Inner  Frontier
Fourth Way Spiritual Practice

 

Inner Work


For the week of April 23, 2007


Inner Structure

Just as our body has bones to support it, our soul also needs a support structure, a framework on which everything else can depend. That support structure is our active will, in the form of directed attention, intention to practice, and the will-to-be. Imagine our body without bones: a pile of mush, unable to do what we so naturally do. So it is for our soul without the intentional will-to-be, scattered and ineffective. For examples of this we need only look at how we chase after our unintentional, kaleidoscopic, associative thoughts, how we lose ourselves in thrall to events, and how predictably our emotions react.

Now you might protest that in deep meditation and prayer we are not inwardly active, yet our soul collects itself on the outskirts of the Divine. But this also involves will, the other side of will, the receptive side that opens us to the sacred. Unless we live in a monastery in perpetual retreat, though, we do not spend the bulk of our days in deep meditation and prayer.

To enter the receptive depths takes us toward the Source of all Purpose. But the entry way depends upon and passes through a well-structured soul. No building, no door! Without some inner organization, receptiveness opens us merely to random thoughts and reactive emotions. With nowhere to stand, we are swept away by time and the depth remains hidden from view. This is not to say that we actively stand somewhere inside during deep meditation, but rather that our inwardly active work during many other moments prepares the inner place of meditation and prayer.

That inwardly active work involves attention, intention, and the will-to-be. We give attention to our body, intending to sense our body, more and more and more. This creates a foothold, a structure in the substantive world beyond our thoughts, daydreams, and reactions. It builds our soul to the point of true presence, through our intentional will-to-be. Here we are, fully aware, fully now, fully connected with ourselves and with all around us. Like a construction worker, we keep at it until the edifice of our soul is complete and ready for its intended purpose.

For this week, renew your effort to build your inner structure. Spend the inside of your days in sensing your body and willing-to-be present.


     

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