Day Eight: Laziness is Next to Godliness

 

I had a very fun teacher in the Gurdjieff work once. He smoked and swore and ate politically uncorrect 

and

would do all three while watching TV and use that occasion as a great place to practice meditation.

You remember the Gurdjieff meditation: what we’ve built up so far:

Sense both arms

Sense both legs

Pay attention to sound coming in from the world

Pay attention to reflected light coming in to your eyes

A nice way to watch television, or read the computer, or read a book, or watch a movie, or talk to a friend, or write a blog entry into the cyberworld.

So be it.

He had a name, which we’ll call David, and he had some great sayings:

One was

“Laziness is next to Godliness.”

An obvious play on the old

Cleanliness is next to Godliness, which is soooo Good, eh?

And did he mean don’t make efforts to remember yourself?

Skip to vigilance of paying attention?

Who knows.

He’s dead.

What do you think?

What do you think to juice of “Laziness is next to Godliness” is?

That’s your mindful practice today.

To be lazy in releasing certain “try harder” ways. To be lazy in releasing certain, “get this and this and this done, sooner than now” ways.

To be very lazy about speaking up on behalf of the Judge inside who wants to tell you that you aren’t “doing enough.”

To be super lazy about speaking up
inside or out
about how others should “get their act together.”

Be lazy on the advice to others.
Be lazy on saying what you think is so important, so

Important that you need to

Interrupt

Be lazy.

Listen.

Be lazy.

Wait.

Be present while listening.

Be present while waiting.

Be lazily present today.

That’s a nice present to yourself.