Reflections and Realizations - August 2022

Sullins Stuart - August 20, 2022

We have a physical and spiritual essence. It is important to be true to both as it minimizes denying force, reveals the true nature of existence, and makes it easier to be present. 

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Be true to yourself. Don't worry about what others may think or say about you. At the end of the day, you have to reconcile your actions, you have to be at peace with yourself. No one can do this for you. When we allow others opinions to dictate how we live and what we do, we live for them, not for ourselves.

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The Now reveals most of our limitations are self-imposed, that our limitations are just the ego reacting from fear. 

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The mere thought of loving another will bring you closer to God. 

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Change occurs in the present moment, for in the present moment, we create our future. 

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There is potentially an entire forest in a single acorn. Imagine the potential of your soul. 

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When we focus on the past, we allow the past to control and define us. You can transcend your past by being in the present moment. 

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Most of our problems would immediately disappear if we would just choose love over fear.

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The more present I am, the more I see scale and relativity and the importance of not being negative over small things. 

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We must learn to give thanks to the things that cause us friction and suffering for they are teaching us about our mechanical nature.

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Nature teaches us stillness, how to just "be" amidst a constantly changing environment. We can learn how to "be" amidst the ever-changing days and cycles of our lives by observing nature.

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The spiritual journey is one of gratitude, love, generosity and selflessness. The ego asks, "What's in it for me?" The soul asks, "How may I serve?"

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My spiritual work is the most important work I must do in this lifetime and it's done in the present moment. 

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I have noticed my perception and relation to time is changing. Time appears to be lengthening, slowing down. It feels as though there is more time now to do the work I must do, the work I am destined to do.

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One of the very first things my teacher said to me was, "The I's (thoughts) are not real." Seek the source of your thoughts and you will verify this to be true. 

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The spiritual journey is one of liberation from the ego, so that one can exist from their true self while still being in the world of form. It begins as a psychological activity as one must observe and learn how the ego works. We must educate ourselves as to the nature of the ego. This requires real knowledge, such as the Fourth Way teachings of Gurdjieff, that we must obtain and verify. This is the practical work we must do in the beginning. This knowledge enables us to begin to observe the ego, its thoughts, desires, functions, etc. Without this knowledge, spiritual work is very difficult.