The Work - Part 1
March 25, 2025
Welcome to this week’s series of Daily Reflections on “The Work.”
In graduate school, I read the book Siddhartha (1922) by Herman Hesse and discussed it with a fellow student. He was in a group who studied its teachings and other teachers such as George Gurdjieff. I will never forget my friend's words in explaining his group and what they studied. He said, “The group doesn’t just study the works of teachers; they do the work.” The words “the work” stood out to me. I had never really associated study with “work.”
But it made sense as I became more familiar with how the word “work” fits into this context. As we know, spiritual studies remain only conceptual unless applied to our lives, but it takes work to apply them. The word “work” is defined as “any activity involving mental or physical effort done to achieve a purpose or result.” Therefore, the application of spiritual knowledge requires the exertion of effort — work.
In other words, activating spiritual principles in our lives takes work because many are counter to our ego’s inclinations. So, in spiritual work, the ego’s thoughts and behavior must be repatterned. However, that is not easy, especially since we have spent years developing and perfecting them. Some ego patterns are actually fixations that are far more deeply engrained than surface patterns. Changing these patterns, perceptions, and fixations calls for the expenditure of energy on all levels. This expenditure is called “the work.”
Without a systematic way to do our spiritual work, we may not progress as we hope. So, having a spiritual practice is essential. A genuine spiritual practice involves having a guide, goals, and specific processes that transform us.
Tremendous benefits exist for those who do the work. They become more conscious and see traps and difficulties as they arise. They apply spiritual tools and see things much clearer than before they applied the truths they study. In applying spiritual truths, they can more readily embrace serenity. Also, spiritual work helps us love those we might have thought to be unlovable. Spiritual work enables us to increasingly give and receive forgiveness. Spiritual work gives us a higher level of consciousness and a method of processing our shock points. Finally, it progresses our souls.
Spiritual practice: Take time to review and define your spiritual practice.
Self-inquiry: Why would you opt to have a spiritual practice without a guide of some sort?
Dear God,
Please guide us in our work. Please send us the teachers we need, the readings we need, and the right groups to share the journey. In your name, I pray. Amen
