Introduction: Devotion is Not Worship—It’s Connection and Change
Devotion is often misunderstood. It can seem like worship, submission, or blind belief. But in reality, devotion is an act of connection, an opening to something beyond our habitual self. It is not about placing an external being on a pedestal—it is about resonating with qualities that already exist within us and letting them shape us.
Yet, devotion isn’t always easy. Just as meditation can be difficult at first, devotion requires a willingness to step beyond our familiar mental states and open up to something deeper. But how do we do that? How do we find a way in?
Barriers to Devotion
Devotion can be challenging because of how it is often framed in different traditions and personal experiences:
- Deification – Seeing devotion as the worship of an external figure, separate from ourselves.
- Submission & Mystical Imprinting – Experiencing a sudden, life-changing event (like Paul on the road to Damascus) and interpreting it as absolute truth.
- Blind Belief & Social Performance – Going through the motions of devotion because it’s expected, rather than because it’s felt.
But devotion doesn’t have to be about any of these. Instead, it can be approached as a practice of deep resonance—like tuning into a radio frequency or stepping through a wormhole into a different way of being.
Finding a Way In: The Connection Between Metta and Devotion
A useful way to approach devotion is through metta (loving-kindness). In metta practice, we don’t just wish people well abstractly—we imagine them, witness them, step into their experience. We feel their joys, their struggles, their life’s momentum.
- Metta is an appreciation of existence—an awareness of others as fully real.
- Devotion is the same process but directed toward awakened qualities.
- If metta is stepping into another’s shoes, devotion is stepping into a vast, compassionate awareness that we sense is possible within us.
A Personal Example: One way I approach this is by imagining the Buddha walking down a dusty road in ancient India. He encounters people—not as a god, but as a deeply present human being. He meets:
- Kisa Gotami, who has lost her child, and guides her to realization without force, simply through her own journey.
- Meghiya, a young monk eager to force enlightenment, to whom the Buddha says, “You need to cultivate the right conditions first.”
- Ananda, who is always devoted yet often misses the point, and whom the Buddha patiently redirects again and again.
- Even Angulimala, a murderer, whom the Buddha meets not as a monster but as a human being capable of change.
In each case, the Buddha meets people exactly where they are, without judgment, and helps them take their next step. This is devotion—not worship, but a deep, heart-based resonance with awakening.
Group Inquiry: Can We Find a Way Into Devotion?
This isn’t about telling anyone what devotion should be. Instead, I invite us to explore our own way in. Some questions to consider:
- Is utility a good way to look at devotion? Does it work for you?
- What, if anything, has ever sparked a sense of deep connection for you?
- Does devotion resonate with you more when framed as a practice of attunement rather than belief?
Beyond the Comfort Zone: Devotion as Self-Transformation
We tend to create ourselves in the image of what we know. As teenagers, we model ourselves on musicians, thinkers, or figures we admire. I did this with Neil Young—the long hair, the guitar style, the ethos. It was a way of exploring adulthood through resonance with something that spoke to me.
- We do this with Buddhas, too.
- Devotion is not about worship—it is about choosing what we want to resonate with and allowing that to shape us.
- This can feel outside our comfort zone, and that’s OK. Comfort zones expand when we spend time at their edges.
Guided Meditation: From Body Awareness to Devotion (approx. 50 min)
The best way to experience devotion is not to talk about it, but to enter it directly. In this session, we will explore:
- Body Awareness – Grounding in the present moment.
- Mindfulness – Developing a quiet, receptive mind.
- Metta Practice – Opening the heart to the presence of others.
- Devotion – Shifting that resonance to a deeper, awakened presence.
- Just Sitting – Letting the experience settle naturally.
Closing Thought: Lowering the Barrier to Transformation
Just as metta is a practice of deep witnessing, devotion is a practice of lowering the barrier to transformation—like stepping into a wormhole, or tuning into a new radio frequency. If the question “How do I connect with this?” lingers, that’s already the beginning of devotion. It’s not something we need to force—just something we allow.