How many times have we heard it from the self-satisfied who know better than we because they’ve established some repetitive habits: “you can’t be gnostic/religious/spiritual unless you practice. You have to Do The Work.” They then proceed, rather smugly in many cases, to explain how those who “do the work” are far superior to those who “merely” study or maintain a spiritual worldview.

This is a fallacious conceit, and a false dichotomy. It is based on a notion that one should set aside certain times for spiritual practice, be those times Sunday mornings, or an hour here and there for meditation, and that those who have done so are spiritually superior to those who have not. If “doing the work” means going to church on Sunday or meditating once a day, then “doing the work” becomes completely useless, because the whole point of the spiritual teachings of Jesus and the Buddha is to make your entire life your practice.

Indeed, we may justifiably reason that what many people consider “the work” is merely peripheral to a healthy spiritual life. The Eucharist, for example, and the various other sacraments, are the least important aspects of the Christian tradition. Meditation and the search for enlightenment are the least important aspects of Buddhism.
Focusing on “the work,” and insisting that setting time aside for practice is an imperative, actually becomes detrimental towards the assistance we may be able to provide other sentient beings, because it quickly devolves into an insistence that salvation is impossible without so doing– “Only those who have been baptised/have taken communion/have achieved satori can be saved.” In this era, if we insist that salvation is only possible through ritual practice or some kind of work, we will alienate far more than we will assist.

In many ways, this is in direct opposition to statements made to the contrary in our historical scriptures. However, it is the purpose of this Way to evolve these traditions by interpreting them according to modern sensibilities– we do not claim that what was correct in the Fourth Century can still apply in the modern day.

Regardless of what has been said by those involved in these traditions, salvation cannot come through mere practice, and cannot be reduced to “Salvation = Eucharist + Prayer + ….” If one views spiritual understanding as a spectrum, these practices are very minor points on that spectrum, insignificant next to the amount of time we are given to express our gnosis throughout the course of our existences within the World of Forms.

What, then, is the most important? It is overcoming the Kenomic Worldview and establishing the reign of the Pleroma within.

This is not to say, of course, that ritual and prayer and contemplative practice don’t have their place– that they are effective and valid cannot be argued by any reasonable student of spirituality. They are, however, pointless if they are the focus of one’s spiritual pursuits, if one’s entire life does not become one’s spiritual practice. If one makes one’s life one’s practice, the formulaic methodologies of ritualism, prayer and meditation can be seamlessly incorporated into an holistic experience without recourse to empty specificity. Gnosis, according to this Way, is primarily Information plus Wisdom, integrated with Insight. Through the Grace of the Limitless Light, Gnosis can emerge within one without any methodology other than study and application of that study to every aspect of one’s life, from brushing the teeth in the morning to drifting off to sleep at night, a far more fulfilling and delightful “practice” than forcing one’s self through a series of tedious exercises only available to a few who are fortunate enough to have access to extra time or geographical resources.

If one never attends church, never meditates, but instead spends one’s entire existence studying and incorporating gnosis into one’s every thought and action, one has accomplished so much more than the average spiritual imperialist, who cherry-picks “practices” from various traditions, or the average religious show-offs who wear their collars out drinking and never shut up about how they’ve encouraged so many people to “do the work.”

Don’t “do the work”– spiritual practice, nine times out of ten, is a complete waste of time, time that could be spent sleeping in or sharing a meal with loved ones or playing with your dogs. If you are inclined towards idleness regarding ritual practice but have a firm conviction regarding the study of the cultivation of gnosis, and its application within every breath you take, every interaction you have with others, and every word you utter, you can safely ignore the platitudes of those who insist that their actions are more valid than your reason for being.