Greetings All -
TRULY YOUR LIFE IS A MYSTERY and, yes, truly it requires that you explore it if you wish to comprehend its purpose, its meaning and its true direction. This is essential for your happiness and fulfillment in the world, for if you have been looking carefully at your life, you will realize you have not been satisfied by little things. For you who seek Knowledge, something greater must be given. You must penetrate the mere surface of things, which seems to adequately stimulate most people. You must accept your deeper yearning or you will cause yourself unnecessary grief and conflict. It is not important what other people value. It is important what you value. If you are seeking for greater meaning, which is true meaning, you must penetrate the surface of your mind.
IN YOUR TWO PRACTICE PERIODS TODAY, again concentrate in meditation upon feeling the presence of your Spiritual Teachers. This is not something you have to try to do. It simply means relaxing, breathing and allowing your mind to open. The quality of your relationship with your Teachers is essential to give you strength and encouragement, for you may justly doubt your own skills, but you have good cause to fully trust the skills of your Teachers who have passed this way before on their way to Knowledge. They know the way, which they are seeking now to share with you.
PRACTICE 36: Two 15-minute practice periods.
The whole text above could be repeated here for emphasis. This is Step 36 of 365 Steps, everyone of which is important. This Step is important.
Yesterday: Step 35 - Review
From the Journal:
August 20, 1999
...
6:30 p.m. Step 35 S2K - the two 30 minute review sessions done together.
6:48 p.m. What can I say about the Steps in the past week? They were hard to follow. In the past two days - although stilled - ten minutes was all I could do of a 15 minute meditation. It seemed I'd processed for an hour.
> That I'm a spirit in a body is the view reflected by the Step 25 comment "the less you attempt to use your life, the more you will be able to understand it, appreciate it and work with its intrinsic mechanism for your greater advancement."
So, not much of a feeling of accomplishment in that review so long ago. I did stick with the program and have benefited over the years so much so that I 'm doing this blog to encourage others through the Steps. This is a witness to encourage you to keep with it, because there is a benefit. Be patient...that is what I recommend to all students I meet.
NNC
