Work As A Spiritual Practice: See, Savour, And Serve The Divine Through Your Work  

By William and Debra Miller

Work As A Spiritual Practice: See, Savour, And Serve The Divine Through Your Work  

In recent articles, we've spoken of three different pathways that people commonly choose for growing spiritually through their work: the paths of action, devotion, and wisdom. The path of wisdom leads us to work with the awareness that Divinity is in everyone and everything.

As the Sikh's book Adi Granth says:

God dwells in everything, God shines in every heart. Wherever I look, there is God; no one else is seen.

The path of devotion inspires us to work with love, compassion, and sacrifice and see work as worship. As Confucianism says:

Always and in everything let there be reverence.

The path of action emphasises work as selfless service, without any self-centred ego or will. As the Bhagavad Gita says:

Do your worldly duty, but without any attachment to it or desire for its fruits. Keep your mind always on the Divine. Be aware that the work you do should contribute in some way, directly or indirectly, to the higher good of humanity.

Are these three paths really different? Most people tend to focus more on one of these three paths in their spiritual growth, yet if you take a closer look you'll see that they're actually quite inter-related. For example, Joanne Zimmerman, CEO of a major hospital in the USA speaks of the path of wisdom when she says:

I pray two times a day - prayer or meditation, they are so alike. I experience what is beyond what I can see and I let go of the reality around me. In the hardest of times - and there are hard times - I allow myself to feel the pain. I ask for help and it always comes.

She speaks of the path of devotion when she says:

Every answer will not be on a spreadsheet. It all comes from a position of love. I truly love my work and the people I work with. I treat them first and foremost with love. This love allows me to create intimacies with people and to achieve higher relationships. It's real! You can also forge mountains that way.

She speaks of the path of action and service when she says:

I believe daily that each one makes a difference. It's not all about big things. Even giving directions to a visitor can make a difference. At the end of each day, I find one thing where I made a difference.

Integrating these paths of wisdom, action, and devotion, the Upanishads give us this guidance:

Strengthen inspiration for excelling in work. Come from the God within through prayer, meditation, holy readings, and unselfish work.

In other words: work and grow through devotion (worshipful prayer), wisdom (meditation and holy readings), and action (unselfish work).

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