Tom's September 2006 article

Article from Epistle to the Presbyterians, September 2006

by Thomas A. Sweet

On the day after Easter this year, I decided to set out on a course of action that would help me to get into better shape by, to use the words of Hebrews 12:1 slightly paraphrased, “laying aside the weight that clings so closely (to my midsection) and (walking) with perseverance the race that is set before me.” The “race” for me is comprised of two forty-five minute walking sessions (brisk) each day, one on rising in the morning and one prior to turning in at night. In the intervening four months between then and now, I have felt like doing my walking regimen, oh, maybe twice. But at the same time I was figuring that, at age 50, if I do not get my figure more lithely tuned it likely never would happen, I came across the little piece of writing by Andrew Cohen that I am reprinting below. (Andrew Cohen is a spiritual teacher dedicated to igniting a revolution in human consciousness, engaging the questions that can help to propel humanity forward.) More than anything else, these two paragraphs have given me the insight and incentive to continue my walk-a-thon when I wanted to do anything but! I commend it to you:

CONSCIOUS COMMITMENT

The foundation of the spiritual path…is commitment, a conscious commitment to your own liberation, and ultimately to the evolution of consciousness itself. Commitment is what saves you, and all of us, from the fickle ego and its fluctuating fears and desires. When you make a commitment, it is no longer a matter of how you happen to feel this afternoon or tomorrow morning or next week. In order to be victorious, your commitment to unconditional liberation has to be bigger than your ever-changing, moment-to-moment emotional and psychological experience.

Conscious commitment is an evolutionary tool. It is a deliberate, freely chosen position, a stand against the ego, no matter what. It means you do the right thing because that is the direction in which you have chosen to go, even though it may not feel comfortable. How you feel becomes irrelevant, because you already have an obligation, a freely chosen, self-created moral obligation. When you remain true to that obligation, you win some degree of real autonomy, some genuine independence from the fears and desires not only of your own ego, but also everybody else's. You will begin to discover soul strength, spiritual strength, the strength to take responsibility for your own destiny and to follow through on your intention to be free.

I also am trying to make more of a conscious commitment to the practice of gospel in my life. Conscious commitment, I believe, was the key to the incomparable ability of Jesus to stay focused on revealing the kingdom of God through the manner of his living and the wisdom of his teaching, even to the point of dying because of it. Jesus refused to live a somnolent life oblivious to the dream of God for the world. He was consciously committed to waking up, to becoming enlightened in the ways and means of God, and in being so committed he lived the free-est life that ever has been lived. We are called to the same enlightenment, for our sake and for the world’s sake. It is the ministry in which we are engaged as First Presbyterian Church.

I cannot begin to tell you what a difference your participation in worship means to me and to others who may be heartened and inspired by your presence, and how important it is to the ministry of “waking up” that is the unique and most significant gift that this congregation offers to our community. It is far easier, as Jesus said, “to stay sleeping” and to live an illusory life. But such does not lead to freedom and it does not advance the peace and promise of humanity. So, I ask you, I beseech you, I implore you to make a conscious commitment to faithful presence and participation in our worship this fall. You may be surprised by how your life gets transformed as light and lights get turned on in your mind and heart. (TAS)

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