Everyone, in their own way, has to go to the mountain. It is written in all the ancient writings. Today, the meaning is to overcome an obstacle. But originally the meaning was to meet oneself in higher consciousness, to rise above, to see far reaching views, to gain a greater awareness and perspective that brings life-changing attitudes and emotions.
It is the lucky one who has not been indoctrinated with many preconceived ideas, who experiences the pureness of climbing the mountain, of living life as though no one else has ever lived it before oneself. There is a freshness and completeness to these experiences that are quite amazing. One could be concerned about reinventing the wheel by choosing to do it all on one’s own, but that could only be true if there were deeply ingrained preconceived ideas influencing one’s motives and movements.
When actions are born out of an immediacy of an awareness that this is what one needs to do, the life becomes quite an example of being in the present, living in the moment, responding to what’s before oneself.
Choosing not to live through memory, but through constantly newborn experiences can be frightening to those whose lives are mostly attachment to memory and symbolic meaning. So much of these people’s lives are lived through the desire to interpret what has been, rather than to experience what is.
It is not necessary to believe in a greater being to live a spiritual life. It is necessary for everyone to climb the mountain to live a spiritual life. Eventually one becomes aware of the larger connection, the larger consciousness. But in the beginning, it’s not a necessary factor to spiritual growth. The desire to be present and aware is.