|
The practice of
enlightenment is the simplest and most transcendent spiritual practice
I can share. Infinitely challenging and varied, supremely interesting,
you are never
bored because you have, in any moment, something to do. Calling
forth all you have
learned on your journey, you can transform everyday life into a
path of personal evol-
ution imbued with new meaning and purpose.
If there is a key to a life well lived, if there is a single culminating
insight I have gained from all my years of study it is this: Just
as musicians practice music,as poets practice poetry, as athletes
practice sports, the practice of enlightenment involves practicing
everything – walking, talking, sitting, standing, speaking,
painting, making love, doing the dishes, everything.
Practice,
unlike those times we go on automatic, involves attention and refinement.
When we practice anything, we pay special attention, with the intention
to refine a quality, skill, or aptitude.
One key to paying attention is remembering to breathe, to relax
and to do whatever
you are doing with grace and quality. Practicing all that you do
brings a variety of
blessings into your life I will let you discover for yourself.
When you practice everyday enlightenment, play and practice become
one. Your
practice is a creative adventure in the quality of each moment.
And you play with
the intense concentration of a young child first learning the skills
of life. So play in
the spirit of practice, and practice with the joy and spontaneity
of play.
My work places an emphasis on you, the individual—on your personal
evolution and
destiny. But no one is an island; each of us influences those around
us. By awakening, you become a spark that sets others aflame. The
individual touches the community; the community touches the region;
the region touches the nation; the nation touches the world.
Individual
change precedes global change. Every one of us counts; each of us
contributes to the beauty of the whole. We change the world by changing
ourselves. And if we do nothing more than offer a smile to a stranger
or utter a kind word to someone in need, we make a difference.
The practice of enlightenment, the practice of life, is a cycle
without end, like the changing seasons. You will pass through each
gateway not once but many times, each time learning more, until
practice becomes play, and play becomes life, and life becomes illumined.
As you travel the winding roads ahead, remember your sense of humor,
your sense of perspective, your simple humanity.
Ultimately, nothing can block you on your quest, because nothing
is stronger than the human spirit that links us all. You are a seed
of what is to come, stretching upward, reaching to the light.
|
|
|
|
