The practice of doing our inner work is about wakening our souls and tuning in to the wisdom and gifts that abide within us. Our souls remember our dignity and worth. Not over and above someone else. Not in spite of someone else. Not in comparison to anyone else. Our soul is that aspect of ourselves that always remembers our ultimate significance and our connection to the vastness of the cosmos. Our soul is in touch with our inherent somebodiness, and the inherent somebodiness of others.

It’s hard to be a human being. We can easily lose our vital connection to our deepest Self — especially in cultures that do not value the inherent worth and dignity of each person. We all forget our deepest knowing sometimes. We all get activated and thrown off sometimes. Doing our inner work includes finding and engaging in practices that help us return to our best selves.

Being part of a community such as a congregation means taking seriously the way we show up in collective space. It is our responsibility to tend to the places where we are either looking down at or looking up to others. It is the responsibility of religious community to help us remember we belong to one another as equals — all somebodies with gifts and purpose — and to help us remember that we are connected to the web of Life and Love that came before us and will remain after us.

"Doing Our Inner Work" Posts From Our Practice Makes Possible Blog