At the end of his extensive lecture on the awakening of the soul, Hazrat Inayat Khan poses this question: how does one proceed in the awakening the soul?  Characteristically, he declares that there are five steps or factors to be considered, and the first, he tells us, is ‘inclination.’  In other words, we must be inclined to awaken, we must want to awaken, and not everyone is ready for this.

We might think that inclination or desire is a self-selecting factor; those who have it will go on, and those who don’t will lose interest and perhaps, as Hazrat Inayat suggests, devote themselves to something more ‘rewarding’ like business and making money.  That is true, and yet even with the necessary desire, in the beginning of the journey one may be troubled by doubts and uncertainties. It is one sign of youth, and of the youthful soul, to be filled with conflicting impulses. Surely we can remember a time in life when, with heart bursting out of our chest, we wanted to accomplish everything: to make a tremendous success of every possible role on the stage of life, from the visible, outer goals of name, fame and material wealth, to the unwordable longings for truth, beauty, and the mystery of love. And if we feel that every possibility is calling to us, how do we distinguish between temporary infatuations and the deep-seated desire to awaken?

As every parent will ruefully admit, the wisdom of age is difficult to pass on to a younger generation, and the spiritually wise have similar difficulties transmitting the fruit of their realisation.  What seems inevitable is that in order to progress we must make our own mistakes, and learn from them.  The process is similar to sowing seeds in the garden; as the seedlings begin to turn the earth green, the wise gardener will pluck out all but the strongest plants, to give them a better chance to thrive.  This means removing ‘good’ plants that are not destined to dominate the garden, and of course also the opportunistic weeds that can rob the desired crop of air, light, water and sustenance.

We can use this same strategy to focus our inner journey.  Many people maintain ‘plants’ that have no real meaning to them, that take energy and attention, but which will not bear the fruit their soul desires.  This applies not only to activities and ambitions but also to attitudes; often it is simply our attitude that keeps us far from what we seek.  In consideration, therefore, of what is only the first of the five steps towards the awakening of the soul, we might want to take careful inventory of our life, and like a prudent gardener, remove all that does not offer what we seek.