Imagine being fatigued at the end of the day from practicing the faith in real time

How do we live the faith, practically, in real time?

Conscious labor, intentional suffering.

I like this language. It is more Eastern Orthodox(ish) sounding language. I got it from Gurdjieff (though I'm not a Gurdjieffian, for those who know what I'm talking about along those lines). It is good language.

It is what Jesus did (and commanded). We are to emulate Jesus. Be like Him.

Conscious labor means be awake, in real time. Imagine Jesus walking down your street. He's going to seem different than the usual person who walks down your street. He's going to seem awake, not lost in ever turning mechanical thoughts, fantasies, resentments, imaginary conversations, etc. I.e. barely aware enough of one's environment to stay out of the traffic.

Jesus will have an "I am here" presence with Him. (This is a common phrase from the Old Testament, so don't freak out.) "Here I am." "I am here." Spoken when someone was in the presence of God, in thought or reality. Jesus said love God with all your heart, mind, and will. The first great commandment. To do that you have to remember God. You have to feel God's presence in real time, right where you are. There's more to it, but that is a start. This is conscious labor.

Then intentional suffering. What is that? Did Jesus do that? Yes, He did. It means a conscious act. There are a few different types of suffering. There is fake suffering which is the most common type of suffering we all indulge in. Resentments, making requirements on people and our environment, mechanical annoyances of all kinds, never-ending.

Then there is real suffering: loss of life of a family member or friend; real sickness or injury; acts of God like earthquakes or floods or what have you. This is real suffering, yet it can turn into fake suffering quickly if it is indulged too long.

Then there is the more mysterious *intentional suffering.* What is that? You have to be awake to engage in intentional suffering, hence *conscious labor* and intentional suffering. If you're not awake to begin with you'll miss opportunities to intentionally suffer. It's when you have gratitude for things that would normally make you angry or resentful or depressed. It's in effect transforming negative emotional energy into higher emotional energy by not being in a state of identification with whatever would normally make you negative. Usually these events involve other human beings, either in thought or in real time events.

Much of this requires a more subtle language which can be found in the Fourth Way by Ouspensky.

Suffice to say: to really be doing the faith would be to get back in from a long day of conscious labor and intentional suffering. Imagine have done it all day to the point where you are fatigued as if you'd been digging ditches. The effort to be in the presence of God, and the effort to intentionally suffer by having gratitude when human beings would normally make you resentful or depressed.

This is what increases level of being of a Christian. Then when you go back to the word of the Bible you see more. You don't get original with the word of God, but you see more in the basics. You get more to the experiential level. Your understanding truly increases (as does your spiritual body).