STEP 188 MY LIFE IN THIS WORLD IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN I HAD REALIZED BEFORE.

Is this a grandiose idea? No, it is not. Does this idea betray your need for humility? No, it does not. You are here for a greater purpose than you have imagined, for your imagination does not contain the meaning of your purpose in life. In life there is only purpose and all the things that are substitutes for this purpose, which are born of fearful imagination. You are here to live a greater life than you have yet realized, and this greatness is what you carry within you. It may be expressed in the simplest of lifestyles and in the simplest of activities. Activities are great because of the essence that they convey, not because of the stimulation that they may arouse in other people.

这是否是一种夸大的想法？不，它不是。这个想法是否暴露了你需要谦逊？不，它没有。你来到这里的目的比你想象的更伟大，因为你的想象未能涵盖你生命目的的真正意义。在生命中，只有目的，以及那些替代目的的事物，而这些事物是出于恐惧的想象。你来到这里是为了过一种比你目前意识到的更伟大的生命，而这种伟大存在于你的内心深处。它可能在最简单的生活方式和最简单的活动中表达出来。活动之所以伟大，是因为它们所传达的实质，而不是因为它们可能在其他人中引发的刺激。

Understand this distinction very carefully, and you will begin to learn to discern greatness from smallness and to learn how smallness can serve greatness. This will integrate every aspect of yourself, for part of you is great and part of you is small. Your personal mind and your physical body are small and are meant to serve the greatness of Knowledge. This integrates you. This is what integrates life as well. There is no inequality here, for everything is working together to serve a greater purpose, which you have come to serve.

要非常仔细地理解这个区分，你将开始学会分辨伟大与渺小，并学会如何让渺小为伟大服务。这将整合你自己的一切，因为你的一部分是伟大的，而另一部分是渺小的。你的个人心灵和身体是渺小的，它们是为了服务于内识的伟大而存在的。这使你得以整合。这也是整合生命的方式。这里没有不平等，因为一切都在共同服务于一个更伟大的目的，而你来到这里正是为了服务这个目的。

In your longer practice periods today, engage your mind actively in attempting to understand these things. Your understanding will be born of your investigation, not merely of ideas that you find self-comforting or personally agreeable. Use your mind to investigate. With eyes closed, think on these things. Concentrate very carefully, and when your concentration comes to an end, release all ideas and enter into stillness and silence. Thus, the mind is purposefully engaged, and then it is brought into stillness. These are the two functions of the mind, which you will be practicing today.

今天在你较长的练习时间里，积极运用你的心灵，尝试去理解这些事情。你的理解将来源于你的探索，而不仅仅是你找到的那些让你感到安慰或个人认同的想法。运用你的心灵进行探索。闭上眼睛，思考这些问题。非常仔细地集中注意力，当你的专注结束时，放下所有的想法，进入静止与沉默。因此，心灵被有目的地投入使用，然后进入静心。这是心灵的两种功能，你今天将会练习这两种功能。

Remind yourself of your practice upon the hour and utilize this day for your development, which is your gift to the world.

每小时提醒自己的练习，并利用这一天来发展你自己，而这正是你对世界的馈赠。

Practice 188: Two 30-minute practice periods. Hourly practice.

练习 188 ：两个 30 分钟的练习时段。每小时练习。