Journal of Sacred Work

I. 

   No need to write about Ukraine. You know that story & others write it better. One thing, however, defines why Ukraine is succeeding.

  Much as they help, it is not foreign weapons & food. Russians have that too. This other "food" provides the magic that enables "weak" to best strong.  

   Old as humanity, this energy flows when people fight for homeland. This delivers word #1: Meaning. We often write about it here yet most dismiss its power. 

   Meaning is not always enough. But it remains Victory's most crucial food, especially combined with peak performance.

   Depression always steals hope & its energy. Russian soldiers are depressed. 

II.

   Meaning requires actually doing something. The other crucial word appears call for the opposite. 

   How do you do "being?" One choice that helps doers is learning that "being" energy requires training us away from doing energy. The soul (& body) need a rest. That is why to sleep requires letting go. 

   Awake, meditation is a choice. When I learned Transcendental Meditation (TM) in 1975 I discovered how it aids "letting go."

   Some say, "I tried & tried but it didn't work." No wonder.

   The whole deal is not to try. All you do is: 1) close eyes. 2) Repeat "nonsense" sound. A mantra. The idea with the mantra is to divert frenetic thinking away from anxiety-causing thoughts. It works!

   My problem is underestimating TM's impact & stumbling on step one. "Not now," I tell myself, "I've got too much to do!" 

   There are other ways to "be." When I practice meditation, I become much better at living my versions of being & meaning. 

   Meaning & Being. Now, if could just let go of my classic "doer" approach, maybe I could get myself to sit still for twenty minutes twice a day to meditate!

-Erie Chapman

Film Art: "The Sea of Doing & Being" Erie Chapman 2016