The Inward Sea, by Howard Thurman

There is in every person an inward sea

And in that sea, there is an island

And on that island is an altar

And standing guard before that altar

is the angel with the flaming sword.

Nothing can get by that angel to be placed upon that altar

unless it has the mark of your inner authority.

Nothing passes the angel with the flaming sword

to be placed upon your altar

unless it be a part of the fluid area of your consent.

This is your crucial link with THE ETERNAL.

“Hailed by Life magazine as one the great preachers of the twentieth century; a spiritual leader to Martin Luther King, Jr., Sherwood Eddy, James Farmer, A. J. Muste, and Pauli Murray; the first black dean at a white university; cofounder of the first interracially pastored, intercultural church in the United States; Howard Thurman (1899–1981) was a man of penetrating foresight and astonishing charisma. His vision of the world was one of a democratic camaraderie born of faith, and in light of today’s global community, one of particular importance.”

Seed Questions for Reflection

How do you relate to the notion that we can only touch our sacredness with our inner authority and consent? Can you share an experience you’ve had making an offering to your inner altar? What helps you realize the power of your inner authority and consent?

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Add Your Reflection

15 Past Reflections

Gururaj

Apr 12, 2024

Thurman's lines imply that the angel with the flaming sword obeys "me" and does not intervene when my consent ( "fluid" indeed , it often is ) permits any something to infuse my being. ( Whatever is placed on "my" altar, infuses my being). But who really is the deity of this temple/church ? "Me" or God ?.
It helps me to make the tough decisions , quickly, timely, if i consider ( worshipfully) that the deity is God and not me, though instinctively, most of the time , "me" gets served

Allie Middleton

Apr 9, 2024

Thank you for this reminder…- our shared path to our inner altars is also a sacred space of collective interconnectivity. We forget our responsibility to our own inner altar when we meet obstacles such as these last few years where “reality“ has shifted as if we were all living in a kaleidoscopic turbine of mixed forces. From the perspective of staying present, open and connected to what is emerging, I know I am passing through all sorts of release, where I welcome the flames of the sword as a purifying, an elemental initiation. Then I might be washed clean, perhaps more ready, entering that more fluid space of heart, and a deeper awareness from a different opening toward a Gladdened path of embodied joy & harmony. It is both solitary and multiply informed; these many dimensions and ways of knowing play us through time and space, shaping ‘the New’. Love matters most here.

Steve Marsh May 7, 2026

Beautiful reflection, Allie. Thank you!

Mark

Apr 9, 2024

I've discovered my inner authority through the game of chess. There are many choices to made and it's necessary to discern the good moves. Often I've asked myself what move the chess engine (computer program) would recommend and this effort to "second guess" the best move has yielded spotty results. But if I trust my own gut and my (admittedly limited) ability to calculate the outcome of a move, then I play my own game and have much more success. I'm learning to do this in my life, too. Rather than think about what I "should" say or do, I go to my inner self and trust my guidance. I'm learning how it feels to really be myself and I'm enjoying life a lot more!

Molly Apr 9, 2024

Love the chess analogy.

AJ Apr 10, 2024

Amen!!! I❤️

Molly

Apr 8, 2024

Knowing I have an inner authority (My I Am Presence) allowed me to consciously take authority of my life with the help of all the Masters, Angels, and Cosmic Beings helping us ascend. Free will took on a very different meaning. I was so lost until I woke up to this reality. Invoking light helps me remember the truth of this reality by how I feel. It is validation of how light energy is real right in the center of the heart. I give free will consent daily and often hourly.

David Doane

Apr 5, 2024

My thoughts: Our inner authority and consent can help us touch our sacredness, are important ingredients, but they aren't enough. Understanding "inner authority" to mean it's "my doing" to get to the altar is true, and it takes even more than that. That is, it takes my being truly sincerely into it, not just going through the motions. It also takes some good fortune. I've brought sincere study, reflection, discussion, openness to my inner altar resulting I feel in some growth in my spirituality. What helps me realize the power of my inner authority and consent is the sincere effort I'm referring to, along with some good fortune.

Jagdish P Dave

Apr 4, 2024

We all have the potential source of Inner Light to see the Reality, the Truth, the Sacredness. Such inner light shines when our eyes do not get blinded by the power of hungry and self-centered people in our life. We are witnessing such authoritarian, power hungry, and self-centered leaders in many parts of the world creating divisiveness, hatred and destruction. How do create a world where we can relate to each other as highly evolved human beings? How can we create light in darkness? We have been blessed to witness highly evolved leaders like Mahtama Gandhi, Howard Thurman, Martin Luther King Jr and others mentioned in the introdution of the passage. This is a call for all of us to wake up, to remain awake, to join hands with our brothers and sisters and take a firm and strong stand for peaceful coexitence. Cultivating inner qualities of knowing the truth, listening to it with an open mind and open heart, and taking a courageous stand and joing hands with others is my way of goin... View full comment

Barbara Apr 9, 2024

Thank you, Jagdish P Dave, for this post as it touches me and feels to ring true for me as well.

Jo Apr 9, 2024

This is so beautifully written JPD! I distance myself from worldly powers … self centered folks. There is little “movement/flexability/growth” when in relationship with “power”. It/she/he always has its way.
By holding on to our “inner life”, we create “a safe place” to process what we experience in our “outer life”. Everything is more pure, free and surreal “inside”. The Divine (in me) … does not use His power to dictate and control … but rather to Live, Move and Secure my BEing.🌱🌷🌱

Michael

Apr 4, 2024

Beautiful! Howard Thurman certainly has many inspiring quotes to offer. This text reminds me a lot of Khalil Gibran´s Prophet, where he writes something similar "on freedom": If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your own hand upon your own forehead. You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your judges, though you pour the sea upon them. And if it is a despot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed. For how can a tyrant rule the free and the proud, but for a tyranny in their own freedom and a shame in their own pride? And if it is a care you would cast off, that care has been chosen by you rather than imposed upon you. And if it is a fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your heart and not in the hand of the feared. This book (The Prophet) came to me as a present for the birthday of my older daughter and I kept it on my bedside table for 26 years. ... View full comment

Gururaj Apr 12, 2024

Very true, Michael.
Your post is a reminder to dust off my copy of The Prophet and read it again

Victoria

Apr 4, 2024

wow........what a beautiful reminder of the power we each have to make choices that support our heart, our work in the world and our sense of belonging. I needed to read this exactly this morning. I needed to be reminded to be conscious of my inner authority and the 'fluid area of my consent' . Thank you dear Awakin team! With much gratitude and appreciation....