Credo

Spirituality is a matter of direct experience, and is, therefore, inherently personal. In the Indian traditions, the first and most important step on the spiritual path is getting oriented to the View of the path you will walk. The View is a vision of reality that inspires and supports the efficacy of spiritual practice; it is analogous to the Western notion of credo, “I commit or engage myself,” rather than articles of faith one must believe. The author asserts that by engaging in inner work, we gain the opportunity to transform the suffering that arises from unconscious and habitual behaviors into a more conscious—potentially enlightened—mode of being that is personally fulfilling and beneficial to others. The author elucidates his panentheistic, non-dual, Shaiva Tantra view of the divine as both formless and with form, personified as Shiva-Shakti, a dyadic singularity that pervades body, mind, and spirit. He also delineates an array of spiritual practices that integrate the somatic, psychological, interpersonal, and spiritual aspects of his own life. The author shares his credo and the contours of his integrative practice with the hope that it may inspire others to clarify their own faith convictions and to engage in forms of inner work that align with what the spirit of the depths calls them to do and to be.