Grounding Our Practice

Inner Frontier
Fourth Way Spiritual Practice

Inner Work

For the week of: May 24, 2004

Grounding Our Practice

To make our spiritual practice real and effective, we need to continually return to the present moment. And our body serves as the primary vehicle for that. Although we seek the ineffable, that search and aspiration always begin in the present, in our body. Presence in our body provides a stable, tangible platform for our entire path. Unlike our thoughts and emotions, the body always remains here and now. In any given moment outside of deep meditation, one good measure of our inner work can be found in whether and to what degree we are aware of our body.

Through the sensitive energy, we can stay in contact with our body and with our energy body. By sensing our body and then also staying aware of our thoughts and emotions, we ground our practice in the present moment. Intentional contact with our bodily sensation opens the door to awareness of the endless stream of thoughts and reactions without being swept away in it. Sensing gives us a place to stand in non-identification with the content of our mind. This body of practice anchors us in the here and now, the only gateway to reality.

For this week, practice sensing your body more frequently and more completely. Begin with hands and feet. Then entire limbs. Then the whole body. As always with sensing, the best time to start is now.

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