Thought Bricks 19: Follow Up

Being able to relaxing and let go is one the keys to being successful at thought bricks. Being clear and focused is also one of the keys to being successful at thought bricks. These two keys are obviously very different, but Bernard returns to them again and again in the teaching as he did in Lesson 19.

Having a place (inward or outward) to retreat to for a while, when it feels like “life is too much”, is very important. However, it is not where we want to be all the time. Having such a place to renew and refresh us for the next phase of activity is essential. It is sometimes tempting to want to stay in the place of “retreat”, but that is not the answer as we came here to engage with the world and to engage with those around us. Having a rest from our challenges is healthy and sensible; wanting to avoid them completely for too long is not. The whole point of our challenges is to draw from us deeper and wiser parts of ourselves that are able to handle those challenges.

Rather than trying to escape our challenges we can ask ourselves “What opportunity for growth and expansion does this offer me?”, orĀ  “What quality or qualities of character can I develop from this?” This kind of thinking is very empowering as it means taking a deeper and broader perspective on the events in life. This enables us to work along with the forces which shape events. We are then living in harmony with those deeper forces and the meaning or purpose of life gradually begins to become available to us.

There is a deep mystery at work even in the small events of our lives. Life speaks to us of greater depth and meaning at every turn. When we act kindly if tempted to do otherwise, or choose to reach out beyond our fears, we are playing our part to enfold the greater purpose behind events as we are then living (even if we are not aware of this) from that greater purpose. One of the reasons that a balance of spiritual, mental, material and physical development is so important is that it helps to develop our character in a balanced way. When we are balanced in how we live life we are more able to move from times of outward activity to times of inwardness. We are more able to balance times of relaxing and letting go, with times of being clear and focused.

Blessings,

William