Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton: Spiritual Flow (Effort& Grace), Aug 6, 2023, live on Baba Zoom

We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But once a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for conversation, more readings, songs, quotes - you never know what treasures will be uncovered!

Topic: Maintaining Our Spiritual Flow

Dear folks of Baba,

This Sunday we will again explore Darwin Shaw’s book, Effort and Grace, which is an in-depth inquiry into the inner life with Baba. It describes one of the major approaches to Baba by one who was devoted to Him for over 70 years, which culminated in a glorious intimacy with Him. Darwin was always so encouraging and optimistic in what we can do to open up to Baba’s immediate loving presence. He asserts that many of the blocks to this intimacy can be removed by our efforts and by inviting Baba’s ongoing intervention and grace.

We are starting on a new chapter, Maintaining Our Spiritual Flow, on page 81. Darwin often spoke of consciously keeping up our inner momentum of dissolving in Baba’s loving presence and resisting the tendency to give in to inertia, the conventional way of the world. It requires great sensitivity to tune into our inner current at the level of the heart: Is it flowing toward Baba and our life in the world or is it stalled and even receding. Because, Darwin would say, once we get trapped in spiritual inertia, it has a way of sabotaging our efforts to draw closer to Baba. It puts off our efforts till tomorrow; it causes us to get too caught up in duties that drain our inner vitality, distracting us from remembering Baba. Returning again and again to Baba in our thoughts and heart center is ever available to keep our inner vitality alive. As Baba said, “Don’t go anywhere without Me.”

There is a lovely quote from Rumi where he says,

Faith is the sail hoisted above the ship

of your being. When there is a sail,

the wind of the Beloved’s Love can carry you

to place after place of grace and wonder.

Without a sail, your ship will only drift

with the tide of the world.

These lines highlight Darwin’s emphasis on momentum.

Each session evokes invaluable discussion that does not require having attended the previous sessions; each section stands alone and provides a window into the inner life of the lover/Beloved relationship and is virtually independent, like facets of one diamond—Baba.

For those who do not have a copy of the book, below is an attachment for following along:

https://issuu.com/ompoint/docs/shaw_effort_grace

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