Inner  Frontier
Fourth Way Spiritual Practice

 

Inner Work


For the weeks of April 23 & 30, 2018

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The Sacred Radiance

(Climbing Jacob's Ladder: 11)

When seeking to connect with the higher spiritual realms, we need help, from those realms themselves, from our own sincerity and longing, and from the tools we bring to bear. For what we will address now, the most useful tools are those that help our heart and being to open.

One possibility is to engage, even briefly, with a word, phrase, or melody that touches the spiritual core of our heart. Perhaps we recall something from our prior experience of religion, some word or phrase that strikes that inner chord in us. For example, there are many names for the Divine or related to the Divine. Do any of those resonate with you? If nothing particular comes to mind, you can try picking one of the names of God, or a short prayer, something that you at least do not find off-putting. Then use that as part of the following spiritual exercise.

It is not necessary to use any of the names of God, or any words at all, but if they help you, then yes. If they hinder, then no. This is a very personal choice. We do not want to force something on ourselves that does not fit well, because it would not be suitable for the intended purpose of inviting our being to open to the Sacred.

Sit quietly. Let go and relax. Let everything come and go as it will, come and go, until the inner noise settles down and leaves you in peace.

That peace allows our ego to subside at least temporarily. In this peace, we find the purity of inner freedom. Purity here means not being self-centered, not being subject to egoism. Often, our thoughts perpetuate the illusion of ego. As our thoughts settle down and we are just sitting, we become ourselves and free. The less self-referential our attitude, the more room we have in our center for the Sacred, which is where we turn at this point.

There is the Sacred Radiance, the effulgent light, behind the apparent world, the Great Heart of the Sacred. We open into the deepest recesses of our being, and beyond. And from there we open to the Sacred Radiance, beyond awareness, beyond the peace, into the spiritual. We turn our inward face toward the Sacred and we tenderly ask for that ineffable connection in our core. We approach this with our yearning intention. Perhaps we also inwardly use a word or phrase that touches our heart, to guide us inward, toward the Sacred.

Even the smallest of real openings, allows that high energy to flow into us. It nurtures us, body and soul, in a truly essential manner. This meeting of our individual will with the higher will both depends on our purity and helps purify us. This soul nurturing and purification matters, because as our soul gains purity and strength, we find the opening to the Sacred more readily available. And we become able to transmit it.

We live with this connection whenever we choose to be available to it. Outwardly we are active, inwardly receptive. Outwardly we are present, paying attention, doing what needs doing. Inwardly we open our being to receive the Radiance. It flows through us, from the innermost toward the surface, informing our presence and actions, with confidence and humility, with creative action and warmth, with responsibility and kindness. All that and more arrive as inherent qualities of the Sacred Radiance.

For this week, please practice opening to the Sacred Radiance.


     

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