In spiritual circles, it is often said that “Work is Devotion”. But, when most of say we “work”, we usually mean that we perform a paying job, that we have studied or trained for, to pay our bills and sustain our needs. But, by thinking only of the money we are paid from working, we are only focusing on the result of our efforts… and not the action we did to get it. They are two different things. Money triggers our initiative to work. Without the promise of getting paid, few of us would have the momentum to get up and go to work. Money is a good trigger to get us to act.
However, this promise of getting a paycheck at the end of our efforts does not seem to be enough to overcome burn-outs and depression.
There are many factors involved in having a job. Basically, we can classify them as…
- The work itself (the active component)
- The payment of our efforts (the abundant component)
- And what we do with the income we have earned (the universal component).
It is easier to see the abundant aspect of God when we are getting paid and even in the way we choose to spend our money. However, spiritual adepts did not say that. Religions have told us, in one way or another, that WORK is Devotion. The work itself is what can lead us closer to God.
To see devotion within the context of work and working, we learn to add Divine Thought and Universal Light to our actions. By doing so, we fill up our spiritual reserves. Mantras, chants, affirmations, photographs of spiritual adepts, malas, and prayer beads have all been used to keep our thoughts partly focused on a realm higher than our actions. The universal realm that is FULL of abundance, Light, and grace. In India, for instance, Karma Yoga is based on work and divine thought. Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, and others have also emphasized the spiritual value we get from incorporating divine thought into our work.
In a later post, I will talk about “The Red-Green-Violet Battery” that exists within us and that we can use during our hours of work.
Tao-Amen to all,
Xavier
