The Path

A householder is one who has daily responsibilities to family, friends, work, etc and who is also dedicated to a spiritual unfoldment and expression within daily life. A householder is, in many ways, as Christine Valters Paintner says, a “monk in the world.”

The Householder’s Path is an invitation to live the spiritual journey by meeting the sacred in every moment through contemplation, listening, daily practice and hospitality for ourselves and others, even if in that moment one is getting the oil changed, washing the dishes, folding the laundry, balancing the checkbook, practicing yoga, walking in the woods, cooking a meal or enjoying the company of friends and loved ones. By embracing the daily-ness of life we recognize that mutuality of the sacred and the mundane.

This is not easy. That’s why it’s called a practice, a path. Such language implies choice. We chose where and how to place our attention.

Personally, I often fail – by which I mean I forget, get frustrated, depressed, angry, neurotic and resentful. But, there is always the opportunity to begin again. Even more radical is the opportunity to find the Divine within perceived failures of attitude and action. As Christine Valters Painter suggests, this is radical hospitality, to truly welcome ALL parts of ourselves.

Spirit grows and moves along its journey by embracing all aspects of life. Everything you see, do, read and think holds a kernel of the Divine. Everything that exists is pulsing with the sacred creativity of the moment. It is our work to see it.