Inner  Frontier
Fourth Way Spiritual Practice

 

Inner Work


For the week of November 17, 2008

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The Challenges of Spiritual Practice

The psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi researches the inner state he calls flow, similar to what Buddhists and Taoists call being at one with all things. He finds that we most readily enter flow in activities of both high challenge and high skill. The spiritual path certainly encompasses challenge and skill.

The skills we develop in spiritual practice include subtlety of perception, facility with control of attention, perception of and control of energies, purity of heart and intention in prayer, recognition of one’s inner state, the ability to be, and understanding spiritual processes. These skills of the spirit translate their benefits into enhancing many life skills such as the ability to listen well, the ability to discern your true heart intuition in making choices, the ability to say what you mean and mean what you say, the ability not to do or say what you will later regret, the ability to live with regrets and get on with your life, the ability to accept yourself and your limitations, the ability to accept, relate to, and be kind to other people, and the ability to persist in pursuit of your goals.

As for challenges, the challenge of presence, the challenge of transcending our egoism, the challenge of loving, all these are high, overarching spiritual challenges indeed. The challenges of every day practice fall into several categories. Practicing presence in demanding situations, such as while in conversation, poses a challenge. In simpler situations, such as while walking or washing dishes, we have the challenge of deepening and strengthening our presence, and also of prolonging it. Another challenge lies in coming back to our self, back to presence, more frequently. And we have down days, when we feel ill, upset, lacking energy, or just off in some ill-defined way. Those days pose the challenge of pursuing our inner work regardless, though as always, adaptably.

The practice of inner work gradually alters your inner landscape, transforming your challenges into skills. What was once nearly impossible becomes easier, and then easy. So we need to ratchet up our inner challenges to keep pace with and propel the growth of our skills and abilities. Once a child masters second grade-level reading, she must go on to third grade-level reading if she is to grow. So it is with our spiritual practice. True challenges prevent stagnation and maintain our interest. True challenges teach us and develop us.

For this week, challenge yourself by practicing presence in demanding situations, and more deeply, frequently, and for longer periods in simple situations.


     

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