When the Raft Becomes the Destination: Reflections on Tools, Purpose, and Transformation

How Tools — in Spirituality, Work, and Life — Can Guide Us or Trap Us

Dec 22, 2024

For most of my life, I viewed religion with deep skepticism. Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion sat comfortably on my bookshelf, and his sharp critiques of faith-based thinking resonated with my analytical, evidence-driven mind. The rituals, doctrines, and metaphysical claims of religion seemed irrational — a way for people to avoid critical thinking or surrender agency.

But then, something changed.

I met someone — a spiritual practitioner — whose calm presence and clarity felt unshakable. It wasn’t about belief or doctrine. It was about how they existed in the world. They weren’t trying to convince me of anything; they simply were.

Curiosity led me to explore more deeply. I found my way to Eckhart Tolle’s writings, and his invitation to 'live in the now' struck a chord that my rational skepticism couldn’t dismiss. From there, I began meditating — not as an exercise to achieve something, but as a way to simply observe.

This wasn’t a surrender to irrationality. It was a suspension of judgment.

What I began to realize was this: the problem wasn’t necessarily with religion or spirituality itself. It was with how the tools of these traditions — rituals, texts, stories — are used and interpreted.

It’s like carrying a raft long after crossing the river.

2. The Raft and the River: Tools vs. Transformation

Spiritual traditions, like many human systems, offer tools — rituals, practices, scriptures, and teachings — designed to point toward something deeper: an experience of connection, insight, and transformation.

• The Outer Shell: This is the structure — prayer, meditation techniques, ceremonies, scripture study.
• The Inner Core: This is the outcome — presence, peace, insight, and a sense of connection to something larger.

The tools are essential. You need the raft to cross the river. But at some point, you must let go of the raft and step onto the shore.

Yet, so often, the tools become the destination. Rituals become mechanical. Beliefs become rigid. The outer shell becomes an idol, rather than a means.

In my early skepticism, I threw out the raft entirely, dismissing both the tools and the transformation they pointed to. But when I began meditating, reading Tolle, and exploring with an open mind, I realized something: the tools aren’t the problem — it’s how we relate to them.

3. When the Tools Become Cages: The Spiritual Gateway Problem

Religious and spiritual tools often invite people into non-rational spaces — stories of heaven and hell, metaphors about rebirth, symbolic rituals. These tools can act as gateways to deeper insight.

But there’s a catch: if critical thinking is suspended entirely, these tools can become traps.

• Stories intended as metaphors for inner transformation get taken literally.
• Rituals meant to cultivate presence become rigid performances.
• Teachings meant to point beyond words become rules for obedience.

I realized that Richard Dawkins wasn’t entirely wrong — there are dangers in unquestioned faith. But what Dawkins missed (and what I couldn’t see until I suspended judgment) is that tools, when used skillfully, can open up transformative spaces.

In meditation, I wasn’t asked to believe anything. I was simply asked to observe my mind. And through observation, something shifted.

It wasn’t about belief — it was about experience.

4. Horizontal vs. Vertical Growth: Two Dimensions of the Journey

Through my exploration, I began to notice two distinct dimensions of growth:

1. Horizontal Growth: Expanding outward — reading more books, attending more talks, practicing more techniques.
2. Vertical Growth: Deepening inward — cultivating presence, experiencing direct insight, surrendering the need for control.

In religion, horizontal growth looks like studying scripture, attending services, or following moral rules. Vertical growth is the quiet, inner shift where all those practices dissolve into being.

One isn’t better than the other. They are complementary.

• Horizontal growth builds the raft.
• Vertical growth gets you across the river.

But many people (myself included, for a long time) get stuck building and repairing the raft — endlessly preparing but never crossing.

5. Practical Reflection: How to Reassess the Tools We Carry

Letting go of the raft doesn’t mean abandoning tools altogether. It means using them wisely and letting them go when they’ve served their purpose.

A few simple questions I now ask myself regularly:
1. What purpose was this tool designed to serve?
2. Is it still serving that purpose, or am I just maintaining it out of habit?
3. What would it look like to let go or evolve it?

In my meditation practice, I no longer meditate to achieve something. I meditate to be with what is.

6. Conclusion: The Raft Isn’t the Shore

The tools of religion and spirituality — rituals, teachings, meditation — are rafts designed to help us cross rivers. But they are not the shore.

The lesson is simple but profound: Use the tools, but don’t mistake them for the goal.

The raft isn’t the destination. It was always just for crossing the river.