The Year of Living Biblically

Author Tim Ferris blogged about A.J. Jacobs and his new book The Year of Living Biblically.

In the blog post, Ferris interviews Jacobs about his year of attempting to follow the commandments of the bible literally. I think it’s quite inspiring, actually.

My own spiritual tradition, Sufism, is called the Path of Attraction- you need to be attracted to it, and you take on the practices as your are attracted to. And, it’s a balance.

Lots of spiritual practices aren’t that fun. For instance, the commandment against gossip- and yet it’s just too fun to talk about other people, isn’t it? Or what about the commandment against usury and to never charge interest on money loaned?

In business, there are some similarities, in that some of the things that really benefit a business are not easy to do, or that attractive all the time. There’s a lot of talk about “do what you love and the money will follow” but the truth is… what “love” are we talking about?

There’s a difference between “love” as in “I love chocolate ice cream.” That’s more of something the ego is attracted to. Versus the love that is more abiding, more profound, more nourishing. As in, “I love it when my business is able to help more people.”

You don’t have to swear off chocolate ice cream, at least the bible doesn’t say anything about it. 🙂 But, you may need to take on some practices and disciplines that go against your egoic tendencies, even if they do serve the greater good.

What’s one practices or action that your deeper heart (or maybe the bible?) is asking from you, in your life or in your business, that your ego is rebelling against?