(note: I am challenging myself to write every day for 30 days. What follows may not necessarily be interesting or even coherent. Parental discretion is advised.)
*trumpet fanfare* Dun, dun da dunnnn!!!
Hmm. That sort of sounded like the game-failing sound on Price is Right. My bad.
Today I took the bold step of heading into my local library to pick up a book that I placed a hold on a few weeks ago. Risky, I know, leaving the house like that but I did it and I returned to the safety of my dwelling with all limbs intact.
I’m excited because the last Chogyam Trungpa book I read was packed full of chunky wisdom nuggets and glittering Skittles for the soul. It is called Shambhala: Path of the Sacred Warrior, which you can get for FREE at this link as long as you promise not to tell anyone. *winks*
Now… Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism is the first book review I’ve ever done on Medium (I believe), and to make it unique — it’ll also be the first book I’m going to review without having read a single page. That’s right, I will be reviewing it in real-time, just like Bill Mahr.
I’m going to call this approach a “flash review” since it sounds catchy and really, I’m stumped for things to write about. It’s been twenty days of posting in a row and you’d better believe I’m going to grab at any wayward idea that glances in my general direction.
Okay… Here goes.
Looking at the book… Hmm. Cover is interesting. The icon on front looks a little like a Rorschach blot and like with Sacred Warrior — there is something about the aesthetic that is pleasing and profound at once.
Now to open the book up and look at its contents…(flips through pages)
I see… I see… (nods thoughtfully)
Ahem… (clears throat)
Yes.. Yes…
(stabs finger on page) Ah, ha. Makes sense.
Well… huh… (hangs head) I see..
Oh. Sorry. Forgot this was supposed to be a flash review.
Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism is a book that describes itself as a manual for those who find themselves addicted to spirituality but don’t actually exemplify or grow with any of the teachings or practices. New Age is rampant with thrill-seekers who find excitement in the pursuit of odd ideas, conspiracies, yoga, meditation, psychedelics, etc. but don’t really integrate or use any of what they’ve learned. Much like a carnival that is fun to be present at, arriving at home the spiritual “seeker” falls into old patterns and habits forgetting that the carnival was meant to be lived 24/7 and that spirituality is not a token label to apply onto oneself, but a true and sincere commitment to improving on a continuous basis.
Let’s be honest and call spirituality for what it is: Self-improvement.
And as Brad Pitt’s character said in Fight Club, “nobody talks about…” I mean, “self-improvement is masturbation” is what he said.
Because it is masturbation when spirituality is being done for pleasure and not progress.
Chogyam makes the excellent point that every spiritual seeker eventually has to come to terms with their ego. The ego can NEVER be abolished but it CAN be acknowledged, controlled and pushed aside like you would a person holding the TV you wanted at a Black Friday sale.
Even a Buddhist monk of many decades of experience will inevitably reach a level where they start to identify with their own spiritual progression. They without often realizing, attach a label onto themselves and present an image out into the world that sums up who (they think) they are. Guru, adept, teacher, student, monk, seeker, cosmic eternal badass human being— attaching any of these words to yourself is the product of ego and there is no way of preventing this from happening unless you’ve prepared for it.
But why is attaching “seeker” to your identity such a bad thing? Chogyam makes the case that labels can become a distraction and that we turn into “actors” who play a certain type of role rather than to express ourselves honestly and with authenticity. The ego then usurps one’s sense of self even under the best of intended pretenses, namely the search to become more spiritual or evolved.
Those of you who have confronted the ego in this way will know what it is I’m talking about.
If I work as a plumber, it becomes logical for myself and others to refer to me as “a plumber” — just as a dude who performs a sermon every Sunday refers to themselves as a “priest”. These labels are easily attached and the designation often works in such a way that the ego is either “pleased” or “displeased” (depending on the benefits conferred) and will alter one’s behavior to the point where they have to stay in “character”.
Some of us take pride in having certain titles. See anyone who was knighted by the Queen and is then referred to as “Sir (insert name here)” thereafter. Like you, Sir Patrick Stewart with that Cheshire cat grin on your face. What a humblebrag that guy is (but I like him anyways).
Some people put that “Sir” up without even earning it. Like this guy:
Know of anyone with a PH.D or a doctorate degree? They lovvvvvve it when you call them “doctor” or attach those three little letters at the end of their names whenever they are published or quoted. That feeling of self-importance is like sweet honeydew nectar for the bruised soul. Divad Raizok PH.D. Look at the instant credibility I’ve just gotten from doing it.
So… This is one of the problems that Chogyam talks about. Falling into the trap of identifying outwardly with what should be thought of as “self-improvement” of the inward kind. The kind that you shut up about unless otherwise asked.
(flips through more pages)
Chogyam makes an excellent point about keeping focused during your quest.
“You see, it is essential to relate to yourself, to your own experience, really. If one does not relate to oneself, then the spiritual path becomes dangerous, becomes purely external entertainment, rather than an organic personal experience.”(pg.22)
He suggests, no… advises that we must be mindful of our own progress and measure ourselves through experience. Not rely upon external cues of how we might be doing or where we are at as far as “enlightenment” goes. Nor should we succumb to the hunger for shortcuts or eccentric ideas that could actually set ourselves back rather than forward.
Self-awareness and reflection are crucial tools to be kept in working order at all times for the earnest seeker of Truth who wishes to improve themselves.
So says the Choygam.
Sometimes we end up like that guy who spends much of his free time at the gym getting buff to the point that he’d forgotten what his original goal was. Maybe it was to lose weight and become more attractive and fit, however, the pursuit consumed him to the point where nothing else mattered as much as his practice does. In short, he became a slave to ambition and ego defining himself in this narrow-minded way.
This can happen to ourselves with anything, really.
The next chapter is called “Surrendering” which I find coincidental as it is a subject I briefly talked about with my girlfriend last night. Chogyam offers two ways of looking at surrender. The first being in the form of “giving up” and the second is to surrender in the form of trust. Two very different ways of looking at the same word.
One of the antidotes to spiritual materialism is to learn how to trust. Trusting a partner in a relationship, trusting that you are able to weather a particularly difficult situation, trusting that life has meaning and purpose, trusting that you are good at heart no matter what may lead you to feeling otherwise, and so on.
Trust.
He also suggests that we surrender our hopes and expectations, and that is not an easy thing for many of us to do. He suggests we surrender our fears as well, which again, can be difficult especially inside of a North Korean prison death camp.
But it did work for Viktor Frankl, I must add.
The general idea behind chapter two is learning to surrender.
(flips more pages)
This is a great book. I can tell I’m going to enjoy reading it in full.
Much of the rest I’ve flipped through deals with various aspects of Buddhism and discusses the Four Noble Truths, learning to deal with a clingy ego, accepting the wisdom of teachers, tapping into greater self-awareness and it is filled with lots of great anecdotes that teaches as well as entertains.
Choygam is a brilliant and noble human being. Rarely do I say this about anyone. Thich Nhat Hanh is another of such that comes to mind.
If you are having difficulty in staying on the spiritual path, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism is likely the kind of book you’re looking for.
But what do I know? I only skimmed through it.
You’re the one that will have to read it.
May your journey be a fruitful one.
May your life always be a carnival.
May you be as great as you are.
Thank you for reading.
