The Work - Part 2
March 26, 2025
We have to swallow our pride to do the work. Our unchecked ego doesn’t want us to admit we were wrong or entertain other ways of being. But spiritual work calls for just that. It calls for us to let go of our unchecked ego and open our eyes to the higher things. Many spiritual searchers I know tell me that their spiritual journey began when their ego failed them. That’s when they swallowed their pride and started to do the work of study and practice.
In study, we learn the fundamentals and progress to the finer concepts. And in advanced analysis we go beyond fundamentals to more nuanced and multifaceted aspects. As we learn spiritual things, whether they be fundamental or advanced, we try them out in particular circumstances of our lives. Therefore, our personal lives become a living laboratory in which spiritual alchemy occurs.
When we go into higher realms of study, we may assume our spiritual lives are on the level of study we are on. But this is a mistake.
We can have all the knowledge of certain higher realms, and the principles that support it. We can even think in those terms. But knowledge alone cannot activate spiritual qualities. Knowledge requires embodiment…it needs arms, legs, and hands — and knowledge requires heart… it needs deep emotion. Finally, knowledge needs divine intelligence to understand the mysteries.
In the Cursillo movement, the spiritual practice is built on three principles: Piety, Study, and Action. Some call this the three-legged stool of faith and spiritual growth. The stool will not stand with only two of the legs. It takes all three. Piety is the spiritual intention of the soul to be in union with the Divine. Study is the absorption of divine knowledge, and Action is the application of the first two principles.
The work aligns our spiritual intentions and knowledge and puts them squarely in the middle of every activity, relationship, and circumstance.
Spiritual practice: Try placing your spiritual intention and knowledge squarely in the middle of your most trying relationship.
Self-inquiry: What are three reasons your ego may not be ready to relinquish to work?
Dear God,
There is no way I can do this by myself. For your help and guidance, I pray. Amen
