Introduction 

To deepen our level of being, to open to the spiritual reality, to discover compassion for all of life, to align ourselves in service to the Source of meaning, we must do more, much more than believe, think, dream, hope, or wish for such transformation. With every fiber of our heart, every moment of our day, with every action in our nascent soul, we cleave to the silent call of that monumental Greatness that creates and sustains us all. Though we adhere to the highest ethical standards and shoulder our responsibilities to family and society, morality alone, even morality coupled with belief, will not carry us to the infinite ocean. Though healing our psychological wounds and immaturities does help, health of mind and heart alone cannot fulfill our true destiny.

We need more. We need a soul. We need to follow that profound, bittersweet longing at the core of our being. We need wholehearted engagement in effective practices of an authentic spirituality. The more heartily we give ourselves over to such practice, the more possible our transformation becomes. With practice we move toward the eternal, without practice our time passes as we slowly wither. With practice our inner life thrives in harmony, without practice chaos reigns. This is our choice of life ― or death. Can we rise to this choice? Can we even recognize the constant presence of the choice? Once made, can we reaffirm it moment by moment?

Deep within each of us dwells the source of peace, purpose, and love. Yet we live in the chaotic dissonance of the superficial layers of our hearts and minds. A sea of the most precious spiritual energies surrounds us, inside and out, yet our thirst remains unquenched, our souls malnourished and unformed.

Although our aim lies beyond time, time itself remains far too valuable to waste. Birth thrusts us into this world with a partial, incomplete soul. The unique shard of Divinity entrusted to each of us needs a proper vehicle in order to manifest. That vehicle, that bridge from the higher realm to this world is the soul. A few of us may develop a soul during our time on this Earth. The overwhelming majority, however, dies without having tendered to God the full measure of strength and love that the Divine may accept from us, and without having brought into this world the love, wisdom, and energies we could transmit from the higher.

The wise among our ancestors discovered and created literally thousands of spiritual practices, which serve the purpose of developing soul, of true transformation, of serving the Earth. We can continue the rituals and communal prayer of our own religious tradition, building on that childhood-based, essential connection. But the typical engagement in religion never rises to the level of spiritual transformation and soul formation. Only sincere, prolonged spiritual practice enables a person to embody and manifest the core values of any of the great religions.

We might ask: in addition to our religion, which spiritual practices should we pursue? Here, our own taste, our own intuition must guide us. Though we share much, that kernel of Divinity makes us each unique. That is why our personal flair and insight so crucially underpin the whole process. If a particular path sounds promising, we can try it. If it fills our need, we will know it and follow it. Commitment will develop. We may join with a practice community. Over the years, what is suitable for us will change and our developing intuition will prompt us accordingly. Yet we dare not flit lightly between paths, never following one far enough to deepen our understanding. Nevertheless, as our heart and soul grow, new practices may reveal their value to us. Our recognition of right and wrong matures into discerning what advances soul and what retards it.

In the past century many Westerners have adopted Eastern spiritual practices and found in them an unmatched degree of efficacy and subtlety. Put simply, Buddhist and Yoga practices enjoy their popularity because they work. Yet when Westerners raised as Christians or Jews make progress in their Eastern practices, they often find themselves drawn back toward their own religious roots and the search for the Divinity. They rediscover their need for a personal relationship with the Divine, for the practice of prayer, openness to conscience, and the understanding of will found in the monotheistic religions. Conversely, followers of Christianity and Judaism receive crucial spiritual help from the depth of understanding of meditation and similar practices found in Buddhist, Hindu, and Taoist traditions. Muslims and others find great spiritual benefit in Sufi practices. We look for a fully balanced approach that engages the best of both East and West. In the great life work of spiritual transformation, we need both the love of God and the depth of meditation. They complement and reinforce each other.

Spiritual work is not simply a private matter, even when much of our practice is personal and private. Communal prayer and other collective practices surprise us with their power. The shared intention and vibrant atmosphere of the congregation, the sangha, the minyan, and the halka, wondrously multiply our personal efforts on the way of transformation and spiritual service. The long-term evolution of human beings and human society, the eventual eradication of the disease of violence perpetrated by humans, the common discovery, recognition and understanding of the true purpose of life - all of this and more depend on rightly conducted spiritual practice. Imagine what this Earth would be like if everywhere we went, all our relationships embodied fundamental, mutual, and open trust and kindness, even with complete strangers. The purposes, however, go beyond our human interests. Spiritual practices benefit not only our community and us, but also, with sufficient depth, benefit the Supreme. Can it be that God needs us, as much as we need God? Perhaps such questions offer clues to the purpose of our creation.

Within this website, you will find some of the more substantial spiritual practices that have stood the test of time. Drawing on Christian, Sufi, Buddhist, Hindu, Kabbalah and other traditions, we present a balanced approach to inner work addressing the wholeness of our humanity and spirituality. You will find elements of a map of our inner landscape to help orient your path and support your understanding of the practices. The Practices section offers the basic spiritual practices and concepts of a complete and effective way of transformation. The Weekly Inner Work provides an extensive, non-linear series of methods to focus your practice for a week at a time on particular aspects of the path.

These formulations have proven their efficacy in long work with groups of spiritual seekers. If you pursue them diligently and with heart, these practices will help you in your quest to transform your being, to serve your highest destiny, to take your spiritual practice further, both in depth toward the higher worlds and in breadth into more of life.

A cautionary note: a number of the practices presented can be undertaken during the ordinary activities of daily life. This is, in fact, what they are intended for. However, those that require control of attention and awareness, such as working with bodily sensations, breath awareness, presence, and so on, should not be used in potentially dangerous situations like driving a car or chopping vegetables, until we have a great deal of experience with the practice and have enough attention to both drive or chop safely and engage the practice at the same time. When it comes to safety-critical situations, common sense must rule. We need our bodies as healthy as possible to pursue our path. Of course, the obvious complement to this cautionary note about not jeopardizing our bodily safety is that we also need our soul as healthy, as strong, and as refined as possible. For that, we pursue our spiritual practice with all vigor.

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