A Commentary on The Spiritual Life

Switch To Mobile

The Simple Way

Before or after reading this, please consider reading this.

I received the following inquiry in TZF’s Guest Book (long since retired): Some years ago, I heard you use the term The Simple Way. Unfortunately, the name is all I remember about it. Can you tell me if you still use that expression, and if so, what it means.

Sometimes I call my spiritual perspective The Simple Way. Please do not confuse this use of the word simple with its sometimes synonym, easy. There is nothing easy about The Simple Way. That is, by my use of the word simple, I mean uncomplicated. Thus, The Simple Way consists of a few logical, fairly easy to understand premises, the consistent, determined, and earnest application of which to our daily lives can have miraculous results.

Each of these premises, or to use a metaphor common to spiritual discussions, each of the pillars on which rests The Simple Way, is addressed in some detail elsewhere on this site and/or in other of my writing. Therefore, here I will simply list them, and discuss each briefly. But please do not mistake this list for a formal, dogmatic set of precepts. However much this may look like a list, this list is not a list. In fact, this is the very first time this list has been presented as a list, and as a list it has no other purpose than to answer your question. When that is accomplished, you should dismantle and discard this list. Thus, there is, for example, no point in memorizing it. Or in thinking of it as The List of Seven. It is not that kind of a list. I could just as easily have stated it as six items, or eight items, or a single item. The point is, this stuff will work for you only if it makes sense to you, and therefore moves easily into your consciousness and from there into your life. For that to happen, you do not need a list, just earnestness and enthusiasm.

1) God is Infinite. There is no God but God. God is all there is.

For me, this one set of statements says it all. Look at it this way. Every spiritual tradition I have encountered agrees on at least one thing, and that is that “God” is infinite. Even those that do not speak of It as “God,” recognize and acknowledge the Infinite. Infinite means having no boundaries or no limits, not in time, not in space, not conceptually, not in any way. So, it follows logically that whatever there is anywhere, whatever else we may think anything is, it is God and God is it, because God being infinite extends into it, includes it, comprises it, embraces it, subsumes it. Clearly, there can be no exceptions to this conclusion, for if there were any thing or any where or any when into which God did not extend, then, by definition, God would not be infinite, and, by definition, God is infinite. So, if there is nothing that God is not, then God is all there is, including God. To me that means, any God that is God, God is. Likewise, every name, even every word, that is spoken or written or thought or considered, is a name of God, even is God, again because God being infinite, God is all there is, and there is nothing, no name or no word or no anything, that God is not. In every tradition, in every language, in every culture, God naturally has various names. But God being God, every one of those names is the name of God than whom (or than which) there is no other God. Yes, I recognize this may seem complicated or unnecessarily confusing or indefensibly oversimplified, maybe even silly, perhaps as well offensive. But for me it explains everything.

2) The nature of everything is spiritual.

If God is all there is, then this is a spiritual (God-ly) Universe. By that I mean that everything (every person, every thing, every event, every place, every idea, every whatever) is fundamentally, inherently, thoroughly, indelibly, and priorly spiritual. So, for me, spirituality is not an aspect of reality, or of ourselves, or of anything else. Rather it is the whole of our reality, of ourselves, and of everything else. I do not see the Universe divided into, let’s say, two categories, one labeled religious matters and the other secular matters (or everything else). It is all spiritual. Practically speaking, then, everywhere becomes a church, every day is a holiday (holy day), every relationship is sacred, every activity a sacrament, every word a scripture. Spiritual to me is like wet to a fish: Everything is.

3) We already are as spiritual as we will ever be.

As I see it, the spiritual path is not about becoming anything, but rather it is about Remembering or Realizing or Awakening to or Knowing our already True Nature. That is, if God is all there is, and God is Wholly God, then somehow God is us, too, and so somehow we are That now. Clearly, while all of us can easily enough articulate those words, we do not really know what they mean, much less do we live by them. As I see it, that is the function of the spiritual process: Not to make True what is already True, but to Real-ize what is True (make it Real in and as ourselves), or to Remember it. It follows then that the various practices (postures, diets, chants, and so on) that describe a spiritual path, do not make us more spiritual, but rather they help to clear our minds of the myriad distractions, confusions, and complications which prevent us from Seeing (Remembering) What Is, or that have led us to believe we are other than What We Are.

4) There are no degrees of spiritual.

If God is Wholly Everything Right Here And Now, then it follows that no one and no thing is more spiritual or less spiritual than anyone or anything else. This concept is very difficult for us to accept, for we naturally think that beautiful, happy, wealthy, healthy, or tasty things (people, places, events, actions, ideas, whatever) are more spiritual or godly than ugly, unhappy, poor, sickly, or disgusting things. But on close inspection it becomes apparent that the things we label as good are almost invariably those that are somehow pleasing to the body which we consider to be ourselves, and the things we label as bad, even evil, are those that threaten the health, security, general well-being, property, or life of the physical body we consider to be ourselves. Ultimately, what I mean here is that, notwithstanding our preference for and prejudice toward the physical body, everything in the Universe is actually the Same, and the way to expand the boundaries of what we consider to be spiritual (or the Same) is to expand (and eventually eliminate) the boundaries of what we consider to be ourselves.

5) It’s all about inertia.

Isaac Newton had it right. Everything in the Universe has a tendency to continue doing whatever it is doing now until it meets a greater contrary force. So, you and I continue living our lives as we do now, considering ourselves as we do, believing as we do, fearing as we do, denying as we do, simply because we have always done so. And we will continue doing so until we stop it. And the way to stop is to mount a determination that is at least equal to the strength of our current tendencies (which are now habits, even obsessions). That’s the function of so-called spiritual practices … and Teachers: To teach us to concentrate and focus increasingly clearly (powerfully), so that we can, in effect, turn ourselves around.

6) There is a way.

Happily, for every seeker there is a way perfectly suited to her or him. Every tradition I am aware of promises that a genuinely committed seeker will be provided the support and guidance and encouragement he or she needs to traverse the path. This certain help will rarely (if ever!) manifest in the form that we expect or even in the time that we hope, but it will be there as and when we need it. Our responsibility is to welcome it and to respond to it with enthusiasm, confidence, and good will.

As to practises, there are numerous, even numberless, books and Teachers and other sources far better qualified than I to provide specific spiritual practices for a seeker. Here is what Nancy (sometimes Anna) and I did: In the beginning, many decades ago, we wrote a contract (literally, on a piece of paper) between ourselves and God. It said, not in these very words for it has long since been lost, “We promise to You all that we are and all that we have, ourselves and our lives, and in exchange You Promise to guide us, to teach us, to watch over us.” That’s it. We signed it, and to the extent that we have been able, we have never let it slip out of our minds. To be sure, over the decades, our understanding of the word, the name, “God,” has changed and evolved, but our commitment to the contract has not altered one whit. It has been our certain experience that neither has God’s. See also here.

That said, I will suggest one specific practice that I expect every reader of The Zoo Fence has come across in one form or another, making it as good a place to start as any: “This I command you, to love one another.” (John 13) These words were spoken by a Teacher, meaning someone who recognized the Infinite nature of life and of himself, and to whom “one another” means everyone, everywhere, everywhen, no exceptions. Whoever and whatever you encounter in your life, address her, him, it wisely, maturely, sensibly, and with love. Surely when those words were first spoken to them, Peter and Mary Magdalene and the others responded, “Are you nuts? Have you read the lead story in today’s newspaper? Rape, child molestation, spouse beating! And that’s just the first paragraph.” No one said walking the spiritual path would be easy.

Finally, consider this: When any of us fixes our mind and our heart on anything, our lives unfold accordingly. So, wherever you may be, whatever you may be doing, make a constant, conscious, determined, and enthusiastic effort to bring your mind and your heart to a spiritual focus as frequently as possible, even if just for a few seconds. Do this repeatedly throughout your waking day. Do it while waiting in line at a supermarket or on hold at your telephone; do it while riding a bus or brushing your teeth; do it while sitting in a physician’s waiting room; do it while planning this evening’s dinner. The more often you do it, the better. In time, your reality will reflect that focus.

7) Thank God for God.

In a word, The Simple Way is about merging the illusion that I am some body and that you are some other body, into the Reality that God is all there is.

For me, The Simple Way is a way of life, which is why I consider myself to be a monk, and the answer to the question I sometimes receive — worded variously, but always in effect: “What do you apply this to?” — is, simply, everything. No exceptions. My practice is consciously to seek to see God in everyone and everything I encounter  —  every person, every animal, every plant, every rock, every day, every event, every relationship, every idea, every action, every dream, every meal, every whatever. When I am unable (unwilling) to do so, and, yes, I confess that is often, I call on God to Show Himself to me. “Dear God, I know You are in there somewhere, but I can’t see You. Maybe it is because I’m in such a hurry. Or so afraid. Or having a really good time. Whatever the reason, please wave, whistle, wiggle — do something, to call my attention back to You.” And, conversely, whenever I do see God in my self and my life, I thank Her for being there. “Thank you, Mother, for showing me Your Beautiful Face! Thank you for being in my life. Thank you for being my life!”

Simply stated, The Simple Way is my belief, my practice, my path, and my life.

Please remember, that’s simple, not easy. For some decades, maybe even many lifetimes, we have all been living as we are now, convinced we are the bodies we seem to be inhabiting, born on a certain date, certain to die on another, and to bounce between pleasure and pain in the interim. However much we affirm to the contrary, we continue believing we are the body. When we want to know what we look like, where do we gaze? Into a mirror, at the body. Again, it is normal and natural that we should do so, considering how long we have been doing so. We can stop doing so.

Ask God for help. Every morning, every single morning, as soon as you wake up, call on God to help you remember to Remember, to teach you how to Remember. Do this with joyful determination, earnestness, and enthusiasm.

As this process unfolds, do not be hard on yourself if you do not see or feel its effects immediately. God is genetically incapable of ignoring a heartfelt call. So, if you mean it, you will be heard, and sooner or later, you will Remember, you will Know. Thank God.

Note: For more on these ideas, please consider the essay “Letting Life Live” here. Please also see A Seeker’s Primer and The Sacred Riddle.

Before you turn the page and move on from here, please consider reading God Is and at least some of this piece at TZF’s Gazebo. Thank you.

After posting the above material, I received a message from a visitor to The Zoo Fence asking if The Simple Way as presented here is simply another word for pantheism. Below is my response. I admit this may simply be the thing said above said again. If so, please feel free to skip it by clicking here.

According to the dictionary, pantheism defines God as the transcendent reality of which the material or astronomical universe, which includes mankind, is a manifestation. For me, that description of the Divine is too limited.

What I call The Simple Way starts from the assumption that if God is Infinite, then God is all there is. For me, that leads to two inescapable conclusions: There is no thing but God, and whatever there is, is God.

So, God is wholly the Universe, by which I mean not just the material or astronomical universe, but whatever there is anywhere anytime anyhow, in its entirety. Just so, God is not only the Universe Itself, but wholly every apparent aspect of the Universe. Further, because God is Infinite, every apparent aspect of the Universe, like, say, you and me, and whatever else may be anytime anywhere anyhow, is itself the entirety of the Universe. That is, Infinity, being infinite and indivisible, takes Itself in Its entirety wherever or whenever or however it is, so every thing (however defined) is entirely It. No exceptions — no where, no when, no how.

Now, to our egoic separative mind (I am me, and you aren’t), all the foregoing is just words. We can talk about them, we can define them, we can argue them; and we all do all of that all of the time. But we cannot grasp their meaning, precisely because if a thing (however defined) can be grasped, it is not infinite. In a word, Infinite is too big for the mind.

The mind likes to define and label things. And that is not a bad thing. In fact, it is the mind’s function. Defining and labeling is an essential practice for survival in the world, but it does not always serve a seeker. Sometimes, defining and labeling a thing trivializes the thing. Indeed, sometimes that is our very purpose in doing so. Thus, when the mind cannot get itself around a thing, it gives the thing a name. Having done so, the mind convinces itself that the thing is not really as big as it seems, and therefore not really any different from any other named thing.

As I explain above, I defined The Simple Way here in response to a visitor’s question about it. I hope the definition answers that visitor’s question. But the definition is not itself The Simple Way. That definition is, in effect, a label whose purpose is to bring The Simple Way down to the mind’s size. That’s okay for the purposes of discussion. But it does not really serve a seeker who is reaching beyond the mind. Consider Robert Browning’s Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?

As I see it, the Infinite, and consideration of the Infinite, being beyond the capacity of the mind, is a proper object for contemplation. Contemplation differs from thinking in this way: Thinking is active, and contemplation is passive. In thought, the mind grasps an idea, and manipulates it. In contemplation, a concept is placed before the mind, and left there. No effort is made to establish any kind of relationship with the concept. Eventually, the mind loses interest, and quiets. Then, all that is left is the concept, and the concept is all that is left.

Finally, specifically in response to your question, I would say that pantheism, however expansive it may seem, puts limits on God, and The Zoo Fence seeks to avoid doing that. Certainly I do not intend for my description of The Simple Way here to do that. If it does, I erred.