The Source:
There is nothing worse than while filling your water bottles from a bubbling brook, you notice a moose, deer, horse or other recognizeable excrement in your source-in you living stream of water. It happens to most everyone who fequents the backcountry-what to do?
One has several options when faced with “turd-water”: collect your water above the contaminate (where water is coming out of the ground, the “first water”), treat the water you have(such as filter, chemicals, etc.), or take your chances that pure water is farther down the trail and pour out the foul stuff. All this may seem silly, but if your tongue is stuck to the roof of your mouth, it’s hot, and you are not prepaired for treating your water-odds are you will drink it, contamination and all, and take your chances.
The worst animal for source contamination in the woods is the human because he/she can be so deceptive and hide their “contaminate” better than most animals (usually doing their business to close to the source, thinking e coli don’t travel far).
Treat your spiritual tradition the same way as you do your water sources. Go check your original source before you start practicing for the health of your inner life-go as far back as you can to the original “spark” that feeds you.
Usually we won’t make the effort to ferrit out original works, it takes to much effort and there are plenty persons ready to help fill our water bottles with their “brand of water”. Don’t just buy into it because it’s easy, listen deeply-can you hear the water running? If you hear it running, go check it out because you can bet after all these years there have been people dumping their waste near the stream.
Listen, then drink.
Spiritual Formation 