When the Practice Continues Without You

Begin any small devotional practice you already know, the recitation of a chalisa, japa on a mala, a few minutes before the home altar. Do it carefully for the first few minutes. At some point, notice that the practice has begun to do itself. The mala is moving but you are not pushing it. The verses are arriving but you are not pulling them. Stop trying. Let the practice continue. The deity, the practice, and the practitioner have quietly merged into one motion, and your only task now is to keep sitting there, content to be carried.