The Spiritual Seeker vs. The Spiritual Adept

I have always enjoyed cooking and I have reached various levels of proficiency with my cooking through the years. But a recent transformation to a vegetarian diet (partially vegan), has gifted me with a renewed interest and enthusiasm for cooking.

Even with my renewed enthusiasm for cooking, I would not claim to be a chef. I do admire those people who can guide themselves, without assistance from a recipe or cookbook, to create a meal based on their sense of what foods, spices and other ingredients go together, complement each other, and come together to create a gourmet feast.

Even though I have been cooking for many years, I still need a recipe to guide me toward the desired meal I want to make. I do not have an awareness of what ingredients go together and complement each other, the proportions to use, and other elements required to create the outcome I desire. I have a sense of the basics of cooking, but not the ‘essence’ of what makes good food. What has been missing from my culinary journey is desire, dedication and discipline.

I enjoy cooking very much, but I don’t have a burning desire to become a chef. Because I don’t have a burning desire to become a chef, I have never dedicated myself to the pursuit of achieving a certain proficiency in the culinary arts. Basically, I have not cultivated a discipline when it comes to cooking. I can do what I’m told (vis-à-vis a recipe or other instruction), but I have not advanced enough on the path of cooking to claim any mastery of the art.

As I was joyfully cooking some meals recently, it dawned on me that the difference between a cook and a chef is analogous to the difference between a spiritual seeker and a spiritual adept. The spiritual seeker is the ‘cook.’ The spiritual adept is the ‘chef.’

The spiritual seeker uses recipes and instructions to attain a place or state they search for and / or strive to attain. The spiritual seeker does not have an awareness of what ingredients go together and complement each other, the proportions to use, and other elements required to create the outcome desired. To become an adept, the seeker must have the desire, dedication and discipline to obtain a proficiency in their chosen or desired practice(s).  

The word adept—from the French ‘adepte’ or Latin ‘adeptus’—means “who has achieved.” Wikipedia defines an adept as “an individual who is identified as having attained a specific level of knowledge, skill, or aptitude in doctrines relevant to a particular [discipline]. The adept “stand outs from others because [his or her] abilities.” More specifically, the spiritual adept is a person advanced enough on their spiritual path that they have become a master. The spiritual adept has an awareness of what ingredients go together and complement each other, the proportions to use, and other elements required to create the outcome desired. The adept has gone beyond the basics of their practice to understand the underlying ‘essence’ of the journey. The spiritual adept has demonstrated their desire, dedication and discipline in their chosen practice.

Robert Meagher has been ordained as an Interfaith Minister and certified as a Sacred Attention Therapy (SAT) Therapist. Robert is the Founder and Spiritual Director for Spiritual Guidance and Co-Founder of the Center for Human Awakening.