At every moment God awaits us in the activity

Let us ponder over this basic truth till we are steeped in it, till it becomes as familiar to us as our awareness of shapes or our reading of words: God, at the most vitally active and most incarnate, is not remote from us, wholly apart from the sphere of the tangible; on the contrary, at every moment God awaits us in the activity, the work to be done, which every moment brings.God is, in a sense, at the point of my pen, my pick, my paint-brush, my needle – and my heart and my thought.It is by carrying to its natural completion the stroke, the line, the stitch I am working on that I shall lay hold on that ultimate end towards which my will at its deepest levels tends. 

September 2011 (Vol. XXIV, No. 8)

Autumn blessings to each of you, dear friends of silence!  It's hard to believe summer vacations are over and harvest time, with fall activities and duties is here.  As we return to our workplaces, consider Gibran’s teaching: "Work is your love made visible."   Adding consciousness and attention to the skills we bring to our workplace is demonstrating love visibly, and what a difference it can make!  For as within, so without: If we work consciously and with love shining, we are adding Light to our surroundings and others will respond to it.  That still point deep within can guide us from day to day, from moment to moment, and promote a more peaceful, cooperative atmosphere as we go about our duties.  So may it be for each of us!
 

Work for him was the very stuff of salvation and healing

When Henry wove a rug, he wove from the depths of his spirit and from the fullness of his heart, and with the careful eye of a focused mind.Directly across from his upright loom, at eye level on the concave wall of the hut, Henry had lettered a small sign for his own inspiration: BY THEIR WORKS YE SHALL KNOW THEM.And more, it was a reminder that his remission from consumption, he believed, had come as a consequence of work with his hands.Work for him was the very stuff of salvation and healing.For that reason, whenever he should write or type or spell the word "work" for any reason, he would use an uppercase "W" as its beginning.
 

~ from THE POET OF TOLSTOY PARK by Sonny Brewer
Sonny Brewer The Poet Of Tolstoy Park work Buy on Amazon

To transform work into play

To learn to concentrate without effort
and to transform work into play
I need to have and hold a zone of silence
in my soul.

~ from Nan Merrill’s Journals
Nan Merrill Nan Merrill’s Journals work

Those who have sought and found how to serve

The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.

~ Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer work

The workplace as a source of creative subject matter and energy

If artistic creations emerge from our lives and the ways in which we see the world, then it seems useful to engage the workplace as a source of creative subject matter and energy.The job is the place where most of us spend time and expend effort each day.It is the world we inhabit, and I believe we can make it better and more satisfying through the conscious use of the creative process.. . . Our creations and our lives are enhanced when we realize that everything in our environment is a source for imagination.

 

~ from “The Practice of Creativity in the Workplace” by Shaun McNiff, in THE SOUL OF CREATIVITY, ed. by Tona P. Myers
Shaun McNiff The Soul Of Creativity, The Practice Of Creativity In The Workplace work

Working in cooperation with the deepest forces of life

If we open up to our vitality and to the sense of urgency that flows within us, we will have the pleasure of experiencing ourselves living and working in cooperation with the deepest forces of life.
 

~ from YOUR LIFE’S WORK by Rick Jarow
Rick Jarow Your Life's Work work

When one is conscious during work

It is not vast quantities of mechanical work that appeals to the Divine, but it is the link with the divine consciousness established through that work that matters.This consideration of the spirit in which the work is done is of the utmost relevance to all of us who want to progress toward divine consciousness.When one is conscious during work, that quality of consciousness is naturally imparted to what one is working with or upon.Such work retains the vibration of that person and they link others immediately with that cause.
 

~ from THE YOGA OF WORK by M.P. Pandit
undefined The Yoga Of Work work

If only he could work faster

If only he could work faster.Yet if he did work faster, how could he produce paintings grounded in deep beds of contemplation, the only way living things could be stilled long enough to understand them?And wasn't everything he painted--a breadbasket, a pitcher, a jewelry box, a copper pan--wasn’t it all living?
 

~ from THE GIRL IN HYACINTH BLUE by Susan Vreeland
Susan Vreeland The Girl In Hyacinth Blue work

The manner in which we carry out all our work

The manner in which we carry out all our work has a direct bearing on our spiritual health.
 

~ The Monks of New Skete
The Monks of New Skete work

To do work carefully and well

To do work carefully and well, with love and respect for the nature of my task and with due attention to its purpose, is to unite myself with God's will in my work.I become an instrument for God to work through me.
 

~ from NEW SEEDS OF CONTEMPLATION by Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton New Seeds Of Contemplation work

The old masters didn't care whether anyone could see their flaws

"We don’t really have to do a perfect job."

"Nobody will be able to tell, though."

"That’s not the point, not the point at all.The old masters didn't care whether anyone could see their flaws or not.They wanted to do as well as they could, because their work was a gift to God, who deserved their best.That’s all gone; now what's important is whether anyone will notice the difference, and how much it will all cost.It changes the spirit of the building forever."
 

~ Iain Pears
Iain Pears work

Work that is being done attentively and well

Ludmilla taught me that we can pray anywhere, during any kind of work that is being done attentively and well and to the best of our ability.In such work, God is present.We only have to know this and try to give it our heart.Many people wish to have spiritual development without obstacles or even effort, and so they will never understand God’s love or the poverty of our humanity.
 

~ from OUT OF THE DEPTHS by Miriam Therese Winter
Miriam Therese Winter Out Of The Depths work

Not fatigued from overwork

A hidden river runs beneath the conscious layers of our lives.We become fatigued not from overwork, but from how much energy it takes to stage our lives in order to drown out the sounds of the river inside us.
 

~ from All the Days of My Life, by Marv and Nancy Hiles
Marv and Nancy Hiles All The Days Of My Life work Buy on Amazon

No one is useless

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else.
 

~ Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens work

The many work for the One

Society functions at its very best when each member finds security in their place in the social structure.When all members can be gainfully employed, yet have individual initiative, when they can excel in their own craft and find satisfaction in their work contributing to the overall goals of society, then there exists harmony and a sense of community.When members have an interest in the continuity of their community, great deeds can be accomplished.This is because the many work for the One.
 

~ R. L. Wing
R. L. Wing work

Work for him was the very stuff of salvation and healing

When Henry wove a rug, he wove from the depths of his spirit and from the fullness of his heart, and with the careful eye of a focused mind.Directly across from his upright loom, at eye level on the concave wall of the hut, Henry had lettered a small sign for his own inspiration: BY THEIR WORKS YE SHALL KNOW THEM.And more, it was a reminder that his remission from consumption, he believed, had come as a consequence of work with his hands.Work for him was the very stuff of salvation and healing.For that reason, whenever he should write or type or spell the word "work" for any reason, he would use an uppercase "W" as its beginning.
 

To transform work into play

To learn to concentrate without effort
and to transform work into play
I need to have and hold a zone of silence
in my soul.

The workplace as a source of creative subject matter and energy

If artistic creations emerge from our lives and the ways in which we see the world, then it seems useful to engage the workplace as a source of creative subject matter and energy.The job is the place where most of us spend time and expend effort each day.It is the world we inhabit, and I believe we can make it better and more satisfying through the conscious use of the creative process.. . . Our creations and our lives are enhanced when we realize that everything in our environment is a source for imagination.
 
 

When one is conscious during work

It is not vast quantities of mechanical work that appeals to the Divine, but it is the link with the divine consciousness established through that work that matters.This consideration of the spirit in which the work is done is of the utmost relevance to all of us who want to progress toward divine consciousness.When one is conscious during work, that quality of consciousness is naturally imparted to what one is working with or upon.Such work retains the vibration of that person and they link others immediately with that cause.
 

If only he could work faster

If only he could work faster.Yet if he did work faster, how could he produce paintings grounded in deep beds of contemplation, the only way living things could be stilled long enough to understand them?And wasn't everything he painted--a breadbasket, a pitcher, a jewelry box, a copper pan--wasn’t it all living?
 

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