I’ve been engaged with spirituality since I first starting going to church as a kid. I’ve seen and experienced all kinds of tools. But after all this exploration, I’ve found that there are really only two tools that you consistently need to practice with:
Returning to awareness
Self-inquiry
Everything else may serve a temporary purpose at best or be a distraction. In the worst cases, some tools can even be traumatizing, depending on the person and the use of the tool.
But even the above two tools can be corrupted/mishandled if we don’t also have vulnerability, honesty, and sincerity.
For more thoughts, you can check out these resources: