So this path is always the option of last resort since it is vague and difficult. We prefer connection, community, comfort, and clarity, but the psychological/spiritual route is solitary and there is constant resistance.
In my experience, it was only when I was most frustrated and in despair that I could fully commit to this path. Often times it required cornering myself by detaching from and rejecting my coping mechanisms that kept me afloat, but in the bigger picture, stagnant.
When you are at the point where you can talk about this stuff with others like we are in this thread, you have very likely developed a level of insight about what is useful. It’s necessary to recall that wisdom when we intend to continue forward - things like mindfulness and surrender.
However, the foundation of all of this is what I call the intuitive belief in the good - that which allows us to confront the perceived reality of suffering, indifference, hopelessness, etc. Without this belief, it is impossible to penetrate through the resistance because it makes no sense to voluntarily make our existence more difficult within an indifferent world. Only in a world that is meaningful and at its core ‘good’ can we progress along this path.
