Again . . . a good pitcher blowing a shut-out in the bottom of the 9th with a hanging curve that winds up in the right field bleachers.  When seeking a better relationship with God, it is never wise to denigrate his own words when he tells us what he wants from us.  Well, to the horror of some here --- you hear them denigrating rules all the time ---  commandments are rules.  But God said, "If you love me, keep my commandments."  "Transactional"?  Maybe so.  But for all those who regularly denigrate the "rules" --- and rule-keeping and rule-keepers --- understand that this is what God himself says he wants.  

This is NOT  to deny that "establishing a relationship with God implies an actual change of consciousness."  But is is not a short-coming of "the more pragmatic West" that we try to keep God's own rules.  In so doing, we do his will.  What better CAN we do?