Vital Needs

Two things I need to feel the benefits of a spiritual practice.  Inclusion and acceptance are important to me.  I can so easily have a meditation practice fall into isolation instead of solitude, unless I feel I am part of something larger than me, a group that includes me and accepts me as I am now.  I could spend time alone on a retreat, or live as a hermit for that matter, but I would need to know that out there, in the world, I have my group who includes me in keeping me informed, checking in with me, and me with them.  I can only grow from who I am now, and so I need to feel accepted as the "now" me.  The people of my group can challenge me from a place of acceptance.  Without their challenge, their example, encouragement, I could easily fall into the fantasy that I am growing based upon my own opinion.  People in recovery, for instance, know that they do best when they feel part of a group and feel accepted by that group.