Right
Action
“You are
a creature who acts, thinks and feels. Spirituality fuses these three
into a single reality. Thinking doesn't lord it over feeling, feeling
doesn't stubbornly resist [thinking]; doing occurs when both thought
and feeling say, 'This is right.'”
Deepak
Chopra (The Book of Secrets)
Authentic spirituality
affords us many lessons on right thinking, right feeling, right
action. It stresses that all these be in harmony for one to be at
peace with oneself. We know the truth of it, too, don't we? When we
are called upon to do something that doesn't feel right, something
inside us recoils. When someone tells an off-color joke, or espouses
sexist, racist, or anti-Semitic ideology, we feel the wrongness of
it. When we are employed by a company that intentionally cuts
corners, that cheats customers or suppliers in pursuit of profits, we experience the weight of those decisions. Unless we are true sociopaths, we
have built-in filters that screen for what is ethical and fair. The
question then becomes right action.
When we know that
something is wrong, that it doesn't square with our sense of
fairness, do we speak up or remain silent? Do we protect our own
standing, or take the risk of losing it? Do we go along with the
crowd, or do we oppose that which offends our ethics? Right action
does not mean easy action. Certainly, it's easier to go along and get
along. Right action means living every minute of every day in
accordance with one's own values. It means not tolerating injustice in
order to keep the peace, or to keep the job, or to keep our status.
Spiritual practice
heightens our awareness of these layers of self. We monitor our
thoughts, feelings and actions more consciously. Maintaining the
unity of the three—right thought, right feeling, leading to right
action—becomes more valuable to us than acquiring the “desires of
the flesh,” as scripture calls them. Something in us may still want
that shiny object, but the core of us says, “Don't do it.” And we
listen. And what we get from right action is peace of mind—peace
beyond understanding. And not only peace, but security. When we are
secure in our own reliability, we are at peace.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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