_   In a previous post I said I would address why it is that so many people who commit themselves to spiritual practice abandon it in short order.  This is especially odd given that the promise of the spiritual fruits available to one in spiritual practice are so rewarding: the lessening of personal suffering, a sense of connection to something greater than oneself, and an infusion of Divine qualities such as love, patience, and compassion which, if integrated  into one’s life, brings ultimate fulfillment.  These are but a few of the fruits of spiritual practice, ready for the picking.  Why then do those who commit to spiritual practice abandon it?
    I have heard many guesses as to the cause of this, from psychological attributions that people don’t really want a spiritual life as much as they want to want one, to outright accusations that most people are simply too lazy to “stick to it.”  I believe the real reason has nothing to do with people’s personal failures as much as the fact that what is required for ongoing, disciplined spiritual practice runs very much against the grain of a certain tendency inherent within us all.
    What is that tendency?  It is the tendency to repeat patterns of behavior that bring reward while shunning patterns of behavior that do not bring reward.  (This is one of the fundamental tenants of Behaviorist psychology, for more on which see the work of the B. F. Skinner).  In fact, the more immediate the reward the more motivated one will be to repeat a behavior.  Simple reflection will bear this out for most anyone, seen in everything from human mating rituals to participation in economic systems.
    But how does this tendency cause one to abandon one’s spiritual practice, especially if the fruits of that practice are so rewarding?
    The problem lies in the time required to realize the rewards of spiritual practice.  If a behavior does not bring about reward within a reasonable time frame, motivation to the repeat that behavior quickly dissipates.  Thus we have the perfect set up for frustration in spiritual practice, as spiritual practices generally require significant amounts of time to bear fruit.  This is the primary impediment to long term commitment to spiritual practice and why people abandon their practices.

_     Fidelity to spiritual practice then requires counter-intuitive behavior on the part of the practitioner.  It requires the willingness to repeat a behavior despite the lack of immediate or short term reward.  Very few people have the personal fortitude to do this, however.  For this reason success in spiritual practice often requires something additional - just what that “something additional” is I will address in my next post.

Namaste!

Alex