What's the hardest part of following your religious/spiritual path?

[More Than A Feeling]

For me, it is keeping the ideal in front of me on a consistent enough basis to actually apply it in the appropriate situtations. This is probably because my path was not taught to me from birth, so it is not natural and automatic...yet. I'm still working on making the maxims I want to uphold so natural that they are just the thing to do, rather than agonizing over whether it was appropriate in a certain situation and in which way should I have enacted it. Basically, my hardest problem is that old habits are hard to break. What is yours?

[cyborg_jim]

1. There is no path

The hardest path of all is to make a new one.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Remembering

in my tradition, one should remember to watch the breath at all times.

[wtmusic]

3. Yes, old habits are hard to break

but IMO you're being a little hard on yourself. Agonizing about anything that's said and done seems to defeat the purpose of following any spiritual path which should be, in part, to bring you a little peace of mind.

[More Than A Feeling]

4. I don't see my spiritual path is one of those moving walkways

where I only have to stand still and I will get taken someplace. Nor is it a conveyor belt that will bring good things to me automatically. The peace of mind of a spiritual path, IMO, comes from knowing which direction to walk in. I still have to do the actual walking, and that is the hard part which is thwarted by old habits.

[kestrel91316]

5. Uh, remembering that I HAVE one....................

and remembering to make some effort at consciously observing the tenets.

I don't formally "worship". I just try to live by the rules I have come to see as a creed of sorts.

[phiddle]

6. Staying away from Democratic Underground!!

(I get anxious.)

[toddaa]

7. You're trying too hard, H&E

Seriously. Take a moment to let go of what's appropriate and how you should behave and just follow what is completely natural. This is a fundamental Taoist principle. Don't fight against the current. Let go. It's easier than you think, which is probably why you are making so damned difficult.

Taoism is filled with references to water. Water is soft and yielding. It flows along the path of least resistance. It seeps into dark and lowly places. Yet over time water conquers all. Be like water.

It's easier than you think.

[Evoman]

8. The hardest part of following my path is the Shades.

They keep trying to take over my soul, and make me eat water chestnuts. I won't let THEM! Why do you want to know, huh? You want to let the shades know where I am? TO SHADEVILLE with you, Heaven and Earth...you hear me....to shadeville!

BWAHAHAHAHAHA

[More Than A Feeling]

9. *chuckles* I'll give you a ring when I get there.

Assuming I can talk on the phone with a mouthful of water chestnuts.

[MistressOverdone]

10. Not knowing the answers to the big questions

and sometimes I get ticked off at God for leaving me down here by myself.

[moggie]

11. Keeping the obsidian knives sharp

And getting bloodstains out of the robes.

[varkam]

12. Being present eom

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. Loving my enemies

That's a toughie!

[More Than A Feeling]

14. One thing I noticed about Christianity...

it doesn't exactly give you a lot of instruction on how to live up to Jesus' example. It's like "Ok, here are all the impossible things you have to do, figure out how to get there on your own." Has that been your experience?