Guiding Principle # 1

"Keep an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out."

This saying is attributed to various authors so it's unclear who actually came up with it, but what a brilliant bit of advice! It's so important to apply some basic critical thought to what we read and hear during our spiritual journey. There are many con artists, hucksters and charlatans out there and they are evenly distributed among every spiritual tradition. Common sense and a healthy scepticism are our best defences against being played for a gullible sucker! Be open to new ideas, but always reserve judgment until the claims have been tested in practice. Unfortunately, all the cliches are true -- there really is no such thing as a free lunch and if something sounds too good to be true, it is!

Tomorrow -- Guiding Principle # 2!