Earth Practices (Rooting)
- Centering. Centering one’s being before and during any action is essential. Praying is a centering of spirit. So also is settling down to one’s physical center of balance through a simple intake and slow expulsion of breath.
- Mindful Presence. Everything is taking place here in the present immediacy, even the past and the future. Attend to now. Now is the time.
- Relentless Intent. We set our face “as a flint.” Total commitment, no holding back, the mission has already been accomplished while it is being accomplished.
Heaven Practices (Opening)
- Opening. Opening is the counterpart of centering. Once we are centering, we open to all that exists, to all that is happening. We release apprehension and open to comprehension.
- Surrendering. Surrendering to no man, only to our Source, our former way is torn asunder and we are rendered anew. This is a continuous process.
- Compassion. Lovingkindness is the partner of relentless intent. We see God in all and all in God. We know it is hard to be meat. We hold appreciation in our hearts.
Horizon Practices (Engaging)
- Calm. Calmness allows clear seeing. Embodying of the Earth and Heaven principles produces calmness. One is at home in the universe.
- Action. Centering and present with full intent while surrendering to God with openness and compassion, one calmly acts. What needs to be done is done.
Augmentations
Each practice is augmented or strengthened by the other seven, and is especially strengthened by the two adjacent practices as depicted in the Wheel.
Earth Practices
· Centering practice is strengthened by the practice of Relentless Intent and Mindfulness. Centering requires presence, awareness, and living in the Now with diamond-hard one-pointed intent.
· Mindfulness is strengthened by the practice of Centering and Calm. Mindful presence requires focusing, condensing and deepening while being still, quiet, and clear.
· Relentlessness is strengthened by the practice of Centering while in Action. Relentless intent requires the stability of grounding and deepening while deliberately embodying and calling one’s energies into engaging life.
Heaven Practices
· Opening is strengthened by the practice of Surrendering and Compassion. Opening requires the surrendering of one’s ego and extending positive energies outward in all directions without bias (Compassion).
· Surrender is strengthened by the practice of Calm and Openness. Calmness is essential to surrender, which cannot exist with an agitated state. So is Openness: one surrenders into the openness of our Source.
· Compassion is augmented by Openness and Action. The extension of appreciation and lovingkindness for all requires openness as its companion and direct application (action) to the current situation.
Horizon Practices
· Calm is augmented by the practices of Mindfulness and Surrender. To be still, quiet, and clear requires both mindful presence and letting go.
· Action is augmented by practicing Relentless Intent and Compassion. Acting with relentless intent by itself can be cold, cruel and ineffective and must be balanced by the appreciation and compassion that comes with knowledge of interbeing.
The Core Practice
· All practices are, of course, augmented by the Source, which gives birth to all, is in all, and is beyond all. Our Source is a radiant example of the creative energies of all eight qualities — —the macrocosm that we, as microcosms, emulate.
The process is a mutual interplay. Our Source provides us with the capacity needed to embody these qualities and, by our deliberately practicing and embodying these qualities, we develop our capacity for opening to and merging with our Source.
