The Great Work of Your Life: A Guide for the Journey to Your True Calling

by Stephen Cope

exegesis

X-eh-jesus

Thomas Merton, Garry Wills, Henry David Thoreau, Annie Dillard, Jean-Pierre de Caussade, Karen Armstrong, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost.

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I read recently in the pages of the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas. “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you; if you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.”

But for now, here’s an experiment. Stop reading for a minute, and ask yourself these questions: Am I living fully right now? Am I bringing forth everything I can bring forth? Am I digging down into that ineffable inner treasure-house that I know is in there? That trove of genius? Am I living my life’s calling? Am I willing to go to any lengths to offer my genius to the world?

1. Am I living fully right now? NO. 2. Am I bringing forth everything I can bring forth? 🤔 I'm not sure what this questions means exactly. However based on what i think it is asking (am I fully embracing my talent/geniuses and using them to fulfill myself and sharing those talents to make myself and others better) if this is the essence of the question, then no. I do not feel I am fully bringing what I can forth. This is because I know right now that although I'm grateful for my job and like what I do, i do not feel whole. This job that barely pays my bills take up so much of my time that when I finish I am mentally and physically drained. Then I have not real desire to pursue those activities that allow me to work within my genius and feel whole. 3. Am I digging down into that ineffable inner

But for now, here’s an experiment. Stop reading for a minute, and ask yourself these questions: Am I living fully right now? Am I bringing forth everything I can bring forth? Am I digging down into that ineffable inner treasure-house that I know is in there? That trove of genius? Am I living my life’s calling? Am I willing to go to any lengths to offer my genius to the world?

1. Am I living fully right now? NO. 2. Am I bringing forth everything I can bring forth? 🤔 I'm not sure what this questions means exactly. However based on what i think it is asking (am I fully embracing my talent/geniuses and using them to fulfill myself and sharing those talents to make myself and others better) if this is the essence of the question, then no. I do not feel I am fully bringing what I can forth. This is because I know right now that although I'm grateful for my job and like what I do, i do not feel whole. This job that barely pays my bills take up so much of my time that when I finish I am mentally and physically drained. Then I have not real desire to pursue those activities that allow me to work within my genius and feel whole. 3. Am I digging down into that ineffable inner treasure-house that I know is in there? I DO NOT THINK SO. HONESTLY I NEVER REALLY THOUGHT TO THINK ABOIT A TREASURE-HOUSE. 4. That trove of genius? SOMETIMES. 5. Am I living my life's calling? NO. 6. Am I willing to go to any length to offer my genius to the world? YES I AM WILLING TO GO THE LENGTH IF I CAN FIGURE A WAY TO PAY MY BILLS AND JEEP SHELTER OVER MY SON'S HEAD. I HAVE NOT QUITE FOUND THAT YET.

Gospel of Thomas.

tradition is the jivan mukta—the soul awake in this lifetime. The soul awake. I like this aspect of yoga, because it means awake in this lifetime—not in some afterlife, or heavenly realm, or exalted mental state.

Gee-von moo-kuh

They call this dharma. Dharma is a potent Sanskrit word that is packed tight with meaning, like one of those little sponge animals that expands to six times its original size when you add water. Dharma means, variously, “path,” “teaching,” or “law.” For our purposes in this book it will mean primarily

Bhagavad Gita