Are We There Yet? - December 2022

The arrival of December ushers in a season of goodwill, with its traditional festivities and the gathering of families and friends – a very busy time, often eagerly anticipated by many. Yet in the midst of this, for many people another customary activity that also takes place is a review of the past year and what they plan for the future, especially the year to come. Such planning is a pivotal tool on the spiritual path. Whether the plans under consideration involve extensive change or a comparatively minor New Year’s resolution, discrimination is an essential skill in assessing the chosen goal and achieving it. A realistic approach with skilful and persistently applied effort provides a solid foundation for progress and naturally encourages one to think that the chances for success are good.

Bearing in mind that there are no guarantees, however, if the outcome is not the one desired and expected, or if there seem to be no results to the initiative, how is this to be evaluated? What constitutes failure … and how do we recognise success? At least to some extent, the success-or-failure judgement depends on the value system employed – material or spiritual, quantitative or qualitative – and influenced by other circumstantial factors. Often, neither success nor failure provides an adequate assessment, and only a deeper review and/or self-enquiry can shed enough light to arrive at a nuanced and appropriate evaluation.

In the service of Triangles, it’s not unknown for members to question if they have made a success of their meditation but using the dichotomy of success-or-failure is not appropriate. There is an alternative approach to assessment that is relevant here and in many other situations. It does not ask about whether the effort is a success or a failure, but instead views the entire experience as a valuable opportunity to learn. For the soul in incarnation, these events provide the sustenance for spiritual growth and greater service, revealing values and leading to the development of qualities and skills: they are observations needed to establish greater soul contact and expression. The keen attention involved can not only reveal those obstacles that remain but also those that have been overcome, so it affirms the effort and encourages further progress.

And most important in all of this is that each dedicated meditation enhances those energies circulating in service to humanity through the network, “that great interwoven pattern of light and of goodwill which must underlie or ‘substand’ all exoteric work of renovation, renewal, rehabilitation and reconstruction.” ¹ Each sincere effort supports this.

1.  Alice A. Bailey, Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. II, p. 39