“If I take this Path seriously, I will become weird. I’ll be alone.”
This is a common fear. Before exploring how Truth REALLY works, the ego has only superficial reference points to work off. It sees Indian yogis, and enlightened beings dressed in strange clothes, whose lives are often unconventional. Many such Masters are not in conventional relationships. This scares the hell out of the ego, and it secretly fears that spirituality is about giving up having love or security in your life. Surrounded by others who do not understand the Path, and who are afraid of where it might lead, this intensifies fear. Nothing could be further from the Truth. The Path is only about freeing yourself from your limiting beliefs and lower energy. This has nothing at all to do with external appearances and superficial trappings. What you give up is your clinging, emptiness, lacking feeling, and all heavy energy. You give up the ego only. As you release your lacking feelings, your external circumstances correct themselves. Spontaneously. The more you progress along the path, the freer and more centered you will be likely to be. Your vibration will be more refined. To illustrate this, the Indian Saint Kabir was once asked to explain himself for refusing to shave his head, as was the tradition among the order of monks in which he had been initiated. He replied to his questioners, “I don’t need to shave my head, I have shaved my mind.”
Truth and Freedom are an inner business, and have nothing to do with superficial rituals, morality, repetitive dogma or beliefs systems of any kind (which only distort the Truth, and never lead to Freedom). This path has nothing to do with externals. You do not need to change your clothes, your haircut, your friends or your living conditions. You do not need to abandon your children (in fact that would nor serve your growth at all). There are no oaths to be taken or promises to be made. There are no secrets to be sold, nor special language or dress needed. You must raise yourself up to the energy of Love and Truth, and release all lower conditioning and negativity. That is all. You grow to the point where nothing and no-one can push your buttons. Relationships always get better and easier with growth, as you become less dependent on others for love and approval. Dependency is based in fear, and always breeds anxiety and resentment and wanting to control others. Your capacity for love grows as your intention is fixed on the higher Truth. You become less needy and more secure as you discover your own inner power and wisdom, uncovering your untapped potential and gifts. There may be a stage where others around you or close to you still do not understand your Path, and they may even be angry or ridicule you. This is a test, the price of your Freedom. If you are unable to give up needing their approval, or you succumb to the temptation to try and change or convert them, then you become a prisoner of your own fear. If you are able to love them, and still maintain your commitment to your own growth, even if others don’t like it, there will come a time when your example will inspire them. (See (9), below).