looking in.

so, i watched super soul sunday again, and, this week, oprah was talking with 3 thirty-somethings from what she called the next generation of spiritual thinkers.  for what it's worth, i wasn't totally sold on all of them.  there was something about the girls that felt too salespitch-y.  but i did like the guy, mastin kipp.  apparently, he has a site called the daily love, which i hadn't heard of until i watched the show. 

anyway, blah blah blah... my favourite bit from the whole show was when the guy said this:
"everyone has a god-sized hole inside of them that we try to fill with shopping or with relationships or food or drugs... (but) it's not out there, it's in here... it's an internal connection.  that's what spiritual practice - listening to your intuition, having a creative expression, being of service - is all about.  that's how you sustainably fill up your god-sized hole."

and i knew that already but i guess what i liked about what he said was just the idea that we have a god-sized hole.  all of us, the same.  even the people who don't believe they have one have one.  and we all fill it up in different ways, or we try to.  but the only real/sustainable/long-term way to fill it up is by looking in, not out.  i just find that comforting.  because what it means is that there is no reason to aim for having more stuff, or more busy-ness, or more whatever-people-try-to-fill-their-lives up-with, unless you're also working on your insides. 

he also shared this quotation (from the gnotstic gospel of thomas):
"if you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you.  if you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you."

one of the girls made an interesting point when she was talking about passion, and about how so many of us are looking for what we feel most passionate about.  she talked about how passion is like a muscle that builds through use.  and the more passion (and presence and gratitude) we bring to everything we do, the more that passion will grow.

i tend to often think of passion (or what i feel passionately about) as something i have to find or figure out.  i like this idea that i can actually have more control over it and that i can be the one to bring it in to my life as opposed to waiting for it to happen to me.

that's all.
just wanted to share in case any of this hit a chord with you too.