A Container for the Work
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
โ Kahlil Gibran
Consciously connecting to our inner core is advantageous to ourselves and others any time we can accomplish it. Unsurprisingly, the more stressful the situation we find ourselves in, the more difficult it is to even remember our center, let alone connect to it. Thus it is commensurately more potent and beneficial if we can remember and connect to our core when in distress.
Attempting to recall our inner core under such conditions is where the rubber meets the road in our journey. This is where the wounds, traumas, losses, betrayals, abandonments and all the other tribulations we have suffered rise up to block our intention to access our core of awareness, love and strength. And the deeply ingrained defensive habits we created to shield us from further pain make this challenge even more daunting. This is the obstacle course we must navigate, and we will experience both advances and reversals as we do.
This expedition will not, cannot, be traveled only on smooth paths with friendly hosts. We must traverse rough passages, meet our demons head on, and courageously go forward. As we face our internal obstructions and work our way through and around them, we clear out and open up the channels to our inner core, allowing our innate curiosity, kindness and courage to flow more freely into our daily lives and our relationships with others.
The methods we engage to confront our psychological and emotional afflictions vary widely depending on our personal history, beliefs and accessible resources. Some of us will benefit from various disciplines of professional guidance. Wise and caring friends and family can be enormously helpful. Countless self-help practices and routines can aid our journey, from yoga and nature walks to meditation, journaling and nutrition. In On Just Being I will explore and recommend exercises, tools and techniques that I have found particularly useful.
The key point here is this: Whatever forms of healing we partake in, if we pursue that work within a framework of awakening and reconnecting to the center of our being โ where we are now and always have been whole โ our healing and growth will be expedited.
As we gain a clear and vivid image of the destination we are seeking โ our inner core of awakened goodness โ and keep our eyes on that prize, we will reach our goal day by day, the inevitable setbacks notwithstanding. And results both tangible and subtle will be realized at every stage.
In today’s troubled world, engaging the challenge of connecting to the inner core in ourselves, our fellow human beings and all of life is more essential than ever. Indeed, our future as a civilization may well depend on it.
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This is the third of four essays to introduce the theme of Knowing Your Inner Core.
Next essay: Now is the Time
Previous essay: A Timeless, Life-Changing Quest
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