the Highest spiritual path is life itself
There is a sentence out of the book from Michael A. Singer 'the Untethered Soul' that holds within it the essence of yoga, philosophy, and what it means to be truly human: “The highest spiritual path is life itself. If you know how to live daily life, it all becomes a liberating experience.”
We often imagine spirituality as something that happens outside of life: in the silence of a retreat, on a mountaintop in Tibet, in the stillness of meditation, or in the wisdom of ancient scriptures. And while all of these can indeed open the door to profound insight, the deepest invitation of yoga and philosophy is not to leave life behind, but to be in it fully. Life itself, with its rhythms, its messiness, its unpredictability, is the most sacred teacher we will ever meet.
Think about it: every moment that arrives is an opportunity to practice. A conversation with a loved one becomes an exercise in deep listening. The chaos of a busy morning is an invitation to anchor in breath. A disappointment cracks us open to humility and compassion. The joy of a small, ordinary moment, a cup of tea, sunlight through a window, becomes a meditation on presence. We don’t need to escape life to walk a spiritual path; we only need to learn how to meet life as it is.
This is what yoga reminds us of again and again. Yoga, in its deepest meaning, is not simply the postures we practice on the mat, but the way we live our lives off the mat. It is the art of union: union with ourselves, with others, with the present moment, and with the sacred essence of existence.
The ancient sages gave us frameworks like the eightfold path of yoga not as a set of rigid rules, but as practical guidance for daily living. Non-violence, truthfulness, contentment, self-study, these are not abstract ideals. They are daily practices that invite us to live with integrity, with awareness, with freedom from being tossed around by every external circumstance.
To live life as the highest spiritual path means shifting from doing spirituality to being spiritual in how we live. It means noticing when we get lost in the rush, and gently returning to presence. It means allowing the ordinary to become extraordinary because we are fully awake to it. It means not waiting for life to be perfect before we can feel whole, but finding wholeness right here, amidst the imperfection.
And what happens when we approach life in this way? Life itself becomes liberation. Not liberation in the sense of escape, but liberation as freedom within. Freedom from the constant striving, the endless measuring up, the restless hunger for “more.” We begin to taste the quiet joy of being alive, as we are, where we are.
This is what it means to walk yoga as a way of life. It’s not about adding more, doing more, or becoming someone else. It’s about uncovering the freedom that is already here when you choose to live with awareness, compassion, and presence.
The highest spiritual path is not found somewhere “out there.” It is found in this life, in the way you step into your day, the way you sit with your own heart, the way you meet another human being. When you live like this, life itself becomes your practice. And life itself becomes liberation.
*Dutch
een verdiepende Yoga reis midden in het leven zelf
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