This Inner Work Is Time Consuming
Often I laugh with my students over how our inner work chews
up time without any outward activity to show for it. There is a lot of
vigilance and processing required on the path to peace! So we have a sense of
being occupied but we can’t really explain this to others because the work is
going on only in our minds.
Whenever I hear about theoretical physicists and their
“thought experiments” I can identify. They spend a lot of time just thinking
about how the universe of form works. They may eventually jot down some
formulas, but for much of the time they are conceptualizing. It is the same
with this inner work for inner peace. We may eventually write what we learn in
a journal but for much of the time we are busy with understanding the workings
of our own mind. We are occupied observing, analyzing, and processing what we
learn.
The deeper you go into this process the more important busy-work
for the body becomes to you. Those mundane, repetitive, every-day tasks like
washing the dishes, sweeping the floor, pulling weeds, walking the dog, etc. keep
the body busy but the mind free to think. Your outer life may look tedious and
boring to others but your inner life, the life of the mind where you live, is
rich and deeply fulfilling. In the sense of wholeness that results from this
inner work you no longer need to seek “fun” or “excitement”. In fact, you find
them to be unnecessary distractions. You’ve discovered that finding and then
maintaining your inner peace is a much more satisfying and worthwhile way to
spend your time.
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Learn about the books The ACIM Mentor Articles, The Plain Language A Course in Miracles, 4 Habits for Inner Peace, and Releasing Guilt for Inner Peace at www.acimmentor.com.
Comments
My partner has plenty of money for us to buy stuff and travel, yet it is under-utilized here. There is contentment, peace and happiness just watching squirrels and birds at the backyard feeder, and no reason to leave this. I need nothing more than this. When there is no wildlife at the feeder, then the stillness of the feeder becomes appealing.
Any reason one goes on a cruise or vacation is realized in stepping out into the backyard, gardening, or washing dishes. Here adventure, peace, relaxation, excitement happens simultaneously, NOW. It is an ongoing state of being.
Without the course to shine a light on this ego mayhem I called my life, I dont know how I would have found such a relaxed/peaceful place.
The other posters have encapsulated my daily routine perfectly. Things I almost never noticed have come front and center and are welcome visitors to the peaceful Self within. It is odd not to be able to tell others of this journey and when I try describing this process just get strange looks. I trust the change Ive undergone will "speak" more effectively about what Ive been up to.
I find myself being eternally grateful to the Course/my right Self and others on this path who come along at just the right time to reinforce my determination to stay the Course.
George B.
endless Love, n