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Motivations

There are many motivations for spiritual practice. And the ones that brings awareness closer to recognizing its own nature, may have two sources: (a) The carrot. It has a hunch of its inherent qualities, and seek to clarify and unfold them. (b) The stick. It is "forced" into it through suffering.

In the first case, it has a hunch of its inherent nature of spacious clarity, and its functions when recognized - equanimity, compassion, wisdom, fluid responsiveness.

In the second case, it seeks freedom from suffering in its many forms. It may seek the peaceful centering from meditation as a way to calm hyperactive emotional/cognitive patterns. It may seek "meaning" or a sense of "purpose", as a remedy for a life that seems empty and pointless. It may seek a sense of belonging or connectedness, to feel at home in the universe and this body, as an antidote to a sense of separation and alienation.

These are some of the ways the inner/outer world nudges us towards practice, towards exploring the nature of mind/existence. Its the nature of awareness to bring itself more fully into awareness (as a tendency, not absolute rule).

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