Jim Dreaver, The Way of Harmony, Part 2

 The split, the schism between the inner and outer, between the spiritual and material, is probably as old as humanity itself. At a personal level it translates into a conflict between trying to fulfill one's deep spiritual needs, while doing what's necessary to prosper in the world.

Many people get caught in one polarity or the other. Some become very spiritual, giving their whole lives over to the pursuit of truth: meanwhile they struggle to pay the rent and make ends meet financially. That was the path I took for many years, and it was my own need for balance, as well as my desire to share the treasure I found, the core insight, that inspired this book.

Others go in the opposite direction. The spiritual dimension in life sounds too abstract to them, too idealistic, and so they place all their trust in the material, in the world of the marketplace, money, technology, and things. While they may accumulate material security and do well in the world, there is a chronic dissatisfaction, a lack of real inner peace and happiness, in their heart and soul.