Entropy Part 2
March 2, 2026
Entropy Part 2
Nothing collapses a spiritual life faster than the belief that it no longer needs our attention.
Entropy, the second law of thermodynamics, is the tendency for a system to lose order or predictability, causing a decline into disorder. This phenomenon explains why things naturally spread out and disperse, like melting ice, decomposing plants, or perfume aroma spreading rather than staying in one conglomeration of vapor.
So, entropy unchecked leads to disintegration and decomposition. It can be destructive, but not all entropy is pathological. Some forms are woven into the natural rhythms of life itself. A tree, for instance, reaches a point when it no longer draws in nutrients or grows upward. It enters a natural phase of entropy, gradually disintegrating and returning to the soil from which it once arose.
Human spirituality, however, does not always follow the biological arc. A person’s spirituality doesn’t naturally submit to the second law of thermodynamics. Instead, it can grow until we take our last breath. In fact, the intrinsic nature of the soul is that it grows, develops, and evolves infinitely, unless we choose entropy.
But this is the clincher: when a person ceases to engage in spiritual nurturance and growth, there is not only a pause in growth, but it can lead to a complete spiritual shutdown. If no effort is made to reverse spiritual diminishment, the soul freezes at that stage, its spiritual level melts and dissipates. What was once alive becomes brittle, and what was once vibrant begins to fade.
Why does this happen? Spirituality cannot be mastered and set aside. Genuine spirituality is not a system of beliefs, or a collection of rules, rituals, and behaviors that run on autopilot. Spirituality is alive and dynamic and must grow to remain alive. When we stop questioning our assumptions, examining our patterns, leaning on a higher order than our earlier understandings, and applying these understandings to the problems of life, we are on spiritual hold. And when curiosity about our spiritual nature and the Divine stops, our spirit cannot reach greater heights of consciousness.
The storms of life take their toll, and if our spirituality is not growing it can weaken, and the storms erode it. We can even look spiritually active on the outside, yet inwardly we are complacent, stagnating, and losing spiritual grounding. This is spiritual entropy, a silent thief of life-giving energy.
For this reason, anyone who genuinely seeks the spiritual life must continually nourish the soul through conscious growth and renewal. This is done in a myriad of ways. For instance, in Consciousness Studies, like those of The Institute for Conscious Being, we are not invited to settle, but to wake up. The path continually challenges us to grow, to see more clearly, and to expand our capacity for awareness. We foster individual spiritual practices, and in a container of non-judgmental support, we share our current dilemmas and our progress.
As said above, community is essential. One practice, however, stands at the foundation of them all: it is also a fundamental approach to spiritual growth at The Institute for Conscious Being and other healthy organizations for spiritual growth: self-inquiry. When we sincerely long to grow, we are insatiably curious about how the spirit works. So, we ask ourselves questions that unearth our inner truth. This is the spiritual process of self-inquiry.
We recognize that our hunger for depth, truth, and aliveness is real and worthy of being met. Through self-inquiry, we open ourselves to the dynamic movement of the Divine within us. We are willing to go through the sometimes-painful process of removing the veils of ego that seem so real but are actually illusions. This is nothing like living on autopilot. It is life in motion, in consciousness, and in spirit actively becoming.
Spiritual practice: In your spiritual formation, what entropic forces have you overcome, and what was the outcome?
Self-inquiry: What would lead me to ignore the sacred act of nurturing my Spirituality?
Prayer:
Dear God, I pray to continue to question and to receive your truth. I pray for the courage and capacity to apply these truths right here, right now. Amen
