Inspired Action

In the Gospel of John 5:30, Jesus is quoted as saying, “I can do nothing of myself; for I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me” (Lamsa). What Jesus was saying, I believe, is that he was not attempting to receive or achieve anything of his own desire. Instead, he was allowing himself to be the expression of the Spirit of all Life, which he at times called “Abba,” an Aramaic word which translates to English most closely as “Father” or “Beloved Parent.” He claimed that he was not performing the demonstrations that others believed to be miracles, but that Life (God) was expressing as him, thus it was the Father within that was doing the work. (John 14:10)

Further, Jesus never claimed to be unique. He taught that each of us can do even greater things than he did. (John 14:12) However, it is not by personal effort and struggle that we can accomplish greater things than Jesus did. We can do so by following his example and allowing Life (God) to have its life as us. We can achieve great things by allowing the Spirit within to inspire our actions, rather than acting in response to external conditions or in service to ego attachments. 

It is not always easily apparent when we are allowing Spirit to have its life as us. I have found that asking ourselves the three questions below can help us determine if we are engaged in inspired actions.  

Am I present?

Often while doing something, whether reading a book, driving my car, or writing a newsletter article I suddenly realize that my mind has been focused on something totally unrelated to the project at hand. I may have been thinking about what I did yesterday or what I will be doing tomorrow. I find at times that I do not give my full attention and energy to the moment.

Inspired action calls us to be fully present in the moment. When we bring our total awareness to every moment and every action, we bring the fullness of Life to all we do.

Am I enriching and sustaining life?

As I observe our Mother Earth, I recognize that she is replete with all the elements and nutrients required to support life, and she freely shares all that she is without attachment to how it is used or what, if anything, manifests from her giving. Simply by allowing Life to express naturally, the Earth supports and nurtures all life.

Our doing in the world is meant to nurture and enrich all life, all living beings, including ourselves. When we can be, as Jesus was, simply vessels through which Life gives of itself without any thought to personal gain or attachment to the outcome, we are then engaged in inspired action.

Am I enthusiastic?

The word enthusiasm comes from the ancient Greek – en and theos, meaning God.  Enthusiasm does not simply mean that we are in God or that God is in us. The greater meaning is that we are so filled with the awareness of God as our very life that we experience the fullness of joy in every moment. When joy imbues all we do, we are experiencing inspired actions.

When we surrender the idea that there is a “self” separate from God and we embrace the awareness that we are the very Life of God expressing in every moment, we will realize that all we ever need “do” is to allow the full expression of Life in every moment. As we let go and let God, we live in the consciousness of heaven and we bring the fullness of heaven to the manifested form. 

I encourage us to ask these three questions of ourselves anytime we are experiencing anything other than perfect joy in our “doing” and allow the answers that are revealed in the silence of our own hearts to restore us to living lives of “inspired action.”