My core suggestion is to let your own felt sense be the guide. Spiritual practices and paths are not one-size-fits-all. What proves fruitful for someone else may not be alive for you, and vice versa.

In general, I think it’s valuable to explore a variety of practices early on to get a taste of the different threads and see what sparks your interest. Sample from different traditions, modalities and teachers. See what has juice, what enlivens your whole being. At a certain point, you’ll likely find a few core practices that really seem to be bearing fruit. Go deep with those for a while, keeping the threads model in mind so you understand which aspects of your unfolding they are supporting. If you hit a plateau or dead end with any particular practice, feel free to switch it up, but look for other practices that engage that same thread.

Personally, I was surprised by which practices ended up working for me. Some of the techniques I was initially drawn to didn’t pan out, while others I stumbled into almost accidentally became key. You never quite know until you dive in and experiment.

The other key piece is making sure you are engaging a practice fully, with both rigor and surrender. Dabbling lightly with lots of methods is unlikely to get you very far. When you find something that resonates, commit to it wholeheartedly for a period of time. Build your depth and concentration. And then stay radically open to however things want to move through you.

Some people’s unfolding will involve a slow, steady deepening. Others might have dramatic openings that catapult them into new territory overnight. The path is unique for each of us. But if we show up sincerely and consistently, in a spirit of open inquiry, we can trust the intelligence of the process to unfold as it needs to.