One of my basic, long-standing spiritual practices is reading, 
probably more than what is good for me, in a wide variety of spiritual, scientific, esoteric and literary genres. And doing so, alas, all at once. (I easily have 20 books checked out of the library, and another half dozen that I own that I’m either “working on” or plan to get to.)
Thus, when I came across a recommendation for a book by Norman Fischer and Susan Moon —“What Is Zen, Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind”– in two different places from two different authors (one a podcast, another a metaphysical book) it didn’t take long before it showed up in my mailbox. (Alas, no library in our interlibrary loan system carried the book, which is considered by many to be a classic in the field. I’ve learned—via bulging bookshelves downstairs and up—that if I can get the book from library, it’s better than owning it myself. I’m much too promiscuous of a reader.)
“What Is Zen” is s a very simple book, and perhaps because of that, very powerful. It’s constructed in a question and answer format. One of the questions was about spiritual experiences, and why the different practices of the Zen tradition tended toward different experiences of “Enlightenment.”
Fischer gives a very insightful reply: “Spiritual experiences are conditioned by spiritual methodologies. Classical Rinzai Zen koan practitioners have classical breakthroughs, just like in the books. Theravada Buddhists pass beyond the conditioned to nirvana, the unconditioned. Christians see Jesus or feel his love ineffably even if he remains invisible to them. In Soto Zen [the lineage which Fischer teaches] dramatic experiences of awakening are not emphasized, so they occur less often. But we have many kinds of deep experiences and realizations…”
Obviously, I was very tickled, inspired by this insight, and particularly “spiritual experiences are conditioned by spiritual methodologies.” As the Senior Librarian for the Buddhist Methodist Church, part of my own interest, and practice is to discover various methods (thank you John Wesley) to draw closer to truth, to peace and love in my daily walk.
An obvious example of the correctness of Fischer’s insight is the different experiences which come from practicing different mantras. I have had the very heady, other-worldly experience of the glowing city streets after chanting ”Hare Kirshna, Hare Krishna, Kirshna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Ramma, Harry Rama…” etc. for hours on end. (Thankfully, I didn’t need to join up before trying out their millennium- old ”method.” )
The experience that comes from inwardly chanting, “I’m a dork, I’m a dork,” is far from the experience of repeating, ”I am a beloved expression of eternal harmony.”
We all engage spiritual practices whether or not we call them such. Or recognize them as spiritual practices. For example, a young man who twenty years ago had been our neighbor dropped by to visit. It wasn’t long before it was clear that his particular practice was collecting conspiracy theories—if we really did go to the moon, why haven’t we gone back? The “conspiracy” folks are forced to collect one conspiracy theory after another to make all the theories fit together. It’s a daily struggle, leading to deep alienation and the constant question, “who can you trust? “
I realized other of my friends have their own spiritual practices from which they experience different outcomes. I have one friend whose practice is collecting sports teams and cultural events. He has season tickets to four different local amateur and professional teams. His “high” happens when he can stand up and cheer with 70,000 other fans. He also has season tickets to the symphony and the theater. His spiritual experiences are both lowbrow and high-brow.
On a quieter note, another friend’s daily spiritual practice (though he would gag if he heard me call it that) is walking, walking, walking, for hours at a time. The solitary peacefulness that he experiences from his daily routine (which he justifies as “keeping my body fit”) leads to a much different “spiritual experience” than standing and cheering with 70,000 fellow enthusiasts.
And yet another friend has a “spiritual practice” of saving money on absolutely every transaction he makes, from buying broccoli at a great price to getting a better deal on parking.
In the end, I would suggest that all of our methods are designed, either overtly or covertly, to help us love ourselves and our neighbor more consistently, more easily, more deeply. The “glow” that’s shared from attending a successful athletic event, or symphony performance, or chanting Hare Krishna for hours on end, is the glow that we are all seeking to experience all day every day. Some methods work better than others to take us in this direction.
After the method of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” the methods of “Don’t push the river” and “Let go and let God” might be the basic methods we are seeking. My “secondary” method of reading a gazillion books at once (I am, after all the Senior Librarian!) is designed to help me better accomplish those basic methods.
With methods, to paraphrase Lao Tzu, one should know where to stop. Just be, just love, is method enough.
