Spiritual Paths and Hedonic Treadmills

There are many paths we can take in life, though not all lead us to good places.

Over a decade before Elizabeth Gilbert took her book-bonus-paid pilgrimage to her guru in Eat, Pray, Love, I made a similar trip to the same guru. I previously wrote about this experience with Siddha Yoga and my pilgrimage to their ashram to see Gurumayi Chidvilasananda. At the ashram, I received shaktipat, a divination from Gurumayi that ostensibly awakened my spiritual energy, or kundalini. Prior to all this, I was a lost and lonely 19 year old, raised on a diet of hot dogs, soda, unlimited TV, and all the dubious values therein. My life was devoid of religion or concepts and experiences of God and the divine. It was through my engagement with Siddha Yoga and its practices that I first experienced inner peace and a connection with God and the divine. I wanted to expand upon this peace and connection, because I’ve written a bunch about what won’t make us humans happy —fancy stuff, dream homes, etc .—but less about what will. 

In the West, yoga is mostly known as a new age workout program, but classic yoga is a much broader. In fact, the first century yoga sutras lay out 8 Limbs of Yoga, only two of which concern movement and breathing. Loosely translating to ‘union’ or ‘yoke,’ yoga is a full suite existential software package to facilitate union with, and connection to (i.e. ‘yoked’) God and the divine. This classic version of yoga may not have a lock on establishing divine union and connection, but it’s better than many because it addresses the physical, emotional, and intellectual aspects of that union and connection.  

And to be clear, divine union and connection are the things that’ll make us happy —not a better job, romantic partner, car, iPhone, etc. To experience divine union and connection is to feel the world and our lives are exactly as they’re meant to be  because everything is flowing from a divine source and intelligence. Along these lines, the Siddha Yoga website says this about their goal:        

The goal of the Siddha Yoga path is Self-realization—the unceasing experience of yoga, or unity with God. Within each of us, behind the mind, the body, the ego, is a divine power. We practice yoga to recognize this divine power, the Self, and harmonize all our actions, thoughts, and words with it. 

How does one access this unceasing experience of yoga and unity with God? Well, that’s what the Siddha Yoga practices are  about. Practically speaking, their path includes spiritual teaching and instruction to align thoughts with the divine; meditation, prayer, chanting, and movement to align bodies with the divine; and community (sangha) engagement and selfless service to align society with the divine. Siddha’s path is uncoincidentally similar to other spiritual paths, e.g. Buddhism’s Noble Eightfold Path.

Spiritual paths starkly contrast materialistic ones. Spiritual paths lead to inner peace as we are and the world is. Materialistic paths lead to external satisfaction after acquiring the right stuff. I’ve tread both paths and can say one path goes somewhere real, and the other is less of a path and more of a treadmill.     

Hedonic treadmill refers to the cycle of continual acquisition, momentary satisfaction, and ongoing desire.

Absent a comprehensive spiritual path with practices for the body, mind, and spirit, we can continually hold our actions up against the question, “will this lead to peace and connection or will it lead to dissatisfaction and isolation?” Lest this constant questioning sound too esoteric and difficult, I’ll share a mundane example of this from my life. 

There’s been a big container of leftover cake in my fridge for the past week, and I’ve been eating this cake every night. Does eating the cake make me feel peaceful and connected? Hell-fucking-no. Sure, eating it makes me feel momentarily good, which is quickly followed by regret, complemented by poor digestion and sleep. Last night, I didn’t eat the cake. In the moment, I felt better about myself and, critically, I slept far better, making me feel better today than I have since I started binging on the cake. At risk of playing God, I’m fairly convinced He doesn’t want me binging on stale, leftover cake every night.    

While my cake experience is mundane, and its moral pretty self-evident, it demonstrates that moving toward God, the divine, and their resultant peace isn’t always about making grand gestures. Small movements informed by deeper questions and truths can be enough to get off the wrong path and onto the right one.