Spiritual life often starts this way too.

A person begins meditation, Kriya Yoga, self-discipline, inner observation, or sincere spiritual study. The practices are put into place, but there may not be any immediate experience. No visible inner or outer transformation.

Still, something has begun.

Then comes the second phase.

One day the starter suddenly rises. There is excitement because now it finally looks alive. In spiritual life, this is often the phase where the practitioner begins having inspiring experiences. Meditation feels deeper. Energy feels stronger. There is enthusiasm, clarity, and the feeling that real progress is happening.

But in a young sourdough starter, the rise is still fragile.

If you tap the jar, the whole thing can collapse very quickly.

Spiritually, this happens too. Early experiences are real, but they are not yet fully stabilized within the practitioner. A small disturbance, emotional reaction, difficulty in life, distraction, or ego involvement can suddenly pull the consciousness back down again.

Then comes the phase that many people misunderstand.

The starter stops rising.

For several days it may look dull and inactive. Yet the feeding continues. Internally, the culture is still developing strength even though outwardly very little seems to be happening.

Spiritual practice can feel like this too.

Meditation may start feeling routine. The inspiration that was there earlier may seem absent. A person may even wonder whether anything is happening at all. Yet if the practice continues sincerely, something deeper is slowly becoming established.

This phase is important because strength is being built quietly.

Then gradually the rise begins again.

But this time the starter develops more stability. It rises well and holds its structure better. It no longer collapses from the slightest movement.

The same thing begins happening spiritually.

The practitioner slowly develops the ability to hold inner balance more naturally. Outer situations still come and go, but they do not shake the consciousness in the same way. Spiritual awareness begins remaining present not only during meditation, but increasingly during work, relationships, activity, and daily life.

What fascinated me most was realizing that these phases do not happen only once.

They repeat in cycles.

There are phases of inspiration, phases of collapse, phases where nothing seems to move, and phases of deeper stabilization. But each cycle changes the practitioner. Every time, the baseline becomes stronger. The ability to hold spiritual awareness grows little by little.

When I shared these thoughts with my baker friend, he pointed out something deeper about the discard.

Part of the starter is regularly removed so that healthier growth can continue. In the same way, spiritual growth slowly removes things that are no longer useful: old habits, reactions, attachments, restlessness, ego patterns, and ways of thinking that no longer support inner growth.

Sometimes this feels uncomfortable because something familiar is being removed. But it creates space for stronger growth.

Another thing I found deeply interesting is that once a sourdough starter becomes mature and stable, it can remain with a person for years. Some starters are even passed down through generations.

It does not have to begin from the beginning every single time.

Even if it is kept away in the fridge for a while, it can be awakened again when the time is right.

That too feels deeply connected to spiritual life.

The spiritual growth stabilized within a sincere sadhaka is never really lost. What has been deeply developed in consciousness continues. Even if there are pauses, distractions, or long gaps, the deeper samskaras remain.

And from a spiritual perspective, evolution itself continues from life to life.

The sincere effort of one lifetime is not wasted. The soul does not begin again from zero each time. When the conditions become right again, the journey resumes from where it had left off.

All this from a jar of flour and water sitting quietly on a kitchen counter.