There is a common belief that certain practices require a degree of knowledge or commitment of time and energy that many people do not feel they have, and while this is true to a certain extent, since intensity of interest and dedication accomplish a great deal in the spiritual world, it is also true that one can begin with purification wherever one is at, and in a way that feels resonant with one's own life circumstances and consciousness.
What is nevertheless essential, is a desire to improve one's own condition mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, and a desire which supports this to draw closer to the divine Source that lives at the center of life. This divine Source, by whatever name and within whatever tradition it is spoken of, is the Source of the purification process and also its aim. For it is the light of the Divine that makes purification possible on mental, emotional, and spiritual levels, and it is this light that draws one ever closer to the inherent divinity within oneself that is founded in light.
A psychological orientation regarding one's present circumstances, while producing a familiar sense of understanding and explanation regarding the conditions of one's inner life, is not, ultimately, the most useful nor the most truthful perspective regarding these inner conditions. For there are spiritual factors relating to one's soul that produce all psychological conditions or orientations, and these must be respected and understood in order for purification to take place,
What this means is that the purification process, as different as it is for each individual, centers itself around the light and presence of the One, that which dwells within each embodied being. This inherent presence of the Divine is the teacher, the guide, the unfolder of all events that are part of the purification process, and it is for this reason that the psychological level of explanation or description must be let go of to a degree, since it is not the most real.
To the extent that one has already begun to feel God's reality operating within time and space, one will be more able to embark upon the process of purification, knowing that there is a place to turn for guidance relating to the healing and purification of all that lives within the self that is separated from light and love. For it is the turning to this divine Center again and again, through all the challenges that purification presents, that allows one to move forward, to release what must be let go of, and to cultivate the attitudes of patience, humility, and inner strength that allow one to move past all obstacles that may be in the way of healing.
It does not matter what religious or spiritual tradition one belongs to in order that the process begin or in order that it be effective. It only matters that there is a desire for inner healing, for inner wholeness, and a simultaneous desire to center one's life around the divine Center that lives within. With these two perspectives held in the heart, the concepts of the Divine that one may hold, the practices and observances that one feels are essential to one's being and to one's faithfulness to a religious tradition, can be upheld. What must be simultaneously upheld, however, is the understanding that God does not live far away, but very near - that God dwells within the heart, within the cells of the body, within the atoms of each cell, and within all creatures of the Earth. All that has been created, all that exists, is part of God, whether human or non-human, organic or inorganic, for there is nothing that exists in material form that does not have within its physical constitution, a spiritual base.
Therefore, in beginning one's own spiritual purification process, it is good to examine one's readiness to embark upon a journey that has both great intensity and great beauty in it, and that is capable of transforming an entire life. As one takes the first steps in this direction, the inner knowing of the next steps that need to be taken will be revealed, not by thinking about this, but through the revelation of the soul to the heart and mind so that one knows what is needed.
For each one who takes a step in this direction, all help is given from the higher realms to aid the journey of movement toward the Divine.