eventually need to stick to one technique or another for at least as much time as is necessary to produce the desired result. But if a given practice makes you miserable, that’s at least a strong sign that you should consider trying another approach. There are many, many ways of doing practice, and it should be possible for anyone to find one that works for their nature. In fact, one of the secret keys of a world-affirming practice is that almost any activity that you like engaging with can be made into a spiritual practice. The key is having the right attitude and bringing the right type of spiritual concentration into the activity. Since all life is spiritual,—is a manifestation of God—we can make anything in our life spiritual if we take the underlying energy of participation and offer it to God.
There are many factors that affect what kind of spiritual practice may be best suited to an individual, such as one’s schedule, life circumstances, and the spiritual system one is studying. But the most fundamental factor is the natural difference in personality or temperament. Consider one simple personality typology of dividing people into those who have a more emotional temperament versus those who have a more intellectual temperament. At the outset, the emotional person might be more suited for a path of devotion, turning their emotions towards God, while the intellectual person may be more suited for a path of philosophical reflection, followed by meditative practice leading to wisdom. Another personality typology is that between the energetic person and the peaceful, serene person—the energetic person may be best suited for spiritual service work or walking meditation, while the person with a tendency towards serenity may favor silent meditation or chanting.
But personality systems like the above (or astrology or MBTI, etc) are only one guideline, and the individual nature of spiritual practice is such that any of the main lines of spiritual practice can be open to anyone, no matter what their personality. In the previous example, the emotional and intellectual person may find that their tendencies change as a result of spiritual practice: the emotional temperament’s love of God could lead to the desire for the intellectual knowledge of God; the intellectual person could discover that the pursuit of wisdom opens into a devotional love for God. Fundamentally, all humans have the capacity for all the different types of experience, as they are all rooted in core human capacities. All humans have the capacity for love, and therefore the capacity to feel love for God; all humans have the capacity for draw back from their thoughts and emotions and feel the pure presence of God, and are therefore suited for meditation; all humans direct their energies towards work in the outside world, and are therefore suited for karmayoga, or spiritual service work. While it’s important to progress in one’s line of strength and tendency rather than fight one’s nature, one must also be plastic and flexible to new possibilities of practice, because spiritual development can change our nature as we eliminate defects and open to new energies.
But if anything is possible, then are there any guidelines at all that can provide structure for practice? One way of thinking of personal practice could be in terms of “cross-training”, following the concept from athletic practice. Athletes have a main sport where they are competitive, like basketball or swimming, but they cross-train by doing other exercises that work muscles that their main sport doesn’t use as much. This results in a higher and more well-rounded overall fitness level that even has positive effects for their main sport. Similarly, one could think of one’s spiritual practice as having one main line of development—perhaps one most suited to a major personality tendency—plus one or more cross-training practices to develop other aspects of one’s spirituality. For example, imagine a florist who runs a busy florist shop, loves serving clients, and sees pouring out this energy in work as their main spiritual practice, but who also practices reflective prayer for 20 minutes at the end of the day. Their main practice would be karmayoga, spiritual service work, which uses the active principle of their nature, which they complement with devotional practice that accesses the emotional, contemplative side that doesn’t come out in work. Our natures are so diverse that it’s not likely that only one type of practice will be sufficient to develop all that our spirit asks from us.
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