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# Blood & Ink: Saturday
- URL: https://www.zenmedicine.co/13/
- Published: 2024-10-12T12:35:56.000Z
- Updated: 2025-02-09T15:58:29.000Z
- Description: faith as justification / fuel for change / self-authoring
- Author: Eric Brown
- Tags: Blood x Ink

## I was moved by this video…

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/62/aa/62aad04f-2df1-446d-b0c9-1b5eb6878fdc/content/images/2025/02/12ee3d0a-201e-46e5-916b-03b2e26383c0_1198x1874.png)](https://x.com/churchtalkative/status/1836729701924286620?ref=zenmedicine.co)

[Watch the video here (1:29)](https://x.com/churchtalkative/status/1836729701924286620?ref=zenmedicine.co)

*(Again, religious overtones aside, listen to the intent.)*

It spoke to something I couldn’t put into words before:

**You can use things to justify your life, or you can use them to amplify it.**

- The gym can justify your life: *“I’ve earned this chocolate cake!”*  
Or the gym can catalyze your life: *“I’m working hard so I’m not going to sabotage myself.”*

You see this everywhere in spiritual practice: 

- *“The universe will bring me what I need, so I don’t need to do anything.”* vs. *“The universe will bring me what I need, so I’ll relentlessly pursue my path until then.”*
- *“There’s no ‘self’ doing anything anyways, so all effort is ignorant.”* vs. *“There’s no ‘self’ doing anything anyways, so there’s nothing blocking effort from flowing out of me.”*
- *“Everything is permissible under God, so I will tolerate this evil in the world.”* vs. *“Everything is permissible under God, so I will honour my feelings and fight against evil.”*

**Those who truly change their lives allow their practices and faith to catalyze their lives.**

The choice—as always—is yours,  
Eric Brown.