Peak Experiences

You mostly hear about peak experiences on sports or adventure shows, where athletes or adventurers are telling us about the adrenaline rush they get from an extraordinary play or achievement.

No doubt climbing Mt. McKinley, or hitting the run that wins the World Series qualify as peak experiences. You don’t have to see the shine in their eyes to know they’re feeling that rush, even as a memory. We feel it for them, too.

But what about a spiritual peak experience?

They don’t make the news, and unless you have friends that share your spiritual enthusiasm, or you subscribe to a magazine such as “Spirituality and Health” you probably won’t hear (or have the opportunity to discuss) a peak spiritual experience.

Spiritual paths are marathons. And when you’re traveling, you have to accept there are climbs, descents and plateaus. But every once in a while, there’s a moment – of ecstasy or peace or manifestation – that takes our breath away.

That’s our peak experience.

It hurts to let that experience fade because chances are, I'm not going to have them on a daily basis. Like a junkie, I want the next fix now.  That’s when I find myself pushing for the spiritual ‘high,’ the next step, the next insight. Inevitably, this death-grip approach throttles any further spiritual progress.

This is when – for me- “Let go and let God,” has meaning.

My take away from these very personal experiences, and lessons, is to have patience, to release expectation, and to be open to receiving. Living in the ‘now’ moment, instead of holding the past, or anticipating the future.

Jack Kornfield’s book “After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path” has always intrigued me. I love the title, and since it’s still on my reading list, I can’t give you a review. But it’s title alone has become a mantra for me.