Why do some people progress faster than others?

Why do you think some people progress faster in meditation than others?

I believe it's karmic, that is, individuals who have practiced in previous lifetimes advance more quickly in this lifetime. However, I know not everyone on this forum shares that belief, so I would like to hear what your thoughts are.

Interesting question. I think some people also have natural inclinations that make certain things easier for them. Just like some people really take to music or math almost effortlessly, and other people can get it, but have to work harder and be more dedicated. That can be also to do with what you are exposed to as a kid, etc.

Another way of looking at the above is we each have our own particular "Big Issues" - say, doubt that we can succeed, wanting to be in control, lack of trust, fear of change, fear of our inner stuff, and so forth. During practice we all have to work through all of these. But how long it takes each person to engage with each of those hindrances is going to depend on how deep rooted and powerful they are. Everyone fears giving up the sense of a controlling self to some degree, but perhaps a person who has big control issues in life is going to have an even harder time. Just as an example.

It also depends what kind of practice a person does. Some people thrive in a more devotional style of practice, others thrive in a more intellectual kind of practice, some in something more self-directed, others in something more traditional and structured with a teacher, etc. depending on what resonates best with their own character.

It has been my personal experience that people who are more open to emotions, have been drawn to spiritual development type stuff since youth, and have had experience with energy work in some form make faster progress, but that's a very small survey pool, so I certainly wouldn't consider it scientific (and I know some people who don't fit that pattern, too).

In all of this, I actually think doubt is one of the biggest hurdles. If a person doesn't really believe they can make progress, or that they don't deserve to make progress, it is a huge block to progress.

Thus my favorite slogan: fake it til you make it.

A bit tangential, perhaps, but I was thinking today along the lines of fake it til you make it (while talking to a mentoree who was dealing with doubt)...

It's like that exercise they give to kids with low self-esteem, where you are supposed to look in the mirror each morning and say "I am beautiful!". At first you just feel damn stupid saying it, and can barely bring yourself to say it. And then, if you can overcome that resistance and do it, it starts to creep into your mind that maybe, just maybe, you are a tiny bit beautiful. Maybe the eyes. Or the hair on a good day. Kind of. But it creeps in more and more, and one day you look in the mirror and realize you really do think you are beautiful.

Having an intention and dedication to practice can be like that. Nothing happens, it's boring, it feels useless, but if each day you say "I am sitting today in order to awaken" and just pretend it might work, the intention gradually seeps into you and you start to believe maybe it might be possible.... and so on.

There's the confluence of desire, guidance-- and timing, which is not really subject to manipulation. There's the kind of ripeness when you suddenly SEE the opportunity that was there all along. But what constitutes that ripeness is almost impossible to say, and I suppose I'm putting out a circular argument: in retrospect, you know you were ripe, because it happened!

In preparation, find what fans the little spark of faith: friends, study, inspiring teachers and stories, 'bite-sized practices' at which you can experience encouraging success. The more familiar you make the qualities of awakeness and the process, the more primed you are to see hints and encouragements you'd otherwise overlook.

Just re: the karma thing, I personally tend to think of it as true to the degree each moment and each aspect of our lives is dependent on uncountable millions of causes, beyond our ability to comprehend. But not in the sense of "if you were a mean guy last life you will suffer from a specific illness in this life as a consequence" kind of cause and effect. I think that's too macro-scale and human-centric to take into account the subtleties of cause (as it only pays attention to the things we notice, not the things outside our range of vision or comprehension), and more about satisfying the human desire for people to be punished and rewarded in some kind of fair way.

So though cause and effect absolutely contribute to everything that's happening, I think people tend to too easily fall into a trap of "my life is hard because I deserve to suffer" or "that person is lucky because they are being rewarded for the purity of their soul" or "I didn't get that job because I had a bad thought" and so on, which is not helpful and really rather self-pitying or self-centered.

I think of it in terms of my athletic career. Some people begin with more athletic ability than others. Who knows why? And is it important? There are a lot of plateaus along the way as we progress in our abilities. We slog along day to day, practicing the best we can. Sometimes there is no progress. Sometimes we even go backward. Then for seemingly no reason we jump ahead in results. I place less weight on desire. In the high school track meet I saw recently, I think everyone who competed wanted to win to the same degree. Coaching can be very important but some people do quite well being self coached. And, even with good coaching everyone has to find their own way. It's a given you have to put in the time practicing.

This is my first post here. I will introduce myself later when I have more time but thought I would jump in here.

Jack

Hello! Look forward to your introduction.

My understanding of 'karma' is clarified by what Ngak'chang Rinpoche has said on the subject:

"
Karma is sometimes known as the ‘law of cause and effect’ – as if it
were an intergalactic high court ruling.
Laws can be broken however,
and laws can be changed.
Fortunately ‘the law of karma’ can also be
changed.
If ‘the law of karma’ could not be broken there could either
be no enlightenment or enlightenment would have to be causal.
The
‘law of karma’ belongs to the world of dualism which, like ‘ego’,
like ‘distracted being’ or the famous ‘I’ – is illusory.
The legal
system of karma has no jurisdiction in the non-dual sphere." [from http://www.aroencyclopaedia.org/shared/text/k/karma_ar_eng.php ]

"So much for ‘law’.
The essence of the teachings is anarchic.
Not
anarchy in the distorted popular sense in which the word is
understood—in the sense of ‘dog-eat-dog chaos’—but anarchy in terms
of ‘no external government’.
Anarchy is the naturally manifesting
inner government of awareness – unconditioned, present, direct, and
utterly responsible.
"

The main thing I sense in people that make faster progress is they seem to have a good intuition for the paradox that: 1) the world is duality and 2) the way to see non-duality is to see duality very clearly. They are: 1) very serious and 2) playfully investigate how nothing matters. They 1) have a very strong sense of self and confidently 2) explore how nothing is solid and is falling apart as soon as they look at it. They are 1) very gentle and caring and 2) dedicate time to picking apart experience into almost unrelatable blips of sensations that carry no meaning beyond the moment. They 1) work hard to 2) get used to giving up control.

Etc.

If you can find yourself in the company of the wise, that really seems to help. Not because they will teach you someTHING, but because you can feel how all your drama energy is wasted and it must be something even more simplier about experience that teaches you something.

Conversely, the people that take the longest (myself included) either are trying to "figure out" what a teacher teaches and think that sorta doing a techique will sorta let you make progress. It can't be figured out and progress through techniques seem to be more binary than I ever imagined -- either you're doing it or not. That can be a humbling lesson to learn.

@shargrol - this (your last paragraph in particular) perhaps is not unrelated to "faith" (discussed/implied in some earlier posts) - committing to practice without trying to figure out why it works or how it works or which method would be best.

Kate - This is very similar to my understanding of karma as well. The idea that it can be dissolved and eventually broken free of through practice of some kind.

"faith"

-ona

Hmm, yeah -- hadn't thought of that!

And association with the wise also feeds into faith. You just sorta sense (or are told) the practice works.