Inner Work

For the week of July 3, 2006

The Path of Exploration

Routines and rituals can help or hinder our path. If the routine brings us to regular periods of inner work, like a daily meditation session or morning prayer, then it usually works wonders for our spiritual development, while offering a venue for inner service to the Ineffable. But even such beneficial routines can stifle our progress in subtle ways. Perhaps a different form or length of meditation, a new mode of prayer, a more constant presence, a more penetrating and continuous attention, or a more refined and reinvigorated intention could transform the routine into an ever deepening appointment with the sacred.

The path of exploration keeps the necessary and valuable routines of the spirit from growing stale. Like an investor who seeks to maximize return or a scientist testing a theory, we try various approaches and evaluate and adjust our inner work. This ongoing examination of our way of practice enlivens it. At times we inject whole new elements, while at others we explore within the boundaries of our current modes of spiritual work. Bringing our intelligence and creativity to bear on the path helps ensure that the steps we take actually carry us toward our highest destiny.

Reading or seeking advice about our inner life can prove invaluable. But the most effective help comes from conscience, our connection to the higher, from intuition, from direct and active perception, and from objective appraisal of our true situation. Recognizing our spiritual work as an ongoing way of life, without a definite end, we look within for a lifetime of guidance. And to make the most of this one life, we constantly explore how to extend our inner life further toward the sacred, how best to serve.

For this week, renew your attitude of spiritual exploration.

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