Perhaps you’ve noticed that it's been a month or so since you last meditated. Maybe that spiritual book someone lent you stays unopened on your bedside table. Days seem to slip by without the practices that you hold sacred. Even though we can forget our spiritual practice from time to time, if we are devoted to spiritual growth, our hearts return us to both the study and the living application of this sacred work, time and time again.

Many years ago, at the institution where I worked, a lady caused trouble in the office. She divided people into factions and brewed conflict. Her final blow was to lead a rebellion against the administration with those who followed her. As part of the administration, I met with her to fix the situation. After being confronted, she promised me that she would be a team member going forward. My blind spot was that I chose not to see the truth: she would always feed on conflict. And I denied the truth about myself, that I wanted to be seen as benevolent. She continued her same behavior and then eventually had to be let go after causing significant damage. 

What if the truest version of you isn’t the one you’ve been refining for decades, but the one you left behind in childhood? One of the most vital aims of the spiritually conscious life is the aim to realize essence.

This morning, I saw someone I hadn’t encountered in a long time. When I interacted with them on community projects, they were vibrant, kind, talented, enthusiastic, and deeply engaged in community life. But today, as I walked through the lobby of an office building, I saw that person in a wheelchair, frail and tired, and attended by a caregiver. Their face was lined, their body weakened, and an unmistakable sadness surrounded them. They had not yet seen me approaching.

Our aims are the intentions to stay spiritually awake throughout the day. They remind us to return, again and again, to the clarity of consciousness rather than drifting into automatic reactions. One vital aim is transformative but straightforward: stay with the experience.

From our first days of life, curiosity helps us survive. As infants, we instinctively search for nourishment. As adults, our curiosity matures into the wish to know and to understand what would otherwise remain hidden.

One of the most vital spiritual aims for the new year is telling the Truth—the commitment to seeking the truth, accepting it, and telling it.

At first glance, this may seem simple. But look closely: hundreds of times each day we encounter half-truths, distortions, exaggerations, and convenient omissions. And if we are honest, we sometimes feel tempted to offer our own versions of the truth when it suits us. Why doesn’t this work?