7/9/99
Time on our Side
We are developing quite a list here of qualities of the disciple. Even so, there are many generic goodly qualities that are not included and a number of inclusions here that many have not considered before. Overall this list is a unique, never before itemized exposition of real discipleship qualities.
At first I thought we may cover around a dozen qualities, but when we hit twelve I realized that there were still others that needed to be included. We will quit at twenty qualities and I admit that we still could come up with other’s of importance, but overall I think we have a list of the most important qualities that would be good for all of us to review now and then.
Finally, here is the list of important qualities, concerning which, more could be added.
(1) Soul contact
(2) Holding the mind steady in the light
(3) Detachment when necessary.
(4) The ability to either send or receive
(5) Reflection – contemplation
(6) Talent.
(7) The power to initiate
(8) The ability to create and sense a point of tension.
(9) Willingness to sacrifice
(10) Discernment
(11) Perseverance
(12) Inclusiveness
(13) Harmlessness
(14) Sensitivity
(15) Trust
(16) Balance
(17) Divine Carelessness
(18) Understanding and making efficient use of time
(19) Service before personal growth.
(20) The acceptance and understanding of freedom
The Question which is centered around quality eighteen is:
Understanding and making efficient use of time
How can we become more efficient in time management?
How can we avoid wasting time?
Is it possible to perform more than one task at a time?
What is the principle behind the Sabbath of rest?
Why do you suppose the efficient use of time is a quality looked for by the Great Lives who guide the race of men/women?
As we approach the Aquarian Age this quality is becoming much more essential than it was in times past. A thousand years ago a dedication to the work was more important than the use of time, for many disciples who were dedicated had lots of free time to do their jobs.
Now times have changed and many dedicated disciples are faced with so many demands that the only way to fill them all is to squeeze use out of time in ways that were never dreamed of by the disciples of Jesus who leisurely sat on hills listening to their Master teach.
It is true that earlier disciples faced perils that thankfully we are not facing in the present, but we face multi use stress that we have to overcome and master.
What good is a dedicated disciple who wants to save the world, but just cannot find the time to perform even simple tasks in the service of humanity???
He may be sharp as a tack, high in consciousness, love all people and dolphins, read tons of books, but if the Brotherhood has to put a stake by him to see if he moves anywhere from day to day then all is in vain.
The working disciple will find that one of the main uses of the principle of sacrifice in this age is in the wise juggling of time. He will find he may have to do the following:
(1) Get less sleep than desired.
(2) Sacrifice personal learning and growth so he can have more time to serve.
(3) Sacrifice time that could be spent in earning money to gain time to serve.
(4) Sacrifice fun loving activities to gain hours to serve.
(5) Sacrifice quality relationship time to gain hours to serve.
This type of sacrifice separates the serious disciples from the wanna-bees. Many there are who feel qualified and want to do a great work, but it has to be on their terms at their leisure. The Brotherhood look for disciples who can be trusted to get a job done even if they face almost impossible odds in finding the time.
In addition to sacrificing to gain time the disciple must find extra hours to serve by efficient time management. We will not spend a lot of time on this subject as many fine books have been written on the subject and all servers of the race should be familiar with the basic principles they espouse.
I will just name a couple that may be useful.
Do not scatter yourself too thin. If you have a dozen items that need accomplished one must focus the needed attention on each of the items in order of importance. Perhaps more time is wasted in scattering energies too thin by flitting from one thing to another, than any other thing.
If you have more to accomplish than you have time here is what the time mangers suggest.
(1) Write down all the tasks you have to accomplish.
(2) Number them in order of importance.
(3) Start with number one and keep your focus on it until it is accomplished and then move to number two.
Many people who have switched from randomness to this simple formula have reported a 100% increase in accomplishment.
In the midst of work there will always be one task that will be a main focus of attention. Often it is possible to get the work down so you are on a type of automatic pilot which allows one to put some attention on other tasks allowing the worker to accomplish multiple things at once.
Several of you posted interesting accounts of how you accomplish this in your lives.
Einstein was also a great example of this. He created the Theory of Relativity in the midst of doing his regular work at the Copyright Office. The funny thing is that after he had financial success and had all his time free to devote to science he was never able to come up with such great innovative thoughts as he did when he had to juggle his activities on several levels to create free time.
Circumstances of making a living forced Einstein to put great focus on his efforts to manifest causing the creation of a point of tension that revealed one of the greatest theories of all time. He seemed a little discouraged later in life that he was never able duplicate such an accomplishment. Had Einstein understood the principle of creating the point of tension he may have accomplished even more than he did.
We must learn to be like the early Einstein. If we have to work at a “regular job” to make money then we must look for opportunities to accomplish certain other activities on the side without neglecting our obligatory work.
If you have to do housework and cooking you can listen to tapes, TV or something educational.
One of my favorite times to make use of my time is while driving. I often listen to audio books and find that most of my attention is free to think about the words as my driving is on automatic pilot. True, I miss a turn now and then, but its worth it.
If you are in some type of situation where you are forced to wait, such as a doctor’s office, Laundromat or union hall, you may have difficulty spotting fellow disciples, but you will see definite signs of non-disciples. They will be the ones just sitting there staring into empty space doing nothing with their time. From my observations I would guess that 70-80% of the general populace do absolutely nothing with this valuable waiting time. Then there may be one out of ten reading People Magazine or the National Enquirer. This is better than nothing. Then there will be another one out of ten either sleeping or doing some necessary work such as tending to kids or writing something. Sleeping in spare time is good if it gives you more time and performance later on.
Finally, maybe one out of ten (usually less) will be using this waiting time to read, study or meditate, anything to make maximum use of time.
One of the purposes of the contorted positions in yoga is to teach the student to be able to focus on the inner meditation while the outer form is crying for attention. This is a real aid in teaching the student to make multiple use of time. When the difficult positions become too easy that is the time to switch to other distracting positions to keep the dual discipline sharp.
Disciples today make life their yoga. Is there a lot of noise in the background trying to distract you? Learn to tune it out, as you would ignore your stretching legs in the lotus position, and focus on the goal.
Do you have three kids vying for your attention? Learn to give them what they need while maintaining your inner peace.
Had a fight with your friend, boss or lover? Learn to direct that anger to a harmless place and proceed with your prime direction.
The disciples in the West today have an even more difficult yoga than do those in the east. The number of distractions of the present age are legion and provide opportunities for discipline as never existed before.
Question: What is the principle behind the Sabbath of rest?
The Bible tells us that God created the world in six periods of time and then sat back in the seventh period and looked upon His work and “saw that it was good.”
The true Sabbath is a period of reflection on work performed to see whether or not the work done is taking you in the right direction. If the work is not “good,” then the worker must change direction or start another work that will be good.
If the disciple just plows ahead without stopping to reflect on his work then sooner or later the work will proceed upon a wrong path and disaster will result.
The religions today teach that on the Sabbath we should just cease from work pretty much do nothing, but notice that is not what the God of the Bible did? Notice that in Genesis Chapter Two that God created the Garden of Eden and the physical bodies of man and woman on the seventh day. God continued to work on in to the seventh day, but during this period also took time to reflect to make sure His work was ‘good.”
Even so, must we take whatever time is necessary to reflect on our labors and make sure they are headed the right direction. This is indeed a holy period of time for without it wholeness (holiness) cannot be manifested.
Copyright by J J Dewey
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