We have a tendency to believe that exceptional people are born that way. Great athletes, great musicians, great minds seem to manifest their talents at young ages, suggesting that its in their genes to be great. A corollary of that is that if you werent born great, theres little hope that you ever will be. But recent research has questioned these assumptions. The new thinking is that the great ones practice more than the rest of us. A study of pianists at a music academy in Germany found that the most exceptional musicians had practiced roughly 10,000 hours. The next most accomplished group had practiced 8,000 hours. The least exceptional had practiced only 5,000 hours. Similar studies have been conducted on athletes, chess players, and others. The results are consistent: those who are the best have simply practiced more. So we might ask ourselves: Is this also true of spiritual masters? We tend to believe that spiritual masters were born that way. Jesus was announced by angels and born to a virgin. Buddhas arrival was foretold in a dream that also involved angels, and his mother gave birth, it appears effortlessly, in a grove of blossoming trees. But we need to remember that even masters practice intensely. Only after he had prayed for forty days and nights did Jesus give the Sermon on the Mount. Buddha engaged in a number of practices, some of them quite austere, before finding the Middle Way and achieving enlightenment. There is a friend of mine, associated with United Research, who seems to believe that, as long as you accept the basic principles of Light and Love, there is nothing else you need to do. In a sense thats true. But I have yet to meet anyone I consider highly advanced who doesnt practice - whether it be through prayer or meditation or chanting or some other spiritual activity. We might use this Saturdays session to rededicate ourselves to spiritual practice. To be Divine, we need to practice continuously - not just for twenty minutes on a Saturday or a Sunday, but twenty-four hours a day, every day. Some of the prayers we can use to do so include: •The Divine in me fills me with Light and Love. •I am filled with Light and Love. You are filled with Light and Love. Earth is filled with Light and Love. •The Creator and I are one. •I create Light and Love. I am one with everything and everyone. Repeating any one of these over and over, so that it becomes ingrained in your consciousness, would be a great practice. Practice, practice, practice. This is the key. We have all the techniques we need. It is simply a matter of practice. Love and Light, Tully
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 12:08:08 +0000