A student asked me recently why spirit is so important. Well spirit thrusts one into what Castaneda called 'heightened awareness' and what I call Reality. Without spirit, or rather without a certain excess of spirit, one inhabits a material world, very much of ego's making. Life with spirit is separate from life without spirit. They exist in different dimensions with almost no overlap. When spirit spills into the world it creates havoc, and when the ego ventures into Reality spirit fades or retreats. Practice is time we devote to spirit: sinking and relaxing – quietening down – whilst remaining hopeful so that spirit can manifest if it wants.