It happens.
It steals up on us.
And if it’s lurking about, you can be sure its companions are close behind.
What is this “thing”? Yes, the press of time. We’ve caught it in the act before and have made an ever-so-solemn oath to never let it do so again. But, guess what? It’s done it.
Joan and I went to a doctor of alternative medicine this week. Yes, the Living ECK Master goes to healing specialists and consultants too. Listening to others, he knows, is a sound practice. After all, the individual members of the Vᴀɪʀᴀɢɪ Order also serve as advisers. (In truth, though, their fees—none—are more reasonable.)
The doctor’s receptionist, a usually placid woman, had some hairs on her head a bit on the wild side. (Had she been pulling at them?)
“Have you noticed things speeding up a bit?” I asked.
Surprised, she looked up. This was a switch: her job was to make patients comfortable and not show any of her own distresses. It was an expected function of her office. But she said, “Why, yes, have you?”
“Time’s gone crazy,” I said.
“What do you do about it?”
“I’m working on it,” I said and disappeared into the other room to wait for the doctor.
So what do you do about time gone mad?
The first step is to recognize that the press of time has once more slipped past your guard. Second, look inside. This step is an all-important one. It’s time to relearn old lessons and know that any change to outer conditions starts with us. So look inside, look inside.
The press of time is like finding your home once again filled with heaps of unused, unneeded junk. The more there is, the more there is to trip over and collect dust. It takes time and effort to deal with useless, unnecessary things, so it’s time for a housecleaning.
Let one thing go. Don’t worry, your world won’t fall apart. Tomorrow, cut out or cut down time spent on some project or activity—something not essential for health or well-being. You can do that!
And your body and its world will further benefit from some supportive remedies. An important one—let’s see if you can guess what it is.
Sure, the Spiritual Exercises of ECK.
Funny, isn’t it, how the press of time not only steals up on us, but steals from us? It slips away with the time once spent with the Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ, Soul’s doctor.
Remember the comment at the beginning of this letter about the companions of the press of time?
These robbers travel in a band. The press of time is the ringleader, so watch out when it’s about. It brings illness, unhappiness, sloth, pickiness, anger, greed, lust, vanity, and undue attachment to things.
Ah, so you recognize the last five! They slipped right up on you.
Those five passions of the mind come ever and ever again. Keep an eye out for them. Then, too, open your heart to the Master’s love so the press of time and its companions leave the theater of combat in defeat. You’ll garner peace.
—Sri Harold Klemp
The Master Adviser has just given several excellent tips for spiritual health and well-being. Continue your consultation with him inwardly for more insights.
Is there an outer action you also need to take?
“It takes time and effort to deal with useless, unnecessary things, so it’s time for a housecleaning. “
—Sri Harold Klemp.
Children find out where fruits come from just by paying attention to the trees.
One may equally find out where true spirituality belongs just by paying attention to the inner Sound.
The inner Sound helps to weaken and destabilize the passions of the mind.
Those who seek God privately within themselves need to pay attention to the MAHANTA with humility.
For the MAHANTA and the inner Sound are one.
A seed must stoop so low under the soil, in order that its tree may grow so high into the sky.
The MAHANTA is indispensable for the liberation of Souls from this material world.
No plant becomes a giant tree without making contact with the land.
The MAHANTA is the Divine Motherland that nurtures the seed of Soul.
There is an abundance of spiritual food in Eckankar but only those with spiritual hunger shall eat.
Though the squirrel was careful, but the traps were many.
And that is why it started to pray.
One ought to be careful with one’s spiritual life.
In a world full of traps, the HU helps one navigate safely back to God.
HU is an ancient universal prayer that works better than any other.
Thank you MAHANTA for everything.
My porch is cluttered with gifts I can share with others.
Leaves from my neighbors trees fall both onto my grounds to become mulch and into my pool that I need to clean and move to my mulching ground.
Yes, the press of time. Things show up unannounced and “demand” our attention. They appear to be Important, but sometimes they are more self-important.
It’s also easy to over-commit to the outer. When I look at committing to a task, it’s easy to forget what I’ve already committed to and what is more important that I really need in my life. I need to look through the lens of Spirit to see the reality of it. The HU is one of those tools.
Thank you Mahanta for spotlighting this, it’s perfect for what I need right now.
There is also the “press of social engagement” when we try and share our talents with needy people and organizations. Sometimes this works out best for all, but sometimes my efforts at enlightenment or change are not appreciated. They want to do things the old way and I’m just interfering. The trick then is to let my outward world become smaller but to become more focused and let the Eck flow appropriate interactions around me, like the steady rock in the stream. Thanks for pointing out overscheduling divides our attention just when we need it most.
Thank you Wah Z for your love
Thank you so much for this reminder because we are being trapped by the press of time. It is only the sound current that will release us from the prison of the press of time