I think it’s safe to say that to be connected to one’s inner life doesn’t begin to capture the depth of a lifetime commitment to spiritual growth. But...there is a single focus one can use as a beginning. By that I mean, living an ethical or compassionate existence versus one that is ego-driven. This would be no small deal. You can wait for a wake-up moment like trauma or you can take the accumulative adversity that has been your life and--awaken to it. Either way, spiritual evolution is considered to be the first and most important step during one’s inner journey. Though there are no shortcuts – there is an orientation to the task that is sorely missing in the culture. That orientation is one of self-realization.