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May Love stream forth into our hearts
And love blossom in us
From the point of Light within the mind of God
May Light stream forth into our minds
May we all spiritually awaken
From the point of Purpose
where the Will of God is known
May purpose guide our will
And may we express the best in us
May the Plan of Love of Love and Light work out in all Humanity
And close the door of ignorance and selfishness
May Light and Love and spiritual power restore the Plan on Earth
LIFE and surrender
Another meaning of surrender is Surrender to life , the greater life,
and speak about purpose of life.
The search for God how do we discover ?
The first is within ourselves as consciousness
To the essence of God, not to forget love and intelligence as God’s Will.
So we have God as consciousness and to remember.. we don’t see consciousness – that would make it an object -- so one can never discover God like seeing
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I like this little piece that is used somewhere about soul and in native wisdom.....
In its essence, the soul is light, and from this Light comes all of the four elements of soul. Light is an illuminator and also a spark. The light of our soul illuminates our mind and our heart, when we let it ...when we relax the heart and clear the mind. This light also sparks our will, our will-towards the good and the beautiful. Fourthly, this light clears and purifies the physical body.
The following 80 pages were from: "Newest notes from Nov 2010
INTRO
Start by defining Love Wisdom
note -- remember to have examples, needed to understand anything...
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Soul and psychology
God and world, Soul and personality
be a cause, not merely an effect.
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Introduction to the Teachings
God is the Unity. All is God
God is Love, and Love is ever-Present and throughout the world.
But it is a mistake to think that all self-expressions are with love, or that all human actions express the Divine Love, Compassion, and Intelligence. Many human expressions result from selfish ego causes. Human actions are manifestations. Thus, all not all manifestations express the Divine Love, Compassion, and Intelligence. Simply then, not all manifestations express Divine Love and Intelligence. Thus, not all events in the world are expressions of Divine Love/ Intelligence, since many events are human expressions/ manifestations. Therefore, one can only conclude that some events (if not many), as produced by human actions, are not expressions of the Divine Love/ Intelligence, or one would at least have to admit that some (if not many) events are extremely low in Love and Intelligence; in the same way that one would have to agree that many human expressions and actions are produced from selfishness, ignorance, and sometimes mental illness. Therefore, it is fairly incomprehensible to believe that every particular action and event in the world is a perfect expression of Divine Love and Intelligence, or that 'it's all perfect', or 'everything that happens is perfect', or that everything which happens is from Divine Love and Intelligence, or that everything manifest is perfectly measured out in every detail of perfect proportion, or that all happenings in the world are really for the greater good, or that everything has a divine purpose (was divinely intended from Compassion-Intelligence); or that everything is by the Hand of God. (Well, is this implying that everything is by the Hand of Love, or by the Hand of Wisdom, or that anything that happens is under the immediate and controlling direction of God?).
What is true is that the Divine, God, Love, is ever-present throughout the world, but not necessary or always manifesting. What we find manifesting in the world, as events or as expressions from people, is not necessarily of a high spiritual quality. Manifestations often lack in love and wisdom. This is obvious to any common sense. And to believe otherwise is probably a lack of true honesty, or else a desperate attempt to have faith in some doctrine or spiritual cliché. As already said, manifestations often lack in love and wisdom, because some occurrences in life come from the actions of people who lack in love and wisdom and who more often act from self-centered egoism.
Yet, then, how is it true that the Divine Love is ever-present throughout the world, since not all manifestation and occurrence express Divine Love? Can Divine Love be present here and everywhere, while also not necessarily being manifested, expressed? A simple way to say this is that Divine Love and Intelligence is here everywhere, but not yet manifested in its finest expression everywhere. In another way of saying this, God is fully here in this moment and in every place, but God is not fully expressed here in this moment and in every place. In some places, through some people, and in some events, God – as Love and Wisdom – is not manifesting very well at all. So it is quite an exaggerated generalization to refer to all events as being of the Hand of God, or as having Divine Love, Wisdom and Purpose, let alone as being perfect.
Consider also the incoherence in thinking that all events are divinely guided-directed or measured out in perfect love-wisdom, while at the same time believing that spiritual guidance is an important factor in living a good life and for the world coming into spiritual fulfillment. Because if it is important that people listen to spiritual guidance, either from teachers or from within, then this means that guidance can make a difference. So if one listens to and follows spiritual guidance, it is assumed that this is better than not doing so, and that this following of guidance will produce good results in the world.
Yet all this does not even matter if every action and event is always perfectly good, or always directed caused by the divine power of love and wisdom. For instance, what if one does not follow the divine guidance as given by prophets or as given from within? What if one intentionally rejects it, or what if one simply neglects it? Then their action will proceed from this rejection or neglection. So in effect, this person will be acting from a rejection or neglection of divine guidance. Thus, it is absurdly incoherent to simultaneously believe that whatever this person does is divinely guided or divinely directed! Yet this is exactly what is going on....
A person is believing that all events are divinely guided – well even more so, that all events are divinely exactly measured out in perfect proportion, with absolute love and compassion and wisdom. And thus, it must follow that all human actions are part of this perfect directed guided measuring out of Love's wisdom – since many, if not most, occurrences in the world are from human action. So all human actions would be directed and guided by the Almighty wisdom -- (in order to assume that all events are directed and guided by the Almighty wisdom). YET, this directly contradicts the belief that spiritual guidance can be accepted or not – neglected or not – rejected or not.
Prayer is also a problem in this. The reason one prays to God for guidance in life is so that guidance may come, rather than not. The reason one prays for goodness in life is so that goodness may come and manifest in life, not badness or evil. But if everything that happens is always good, then praying for the good becomes quite redundant. If one believes that everything occurring is always good, always loving and always wise as directed by the Almighty, then what is the purpose of praying for goodness? If every event in life is really good, since each event is directed or measured out by almighty compassionate wisdom, then what purpose is there to pray for goodness? Everything is already a perfect manifestation of love and wisdom. If everything and every occurrence is already directed and guided by God, then what need is there for seeking guidance? If I think that everything is guided by God, then why would I need to ask for guidance? For if everything is guided by God, including the events created by man, then I and all men are always guided by God, as He is the director and guide of all events.
In other words, if one believes this, then there really is no possibility of not being guided. There could be no such thing as an unguided action; no such thing as an action or event that is Not directed by the Almighty. No such thing as simply an action or event that has no good reason for it at all, no significant good in it, no good purpose in it, no love in it, or no wisdom in it. This lack of goodness, love, wisdom, and divine purpose in something is Impossible under the faith-belief that everything and everyevent is always a manifestation of good, love, wisdom, and purpose.
Now at this point, the person trying to hold on to their faith, or on to their cherished clichés, will have to admit the logical absurdity as outlined here. But they can still appeal to the faith and cliché of divine paradox. This gives permission to ignore contradiction. Any logical contradiction can be excused as being an example of divine paradox, or else as divine mystery. This is not new; it has been the excuse for contradiction throughout known history. For one can excuse any kind of evident contradiction in logic or in action, by labeling it as divine paradox, divine mystery, or as the inexplicable Will of God.
So we took a little diversion there to discuss a possible incoherency or inconsistency in belief, whereby a person holds two beliefs that contradict one another. Yet the main topic is how to explain that Divine Love and Wisdom are already present everywhere in the world, yet not necessarily manifested. For to say that Love is everywhere present does not necessarily mean that Love is everywhere manifest. It is a logical-linguistic mistake to interpret the meaning of Love is everywhere present as necessarily implying manifest love. For example, it is understandable to say that a person has love inside even though they might not be manifesting love at the time. We often have experiences of friends or love partners, where the person is not at all manifesting love at the moment, yet we still believe that they have love within. Sometimes love is there, but not there manifest. In other words, what is in a person's essence, or potential, or capacity is not always manifesting.
In the same manner, the space and world around us can be filled with Love Essence, or Love Presence, yet in particular actions Love might not be manifesting, nor Wisdom manifesting, nor Divine Purpose manifesting. But just because these Divine Qualities are not manifesting at a particular moment or through a particular person or action, does not mean they are not ever-presently here. They are ever-presently here because they always exist here as potential.
God is at every moment ever-presently here and everywhere, but this does not necessarily mean that God is at every moment ever-presently manifest in perfection. So let us not claim that all manifestations are perfect, or that all of the world is perfect. God is ever-presently here, but does not necessarily manifest in perfection. In other words, Love is ever-presently here, but does not always manifest very well. Why?
One reason is that divine manifestation is a gradual process of perfection over time. It is a kind of evolutionary development. It is in a gradual process of unfolding perfection. It is sort of working its way towards maturity; that is, it is maturing through us. Or we could say that the world is in a gradual process of maturing and manifesting its inherent Divinity. And while in this process, or during this process, there will be many particular instances of non-love, non-wisdom, non-good, or of mistakes, wrong turns and stupidities. So it is simply wrong thinking to believe that all particular instances are divinely inspired, divinely guided, love guided or wisdom guided.
Divine expression/manifestation is unfolding as a process. In other words, the Divine Love-Wisdom is gradually unfolding through time and through development. The Divine Love-Wisdom in its Perfection, in its possible best, is NOT necessarily here in each moment nor in each circumstance or event. Rather, the Divine Perfection is in a gradual process of unfoldment, which means that what happens in the world is usually an as-yet perfected manifestation – even sometimes being very crude and definitely lacking in love and intelligence.
There may be some degree of intelligence in each moment/place, but if this is so very small then it doesn't really deserve to called intelligent. Same with love or compassion. If there is so very little love and compassion in a particular action, then it hardly deserves to be called compassionate love. So it makes no sense to call every action a grace of God, or a Compassionate Act of God, or as having a wise purpose to it.
The Divine is in process of actualization; it's in a gradual unfoldment. But even this unfoldment and process is not micro-managed by God, as if every moment along this process is exactly measured out from the top-down Management. No. This process unfolds as a experimental learning, as each being is learning and often making mistakes in the experimental process of their life. This learning and experimental model of the process is coherent with free will, which is different from the model of a Monotheistic, monopolistic King-Dictator directing and micromanaging each person and each moment.
Yet, this dictorial managing idea of God, putting everything in exact place at every moment, is the very premise of faith when someone proclaims that every event in the world is from the Hand of God, or Compassionately–Intelligently directed-orchestrated from the Almighty Power, or the great Puppeteer.
Thus, the Divine Love-Wisdom is not always manifesting, yet it is in a continual general unfoldment – as the Divine Potential gradually becomes actualized. Now, one necessity for such actualization through the human kingdom is realization. A human being needs to realize the Divine Qualities, such as Love and Wisdom, in order for these to be actualized. We first realize, then actualize. There may be some exceptions to this, but generally it is true. Therefore, one reason why the Divine Love, Wisdom, and Perfection is not always and everywhere manifesting is because of our lack of realization. If we don't realize the Divine, either in ourselves or in the world, then we probably lack in manifesting the Divine as well. So realization [of the Divine, or the Divine Qualities] is somewhat crucial for Divine Manifestation. And realization is a gradual unfoldment, a gradual process. It is one step at a time towards greater spiritual realization and maturity.
Thus, the Divine Reality of Love is here and everywhere, but it is not always manifested because it is not always realized. If someone has not yet realized the Divine, even though it is ever-present here and within them, then they are spiritually ignorant, and thus their actions and expressions will unfold from this ignorance, rather than from the realization of Divine Love. Non-realization is the common state of man at this time. There is non-realization of love and certainly a lack of realized intelligence. This then naturally results in actions without much love and intelligence. If love and intelligence has yet to be realized in oneself, or as yet not found through the spiritual guidances given to man, then of course these actions will NOT be divinely inspired, not be divinely directed, and not be produced from love and wisdom. Therefore, it is obviously incoherent to suggest that all actions and occurrences are divinely inspired, or divinely guided, or divinely produced from love and wisdom.
God, The One, includes all beings and all occurrences. Everything is in God. And everything is made of God's Essence, the Substance of One Being. But it is a mistake of thinking and a leap to false conclusions to conclude from this that every occurrence is decided, directed, managed, shaped, and willed by God (or by Love and Wisdom). One is then confusing Unity of Being with monopolistic management. For example, a group can be unified without everyone being compellingly directed by a mono-managing power. There can be unity in a system, or organism, without absolute micromanagement of each part or moment. Thus, it is true that everything is in God and all is made of this One Substance; yet not true that everything is decided, directed, managed, shaped, and willed by God.
It is true that everything and everyone is in God's love, enfolded by Divine Love; but not true that everything is manifesting this Love. Everyone is really made of Love Essence, which is Who each of us really is, the true Substance of our being; but it is not true that this love is always being expressed. God's Love and Compassion is all around and is also in us as our essence; but not every occurrence in the world is being directed by God's Love and Compassion. In many cases, the Love and Compassion is not getting expressed. It is not coming through the person well at all, so it is not getting manifest.
The same is true for Divine Wisdom. Divine Wisdom is inherently within us. We are all inherently connected with this Wisdom. It is naturally deep inside us all. Because, again, we are made of this Divine Substance, so all of the Divine Qualities are inherent in us – as potentials in us. Yet we do not always realize this Wisdom. In fact, the realization of Wisdom is a developing process over time and experience. It should not be a surprise that Wisdom is realized over a process of time, rather than it being instantaneously expressed at every moment. In addition, Wisdom is realized by experimentation, by trial and error, and not merely by sudden moments of intuition.
This Love, Compassion and Wisdom, which is God's Will, becomes more expressive and manifest if we pray/ask for it and sincerely open ourselves to God's Guidance and Inspiration. Thus, the finer expression-manifestation of God's Will, of Love and Wisdom, is contingent on our own humility and receptivity. The final result of any manifestation depends on the relation between the divine active Will and the receptivity-realization of the human agent. Both in relation make the result. So it is not just God at work; it is both God and man. Yet man makes the mistakes. And this is why the results are not divinely perfect; because man is in a process of development, a work in progress.
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There is Unity and God is everywhere; yet not every particular occurrence is measured out by God or directed by the Hand of God. The Truth is not so one-sided, Top-down, Authoritative or Dictatorial. God is not the great chess player and we the pieces. Hopefully we let go of this medieval image. Freedom exists in the System. Freedom exists within Unity.
A false assumption is that if there is One Being, God, and if this world is in the Oneness of God, then God must be deciding everything; the idea being that there could only be one decision-maker or one ultimate Will bringing about everything that happens in the world. But this is a very simplistic view of Unity, which is not logically nor theo-logically necessary. A higher governing power does not have to be absolutely dictating the actions and events of this world. This view would also contradict a belief in human freedom. Also, if God had planned everything out from some beginning of time, then there is no freedom since everything is already planned out – including our 'decisions' (what we delusionally think are our own decisions). Yet still, the basic assumption is that God is the only decision-maker.
For if there is just one absolute decision-maker, God, Who wills and decides all events of the world, then there is no freedom to do other than what God Wills and decides. Then, there is no human freedom of decision, because all decisions have already been decided by God. Nothing can happen except what God decides and Wills. In other words, God would be making all the decisions and manifesting His Will at every moment. Therefore, we would be not be making any decisions on our own and by our own free will.
Additionally, nothing that happens in the world would be caused by our own free will, since everything that happens in the world would be caused only by God. Thus, in this view, human freedom is just an illusion. We might think we are free to choose between alternatives, but God is really deciding everything.
And also remember that if all events in the world are intentionally caused by God, Who decides what is best in Love and Wisdom, then all human action would also be intentionally caused by God, since most events in the world cannot happen without human thought and action being involved. The production cannot take place unless the actors are playing their needed practical part. So if events in the world are decided and produced by God, then this would require the participating people doing such stuff to be also part of this planned production.
Take for example a man who blows himself up at a Mosque and kills many people. Some believe this was by the Hand of God, and some believe not. Some believe this was commissioned by God, and that it had a divine purpose, or some hidden Compassion and Wisdom in it. Some believe not. Some might believe that this event and all events are divinely ordained or planned in advance. Some believe not. Yet those who do believe in the divine commission of every event in the world, must also then accept that every specific action of a human being is divinely willed or set to happen by God, because each action of a human being will of course cause an event, and many events are of course the results of human actions. Thus, for example, people were killed because of what this person did. Nothing would have blown up without the action of this person. This tragic event could not have happened without the action of this person. So, if the event were caused by God, then the action would also have to be caused by God. And if the man's action were caused by God, then what kind of freedom is this? It would be no freedom at all, since God would be the only cause and the only one deciding anything.
Continuing with this example, if one assumes that the event had to have happened, by some kind of divine purpose or by divine ordinance or for some part in a greater plan; then does the person have any real choice in the matter? Imagine the person seconds before he explodes the bomb. Is he freely able to NOT do it? Can he change his mind at the last second, and just say no to it all? Well, if we assume that the tragic event had so much divine purpose, or that it was important to some greater plan, or that God really set it up intentionally with love and wisdom, or that it simply 'had to be' by divine ordinance; then could this person by his own free choice actually change the plan? Could he decide to not go through with it, which would then mean that God's greater plan and intentional love-wisdom would get foiled!!? The man would decide at the last second to not blow it all up, which would then foil God's plans (as made from higher love and wisdom and with higher purpose). See, here is the point. If you really believe that the killing was part of some divine plan, or that it had a divine purpose, or that it was willed by God out of some [incomprehensible] love and wisdom, or was by the Hand of God the Wise and Compassionate; then two questions arise. One, is it better, from a divine love and wisdom point of view, that the bomb should go off and of people die? (Since when it happens, there is so much to do about how this must have been God's Will or Love's Will). And if it is better for the world that the bomb go off, then is it possible for the person to change his mind about it? Does the person actually have free choice in all this?
For the man of faith says 'the event had to have happened' and it was 'really good' and purposeful (from a divine perspective)… even though it seemed to be awful and unnecessary and without any good purpose (and even though the man of faith has no clue at all how or why it is good or divinely purposeful). But then, what if the bomber decided not to bomb? First of all, can the man actually decide against what God willed? If he decides to not bomb, then all that divine goodness and wise compassion [involved in the bombing] suddenly is lost. The Divine Plan and the purpose of this bomb is now foiled. People are saved from a horrible death, but now what about the divine importance of the bombing. It is now lost. So first of all, can the man actually go against God? Second, if this bomb never goes off, because the man suddenly decides to not do it, then is this now the Will of God? In other words, is it like this. If the man blows himself up, then this is the Will of God, and if he does not, then this is the Will of God. Sounds like the Will of God, and the love-wisdom assumed to go with it, changes as man changes his mind?
So the basic belief that God is deciding and causing all world events, while also of course applying generous compassion and purposeful wisdom to each decision, is very evidently incompatible with beliefs in human freedom. The two beliefs just don't make any sense at all, when side by side. If we start to use real examples, then this incompatibility and incoherence becomes even more so evident and obvious. People can hold such incompatible beliefs only because they subconsciously avoid putting them side by side in conscious thought.
There is also the incompatibility in believing this all-causing God to be Compassionate and Wise, while also acknowledging the very evident cruelty, selfishness, and stupidity as seen in world affairs. This conflict of belief really can be very troublesome, but it is amazing how people can so glibly ignore it; of course the secret to this is to not think about it with any clarity and to keep affirming dogmatic pious clichés, and of course keep the faith.
Yet the incompatibility of beliefs is obvious. Here are the alternatives. Maybe God is not really Loving and Wise after all; maybe God is simply cruel or perhaps not too smart. Well, any religious person has to reject this. The next alternative is that world circumstances and events that happen are really never bad at all. Everything that ever occurs in manifestation is always good – that is, it always has a higher divine purpose or a spiritual reason, which is based on Love and Wisdom. In other words, everything happening in our world is Really caused by Love and Wisdom. There is divine compassion, love, wisdom, and divine purpose in all events. But if this is true, then all events must really be [God-caused] manifestations of compassion, love, wisdom, and divine purpose.
So then, the question is this: Are all manifestations/events really good? -- are they really God-expressions of compassionate, love, wisdom and divine purpose? Even though we all seem clueless about how this is so? Even though each of us has a natural feeling and moral sensitivity that many of these events and actions in the world are bad, not loving, and not wise, and have no evident higher purpose? Shall we neglect, ignore and suppress our most natural moral feelings that many things are actually bad, and also Unnecessary and without any good purpose? -- Suppressing our natural moral feelings for the sake of some religious dogma that does not even make any sense to our conscious powers of reason? Or perhaps, we can piously disregard all of the seeming conflict in reason and in feeling by invoking the cliché of divine paradox or divine mystery. It may all look like contradiction and incompatibility is at foot, but it is all part of a great divine mystery or a great paradox. We cannot expect to understand it all. So we should just have faith in the dogmas and verbal clichés.
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Now here is what is true.
There is free will. There is metaphysical freedom, which means that freedom is a quality (or principle) pervading throughout life. It is part of the creative universe.
Theologically speaking, using theological imagery, God is the One Creator. God is the One Creative Power and Imagination. God is the Central Sun of all creativity. Yet God diversifies into many suns, into many centres for creativity, into many beings with creative powers. Each of us potentially is one of these creative powers. Another way to understand it is that God delegates power and creativity to pieces within the Unity of Being. We are those pieces. Each piece has a potential creative capacity, as given by the Absolute Divine Power, God, a capacity to decide how things will be (though limited to a sphere of influence) and to make them be. In other words, the Creativity of God is spread out in diversity. It is spread out freely.
God guides and helps, but does not Rule over with authoritarian decree. God is not an authoritarian Ruler. God is not compelling every person to do this or that. And God is not making everything happen, or setting up the events of this world. God is not really responsible at all for most events of this world. Most things happen because of what people decide and do, and these decisions and actions are not always guided by love or by wisdom or by God. Creativity is actually spread out in the diversity of life. It is as though God, with true Compassion and Love, has given away His Power and Creativity to the members of life. God has given away his Authoritative Power and Manipulative Power, by spreading out power and creativity to all the members.
There is no compulsion in religion. In other words, in spiritual Truth there is no compulsion. There is freedom. This is a metaphysical and theological statement. At first glance, the statement might mean that religions should not compel or force others into it. In a second level of meaning, it is about the Way of true religion; that is, the Way cannot be enforced by compulsion. There has to be freedom in the person; the person has to find the Way under the conditions of freedom; no one is forced to enter into the Way. This shows that freedom is central in our spiritual existentialism. And finally, there is the metaphysical meaning of this statement – that there is no compulsion in the spiritual law. Compulsion is not how it all works. The truth is that no one is compelled by God to do this vs. that. God is not compelling or making everyone do what they do.
Yet there is an implication that we are always compelled by God, if one believes that everything in the world is under God's Command, or under God's Will, or determined by God (with Love and Wisdom of course). Because it would be impossible to determine every event in the world, without also determining every human action. There are those who say, in the face of a tragic event, that God must have set it up for some good reason. It must have been set up by God, and also must have a hidden Love and Wisdom in it. In other words, the assumption is that God must have brought this into manifestation, and since God is Loving and Wise, this manifestation must also be so. It does not look like this is loving and wise, it does not feel like this is loving and wise, and it does not make any sense whatsoever as being loving or wise; but one tries to hold faith that it is so. And the good reason for this event is explained as being a mystery, unknowable both to reason and to our lowly sensitivities.
An old model of God is as Ruler over His subjects, or He Who rules the world. Yet there are different kinds of rulers, or different ways to rule. An old model might believe that God rules absolutely and specifically over everything, in the sense of a Commander giving demanding orders and making sure that everyone does exactly what He says they should do. In the absolutist model of God, God tells each person or thing what to do, and they do it, by the Power of God. God Wills, and what God Wills is instantly done, since God is of course all-Powerful. This is part of the absolutist model of God the Ruler. The assumption, the premise, is that God is all-powerful; therefore everything is determined by God.
Yet in reality, in truth, God is not so exacting, specific and dictatorial as this. If we use the Ruler analogy, God is really a very liberal ruler, Who allows maximum freedom with a minimum of authoritative command. God does not authoritatively dictate and enforce exact commands on each person and in every instance; because freely allowed creativity, experiment, and trial and error are essential to the whole divine purpose of creation. Creativity is one of the essential purposes of creation or of life; which includes creative diversity and the creative integrative harmonization of such diversity.
But we do not have to imagine this creative process and evolution as being exactly directed by God the Ruler. We do not have to imagine or assume God to be micro-managing the whole creative process. Nor do we need to imagine or assume that God has planned it all out, before it actually happens. Planning out creativity? How boring! What a boring idea of God! Imagine planning out your whole life beforehand, and then just watching the planned movie script unfold. What a bore! Imagine micro-managing everything around you; also very boring, and perhaps neurotic as well.
Instead, imagine that God allows life maximum freedom in its activity and creativity, and that life's creativity is unplanned, unknown and unpredictable, except in limited degree. Now from a traditionalist image of God, this could seem quite radical (though even in traditions there has been debate about these issues). You mean that God does not hold absolute control over everything and does not dictate His Power on everything? What kind of absolute Power Ruler is this? Some people will insist that God must be all-powerfully dictatorial and manipulative, else God would seem wimpish. Maybe if God was not imaged so much as a Super-macho-Man, but instead as Mother-Woman, we would not have this problem. But then some may also argue that life could not possibly be unplanned, unknown and unpredictable, from God's view. They will argue that God must know it all, with no surprises. How can life surprise God? Well, life can surprise God, because life's creativity happens in a moment, and this exact moment is unknown until it happens.
At least see that this is possible; then let it be something to meditate on. Why not think of creation as an unplanned, creative surprise? Which does not have to be exactly directed or even known by God beforehand. This is the real truth. But don't believe it on faith; ponder on it, consider it, meditate on it, then perhaps it will be realized. Give up old faith, and begin a process of realization.
The truth is that creative freedom abounds in life and in the whole universe. The human being, especially, has creative imagination and creative freedom to do what has yet been done. May we continue to interest God with our creative thinking and artistry. The human being is free in thinking, imagination, and in creative doing, because we are the creative agents of God. Actually, every part of life is a creative agent of God, but let us consider the human being right now.
God intended to be creative. The world/universe is because of the Divine Creative Purpose. As God says in the Hadith traditions of Muhammad, “I was a hidden Treasure and I longed to be known, so I created the world to be known.” The purpose of creation, the world/universe, is for the Primary Reality to be manifested and known. Yet this Primary Reality, which we call God or Allah or Brahman or the Tao, or Truth, or also other names, is so infinitely full of hidden potential and mystery, that It decided, so to speak, that It would unfold through time and an unplanned creative process, whereby freedom was given throughout creation, in order to allow individuals and also collectives to creatively experiment and try a variety of approaches, for the purposes of expanding intelligence, developing harmonious relations, and creating greater beauty, joy and love in the world.
Instead of God being the Absolutist Director, Ruler, Manipulator of the world, the human being (especially) is delegated creative power. Instead of God micro-managing the world with dictatorial precision, the human being has been given the power of creative imagination and activity, to do the more detailed and particular creative work. Yet this means that man is given creative power without having a prerequisite of vast wisdom and expansive love. So even though man is given the power of creativity within the Creation, man does not necessarily perform God's Will with the obedience of a perfect servant. So man is given creative power from God, but without any assurance at all that this power will be used lovingly and wisely. In fact, the chances are rather slim that the creative actions of man will be up to any standards of divine quality, since man is in slow evolutionary process of realizing love and wisdom.
Man/woman has to develop this wisdom and love. And along the way, many mistakes are made, many trials and errors, and many problems have resulted from this lack of love and wisdom. Creativity is unfolding through human beings, with freedom and without divine manipulation, but wisdom and love have to be learned along the way. Eventually, our creative power (our freedom) will unfold with wisdom and love, as we gradually realize wisdom and love. But along the way of gradual realization, we will make mistakes, make wrong-turns, hurt others, etc. The mistakes, the wrong turns, and the hurts are not necessary, not planned, not divinely commanded nor directed. They are simply inevitable to some degree as possible outcomes along the learning, evolutionary process.
Thus, the actions of man, and thus many events in the world, are very often not really Divine at all, in the sense of being caused by Love and Wisdom. Instead, many events are caused by man's ignorance, selfishness, and spiritual immaturity. And it would be very strange to suggest that God intentionally directs the ignorance, selfishness, and spiritual immaturity of man.
So, man has creative freedom, mixed with creative power. This is, of course, a general statement about man overall, since people have different degrees of freedom and power in their creativity.
The Purpose of human beings and other members of life having creative freedom and power, that is not micro-managed by God, is for existence to be uncertain and full of surprise. It is for dramatic interest and tension. What we need to do, in order to understand, is to imagine why God would allow creative freedom without exact governance, instead of simply dictating and exactly directing every instance. Perhaps this has something to do with Real Love. Additionally, the allowing of creative freedom among the members of life brings forth a process of individual development, or soul development throughout time. Also, this allowed freedom brings forth vast diversity, and also the challenging quest of how to harmonize such diversity.
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So, creative freedom is allowed and pervades our existential situation. Creative freedom is an essential part of Divine Purpose and of the metaphysical structure of this existence. Creative freedom is also an essential Quality of Divine Being.
But is there any Higher Guidance to go along with this creative freedom? Or is life and the universe a random creative process? Here is where we need to realize another aspect at work, which is Higher Guidance, or we can say it is the Divine Influence. Creativity is not just random or without any structure at all. As human beings, we are not simply left on our own to create a beautiful, loving, and purposeful world, by accidents of trial and error. We are given Guidance. There is a Higher, Divine Influence at work – at work in the creative process.
We are being guided and influenced towards Love, Wisdom, and Beauty. This is the Influence from God. For these are Purposes of God, the creative Aims of God – Love, Wisdom and Beauty. Beauty is a large idea – it includes also Harmony and Joy. These are essential Qualities of God, the Divine Qualities, which are intended to be existentially manifest, even though this requires time, development, and process. These are Qualities of the Divine Being, from Whom we have emerged and in Whom we are. Thus, these Qualities become as magnets, as we are naturally drawn to the greater Purpose and Aim. Thus, the Divine Influence is like a magnet, drawing us towards Love, Wisdom, and Beauty – the Greater Potentials of who we can be. In addition, we already have within us the Divine Seed. We are already inherently Divine, since truly we are the children, even the microcosms, of God our Creator-Being.
Thus, the Divine Influence works in these two ways – by the Divine Magnet and by the Divine Seed.
The Divine Magnet is a natural meta-physical force, at work through our mind and heart, that draws or attracts us to our Greater Being and to Greater Purpose. These two Attractors, Greater Being and Greater Purpose, are of course intimately related.
We are drawn to our Greater Being through heart, or through love, or through devotion. This only works if we are open to it and allowing it; otherwise, a person can create suppressive patterns to it. Yet it is the Greater Being, known as God, Allah, Brahman, or Mother, Who actually draws us closer – if we are sufficiently open and allowing. This draws us into greater Beingness, greater Love, and greater Wholeness. And this works through the medium of the heart. This spiritual law of divine attraction works similar to the law of gravity, by analogy. We naturally gravitate to greater Being. Using the analogy of magnetism, we are magnetically drawn to greater Beings, and ultimately to the Being of God, to not just learn from and be guided by such, but also to become as such. This is part of our spiritual purpose – to become a greater, more encompassing, and more complete Being. Esoterically, this is called ascension toward the One, yet there are many levels or degrees along the way.
The other Magnetic Attractor is Greater Purpose. This works through our mind, which is naturally attracted to higher logical purposes. The mind searches for purpose. It's kind of like the lost parent for our mind. The mind searches for purpose, because it needs purpose. Mind naturally asks, “what is the purpose of this?” or “what is my purpose?” or what is the purpose of life?” Mind wants to know purpose – the purpose and my purpose. So it happens that mind can be open and receptive to realizing higher, greater Purposes. These higher Purposes are, of course, known in Divine Mind. Divine Wisdom knows the higher Purposes. But we have to work a bit, thoughtfully, to realize Purpose.
So the mind naturally seeks Purpose, or Purposes, which it can find either through cultural norms or through spiritual intuition. The path of least resistance is to find purposes in cultural norms – meaning that one finds purposes already espoused in their culture or in their religion. The more difficult path is to find Purposes by one's own intuition and realization. A culture, or a religion, or a tradition can teach true spiritual purposes. This is of course possible, and it is the hope. But we cannot necessarily or simply just trust whatever culture, religion or tradition we happen to be in. This is not say that it would be wrong; but really nothing can be trusted without our own intuition and logic to evaluate it. So may we discover the True Purposes as told, but not fooled by the false purposes as told. Yet in order to be free of any possible false purposes as told by culture, religion, tradition; we will need to contact and accept our own intuition about what is True and what is True Purpose. At the same time, one is not just on their own in this Quest for Purpose. Because the Magnet of Purpose is also at work, which is naturally drawing us to True Purpose. In other words, Purpose itself is attracting us to it. The greater Divine Purpose (or Purposes) is magnetically (in a meta-physical way) attracting mind to It; such that we come into its service, or we gradually come to fulfill it.
It is natural for mind to seek a higher purpose, or at least an important purpose, so that life can be understood as meaningful. The higher purpose gives us an aim to achieve. The most usual mode of mind is practical. Mind is mostly practical. But any practical plan or action requires an aim, a goal, a vision, or a purpose. That is, before a practical plan and action can be made, there has to first be an aim, a goal, a vision, or a purpose. The practical mind needs to know the aim or the purpose, to which it can be practical. If one has not a clue as to what the aim is, or what the purpose of the action is, then one is also clueless as to how best to act.
So first, mind needs to know the aim or purpose. For example, if the purpose of life is to maximize sensuous enjoyment, then the practical mind can make plans and strategies to accomplish this. If the purpose of life, or the aim of life, is to maximize social praise, then the practical mind can make plans and strategies to accomplish this. If the purpose or aim is to understand life as best as possible and also to serve life, then practical mind can make plans and strategies to accomplish this. Of course, there could be many great purposes in life, not just one or a just a few. But the point is that mind needs and seeks higher purposes, or meaningfully important purposes, or aims. We even commonly speak about having meaning and purpose in life. So purpose is ultimately important to mind. In fact, a known purpose, or aim, is what motivates us. It motivates our practical mind and our energies for action and work.
Purpose is a motivator of action and change. But it is a very unique kind of motivator, because it is like a Goal that attracts us to it. Purpose motivates our energies, like a magnetic pulling. Purpose seems to draw us to it.
The other way of Divine Influence, as stated already above, is the Divine Seed. The Divine Seed is within us, and it has to do with our original being. This Divine Seed is who we really are in our innermost essence. Also, like any seed, this Seed in ourself carries the codes for developing certain capacities and qualities of being. We each have a potential to become a spiritual being with spiritual qualities, and this is because of the spiritual Seed inside us, in our essence.
So what is within our Divine Seed? All the goodness we can be, all the love we can be, all the wisdom we can be. And all the creative power we can be. These are all powers in our Divine Seed, our essence-potential. Also in here is our spiritual purpose. We already have spiritual purpose, or purposes. We are born with them. But we need to realize them. We all have spiritual powers, qualities and purposes; but what use is this if we do not realize what we have or what we are?
What is wonderful about having the Divine already within us is that we can find the treasures right here in us. The human tendency seems to be to search outward for treasures such as wisdom, love, and purpose. So we search religions, teachers, or outer systems of belief. We search outward, but then neglect to search inward. Of course though, great teachings and great teachers are out there. Great workshops, great audios, great videos, great retreats, great holy books, etc and etc. and much to learn from out-there. But are we neglecting our inward treasure, our inward teachings, our inward divinity, the divinity of our inner self? Are we neglecting what is already in us, yet seldom noticed? Such as the wisdom, the love, the goodwill, and the understanding that is already in us. Moreover, this inward direction of search will lead us to new and surprising insights of wisdom and love, and about our own potential powers. And this comes directly from our own being, not from anyone else or anywhere else.
Perhaps we might go on retreats whereby we meditate on what is already in us. Thus, being on a retreat, going nowhere else but right here, going right into oneself. And with no need to study holy books, or say prayers, or listen to audio discourses by great teachers, or do anything other than meditate in oneself and receptively be open to the Divine within. This would be the Great Retreat, the Real Retreat. A retreat from a subtle, unnoticed habit of searching outward for spiritual treasures, searching outward for holy wisdom and guidance, and searching outward for a connection with Love. But the treasures, the holy wisdom and divine love are all within us. No doubt they are also outward. No doubt that wisdom, guidance and love can be found in the spiritual teachers of our time, and in the holy books of the past. But why are we so often looking outward, rather than inward? Are we so spiritually insecure that we cannot have faith in our own spiritual essence? The Divine, the Spiritual is already here in us. This is our true nature.
The treasures of holy wisdom and love are already in us. Spiritual guidance is already in us. The spiritual qualities are already in us. Great spiritual will is already in us. What else do we need? We can find all this outward, outside of ourselves. And hopefully we will. Also important to find outward is friendship, companionship, connection, love, dialogue exploring the truth, and cooperation towards common goals. Yet, there is something out of balance if one is predominately, if not always, looking outward for spiritual wisdom, guidance and teaching. Because we ought to be able to find this within us.
So the big question is how to find this within. We know how to read books, and attend talks, and make certain prayers or rituals. But do we know how to find spiritual wisdom, power, goodness and love in our own being? Do we know how to find these treasures within us? For it is one thing to realize that spiritual wisdom is within; it is another thing to actually realize the spiritual wisdom. It is here in us, but how do we access it?
The first suggestion is to have faith in oneself. Faith is usually talked about as Faith in God or as faith in a religious text or narrative. But here we have faith in our own self. Though this is really a faith in God, or faith in Spiritual Qualities, as being in our own self. So it is not merely a faith in oneself. It is faith that God is already here in us. It is faith that we are already Divine. Now this is quite a radical faith. It is radical faith in ourself, and also a radical faith in God. After all, it is quite amazing to believe that God is everywhere, including right here in oneself. It is quite amazing to believe that God would be right here, right now, and right in us. We are so very often searching for God outside of us; as for example, in a religion, or in a spiritual teaching, or in a particular guru. So we tend to look for spiritual truth elsewhere from our own being. It seems we are afraid to actually seriously embrace an understanding that God and spiritual truth is right here in us. Now it could be that other teachers and teachings have said just this, so perhaps this is nothing new. But what is new is if you actually take this seriously – and realize that God is right here in you.
Remember that you are looking for a great treasure, which we said was within you. But it is not simply you; it is God within you. The treasure is God, the Universal Being, and all of its magnificent Qualities; while the abode is within you. In a sense, you are the treasure, because the Divine is in and through you. But don't confuse the Treasure with your superficial thinking and automatic reactions. Because the Treasure is very profound; The treasure is God within.
The second suggestion is to turn inside to meditate within. Turn from outside attention to inside attention. Turn within to find God, the Divine. Our usual attention is outward, and we very often look outward for satisfaction. Our desires and aims are predominately outward. So to turn attention inward requires some intentional effort, since it is not our usual pattern.
Yet the turning inward is not enough. There has to be some degree of looking deeper into oneself, deeper than just a surface look. One has to go deeper into oneself, to the very depths of oneself, to find the deepest truths and deepest qualities of oneself. This requires some degree of desire, intention and aim to find the deeper truths of oneself, and find God within. So the attention turns inward to look within, which is a kind of search, a search for deeper truth and for God, but we don't want this to be merely superficial. We are searching for the Profound. We are searching for what is Divine in us.
Searching is an active mode. It is like the great odyssey, the great adventure to discover great mysteries. So we embark on this journey, this search within us. And the outward journey becomes just a metaphor for the inward journey.
Then, once we have turned inward and once we know the Divine is hidden somewhere within, the next step is receptivity. We know the Divine Treasure is in us, but we haven't yet found it, at least not fully. So we are still in the search. But searching alone is not enough. Searching is a looking, but it is not necessarily a finding. The missing ingredient is receptivity. One has to be receptively open. In addition, one has to also be in a mode of allowing.
So we embark on this journey, but we still need to be openly receptive and allowing, so that the mysteries will be revealed. Thus, the search is an active mode, but also needed is a receptive and allowing mode, which is feels quite different – because it is receptive and allowing. Then in this mode, God the Divine can speak to us and reveal to us.
Understand that God seeks to be known. So God is always trying to emerge in us. God is always deep inside us, ready to come forth and be known, waiting to be known, waiting for us to allow this emergence. So understand that God is waiting within us and ready to emerge, yet must wait until we allow it. We need to open up the channel, as it were, or the passage. For the Divine is most usually blocked by the 'dweller on the threshold', who is none other than our own ego-pattern of preoccupied mental habit. Also, … know that the innermost truth in ourself, the real in ourself, is trying to emerge and be known.
Thus, these two modes are important – active search and receptive allowing. We will need both, but some kind of personal balance will need to be achieved. It is effective to work at one for a while, then the other, then finally come into a balance with these two modes. This is the fast track.
The active search involves our intention and desire. Intention focuses the attention or mind on the goal, and creates a perseverance to not allow superficial and compulsive thoughts to dominate. Intention creates a continuing, sustainable effort of focus and direction towards the aim. Having the aim is also part of this active mode – an aim to discover our innermost truth, or to discover the Divine in us, rather than just allow the superficial and the habitual to dominate in mind, or allow our mind to be easily distracted by either outer or inner stuff. Also important is desire, because we need to truly want something, want to know something, in order to have emotional power for the search. The emotional power of desire is needed for this search, because it will offset the many other desires we already have for the superficial, and it will also keep us from distractions. In conclusion, intention and desire help us focus and persevere towards the Goal, while also helping to counteract our present mental and emotional tendencies towards the superficial.
Receptive allowing is important for a few reasons. One is that our usual tendency is to allow everything but the Divine. We allow others to enter into our mind and emotions, and we allow all sorts of thoughts and emotions to dominate. So let us allow the Divine to emerge instead. The divine, the spiritual, God, within us is ever-intending and desiring to emerge into our conscious understanding. God wishes to be known. This is a key to God's Will, and it is worthy of tremendous pondering.
Yet, our usual tendency of ego-based mind is to suppress any potentially new psychic packages that may be emerging from the spiritual depths of ourself. So, a conscious and intentional allowing will derail that pattern of suppression. The ego based mind, which tends to be a dominating and self-preserving force, will attempt to suppress/repress any new emerging ideas or guidances, in case they might disrupt or conflict with the ego structure. We can also see this tendency in social and political entities.
Suppression is a strategy of the ego personality, or it might be called a mechanism of the ego, which it does out of fear and uncertainty concerning what could be revealed from within. Remember that one major function of the ego is self-sustainability, or self-preservation. So, what might be revealed from within has a possibility of disrupting or even transforming the usual ego patterns of preservation, which is a troublesome possibility from the ego's perspective. Thus, the ego has built into place an intricate mechanism for suppressing newly emerging thoughts and feelings, in the fear that they could lead to disruption, discontinuity, or even perhaps a revolution in oneself. We can see this very pattern at work, as well, in society and in political power.
Thus, we need to counteract the usual tendencies of the ego, which have become quite subconscious, by receptively allowing our inner mind and inner heart to freely emerge. Allow the inner self to speak. Allow truth to be revealed, which is to allow the heart to speak sincerely. Unchain the freedom. Break down the barriers. Free your own real self, and don't barricade anything. Allow what is already within you to be free and to speak and to be known and understood. Allow this innerness to come forth in freedom, and listen to this. Understand this. This is the attitude we need in our self – an attitude of openness and freedom – whereby we allow all of our innerness to be heard and understood.
Now of course, in this openness there will be various emergences of superficiality and even perhaps confused thoughts. We cannot expect everything within us to be perfectly wise or useful. But at least now we are allowing the creative and divine essence of oneself to emerge, rather than be suppressed. We will still need to have a mental and heart dialogue regarding what is most wise and useful. Receptive allowing is not a final remedy for every issue in life; but it is a necessary beginning.
So the next suggestion is to make some time to listen – listening to what is emerging from the Truth within. Be allowing and receptively open to wisdom guidance from within. Allow the Divine to speak, then listen to what God is revealing. Yet this requires being discerning between what is superficial habit or chatter of the mind from what is truly coming from the depth of inner being. Which gives an important key – one needs to enter deeper into oneself, beyond the superficial and beyond the chatter, into the depth of true being, into the depth of real sincere listening.
Openness and listening are very similar. They go hand in hand. Listen with a faith that the Divine is already present in you. The Divine is already speaking; we just need to listen. The Divine mostly speaks softly, not loudly.
The Divine is gently suggestive and also allowing; rather than barking out orders and demanding our obedience. So, in order for the Divine to get its gentle and suggestive message through to us, we need to open up to it and listen. The Divine has the power to shout, but its gentle and allowing nature does not act this way. So we cannot expect the Divine to shout out messages to us, nor expect the Divine to force us to do what is good, right, loving and wise. The Divine is present in us with love-wisdom, but it isn't going to come to us in a shout nor a shove. Therefore, we need to make the initiative and effort to listen – to a soft, gentle, and non-demanding voice. We need to really listen, in order to hear it, which is why a quieted mind or quiet meditation is a key, so the Divine can at least be heard. Taking heed of its wisdom and suggestions is even more difficult.
So, to have a clear Divine Connection is not so easily actualized. Openness, allowing, receptivity, and listening are all needed. And the listening is subtle.
Also, the Divine speaks in a subtle way. At times, the Divine might seem to speak from within us. But the Divine might already be speaking, in which case it is not really speaking from within, but rather is right here. Thus, listen to what is present. One can get caught up in a mode of trying to listen to the Divine speaking from within. Sometimes this is the way, but another mode of listening is to simply hear what is already going on.
The Divine speaks, but there is a great obstacle in the our hearing. This obstacle is created and controlled by oneself. The obstacle is something to do with myself. In other words, something to do with myself is the cause of not connecting with and hearing the Divine. What is this obstacle? It is a combination of resistance, disinterest, preoccupation and distraction.
It would seem, from what has been said about the Divine speaking lovingly and wisely to us from within, that there is an open door between the Divine and our self. But the problem is that there is usually a closed door. And what is the cause of this closed door? Our own self, or something we are doing. The obstacle is this closed door, which we are somehow responsible for, not the Divine. And so we need to take some initiative to open the door, or at least stop tightly closing it up. At least loosen it up. But even better, open it up.
This is connected with spiritual initiation. A usual thinking is that spiritual initiation is simply about a connection being made between person and Divine, by whatever traditional ritual or Teaching may be involved. It is usually thought that initiation is just about opening the door, or perhaps even as simple as walking through the door, or perhaps simply reciting some kind of verbal formula. But real initiation is not quite so easy, because it requires breaking down the closed door. In other words, often we need to break down or break through the resistances, the closed doors, which we as personal-ego have created.
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Surrender of oneself is an important aspect of the opening door to God. Surrender, then be awake to what remains. Remember that God is here, but we are simply not awake to this. What holds us back in this realization is the closed door, created by some combination of resistance, disinterest, preoccupation and/or distraction. These are difficult to notice because they have become subconscious, but all we can do is to be more conscious of these patterns. If the door were really open, then God would spontaneously appear and the Divine would naturally unfold through us. It would be nice if the Divine would simply work through us and through everyone, but this is not how human existence is. We have to deal with the reality as it is, which is that a door stands between God and ourself, and we are responsible for the door being closed. But what is enlightening about this is to realize that we just have to open the door, or perhaps we need to break through the barriers and locks created by our ego. How to do this is a very practical question. Surrender is essential, the willingness to surrender ourself, so that God can be here in clarity. Now of course this means surrender of the petty stuff of our self, petty desires and petty reactions, petty obsessions and petty fears. But it is much more than just this; it is surrender of I, this self, as a separate being from God.
Surrender can be a confusing idea. It can mean giving up, but what do we give up? Surrender does not mean surrender of our will, or giving up our will, in the sense of not having anymore will. We need will. We need our individual power of will in order to get things done. Great masters have said that we need our will in order to serve God, or in order to serve life. We are not being of service to God or to life, if we have no will or if we lose our will. So we need will. The real meaning of surrender, in terms of will, is to change the orientation of our will. That is, change the orientation from self-serving to God-serving or to life-serving. One might also have a prayer or aspiration that our personal self-will be used by God's Will or by the Divine Will. This is the intended meaning behind the statement, 'I surrender my will to Thine', or 'I give my will to God.' One is giving one's will to God, in the sense of giving oneself as an instrument for God's Work. To summarize the importance here, the real meaning of surrender is a giving up of compulsive self-interest, self-preoccupation, and desires for predominately oneself.
Yet a further meaning of surrender is to give up our resistance to what is emerging from the Divine. Essentially, we must surrender our resistance – to listening and of taking into heart what the Divine is seeking to reveal. Essentially, we must surrender the barriers between us and the Divine, and to unlock the door into Divine Knowing. For God is already here. Yet we do not realize God because of the door being shut, even though we shut the door. Surrender is an essential act for unlocking the door and opening it up.
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Next, we need contact. Surrender is the letting go of our barricade or letting go of the closed door to God. So after this is a step forward of active contact. First, unlock the door; surrender the lock. Next, open the door and make contact. Open the door and see who is there. Make contact. Another word for this is connection. We need to make a connection. And not just a superficial contact or connection, such as 'hi, how's it going', and then walking away. But rather, make a real and sincere connection.
There is no ultimate advice to give about this, nor can anyone say what will happen. Each contact and relation with God will be uniquely different. All we can suggest is to open the door and make the connection. What happens next cannot be known until then. We have to go into this with no expectation or preconception. We must open the door, or perhaps break it down, then make an active contact, and then see what happens next. It's sort of like opening our door and meeting someone new. And then spending some time with this guest to get to know them, or perhaps hear what they have to say. Yet in this case, it is God, or the Divine, so this guest is really our Teacher and Guide.
Now it is one thing to make a brief contact; but it is another thing to develop a sustained contact, or lasting connection. By analogy, if our goal is to listen to a radio station, then we need a sustained connection. It might be a forward step to very briefly connect and hear the station for a few seconds, which is better than nothing. But ultimately this is not enough. So the goal is to develop a sustained contact and connection.
This requires of us a few developed qualities. One needed quality is concentration, or sustained attention. This doesn't mean an ability to stare at something for a long period. It is an ability to sustain attention and interest, without succumbing to distraction. In other words, we will need to hold our connection with higher divine Mind by having sustained attention and interest. One way to improve this is to first understand that God, or higher-divine Mind, is ready and waiting right here and now for us to open the door, make contact and listen. Knowing this, it is natural to have an interest in what that will be. If we realize this is the Divine Mind itself speaking to us, this should keep our attention sustained with interest.
The next important quality is aspiration. This can also be understood as higher desire. Aspiration means to have a great interest, hope, and desire for reaching something much greater than the ordinary. Usual desire is really just for the ordinary. Aspiration is for the extra-ordinary, or for the greater than ordinary. But here we are speaking about something even greater, which is spiritual aspiration – interest, hope, and desire for the spiritual beyond the little self. One is aspiring to have sustained contact, connection and communication with the Divine, with Higher Mind, or even right with God. This is not a little desire. It is a very big desire. And this higher desire, this aspiration, helps us make a connection with the Divine, and it will also help sustain it.
The third important quality for sustained contact is decision. We need to make a clear and firm decision to not only make contact, but also to really listen and pay heed. Decision is one of the great potential powers of a human being. But it is rarely applied. Decision requires desire, but it is greater than just desire, because decision requires a whole, synergistic agreement in oneself. It requires that we pull all of our self together, in honesty, then put forth our decision. Desires can happen almost at whim and they don't seem to require much all-round agreement in the totality of our self. I desire this, then that, and then this other thing, etc. Desire is most often like a scattered mind. But decision is not scattered. It is much more organized. In fact, it requires organizing, the organizing of oneself. It requires an agreement in oneself and also a synergistic cooperation and a coming together of the many forces of oneself to affirm Yes. I will. This is a very big step.
So in summary, some key qualities for making and sustaining Contact are:
concentrated attention, aspiration or higher desire, and decision. Another quality to mention would be faith, or trust. For this opens up the channel of connection. Skepticism or doubt, as well as fear or worry, will block the connection. How to arrive at trust or faith is a difficult question, which is discussed in a different discourse but a few remarks will be made here. First, this is a beautiful quality to have. However, it is not something that one can simply create. Religions tend to give an impression that we are responsible to have faith; as if it is something that one chooses. Yet any faith that is simply a choice is probably superficial. Instead, real faith and trust is developed from real feelings of divine love or divine presence, and also from real spiritual experience. This makes faith authentic and real, rather than merely a choice made in order to save oneself or to belong to a group. It may be that developing faith involves some degree of choice, but it must also be based on real experience, feeling, or intuition of what is True. Really believing something is true, based on real experience, is very powerful.
This brings in the importance of being real and true. If we are to make a real and true contact with God, or with any level of the Divine Hierarchy, it has to be real and true. The same goes with any real and true communication. We gota be real in our communication with God, or the Divine. It can't be a fake this or a fake that. The connection's gota be real. It's gota be true. Otherwise, we are simply fooling ourselves. The conversation has to be true. It has to be real. Anything less is a waste of time. So what is it to be real. First, it means to reveal our own realness, and be true. Don't be misleading or hiding stuff or superficially fake; instead be intimate, honest, revealing, and not holding back. Be completely open and true with God; while in the knowing that God loves us. If we can get to this kind of deeply real contact and communication, then God will be able to help us in a real way. If we are real, then God will be real.
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Higher contact (contact with higher spiritual levels), or Inner contact (contact with our own true essence, or soul), brings a new degree of enlightenment or spiritual awakening. It brings us to a new degree of love and understanding. This is an understanding about spiritual truth, purpose, and our own true self.
Contact also brings us closer to the essence of Love. We tend to experience greater Love. We also tend to have greater love for the contact – whatever that contact may be – maybe it is contact with God, or with our Teacher, or with our Angel, or with our own deep soul.
In addition, once contact is made, there is a feeling of responsibility – a responsibility to do something and to be of service. We can be of service both outwardly and inwardly. Outward service is exoteric, and inward service is esoteric.
Outward service is using our physical actions and words to bring forth love, wisdom, goodness, justice and beauty, and make good changes in the world. We do not passively wait upon the Hand of God to create goodness, justice and beauty. We ARE the hands of God! Now to some people this might sound arrogant; but in fact, this truth is all about responsibility.
To complement outward service, inward service is using our mind and heart to bring forth love, wisdom, goodness, justice and beauty, and make good changes in the world. Our minds and hearts are powerful, even though not so immediately as our physical actions and words. But our mind and heart have a powerful inner effect in the world – a hidden, esoteric effect. Our love has a real vibrational effect in the world, which is transformative and change making. We greatly underestimate the power of our emotions within the world, especially underestimating the power of real sincere love. We also underestimate the power of our inner intentions.
Our mind also has great power and effect in the world. The power of mind is great, especially when focused with intention. All minds are connected. All minds are in a larger Mind of Humanity, so we can intentionally work in this. And all minds are ultimately in the Universal Mind. Thus, understanding this, there is much that could be said about what possibly to do; but this can be left for each person to realize on their own.
Inward, esoteric service involves using our mind. This idea is new to many people. To much extent the monotheistic religions have suggested to us that life and circumstances are created by the Mind of God. Similar to the notion that it is all by the Hand of God, is the notion that it is all by the Mind of God. God thinks things into existence. Now, this is true – the Mind of God is the foundational creator. We ourselves did not create the whole world the way it is, let alone the universe. The Divine Mind is the original creator of Ideas and Forms. However, our own minds also participate in creation. God provides the general Ideas and Ideals, which then influence and inspire us. But then we participate in creation by making specific ideas and ideals from the general Ideas and Ideals. We make ideas out of the General. We make the General specific. We elaborate upon the General, build up from the General, and work on the details. God provides the Basic, General blueprint; then we creatively invent the details or how to more practically apply the General Ideals.
Thus, we are minds of God. We are thinkers for God. This gives us a great responsibility. For now, what are we going to create with our mind? And how can we apply our mind to helping the world become a better place – more loving, more intelligently wise, more cooperative, more just, and more beautiful in goodness? The answer is simple, yet multi-layered. Intentionally think good thoughts. Hold and transmit the best ideals. Yet how do we know what is good and best? We listen to our spiritual intuition, which is our link to the Divine Mind, the Great Creator. We listen and understand what is Generally good and best, and then we make these general and somewhat abstract Ideas into more specific and definite ideas.
Basically though, the big Idea to remember is that we have a creative power of mind, so that what we hold in our mind and 'think out' is influential in the mental sphere of humanity. Think out peace and cooperation, then this adds synergistically with others who hold similar ideas, which then creates a strong mental idea in the mental sphere of humanity. Esoterically speaking, we are all having an ongoing conversation in the mental sphere. Some will learn to work intentionally in this.
The final truth to impart is that this is inward connection with others, or this inward conversation, is not merely mental or idea oriented. It also involves the heart and the qualities of heart. The inward connection with everyone involves both mind and heart. These ought to go together. In discussing the spiritual structure of a human being, we often distinguish mind and heart. There is an important distinction but, at a deeper level of Truth, the mind and heart really work in unison. They cannot be so simply divided into distinct functions. It is true that one can think without any heart feeling. And one can have heart feelings without any specific thoughts or ideas included. But the higher level, or the higher ideal, is for heart and mind to be in unison. This is when ideas have corresponding heart qualities, and vice versa. In practical terms, when we intentionally communicate or create within the mental sphere of humanity we bring both mind and heart into it. Both mind and heart communicate and radiate out in unison; rather than separately. For example, one might see the Ideals of cooperation and caring, while simultaneously radiating out a deep love. In other words, the higher ideas and the spiritual feelings can be together in unison. It is best when both are present and conscious.
So now, it has been suggested here that we are the hands of God and also the minds of God. While at the same time, there is no suggestion that God is thus redundant or that all spirituality is reducible to just the human being. God, (or however one wishes to name the universal power that is transcendental to us), has a Hand in creation and even in the present affairs of life, but it is not so absolute as some religious teachings have said. An elaborated explanation of this is elsewhere in these discourses, but in short we call this the Divine Influence, which is both a general and subtle influence, and does not deny processes of natural evolution nor relative freedom in creation.
The Mind of God is also at work, along with the mind of man. Our minds have creative power and great influence in life – more so than usually realized. Yet our minds are influenced by the Divine Mind, since we are actually within the Divine Mind. It is possible to neglect or close off to this Greater Mind, but only for a time. There is a freedom we have to neglect or ignore the Mind of God, and it is possible to go in counter directions, but the Divine Influence cannot be completely suppressed. It will carry forth its subtle and general influence, and in time will dissolve any temporary set backs.
Thus, now we can consider this. We are the will of God. Potentially. There has been much to say by monotheism about the Will of God, and it is repeated here again that not all that happens is the Will of God. All that happens is by the power of God and by the allowing of God, but not by the Will of God. Some yes, some no. Any action in the universe requires the power of God. But this does not mean that God decides and molds each action. Rather, the power of God, though originating from a Singular Metaphysical Source, is spread out and distributed throughout everywhere. The Power is shared. It is delegated. Such that each part of the universe, or each in life, has some power of its own, but not an absolutely dominating power. No one thing or person is the absolute or whole God-Power Itself, but is just a part of the Divine Power or a piece of it.
And each has a freedom in this. Since freedom goes along with real power. (power is a freedom to make things happen) .
There is a Will of God... involving Intention and Purpose
Yet each of us are a will of God, potentially, if we have an alignment with the Greater Will of God. If we are actually aligned with the Divine Will, we can then understand that we are a will of God. We are then under the Will of God, but also expressions of God's Will. To think this is somewhat dangerous though. It might produce an egotism or else a fanaticism. However, this discourse would be insincere if it did not mention that being a will of God is possible. It is. It is possible and part of our potential to be powers of God. It is possible that we can see a need and produce a solution or healing by the very power of Divine Will.
Divine Will is both power and direction. So when we correctly talk about the Divine Will, or God's Will, it is implied that this has power, a power to accomplish. In addition, it is implied that this has direction or aim. The power has a direction or aim. We can also speak just about Divine Power; just speaking about the Power and nothing else. Or we might speak about a Divine Direction or Aim, which is to where or what is intended. Yet Divine Will includes both power and direction/aim. God has both. But the power is not absolutely manipulative or dictatorial, and the aim is not specifically fixed.
The Power is delegated and spread out through all the universe. Nonetheless, there is still Power emerging from the Source, which can be called the Divine Influence or Divine Inspiration. Yet, as for the Power spread out, each of us holds some of this Power, which we can use. We are speaking here very esoterically, and yet this is part of the history of mankind. The Divine has given us partial degree of the Divine Power, involving mind and will. We are free to use it. The lovers use this power for goodness and beauty. The immature use this for only themselves. While the weak and asleep make no use of the power. The Initiate and Spiritual Magician use the Divine Power for the benefit of humanity -- for goodness, healing and beauty.
I am leaving it here for now; so the above has been placed into a web file
yet below.. this could be included.. but I wanted to first look at it some more.
So if we are to be a will of God, then .. we have to be applying the power of God and also moving towards accomplishing the Divine Aims/Goals/Purposes – these are general, so we will have to fill in the details, but nonetheless there is a general path or wisdom to follow. We need to first be in alignment with the general wisdom of the Divine, the general principles, the general Path. Then, it is possible for us to apply the Divine Power.
There is power and then there is Divine Power. Anyone uses power, the worst of people and the best. And in a very general sense we can say this is Divine Power because all powers must ultimately derive from the Divine Source, the Source of all powers and all creations. But making too much of this most general meaning becomes very trivial. And some go a step further in concluding then that God is making everything happen. This is kindergarten logic, and also a mistaken logic, but these people often hold firm to their false conclusions that they call faith.
There is much to clarify about all this, since these concepts of Divine Power, Will, and Decision have become so muddled and confused.
Let us begin once more. The Divine Power, originating from the One Source, God, is dispersed and spread throughout creation. Power is given to all parts of creation. Some acquire more, some less. So now we can say that each part of creation, or each being, has some degree of power, as derived from the Infinite and Absolute Divine Power. Realize that these powers were given. This is an important aspect to the whole Divine Purpose for Existence, (this Purpose is better explained in other discourses).
So now we have power, and along with this power we have degrees of freedom. Everyone and everything is compelled by its own conditioned nature to some extent, and thus there is no complete freedom anywhere. But there are degrees of freedom, which is a capacity to act in unexpected, unpredictable, creative, and non-compelled ways. When we are compelled by our conditioning or by compulsive desires, then we are not really free. But if we can free ourselves from our automatism, then there is a chance to be more intelligent, more loving, and to exercise our free creative will. At this point we are also free to listen to suggestions from others or from books, which can sometimes be useful but sometimes not, or else listen to our own inner divine guidance; or perhaps some combination of Both.
{ Our inner divine guidance can also be understood as our possible connection with the Divine Wisdom. Sometimes we might think of the Divine Wisdom, or even God, as being in a Transcendental Dimension that we need to connect with, but we can also understand that THIS is equally within us; these are simply two ways to understand, but the Divine Reality is present both surrounding us and inside us. Also important to remember is that the Divine Wisdom can as well come from others or from great books.}
So, once free of our own automatism and into our freer will, there are now choices in front us and new creative possibilities, but these paths can range anywhere from wise to rather stupid. In other words, there is now an opening, a freedom, but the path ahead is not guaranteed to be wise or smart or loving. We have to see our way onto better paths. And we have a free choice to either, look towards the Higher Divine and to move in that direction, or to just neglect that possibility and instead be satisfied with whatever.
Looking towards the Divine and coming into attunement with this is synonymous with moving in the direction of Love and Wisdom. This is also what it means to enter into the Divine Will, or God's Will. It means to enter into a greater degree of Love and Wisdom. Any sane, mentally healthy person will wish for this; it is natural in all of us, unless false personality conditioning prevails. Who would not wish for Love and Wisdom? And yet, we are so often content with less and so often we get caught up in automatic patterns that are unconnected with love or wisdom. We have a “whatever” attitude, and eventually we stop considering the question of Value -- the question of what really is of true Value, or of what really is a choice of love and wisdom. For if we really consider this question, in our choices, of what is loving and what is wise, then the answer to life is not merely to walk around with a “whatever” attitude.
So make this most simple, when we move towards and tune into a finer love and wisdom, we are then attuning with God's Will, the Divine Will. And this is what the Divine wishes for us. The Divine Will is simply what the Divine wishes for us, which is what the Purpose of all life is about. The Great Purpose is to come closer towards love and wisdom, which is to come closer to God, the Mind and Will of God, and then to manifest these Qualities so that the world, creation, manifests evermore love and wisdom, which is also synonymous with goodness and beauty.
Being a will of the Divine, then, involves all three of the primary divine qualities: love, wisdom and power. To be a will of the divine, a divine will, we must first be attuned with the necessary qualities of love and wisdom. This is the law; this is the principle. Yet, this is admittedly vague; in other words, it is difficult to be exactly specific about what is love and what is wisdom. Nonetheless, each person is responsible for making this kind of discernment and choice. We cannot merely count on holy books or religious rules. Ultimately, each person has to solve this on their own. Each person has to work out what is love and what is wisdom. Well first, one has to even care about the question; then, one can embark on the question. Furthermore, this becomes the question for each moment. So this is no light matter. The key is to use our inner faculties.
How can we know what is love, or what is loving? By way of our heart. The heart will know. But it has to be the true and sincere heart; not the pretending or insincere heart. How can we know what is wisdom, or what is wise? By way of our highest thinking mind. It could be by way of our Intuition, for this is the source of wisdom. But we need to be careful about that. Because the ego-lower mind can pretend to be the intuition, so we must be cautious to not get fooled. So this is why we say here to work with the highest thinking mind; that is, use thinking to solve the question of what is wise. Use thinking and logic and common practical sense. Use these tools in conjunction with a receptivity to Higher Intuition, or Intuitive Wisdom. But do not accept any so-called intuition, unless it also makes logical and practical sense. Never abandon logic and practical sense. But just don't get so rigid about these, that it becomes impossible to open the mind to new intuitional ideas.
NEXT, once we have attuned with love and wisdom, as our Guidance, the next step is Power. How to tap into divine power and how to use this or channel this
This freedom is related to an inner will. We have an inner will, though most of the time we do not act from this, but rather act from automatism or compulsion. Our inner will is our free will. If it is not a free-will, then it is an automatic will. Now to complicate things, even our free-will is somewhat conditioned. There is no absolute free-will. All will is somewhat conditioned, but some moments of will are more free than others. So now, let us envision a moment of very free will, not absolutely free but very free. It is now possible, without the conditioning, to be free enough that God's Real Power and Will can move through.
There are two possible ways to do things or to get things done. One is by automatic habit. The other is by intentional will. If we want to get something new accomplished or embark on a new creative activity, then we need to use our intentional will. This also involves decision.
The meaning of Divine Will is
Look Ahead.
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Diversity and unity. (can explain the two views -- acceptance /pluralism vs. uniformity)
The solution to this is balance between two directions. One direction is to allow and accept diversity, plurality, innovation. The other direction is to move towards harmony, integration, unity.
In the former we need to allow and accept. In a sense, this is the attitude of “whatever.” Imagine being at a great gathering, and all sorts of people are there. Imagine walking about in the different areas and seeing very different looking tribes of people, each one different in their look, their outfits, in their music and dance. Can we accept this diversity of people? Are we tolerant of this diversity in our heart and mind? Then, even deeper, are we unconditionally loving of each of these groups? Or do we feel a sort of judgment about some -- that some of these groups are just too weird or too off-track? Or do we feel or think that some of these groups are bad, sick, indecent, immoral, or simply low-life? The truly accepting and allowing attitude, in love, is when we feel and think about these people with accepting love. We might even go a step further and investigate them, to understand where they are “coming from.”
In the latter, the direction towards harmony, integration, unity; .....
Every moment is important, and everything we do is important. But our tendency is to get into routines, such that the significance of the activity is lost. We think “oh, this again.” So we don't give the activity or the moment the respect it deserves. We also do this with other people. We don't appreciate the significance and importance of this moment with this person. It helps to realize, once and for all, that each moment and each activity we do has great importance. It does not have much importance if we neglect the importance; but if we respect and appreciate the importance, then whatever we do has importance. This is because whatever we do has the potential to be significant and transforming.
Realize that any moment with another person has the potential to be significant and transforming, either for them or us or both. It all depends on how much we treat this moment as significant. It depends on how much we are conscious and awake in this moment, and how much we are fully present in mind and heart. Realize that any activity we do has the potential to be significant and transforming. You make a meal, or you do the dishes. How conscious are you, and how much mind and heart are present? How much significance and importance are you giving this? The routine mind thinks, “this is only doing this blah blah thing.” and the tendency is think it is unimportant. If only I were someone else and doing a truly important job. But really, every activity is potentially significant and transforming. This is because whatever we do, and whatever we think and feel, are significant energies entering into the Space/Field of the world. Whatever we do has the potential to be a transformational energy in the world, depending on how conscious, loving, and spiritually awake we are. A great master might spend time sweeping the kitchen, so that the whole emotional world may be transformed. A master might mold a clay pot, so that creativity towards beauty might flourish in the world. Yet it doesn't so much depend on what one is doing, but on how one does things.
This goes along with the teaching to not be in a hurry. Whenever we rush to do something, we are not as present and conscious as we could be, and also we are probably not doing the activity as well as we could if we were to just slow down. Ultimately, it is quality rather than speed that is important. Imagine if you raced through life doing as much as possible, and as quickly as possible so that you can do the maximum amount. But this would mean that you would be rushing through things in order to achieve a greater quantity. So how would this effect quality? If you rush through things, then the quality would undoubtedly suffer. Not just the quality of the action would be less, but also the quality of your actual experience and enjoyment would be less. Because in rushing or hurrying, there is less enjoyment than if you took your time and savored the moments. In addition, when there is hurry, the inner significance and meaning of the experience will be less.
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inner intuition: Follow the feelings, and begin to develop a feeling of what is best, loving or wise.
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Another intention of Aquarius is to spread light into the world. Aquarius is called the “light of the world.” It brings to us an intention to be bearers of Life and Light. We want to bring life to the world. We want to bring light to the world. We want to enlighten the world, and we want to heal the world. We want to help bring the world together into harmonious unity. So in Aquarius we have a greater urge to serve the whole world by bringing more light into the world, by bringing a more expansive consciousness into the world.
I could check to see if these notes below are important enough to add into the above..
Of course not just within, but also in others and in nature; so how to experience all this as well?
Now, there are two modes of approach into our own wisdom of being, or treasure of being. One is “seeing what is already present” … the other is delving into or prayer..
( I'll need to get into this later)
Also from within, or from our Divine Seed, is the power of God nudging us towards the Divine Purpose of being wise, loving, just, and harmoniously beautiful. God speaks to us and guides us from within.
God is nudging us from within seeds within
-- guidance from within
... but also guidance from prophets/teachers/ masters and saints
These are inwards influences
BUT there are outward influences as well.... from great people or from traditions, or from archetypal love-wisdom preserved in art forms or rituals of cultures.
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This is a time for open-mindedness and new discovery. Open the mind to new ideas and new ways. This is not a time to be closed-minded. Always be open to new ideas and consider the new ideas of others. When we are closed-minded, we remain trapped in our limited views. And remember that we all have limited views. The big difference between people is that some people hold forth in their closed fortress, while other people open their mind to consider the views of others. Thus, it is all a matter of view. Some are very content to have a view; which is how they see it; their perspective. But the open-minded people are not so content and not so protective about their particular view; rather, they are interested in exploring other views as well. They really want a much larger view, or a more complete and whole view; so they open their vision to many views.
This is not a time to be conservative. In the past one was expected to be conservative in order to be religious. But now is the time to explore what is true. Don't just get stuck in old ways, old ideas. Be daring and embark on a journey of discovery. Trust that God is behind you. Trust that God, through you, seeks to embark on this journey of discovery. Be daring in a creative way and in the way of discovery. Explore, but with love and conscience.
The only conservative principles to always remember are the very basic ones to being a real human being, which are as follows: to remember love and to be loving; to help bring truth, not false opinions; and be helpful, not harmful. The only value of conservatism is the remembrance and conservation of real perennial values.
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We have a natural, spiritually inherent purpose, direction, and destiny. This purpose, direction and destiny is general, not specific or exactly defined. Most generally, we all have an inner urge to love, become more intelligent, and creatively bring more truth, goodness and beauty into the world. Not that we will always and necessarily follow this, but it is here in us. It is possible to get distracted from this, or off on a wrong course.
Very most generally, we all have an inner soul-intention to Return to God. Metaphysically, we left the One Light as rays reaching out into Possibility. This is visualized as rays from the Central Universal Sun moving out into the darkness of space. We are meant to bring Light into darkness. Or Light into possibility. But in doing so, we tend to get lost – lost in identification with the specific situation we are in. But thankfully, we still have our inner soul-intention to Return.
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Freedom and involvement
The soul has two main purposes. One is to manifest the divine qualities into this world, which includes the bringing of higher purposes and higher motivations into the world. The other purpose is to expand into greater and greater realization of the One Divine Essence, to realize evermore of its own True Being. Yet in order to do this, the soul has to break free of this physical body and physical world. The soul needs to be liberated from this prison.
So, the soul has these two main purposes, but they seem to contradict one another. The two purposes seem to be in opposite directions. One direction is an upward journey, back towards the One Being, the Source, yet in a grand process of expanded realizations along the way, as the soul gradually realizes the complete totality of Being Itself. Then, the other direction is downward, towards manifestation and form, to be a creative light-bringer to the world. Yet, the upward direction/purpose requires freedom from the bonds of this world, while the downward direction/purpose requires involvement and engagement in this world.
Thus, we have these two needs of the soul. One is to be involved and engaged in this world, while the other is to be free from this world. Some people tend to move more in one direction, while others move in the other. The downward direction is sometimes thought of as worldly, while the upward direction is thought of as spiritual. But to be fair to the worldly side, both are really spiritual. For if one is totally devoted to being detached and liberated from the world, and seeks to avoid involvement, then this is only half of our spiritual purpose. Remember that this world needs soul input. It needs the creative light and love of spiritual souls; otherwise it is doomed. So there is a definite spiritual purpose in the soul being creatively involved and engaged in the world. In opposite, if one is totally engrossed in the physical world, while having no purpose to be free of this world, then this is only half of the soul's purpose. Because unless the soul has some freedom from this worldly and physical bondage, it cannot progress further in its journey towards the Absolute.
Now, it appears that these purposes are unresolvable. But this is not so. However, it is a difficult task to resolve or bring balance to this. This is the great balancing act. It is the great project for reconciliation. The secret is this. Live fully engaged and involved in this world, yet be free in it. Be in the world, while being free in it. Learn to be evermore fully present in this physical and practical world; yet also learning to be evermore free while in it. Both require effort, practice, and maturing. Being more fully involved and engaged will be more difficult for some, while being more free and detached will be more difficult for others. But we have to learn and develop both. This is the challenge. How to achieve both. How to, simultaneously, be involved and free, all at the same time. Often, we will have to practice one skill for a awhile, then practice the other. But eventually we need to practice how to combine these skills into one great skill.
My aim is to be fully present here and manifest here, yet also be completely free in my mind and spirit. One way to be here spiritually is to open up to and realize the Divinity that is right here in front of me. Divine Beauty, divine love, and amazing intelligence is all around me in this world – in other people and in nature. I just need to open up my mind and heart to this Divinity, to this divine Radiance that is already here and around me. This realization of immanent Divinity in the world helps to bring us into a spiritual engagement and involvement with the world of others and of nature. We come into a finer quality of presence right here in this world. Then, once engaged with the spiritual or the divine that is right here already, we naturally respond with a higher quality of soul radiance and love. Remember that true love and true spiritual radiance begins with our own awakening to the divine being in others and in nature. It does not begin with a feeling of our own superiority over others.
Now, along with being involved and engaged in the world, we also need to be free spirits in this world. That is, our spirit, or soul, needs to be free. This involves our mind and heart. Understand that being involved and engaged in the world tends to produce an entrapment. The mind and heart become so involved that they get trapped in the world. The thinking mind and the reactive emotions get all so involved, such that there is no more freedom. This is when our soul becomes lost and imprisoned in the world, and often in the body. You see, the soul comes into this physical and social world, incarnating from the higher spiritual realm, and intending to creatively bring love and light into our world, and also intending to experience the Divine nature of this world. But in doing so, there is the possibility of becoming lost in the involvement in it. In fact, this is not only possible, but probable. For this world has a great power in itself, which is the power of identification and attachment, which is called Maya in eastern teachings. So this physical world and our involvement in it become a possible, even probable, trap. Our mind and heart get into various attachments and also into various reactive patterns. So in short, we are in this worldly predicament. Soul is in this existential predicament of continual tendencies to identification and attachment. Therefore, the aim of freedom is essential. Which is to do with detachment and dis-identification.
Eventually, or finally, the goal is to live here as a free spirit, free in mind and heart, and free of the manipulating pulls and traps of this world. In other words, being free in oneself.
The soul is meant to soar beyond the limitations of this world. These limitations include the physical body, the reactive emotions, and the set-rigid beliefs of one's mind or of the culture. The physical world itself imposes certain limitations, as well as this physical body. Other people can impose limitations on us. And finally, our very own emotions and beliefs can impose limitations on us. Yet our soul can transcend these limitations and soar beyond them. Now, there might be too much vagueness about what the soul actually is. That is, we talk about the soul in a kind of general way, and abstractly intellectualize about it; but what is the soul in one's own experience? Experientially, what is my soul? My soul is who I really am. In other words, I am the soul. This body is not who I really am. These emotional reactions are not who I really am. Beliefs held are not who I really am. Yet I am this mind and I am this heart. These are two sides of myself, yet they are together one being, myself, this I, which is the soul. I am this soul. More detailed explanations of soul can be made, but in this context let us simplify it as best we can. The soul is this mind and heart, and this is who I am.
This does not mean that the particular contents (or patterns) of this mind and heart are necessarily of the soul or are the soul. There could be wonderful content in the mind and heart, such as great wisdom and love, which are from the soul. But there might also be immature nonsense, wrong ideas or reactive emotions in the mind/heart, which are not from the soul but rather from conditions obtained from the social world around us. So it is not all soul stuff in us, usually speaking. Nonetheless, the essence of, or the faculty of, mind and heart is the soul. But we are not speaking here about lowly or crude mental phenomena, nor about lowly or immature emotions, as being soul content.
To understand our true soul we need to gain freedom from the various contents/patterns of mind and heart, or at least not get caught up in them, or attached and identified in them. We need to gain freedom from these contents and the energies they produce, and the attachments and identifications they produce. We gain freedom from all this in order to discover the true essence of mind and heart. Discover what is mind and what is heart, in the truest essence, in the truest reality.
We sometimes speak about being free of the mind, or perhaps being free from the heart. But this is not about being free from the essence/truth of mind or of heart. What is meant is to be free of the compulsive and sometimes oppressing content of mind and heart. Because the true essence of our mind and heart is supremely good, holy, and beautiful. Which is our soul.
The soul's aim, which is our aim, is to be free in mind and heart, so to be able to soar expansively throughout the whole world, and include the whole world, and also to soar expansively through the spiritual realm of souls within Souls within SOULS within GOD THE ONE. Can you see it? The mind is able to see it all. But allow it to be free. May we become free. May our mind and heart gain freedom from its own traps and limitations -- to be free in its own true essence and capacity.
addin about how the eastern makes an emphasis on freedom; while the western has an emphasis on social involvement.
Once we are free in our mind and heart, then we can be involved in this physical and social world as a free being. We enter into circumstances as a free spirit, free in mind and heart, involved but without attachment, identification, or reaction.
Notice that reaction is automatic. It is a pattern already fixed in us, subconsciously, that is automatically triggered by circumstances or other people. Reaction also tends to be defensive, as it is motivated by an ego trying to preserve itself – preserve its its own self-interests, or its pride, or its belief of self-righteousness. Reaction is not free. It is mechanical and compulsive. So we are not free when reaction is dominating. But neither are we free if we merely allow circumstances and people to dominate us, as we maintain a non-reactive passivity. In other words, we could become passive in relation to circumstances or to others, which might then be non-reactive, but this too would be a state of non freedom, because one is not free if circumstances and other people are dominating. We might be non-reactive, but we are still not free. For freedom means having an ability to act in a creative manner. In relation to circumstances and others, this is called response.
Thus, the ideal is to have enough freedom in ourself in order to respond in the world with creative freedom. We are not held back by circumstances, nor passively co-opted by others. We don't merely and always go along with the flow, as a passive participant in life. Rather, we have an ability to think for our own self, freely, without being thought-manipulated by others or by groups. Additionally, we have an ability to act by our own will and our own creativity, not merely being passive to the will of others.
Yet our responding will does not need to be from self-centeredness and self-interests. These qualities of self-centeredness and self-interest are from self-ego. And if one is thinking or acting from these qualities of self-ego, then one is not free either. How could one be free if one is compulsively acting from self-interest and self-centeredness? True freedom is beyond this. It is beyond self-interest.
True freedom is responding from a pure and free heart and mind. This will result in love and service. A pure and free heart will naturally be in a state of love and caring about others, because this heart is empathetically connected with others. A pure and free mind will naturally be in a realization of mutual unity with everyone and all life. Everyone and all life are realized to be in One Great Unity and interconnected relationship. The pure and free heart responds from its beingness of love and empathy. The pure and free mind responds from its realization of Unity. This is the beginning of true freedom – a freedom that is beyond the mechanical reactivity of ego self-centeredness and also beyond mere passivity.
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Once again to remember, our aim is freedom in our involvement in the world, or our involvement with freedom. Both, freedom and involvement, need to come together, balance and synthesize. Freedom is important, but involvement is also needed.
Tenderness is a good measure of spiritual involvement. This is tenderness without ego interest. It is tenderness just for the sake of love, or just for the sake of someone else. Tenderness is gentleness with a loving touch. It is love with a gentle touch. It is a touch of gentle love. It is a givingness, which also involves caring. But what makes tenderness an especially relevant quality, in this topic, is that it gives us an image of gentle loving touch. This does not have to be an actual physical touch. It could be a touch of one heart to another. Or a loving touch of words. Or perhaps the image is of holding or of embrace, as a child is held and embraced tenderly by the mother. Yet whether we image the meaning of tenderness as touch, holding or embrace, it is definitely an involvement. If I am going to manifest tenderness, I am definitely involving myself with someone. So we cannot fall into mere abstraction with tenderness. It has a very tangible feeling and meaning. So this is a good measure of real involved love, which we might also notice is not a reactive emotion from mere self-interest. It is a caring response.
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addin somewhere to the above:
The mind has a capacity to be free. Many people call this the imagination. This is true; the freedom of mind is related to imagination, and imagination is a power of freedom. Yet the mind has a capacity to go places outside of its limited subjectivity. For instance, the mind can go to places in the world without the body going there. The mind can also go to other realms other than just the physical world. Generally speaking, these other realms are called spiritual realms, or one can simply call it all the spiritual world - that which is other than the physical world here. In this spiritual world, or realm, are many "mansions", or levels. For example, there is a level of angels. There is another level of ascended soul masters. There is another level of recently deceased souls. Some people think of the spiritual world, predominantly, as the realm of the deceased, and they might even have conversations with those deceased. This might have some validity and some value, but it is not what we want to work with in this particular path. We can accept some degree of validity in these contacts, but it ought to also be accepted that there is some chance that what is experienced is simply imaginational. Yet we do not believe that all mental contacts, outside of the physical world, are simply the person's fantasy. Rather, we accept that spiritual world contacts can very well be real contacts, not merely imaginative fantasy. The imagination may have to be used in such contacts - in the sense of using the non-rigid imagining capacity of the mind -- but this meaning of imagination is not the same as 'just making it up in one's mind'. The imagination is used as a tool for contact, or as a medium, but the contact itself is very real. Now again, as said, we are not actually too interested in contacting the deceased, though for some people this may be helpful for a time. We are primarily interested in contacting higher souls and also higher powers, which exist on higher levels of the spiritual realm. We use the imagination, or call it the spiritual imagination, to make this contact and have communication. But in order to do this, the mind has to be free of physical necessity. The mind cannot be held down by the physical body, nor by purely physicalist beliefs. One has to have an open mind, a truly open mind which has not made a final conclusion that the physical world is all there is or that contacting spiritual beings and powers is simply nonsense, nor would it help if one were paranoid that doing such would lead to insanity, etc. One has to be open minded, free in the imaginative, and free of absolute skepticism (a closed mind), plus a willingness to try and explore. In summary for now, it is possible for the mind to freely soar into great explorations. But the mind needs to be free.
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This gets into the theme of
Contact
Practice: being conscious in the Divine Presence, or in Spirit
One practice is to be conscious in the Divine Presence. Yet this is just one way to say it. One could also describe this as being conscious in the Great Unity, or conscious in Spirit, or conscious in Love, or in Beauty. At first, one is conscious of Spirit, then this can transform into being conscious in Spirit.
Spirit is another name for Presence. Spirit, or Presence, is made of Light. It is Light, and this is essentially Consciousness. So we can also understand Spirit or Presence as Consciousness. This is not merely our own individual consciousness; rather, it is the Greater Consciousness in which we are living. All space around us is pervaded with this Greater Consciousness. In other words, Spirit is the Greater Consciousness all around us, pervasive in the space around us and also through us. The portion that is in and through us is known as our own individual consciousness.
Spirit, or Presence, is knowable within us. This is an important part of the Practice – to know the Spirit in us. And to know this we need to experience it. An intellectual understanding is not good enough. To concentrate this experience close the eyes and bring attention into the heart. At the same time be conscious of the breath, the rhythm of breathing. Then open one’s heart to the experience of Spirit, and patiently allow the Spirit to be revealed. Another way is to ask oneself, ‘what is my essence?’, or ‘who am I most essentially?’ This is a question, but it is not meant to be intellectual. Make it into a discovery. That is, simply be in a mental mode of discovery, an openness to what is to be discovered. And the place of discovery will be in the heart, as we discover our deeper essence in the heart of our being.
This inward Practice to experience and know the Spirit within is basically the same Practice one can use to find the Divine or God within. We could be nit-picky about distinguishing subtle differences between these terms, but basically the Spirit, the Divine, the Presence, the Essence, the Light, the Self, and God all mean the same.
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Next, Spirit/Presence is also outwardly knowable. It is not just inward in us but is also outward all around us. So for complete realization of the Divine, the outwardness of Spirit is to experienced as well as the inwardness. This will include the space around us, the people, and the other lives around us. Spirit is pervading everywhere. First, we can experience Spirit in the space around us. This could be done with eyes closed, sensing and feeling the space around us, even including all who are in it. Feel the One Spirit pervading the whole space, like perfume, like essence.
Note that some of the following might as well be in the eyes open part below
This Spirit enlivens the space. It lights the space from within the space. This One Spirit can also be felt as a pervading Presence. It is not merely an abstract essence; it is a very tangibly sensed Presence. And this outward Spirit/Presence moves without boundary between outward and in us. In other words, there is an undivided flow between the Spirit around us and the Spirit in us. For of course, it is all the same One Spirit, so this distinction between inner and outer is merely a matter of how attention is focused. At some point we can dissolve the inner and outer distinction completely, which results in a totally undivided unity of experience – whereby there is no self/world distinction in this seamless experience.
Add in -- Spirit-Presence is in the space surrounding all things, but also in those things as well.
Also idea of spatial awareness, like general awareness – the subtle spatial connection between things.
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Now, this has been a description of outward experience of Spirit, which can happen with eyes closed or eyes open. At first, it helps to have the eyes closed, but then we can experiment with eyes open. Having eyes open and with the other outer senses all open as well, though, presents certain difficulties. The difficulty is that in the world around us we see specific things and even details of these things. This is natural to the outer senses, especially seeing. Our perceptual attention tends to focus upon specifics, particulars, and details in the space around us. Each particular, then, tends to evoke in us certain thoughts and perhaps memories, or at least our thinking mind tends to label each particular thing, like a young child pointing at things, saying ‘that is a ..” So we tend to get lost in the details, focused on the particulars. Also part of this particularization of attention is that people around us are often talking, which again brings our attention to the particulars and details of life. Now of course, there is nothing wrong with particulars and practical things. The problem is that, in order to experience the Spirit-Essence, we cannot get caught up in just the particulars because this becomes a narrower focus.
So in order to experience the One Spirit pervading the space around us, our attention has to be free of particular focusing and, instead, become perceptive of the pervasive space of which particulars are in. Also, be aware of the interconnectivity of things. What we are looking for, as it were, is the interconnective unity of everything and everyone around us. We are looking for the underlining essence within all things, the interconnecting essence. Also, in other terms, we are looking for the One Self in all life, in all space.
The even greater task, which is a step advanced, is to simultaneously perceive particulars and interact with particulars, while also realizing the interconnective unity, the interconnective Spirit, in all the particular things and people we encounter. Then we are consciously experiencing and appreciating both the particulars of life and the Unitive Spiritual Essence pervading all these particulars. This is an opening to the Unitive Beauty in all of life.
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Here is another way to experience the space around, or this is an added insight. Experience the vibrant electricity of space. Experience space as electrically charged with livingness. This is the electrical vibrancy of life energy scintillating through space, so that space itself is charged with vibrant life energy. This description of natural space as electrical is, of course, metaphorical. But one can have a perceptual experience of space where the air surrounding things has a kind of electrical sparkiness in it. It glistens and sparkles with the energy of life. Thus, Spirit has a quality of being livingly vibrant, filling us with vibrant life energy. This makes good sense, because where does the life energy originally come from? In yoga terms, this is called prana, the vital energy in all life. In Taoism it is called chi. Spirit Presence is related to the life energy of space and in all living things. This life energy comes from the Spirit because it is a quality of Spirit.
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To add:
Spirit and spirits
Each living part of nature has Spirit in it. One Spirit pervades through all and in all. But we can also focus attention on particular things in nature, and each of these has its own particular spirit. This is the particular consciousness, intelligence and life energy of that individual thing. A tree is a great example of this. Each tree has its own particular spirit. Each living individual thing is composed of spirit, intelligence, life energy, and physical embodiment. Individual spirit has two levels of meaning. The specific meaning is when spirit is specifically the consciousness within the four-fold aspect of living being, as just mentioned above. The general meaning is when spirit refers to the whole non-physical parts of the thing – such as its consciousness, intelligence and life energy.
Anyways, each particular spirit can be experienced and respected in its own right. For example, I can address a particular spirit with respect and friendship. This is sort of like saying hello to an individual person, rather than just to the whole crowd. I can address my respect and friendship to the greater forest, like the crowd, and here I am communicating with a larger spirit than just an individual.
The point is that there are varying levels of Spirit. There are particular individual spirits, which are within a larger spirit, which may be within an even larger spirit, etc; yet all finally within the One Spirit. Looking at this in reverse, there is firstly the One Spirit (and perhaps we might think of this as the Earth-Gaia Spirit), which pluralizes Itself, dividing Itself into the many. Yet no single spirit is divided from the One Spirit, since each is emergent from the One Spirit and within the One Spirit. Thus, there are many individual particular spirits within the One Spirit.
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realization:
I have self-consciousness, and so do you. I have an interior life, and so do you. I have my own inner sensitivities, and so do you. This is not just something to take lightly or for granted. Ponder on this. Think about it from your own perspective and in relation to others. I can’t do that for you. I can only do this for myself. Only I can know my own self-consciousness. Only I can know my own interior life and inner sensitivities. And this is the way it is for you and everyone else we meet or know. Consider this. Don’t just take it for granted. In a sense, I am alone in this. But then, everyone else is in the same situation. So if I really consider this deeply and honestly, I realize a deep understanding of other people, since they are in the same situation.
Now consider this. I have self-consciousness. I am self-conscious. And this is very much to do with myself. Yet consider this possibility – that this self-consciousness is part of a much greater Self-consciousness. Consider that we are each self-conscious within the greater Self-consciousness. Our self-consciousness is within Self-Consciousness,
and Self-consciousness is within our self-consciousness. Ponder on this.
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-- Self-consciousness / Spirit Presence that is out there and in here.
Transcendence and pantheism
Transcendence has to have some pragmatic importance; otherwise its meaning is insignificant. The pantheistic view is that there is only this universe, and nothing else is transcendent. As well, in pantheism the Divine is nothing more than what is immanent here in creation. There is no Divinity transcendently outside of creation. So in pantheism there is only Divine Immanence, but no Divine Transcendence.
This pantheistic view of the Divine (and also of Reality) would stand as true if there were no pragmatic importance in Divine Transcendence. In other words, if the Divine could be fully explained without any need for transcendence, then transcendence would have no important meaning at all and could this be discarded from any truth-description of Divine Reality.
Yet there are three properties of Divine Transcendence that give it metaphysical importance: ontological resource, causality, and purpose.
First of all, Divine Transcendence is the ontological resource for the creative unfoldment of the manifest world. It is the Source Provider for creative potentials, and the Source for all higher qualities such as consciousness, love, and intelligence. Physicalist theories cannot fully explain the source of potentials. We can observe and analyze the manifest universe, but we cannot find the potentials in it. We cannot find the first original source of any properties. How can something ever even come to be, without there first being a potential of it? Thus, Potentials come from Divine Transcendence. God in Transcendence is Potential, and thus, is the Source of all potentials in existence.
Second, Divine Transcendence is causally influential in the manifest world……. Explain (and this has been explained elsewhere)
Thirdly, Divine Transcendence provides Purpose for this universe, this world, this life. There are purpose which can be derived from life itself. This is undeniable. And these can be great purposes as well, divine purposes, such as living life to the fullest, excelling in life and enjoying life. These basic life purposes, possibly discovered in life itself, are also great divine purposes. Yet it seems impossible to explain how all spiritual purposes would be derived from just life itself, nor from just a biological explanation of having purposes. For example, one spiritual purpose is to unfold our unknown creative potentials. But why would anyone even imagine that there are unknown creative potentials? And what about the spiritual purpose of realizing the mysterious depths of oneself? If the Immanent is all there is, then why would anyone wonder about mysteries in oneself beyond what is directly evident? One is seeking to realize and actualize a mystery that is not actually apparent here at this time.
There is something transcendental about realizing a higher purpose. The very sense of it being “higher” is already a clue to its transcendental nature. The Purpose is higher to (or transcendent to) the ordinary goals of life. Higher Spiritual Purpose is beyond what life itself teaches us. Knowing this Purpose comes from the beyond – from beyond life itself, from beyond what is already here. In other words, the Purpose of life is from beyond life itself. From Beyond life, life is given its purpose, which is to realize and unfold the Mystery of life and our being, which also means to realize and unfold the greatest Potentials of life and our being.
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Seeking the Divine
In some people there is a seeking for the Divine. There is a seeking of a Mystery and Power and Beingness underneath the apparency of this life. There is a seeking to understand this Mystery. As well, there is a seeking to know the mystery of oneself – the mystery of who I am Really – (which is suggested here in this teaching to be most deeply Divine). There may also be a longing for Divine Communion, which is like a very deep relationship or even like a merging in love.
So what, more exactly, is one seeking? For some people, they will be seeking God. Yet this can mean many possible things. If God is known in a personable way, or super-personable, then perhaps one is seeking a deep relationship with God, or perhaps a heart and mind connection, or even perhaps a kind of communion with God. Another possible way to describe the seeking or longing experience is to seek the One Being, which is a possible meaning or description of God; though the term, One Being, is less personable than the term God. Yet regardless of this seeming to be less personable, one can still have a very strong longing to be in deep relationship with the One, or to be deeply connected with the Oneness of Being, and finally perhaps seeking a mystical communion with the One Essential Being. Basically, one is seeking a most deep and absolute experience of Oneness, or Unity with the whole spiritual reality of the Universe. So perhaps we are seeking Unity – unity in oneself, unity with all of life, and even unity with the whole Mind and Heart of the Universe, to be called God.
Now it will be suggested here that a possible meaning of God is Unity, or Unity-Being, or Oneness of Being. Though not to forget that God is, as well, the Mind and Heart of the Universe. Another possible term we can use is the Divine. It is that which is most beautiful and good. But for now, we will use the term Unity as synonymous with the Divine, God, One Being, etc.
So there is a seeking of Unity. I want to realize Unity – unity in myself and with Life, and unity with the Divine Essence in Whom I am. I also seek knowingness of the mysterious Divine, and I also seek love communion with the Divine.. or communion within the Divine. So the seeking is towards Unity also involves a seeking for love and communion. These are, of course, all related. If one is seeking a feeling of greater love, this implies a seeking for greater belonging, which is a belonging in Unity, and it also implies a communion of oneself with the greater Unity. Of course, all of this just said can also be understood in a seeking of God; for again, Unity is simplified meaning of God.
Ultimately, we are seeking a Unity experience, or a Oneness experience, which will often feel to be a longing for our Return to Oneness. It is as though we have an inner intuition of being connected in the Greater Oneness, or to have once been fully in this communion; yet we still feel sort of disconnected or in some degree of experiential separation. Perhaps we have an intuitive feeling that the Divine is already embracing us in Love, but we are not yet spiritually awake enough to fully experience this.
Now some teachings will say that any sense of spiritual longing or seeking is actually just making problems. Because if in Reality there really is Just One Being which is already embracing us or enfolding us, then any sense of seeking is merely going along with an illusion of separation. This is insightful. And it can be a very useful realization, if it awakens one from the illusion of separation and brings one into an awakened experience of Unity. However, there are times when the illusion or the feeling of separation is too strong to be dispelled so easily by just intuitive insight alone. Thus, most spiritual paths accept the need for spiritual seeking and longing. For it is a realistic approach, accepting the probable situation of being, at times, in a rutted sense of separation. Thus, seeking and longing become a path out from this present experience of separation. For it is one thing to say or think that we are Really already in Unity and without separation; it is quite another thing to actually experience this non-separative Unity with full realization, and with continual realization. Complete transformation of oneself, from the illusory to the Real, will most often require a significant amount of time. This alchemy takes time, especially as it involves sticky, lumbering emotional and mental patterns. Longing is part of the burning stages in alchemy. This is very much about transformation.
So back again to the topic of seeking. We seek EXPERIENCE of the Divine – an experienced connection, relationship, and finally, our realized unity in it. We are seeking Divine Experience. Or in other words, we are seeking Unity Experience – to experience oneness in the Divine. Yet as well, we are also seeking the Divine in our living. We wish for the Divine to be living in us, living through us, and manifesting fully in our lives. So, the Seeking has these two fundamental aspects, these two fundamental aims or wishes. One is to fully EXPERIENCE the Divine. The other is for the Divine to fully LIVE through us, and to manifest in our lives and in the whole world. Thus, the experience of Unity/Oneness (with or in God) is significant as a greater purpose and aim. But also significant is that this Unity/Oneness actually lives, expresses, and manifests through us. I seek full experience in the Divine and also wish for the Divine to live through me – with evergreater completeness.
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Spiritual food vs. material food
Our real need and real food is the substance of Divine Being, Divine Presence. This is our spiritual food. It is the food of the Divine. It is the mana from heaven. This food is from Divine Presence. It is the substance of Divine Presence (which is the Presence of Divine Being). This is always present, here and everywhere. But the food is not absorbed into us without us being conscious of it or experiencing it. This food is also transformative, for essentially it is the food of Light, and Light transmutes all illusions and dross. This food also brings us into communion, into Unity. So what is the food we really need? It is the food of experience – the experience of Divine Presence and Unity. It is the experience of being in Divine Presence. It is the experience of being in Unity. This is the food of Spirit, the food of the Divine, which is our Real Need.
This is our real need, but this need is not understood by a mind and heart that has not yet had any experience whatsoever of the Divine. The ordinary mind, unless already having glimpsed or felt the Divine, will not have a clue that this food even exists, let alone that it is an actual Need. It is a Need of our soul. So we need to be absorbing this food.
Seek the real food, the spiritual food, rather than only thinking about material food or sensuous food. Material and sensuous food are good too, but spiritual food is of greater importance. This importance needs to be strong in us; otherwise, the materialistic foods will dominate one’s mind and heart. The physical appetites will dominate our attention and desires, such that we will tend to forget about the more important spiritual food. So there is a problem here, because there is a kind of competition going on between our material appetites and our need for spiritual food. The former tends to automatically take our attention, while the latter is thus neglected. The material minded appetites get in the way of realizing our spiritual needs. They tend to distort the truth and mislead us. Now remember, there is nothing inherently wrong with material appetites. The problem is that these are dominating our mind and emotions; whereby our spiritual needs get neglected and suppressed.
A solution to this problem is some sort of remembrance about what we truly need, or about a more true aim or hope within us. This remembrance of Aim or of Need, or we could call it a ‘higher desire’, is a way to break free of automatic engrossment in materialistic desires and their dominance of our attention.
Also part of the solution is to intelligently consider what is truly a need – versus a whimsical or superficial desire. Because so often we are fooled by our very own desires, in that these desires claim to be needs. Each desire, however whimsical or superficial it may be, tends to develop its own special justification as a kind of persuasive argument for its importance. Each desire wants to appear important, in order to gain attention and fulfillment. Part of this is the illusion that I need this. So if we intelligently and reflectively consider what is truly important or truly needed, we can weed out the false needs (the I need this).
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Meaning of Sacred
It has been said that we might seek the Divine and experience the Divine. We can also use the word Sacred. Thus, we can seek the Sacred and have an experience of the Sacred. The meaning of Sacred could easily be equated with the Divine, or with God. But the following will be a more specific meaning of sacred or sacredness. First of all, the sacred can sometimes refer to things related to particular religious rituals or places. We will not use this narrow definition, but instead use a much broader definition. Sacredness will still be synonymous with holiness, but the holiness does not have to belong to any religion. For example, we can find holiness in non-religious places and things, and also in the natural world. So for something or some place to be holy or sacred, it does not have to be religiously connected. It could simply be a natural thing, like a tree, or it could be a natural place, like a forest. Our own home could be sacred. Our bodies could be sacred. Life can be sacred. Well of course, life is sacred and is holy. And so are those natural places.
For the Divine, the Sacred, the Holy is everywhere in life, immanent in and through life. However, this is a general truth. If we look specifically at things, some things are not sacred, not holy, not divine. For example, murder is not sacred or holy; neither is any form of intentional harm done to others. Pollution is not sacred or holy. Hatred is not sacred or holy. So some things are not sacred, even though all things generally are part of this Sacred Life. In other words, all things are participating in a general Sacredness, but not each thing is necessarily sacred in itself. If we can understand this logic, then many misunderstandings will be avoided.
Another example might help. It is true that this body is sacred and holy. Our bodies are sacred and holy. But if I make my body into a wreck with heroin, then is my body still a sacred holy place? It is in its essence or in what it ought to be. But it isn’t at this time holy. It’s holiness has been defiled, polluted, and so it is no longer holy. Now it is a defiled place. It could even turn into a miserable, dark place. So its sacredness and holiness has been lost; even though we could assert that this body still has its sacred potential; that is, we could return it to its rightful holiness.
Respect also comes into this. If we respect something as sacred, then it is sacred and holy. But if we do not respect, then it ceases to be sacred and holy; well, at least from that person’s point of view. For example, imagine a sacred grove where many people have come to pray or meditate or do holy rituals. This is certainly a holy place. But then imagine, unfortunately, a group of vandals who disrespect the place and treat it like a dumping ground. For one, the place looses something; doesn’t it? It looses a sacred holy energy that it once had, due to this defilement. Second, the place looses an energy of holiness, due to the disrespect given to it. The sacredness has to go into hiding, as it were. The good spirits go into hiding, as some might say.
This importance of respect relates also to how we perceive things in life. If I perceive something, someone, or a place as being sacred, then I will respect this and treat this will sacred care. But if I do not perceive the sacredness, then I may, intentionally or unintentionally, disrespect it and possibly defile it. Thus, perception of the sacred is essential for the very actuality of sacredness. The grove or the lake would never have been known as sacred, and thus never respected and treated as sacred, unless it was first perceived as sacred. Remember this relation between perception and respect.
So we might understand that all things in this world are sacred, generally speaking, since all things are participants in Life—which is itself Sacred. Yet not all particular things or places are particularly sacred and holy, because this depends on how they are used and respected and perceived. If abused or defiled, the sacredness and holiness goes away, into hiding. Its sacred potential still remains, but it is no longer a sacred holy place. If disrespected, the immediate sacredness is lessened, though always remaining in its potential. And if not actually perceived as sacred, then there is obviously no experience of the sacredness. From an Objective Spiritual View, all of nature, all of life, is spiritual, divine, sacred and holy. But from a perspective of human experience, sacredness is a matter of perception.
Also, sacredness in its particular forms is relative. This means that some things are more sacred than others, more sacred in comparison with other things or places. This appears to be an inequality, but it is just so. If all the world were simply in its pristine natural state, then perhaps every place would equally be sacred. But since the human factor is now involved, not all is equally sacred or holy.
Let us now consider what are the essential qualities of the sacred. What makes something or some place sacred, or more sacred than some other? We could address this question by stating what special qualities are present in the composition of what is objectively sacred. But this is a much too difficult task. We could speculate that harmony and integral unity are necessary qualities of sacredness, but more than this is too difficult. Instead, let us consider the perceptual qualities of sacredness; that is, how is sacredness recognized? Four qualities will be mentioned: beauty, majesty, healing, and love. These are the sufficient properties of sacredness; that is, any of these qualities are sufficient for us to realize sacredness. Yet these qualities in themselves have to be understood, for they presently are rather ambiguous.
Beauty is known by the delight and joy we have in its presence. It is known by its exquisiteness and loveliness and attractiveness. We are naturally attracted to beauty, and that which is beautiful evokes in us a love or possibly an adoring. Very often it has to do with a right proportion and harmony among its elements, but the actual ingredients of beauty is a mystery. Majesty is also a sufficient quality of sacredness. If something or some place is majestic, it can be realized as sacred or holy. And so what is majesty? It is that which is awesome, amazing, incredible, and powerful. And it makes one feel humble in its presence. For example, imagine being in the presence of a magnificent, awesome cliff. It may not have the delicacy and attraction of something describable as beautiful, and in fact it may well evoke respectful fright, but it is nonetheless awesome. It evokes awe, amazement, and humility. And we naturally give respect to the power of this. This is majesty, which is not exactly the same as beauty (though we might discover some things as having both beauty and majesty).
Another possible quality of the sacred is healing. Any place, thing or person who is healing for us is sacred. Now it is true that the sacred things of beauty and majesty can also be healing, but the quality of healing is important in its own right. Healing brings us back to our essential harmonious integration and wholeness. Healing also brings us back to our inner heart. So if a place is healing for us, in heart or in body, then this place is sacred and holy. And if we keep respecting it as so, then it will continue to be so.
In addition to the possible healing quality of something, there is also a possibility of love. Some places and some people generate the quality or energy of love. One feels love in that presence, and being loved. If a person is healing for us, they are sacred to us. If a person loves us, they are sacred to us. Consider this. You will realize it is true. If a person abuses us or hurts us, then they lose their sacredness. So love is also a sufficient quality of the sacred and holy.
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Mind as creator of reality
There is a path of Buddhism which teaches something quite surprising and difficult to believe. It states that the reality we live in is, ultimately, a creation of mind. Not only this, but it is a creation of one’s own mind. So let us try to make some sense of this, and see what is true and not true. Remember that if we do not try to make sense of teachings, then these merely remain as dogmas and clichés to express for the speaker to feel wise or righteous.
So, how is this reality of the world around us a creation of our mind? Let us not go so far as say that the physical substances here are creations of mind. This is one kind of metaphysical belief, but let us not even go there. And let us certainly not go so far as to think that this whole world is a creation of my mind, for that is rather delusionary and solipsistic. For if I am creating the environment around me, then what about you as an equal creator? So in some way, let us each realize that “I” am not the sole creator of this reality shared by many others. It could be accepted, though, that “we” are the creators of this shared reality. At least that would make some sense. Though presumably, this “we” are human minds, so we are then saying that we humans are the true creators of the earthly reality. This is a bit far-fetched, though perhaps possible.
Let’s be more realistic. Simply realize that so much of our home and work environment, and other places we hang around, are creations of our own mind. This is not speaking about the physical things there, nor is trying to imply that the physical world is illusionary. Rather, simply consider how much of what happens around us, including the words and actions of others, is caused partially by how we think, and by what we say and do that are directly linked to how we think about and view the world.
Let’s break this down into two parts. One part is how we think about and view what is reality. The other part is what we say and how we act, in accordance with our thinking, which then has a causal effect on others and the world around us. So the two parts are about our mind and then about our action resulting from our mind. Both are creators of our local world; mind/thinking being the first cause – which results in speech and action – which then directly effects the world.
How we interpret the world.. how we understand… this is the first primary cause of how we act and even about intention…..
Need to elaborate on this very interesting topic…
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Our speech and action affect those around us. This ought to be obvious. But somehow we tend to forget this for even long periods of time. Our lives would actually change quite dramatically if we were to simply realize this more often – that our speech and action effect those around us – and so consider such effects before speaking or acting. This itself is very profound. Yet add to this as well that such effects, from on own self, help make our local reality what it is. So we are creating, or at least helping to create, what our reality is, what the people around us will be like, and even much more. People in our local world are very much affected by how we are, by how we think about them and also by how we act in relation to them; which, in turn, becomes the affecting world we are in.
Thus, let us add this. How we affect others by our thinking and actions then comes back to us.
This is the law of mind and karma, as from Buddhist teachings. And we can see it here. Mind helps create the reality we are in, most notably our own local little world of reality, which includes the reactions and behaviors of others, in relation to our self; which in turn comes back to our self – because this the reality that is now coming at us and what we now have to deal with. Sometimes we help make happiness around us; but perhaps at other times we create anger. We do this by how we are. Sometimes we may help create harmony or peace; but at other times maybe we create discord or conflict. Yet rather than just be passively ignorant about this, perhaps one can be actively wise about it. Take charge! Be an active creator of reality! Realize your own power in creating the reality around you. I cannot directly change others, nor make them do what I think they ought to do. But I can change my own self and have an active intention to help create the world around me. I do this by the qualities I radiate out to others and the world, and also by what I say and do.
This is about the transformation of oneself.
The six perfections: Givingness, kindness, patience, joy, stillness, wisdom.
I can only work with myself. Qualities have to become in myself.
For the Buddhist, a large part of wisdom is seeing the self-causes of what happens.
see the Vision of having my own group meeting, but also attending others. As to make community.
Consider this: in RE to Kabir.. the structure is setting up everyone… for either awakening or following. The awakening would have to be a release from the structure of hierarchy.
Look for a bakti retreat, something devotional, and I can add in the mental/
Figure out that drum beat from the Three Last Words
New from Nov-Dec 2010
I have to eventually go into the marketplace and find my way in the party of life.
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Consider this. Perhaps.. any thought way has its opposite to balance it.
And that balance is the key principle.
For example, .. let us have a good / (needed ) routine for our child.
Makes sense. Right? But what is there is a balance to this. The balance of a needed spontaneity by the child and flexibility by the parent ?
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What are the essential most essences?
Being true to myself
Finding the truth of myself, or the truth in myself.
Having connection
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Work with higher intuitional of mind.
So that Higher levels can contact me a and work its way through.
I need to be a connecting rod.
By the Law of Attraction. Vibrational attraction, or harmonic resonance.
Silence in order to listen to Intuition/Truth /Guidance to discover Goals.
Deep Silence is being in the Point of Power, Power of Being.
in the non-dimensional point
The Guide, a Master Guide or a Guiding Angel, helps to lead us towards our own inner divinity, our soul.
INFINITY
Two main Goals have to be presented here, because they are central to the teachings of Truth. These need to be discovered for each person in their own time. There are many possible ways to present this, and this is just one. One of these Goals is Realization (and I can go into this more – though its been done). The other is Expression, which we will present here as bringing Heaven on Earth, or Expressing the Divine on Earth. This is to bring the highest goodness, beauty, harmony, intelligence and love on Earth.
Realization is more difficult to explain. Here is one attempt.
Let us realize Infinity. This the Consciousness of Infinity, or we might better say it is Infinity Consciousness, a consciousness without any limits. We might as well also add in Eternal Consciousness. So, this Infinity-Eternal Consciousness becomes a Goal of realization. This is the Most Awesome Goal. But then, when one is realized in this, there is the possibility for living without any attachments or fears. For the goal is to realize oneself as Infinite and Eternal. In fact, one is realizing the Truth of oneself. But what exactly is Infinite and Eternal in us? It is not our body, not our changing emotions, nor our thoughts. It is only our consciousness – which is the central truth of our self.
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vulnerable to God
At some point we need to let go of fears, fears about love. When we fear we do not trust. And when we do not trust we derail the possibilities of love. Some people are so trusting that they lack any intelligent discrimination between the real and the false. This is just stupidity, or perhaps it is intellectual laziness. Of course though, in the final analysis it is the heart that must decide between good and bad. The intellect discriminates between true and false, while the heart knows what is good rather than bad.
But let us return to this topic of trust. It may be stupid to fully trust everyone we meet, and especially the media that is very often guided by hidden opinions or by persuasive intended advertisement. However, in relation with the Divine, or with God, trust is the Way. Faith is the Way. And this is very connected with love, and how we love. Without trust there is blockage between oneself and the Divine. Here is something important: one has to vulnerable to God. Be vulnerable to the effects of divine love.
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separation and longing
It is fairly easy to think about and talk about how we are all already in Unity with the Whole, with the Divine, with God, or with Life. But unless we are actually experiencing this Unity and living from such experience, the philosophical Truth of Unity doesn’t really help us; because what we are looking for is a true and fulfilling experience of such Unity, both mentally and emotionally. …. Remember that we are what we experience. It may well be True that there is no real separation between I and Unity. But if I experience such separation, then I am not experientially in the Unity. Right?
Longing may arise when there is an experience of one’s distance from union, or a sense of separation from the Divine Unity. This experience of distance or of separation is ultimately an illusion. But nonetheless, the experience feels to be very real at the time. Some teachings will quickly dismiss any such experience as being illusion, on the basis that there must already be Unity. If thinking about it and reasoning about helps one to regain the experience of unity, then that is great. But often, an emotional sense of distance or separation is not so easily dispelled by mere thinking or remembering some truth given by some teaching. Very often, we need to be honest about where we are, or how we are actually experiencing, and very often these deep seated emotions do not simply transform so easily. So although it is possible to transform our whole emotional experience by a simple remembrance of a teaching; more often, emotional experience needs more than this to transform.
So the other way to bring about union and unity is by way of emotional longing, and the energy this produces propels one back into union. The heart feels the love pains of separation, which then brings about a longing-for-Love experience, or longing-for-union, analogous to lover and Beloved. If this is real—really felt – then this longing energy propels one back into union. It starts from an emotional experience of separation from the Divine Unity, yet this produces a longing which then propels one into the embracing experience of Divine Unity.
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The way out of experienced separation, and into Unity experience, is along two main paths, though both are interconnected. One is by way of the mind and the other by way of the heart. Both are necessary. Let us repeat that – both are necessary.
…. Longing and surrender…. And realize I am already in the Unity
… already one with God. --
Surrender into the Ocean Love of the Divine, of God
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One can realize, in sense, God the Divine Being seeing us. I can realize, or even see, God being conscious in this and every here and now. For God is the Consciousness.
Yet this is not the final realization; for God is still out there.
God is the beingness in myself and in everyone. God is central consciousness in myself and in everyone. God is the love in myself and in everyone. Allah.
Ultimately realize, though, that whatever is said above is to be balanced with another;
For it is Balance that is the Ultimate Value.
Decision is what makes the difference in spiritual progress. The most difficult decisions involve sacrifice. (I already wrote about this) Sacrifice of one’s personality-ego interests, one’s self-desires, is most difficult. Also very difficult is a decision to serve others or the world. This is how we serve God. God does not need anything really, because God is the Source of all that is. Does God need us to perform prayers and rituals? No, because God is already everything. We do those religious things for ourselves, because we need it, not God. But God does need one thing. God needs us to love and serve others and the world. For God is the Source of love and the will-to-give, yet we are needed to do this, because we are the bodies, hands and speech that can do this work. God has no actual hands, except for ours. So a great step is taken when we decide to serve God by serving the world, deciding to help God by helping the world. Such is the possible step, the possible path. But it is a very difficult decision to make. It is life-changing, to say the least.
Now in one sense, these difficult steps of decision and sacrifice are needing to come from the ego itself. If the ego is in charge at moment A, then moment B won’t see any change unless there is a new decision and sacrifice from the dominating ego in moment A. So the needed new decision and sacrifice has to come from oneself as it is right now. But this is just one side of the reality, because there is also help from the soul in all this. Using a kind of metaphor to help understand this, the soul is emitting a flowerful perfume of decision and sacrifice, which draws the ego towards higher decision and sacrifice. The soul is bringing to the ego this possibility and also its importance, and also a mysterious attraction. Thus, this is an example of how there are two necessary powers involved in any spiritual decision or action. On one side is a necessary sacrificial or love-oriented movement of the ego. Yet how could this ever come about, if the ego is fundamentally self-interested and self-serving? It is possible because the inner soul is permeating, like perfume, its love and expanded consciousness. Or it is arising from within; for this is a blessing from within us. But it can only happen when the ego-self, the present I am in charge here, opens up at least a little to this and allows the inner soul to speak, as it were. The inner soul is humble and respectful to all freedom. It is not manipulative like the ego, so it does not try to overpower the ego or anyone else. It just waits to be heard. Or we might understand that the soul is always ready to play a beautiful music, but it waits to be heard. The soul also permeates its perfume of love and beauty, but this too is not forced upon the personality ego. Yet, once the personal ego opens up a little to its inner soul, and allows it, and allows itself to be somewhat vulnerable to the inner soul, it then opens to this love scent of the soul – to the soul’s power of love and its wisdom of love. Then, the soul comes more into play in this duo-dynamic of soul and ego. Thus, this was an indirect explanation of how both the ego and soul have necessary sides to play in any higher-spiritual decision, sacrifice, or loving action.
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Decision:
This is a theme of Scorpio – here is the lesson, which is universal.
Ordinarily, we are motivated by desires and reactions, which are sub-consciously rooted. That is, these desires and reactions emerge from our subconscious (or what is unconscious to us). They are not intentional and not really decided by you (“you” meaning your conscious mind). Instead, they emerge from an unconsciousness – like fixed patterns of behavior or programs from the past. They are, actually, continuities of the past. And we become the blind vehicles for these to continue.
Subconscious beliefs are also part of this.
The fact is that ordinarily we are unconscious automatisms, simply continuing along a road motivated by subconscious forces, desires and reactions. In effect, then, we are asleep. We may well be consciously awake to the outer world, which means that we can safely drive our car to work and talk with people and get stuff done. So it appears we are awake. But our motivating desires and our usual reactions in this world come from an unconscious source in us. We are conscious of the outer world, yet our inner reality that brings forth our usual personality and reactions is pretty much unconscious to us. In fact, we are so asleep or unconscious of all this, that we seldom even question what is going on in us, or question how we are being in the world. We see everyone else, but we don’t see our own self in action, and we rarely see into our subconscious workings. So, we don’t know what is really going on in our subconscious (in the unconscious part of us), and we don’t usually notice how our behavior is motivated and molded by these subconscious forces. And we think we are awake?
The idea to grasp here is that ordinarily we are asleep, even though we think we are awake. It only appears that we are fully awake, because we are awake to the outer world adequately enough to function in a successful way (getting the things done required by our job, or by our family, or society). But we are asleep in regards to our own inner workings, inner forces, and inner motivations; which is greatly significant since these are the forces and patterns that make us how we are in the world.
So, what is the solution to this? The only escape is become truly awake. But this is a gradual process, for we are attempting to awaken to our inner subconscious, or to what is fully going on inside us. In time, psychology and society will realize that this process of inner awakening is a very real process of life.
The solution is conscious decision and intention. It is not enough to merely observe it.
Consciously decide. Yet the great test in this is to consciously decide in favor of Higher Purposes. Have a higher purpose. Otherwise, what appears to be a conscious decision might just be an old pattern in disguise. Needing to have a higher purpose demands that the choice to more thou roughly considered.
The possible “triumph” is to reverse the wheel of karma – of the past dictating the future – due to mechanicalness. Every moment we overcome our mechanicalness by acting from conscious decision and intention, based upon higher purpose, we are then reversing the karmic wheel and taking evolutionary steps.
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Spiritual will is above and distinct from desire and reaction. Man's ordinary state is to be motivated and directed by desires and reactions; yet these are from the subconscious... So in a sense, Scorpio is challenging us to awaken from sleep -- being merely guided by unconscious forces in us, such as desires and reactions.
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Come from one’s strengths. Leave behind the weaknesses.
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Our capacity of receptivity to higher divine qualities is likened to a chalice. This chalice is in our heart. Imagine the chalice in your heart, and how it is openly receptive to the highest qualities of love, wisdom, and spiritual will. First just be receptive. Though not being receptive to just anything, like an open sponge. This is foolishness, even though some eastern teachings make this a practice. It is not about being receptive to anything or to any energies; rather, it is to be receptive to a greater love, a greater wisdom, a greater goodness, and a higher will. We say it is higher because this is all about an evolutionary spiral. One opens up to the higher, because one is dedicated to moving up higher, to rising up the evolutionary latter, to reach greater heights of love, wisdom, and beingness, towards absolute Godness.
Next, imagine and feel your chalice being filled with these higher qualities of the Divine. This is filling the chalice, …or allowing it to be filled from Above.
This is also a part of building one’s soul. The notion of building one’s soul is usually new to most people. It is part of esoteric wisdom, and it has never been adequately explained to the masses in any of the main religions. There is a more complete explanation of all this elsewhere 1, but simply explained here, the soul is being developed over time and incarnations. The soul is sometimes called the traveler. We each incarnated with an inner divine soul, which we need to first discover, but once discovered the soul can be developed further. Yet then a good question would be as to who would be developing the soul? Not the personality ego. The soul basically develops itself, just as the mind can develop itself by study and contemplation, and the body can develop its muscles by exercise. Thus, the soul develops itself further by increasing love, consciousness, and spiritual will. Yet the self-ego has an important part to play in this, because the personality ego has to transfer consciousness from its own preoccupations to the soul.
By analogy, the soul begins like a fetus, whereby it has all of the universal capacities and qualities yet now only as potentials. Then gradually these potentials unfold to become realized. This developing realization, at a very inner deep level of self, is the soul. Then, once there is some degree of soul realization of the Divine Potentials, these realizations can then become actualized through the personality aspects of thoughts, feelings and actions. Soul realization is similar to mental understanding, yet it is an intuitive recognition (recognizing what is already the Truth of oneself), while mental understanding (of the personality vehicle) involves thinking, language/words, and putting ideas together into a conceptual framework.
The aim and purpose of the soul is towards greater and greater realization of its inherent Divine Essence and Qualities. Each soul is like a hologram of the One Complete Universal Being, so each soul is in a process of realizing the Divine Wholeness, which is potentially in itself. And then, the soul manifests these Qualities creatively through the three-fold personality. But while the personality is bound by bodily life and death, the soul carries on into successive incarnations. Thus, each soul has multiple opportunities, having multiple lifetimes, to progressively develop, realizing more of its inherent divine beingness, which is the evolution of a soul.
This physical life and world provides the needed circumstances and opportunities for soul realization and development. It provides a necessary tension and needed challenges, in order for soul development, including learning opportunities as well as the very needed service and love opportunities.. But at the same time, this world also provides possible problems and accidents, which can derail soul progress. In fact, there is no guarantee that there will be any soul development at all in a given lifetime. There is no guarantee that any energy will go to the soul; since, for example, a person’s consciousness could be completely absorbed in the conditioned personality for the whole lifetime.
And here is a key. There needs to be some amount of consciousness energy given to the soul, in order for soul development, or soul building. If the inner soul of a person were completely ignored or suppressed during a lifetime, then soul development is stagnate. It is like a potential or a truth that never gets realized.
So it is necessary for the soul to receive consciousness energy; otherwise it remains like a seed in the dark of the earth. There needs to be some light on the soul. You need to give some consciousness light to your inner soul. This is, very simply, one of the essential needs for soul development. Very often, the personal ego, the controlling power in one’s personality, (or it could be understood as the personality mind), is hording all the available consciousness energy. So, consciousness needs to be given to, or directed to, the inner soul. And this is best done with an attitude of discovery or inquiry. The right attitude, in relation to our soul, is similar to making a deep and loving connection to another person. Bring attention and openness, be receptive and listening, and have a real desire to have this relationship.
To reach the soul will require some amount of surrender of the ordinary mind and preoccupations. In order for energy to be transferred to a deeper place there needs to be surrender and sacrifice.
notes-- also need sacrifice , also need a love for knowledge .. realizing a greater love..
Soul also needs opportunities to actualize through loving service.
Soul also needs love to develop
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Sacrifice
Sacrifice is an important quality, or it would best be called an action, for it is a necessary action in transformation. Energy needs to be transferred from one area to another, which means that energy in one area needs to be sacrificed into the other. In spiritual transformation the lower is sacrificed into the higher. This is one of the esoteric principles, which has application on many levels.
Sacrifice is a very high form of love. Imagine how difficult it is, and how much real love it takes, to sacrifice something for someone else. In any conflict, between people or between nations, it is extremely difficult for any side to sacrifice a self-interest or a position of power, or sacrifice a sense of pride or of felt superiority. We can therefore notice that all of these are traits of the human ego. People hold on to these ego traits, and so do groups and nations. So it is very difficult to make the mature step of sacrifice, in order to attain a wished for peace, settlement, resolution. Groups and nations can be more stubborn than individuals in this. For we can notice and study how nations in conflict tend to hold on to these ego traits – of self-interest, positioning for power, pride, and a sense of superiority (either physically or morally). And we can personally notice the same ego traits in our self, which happen to be our main obstacles to interpersonal resolutions and cooperation. Again, as a reminder, sacrifice is the essential cure and the next spiritual step in this ego vs. ego quandary. But which ego will make this step? Or hopefully in national affairs, both parties can realize the need for mutual sacrifice – which is necessary for compromise.
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Ego go here or above or ?
The ego is defined elsewhere, but most simply it is the controlling I and is always based on some kind of self-interest or another. Most likely it is who one is most of the time. At some stage, it is the ego that must itself sacrifice to the soul. The soul needs to become the real master in oneself, rather than the ego. But this transformation is difficult to attain, because the soul is not usually in charge in the early stages of life; instead, the personality ego has been developing, so it is in control. This is all part of natural psychological stages. The ego develops and establishes control in oneself, before the soul is even recognized or considered. Actually, this ego development is an advancement from an even earlier stage when there is no control in oneself or any real unification of self-direction – which is when the pluralistic libido desires and reactions are in a kind of loose anarchy. In addition, during these libido and ego dominating stages there is a great amount of social conditioning going on in the building process of this personality.
So it is only later on that one makes conscious contact with their soul and develops it further, but this is actually a rarity.
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Our love can move into a higher love. Love is an amazing quality of energy. Of course we all know that love is the most powerful and cherished quality in life. It must be the most important quality in human experience, since it is the most sought after quality. Imagine everyone in love with you, and how good that would feel. Next, imagine being in a special loving relationship with everyone you meet, and how wonderful that would feel. Finally, imagine loving everyone you meet, and how liberating this is. What is also amazing about love is that it can involve the very smallest thing or else the very largest. One can love a very small thing, like maybe a ring, or one can love something most large, like God or Life. One can also love abstract qualities, such as truth, beauty, and goodness. Plato considered these as the highest kinds of love. It is also quite remarkable that anyone would actually love abstract qualities. There is no explanation for this in modern psychological or biological theories. This phenomena is truly unprecedented in all of life, which makes it difficult to explain how humans can have such traits that have no connection to any other animals. Animals can be beautiful and can be good, but as far as we know animals do not show signs of contemplating on truth, beauty, or goodness, let alone debating about this.
So Plato (and Pythagoras before him) brought up the theme of loving and seeking these abstract qualities of truth, beauty and goodness. And it is a mysterious and interesting question as to why anyone would love and seek such abstractions. It is reasonable that people seek out truths in life so they can know how to be more successful in life, and to seek out truthfulness in people so they can know what to expect from them. But why love and seek truth just for its own sake? That is the unexplainable mystery. It is reasonable that people seek out beauty in life, since beauty gives us pleasure. But why love and seek beauty just for its own sake? It reasonable to love and seek out good people, because they make our lives better. And it is reasonable to do things that are good, so that life will be made better by this. But why love and seek the good, just for its own sake? I must be within us to love in this way. Modern biological and social science has much to offer us in new knowledge, but they seem to have no cogent explanation for why so many people now and throughout history have transcendental experiences of love that are described as cosmic and why these people show a desire to love the world and everyone in it that is beyond any explainable need to self-survival or self-serving ends. And finally, there is no cogent explanation for anyone loving truth and goodness for just its own sake.
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From small love and narrow-focused love, we can move onto higher love or greater love. This is part of our possible consciousness expansion. In this way we can free ourselves from narrow-focused attachments by re-orienting our love into something higher and greater. At the same time, we should not abandon tangible people and things, in favor of abstractions.
This cut from my radiance meditation work....Avoiding an imbalanced self-perspective
We need to avoid a possible tendency to always self-identify as being the giver or sender of love. We need to avoid the possible trap of becoming fixated as being the great giver, teacher, or savior. To be identified in these archetypes is very powerful and at times useful, but this needs to be balanced by complementing modes of being.
For example, one may identify as ‘I am the teacher’, but one needs to balance this with a recognition that others are teachers as well, even those we are teaching. We need to recognize what they have to teach us. So we need to balance being a teacher with being a student, and be receptive to what they might teach us.
Likewise, there is a needed balance when being in the mode of radiant love or love's radiance. One who has become 'radiant love' needs to avoid a subtle trap of continually thinking of oneself as the source of radiant love – while others remain always as the recipients. In other words, there is a potential problem in becoming over-identified with ‘I am the radiant one’ or ‘I am the giver of love’ mode of being, while thinking of everyone else as just the recipients of what I am giving.
So one must avoid the illusion that I am the only radiant one in all my encounters and relationships, while everyone else is in need of what I am giving and need to be receptive to my radiance. For always remember that every person we know or meet has also the power of love's radiance and can also be a giver or a teacher. So we need to also always be open to receiving from the radiance and givingness of others.
self-improvement and self-transformation
A part of us wants to improve our self-character, while sometimes another part subconsciously in us does not. In most people, except for higher initiates and Masters, there is a part of oneself that is resistant to change. Generally speaking, we will call this the ego or parts of the ego. This one does not care about improving oneself nor does it care about spiritual evolution. It just wants to remain the same and not change and continue in the pattern that it is. In a sense, this can also be explained as a kind of inertia in our personality self, or also explained as a laziness. In contrast to this resistant and inertia-driven part of oneself, there can also be some impulse for transformation and improvement. This is explained by two different forces. If a character pattern in oneself is realized as harmful or as an obstacle to some greater aim of the personality, such as social popularity or achievement, then there will be a natural personality desire to make transformative changes in oneself. yet another possible cause for change in oneself can be the inner soul – which gives us an impulse to improve our self for a spiritual reason, not merely a social reason or ego-centric reason. The soul is concerned with greater spiritual purposes, more so than smaller personality concerns.
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There are some basic principles in psychological science having to do with self-improvement and self-transformation. One principle is about having a positive vision and positive approach. This can be called the positive approach in self-transformation. It is different from a very common approach that involves intense self-criticism, self-abasement, self-negation, and a kind of attack on the problematic patterns in oneself, which has a motto of destroy the bad. The negative approach is particularly critical, and it focuses on what is wrong or bad, then works to destroy this.
The newer, positive approach focuses, instead, on a higher Vision or Possibility in oneself. …. … …
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make a note in my mind that some of the Astrological signs writings, especially Aquarius, can be useful. And for example, I could replace Aquarius with “Now” or edit in some way to eliminate the astrology characteristic.
I
am a point of light within a greater Light.
I am a strand of
loving energy within the stream of Love divine.
I am a
point of sacrificial Fire, focused within the fiery Will of God.
And thus I stand
I
am a way by which men may achieve.
I am a source of
strength, enabling them to stand.
I am a beam of light,
shining upon their way.
And thus I stand.
And
standing thus, revolve
And tread this way the ways of men,
And know the ways of God.
And thus I stand.
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The Gayatri
O
Thou Who givest sustenance to the universe,
From Whom all
things proceed,
To Whom all things return,
Unveil
to us the face of the true Spiritual Sun
Hidden by a disc
of golden Light
That we may know the Truth And do our whole
duty
As we journey to Thy sacred feet.
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I am one with my group brothers and all that I have is theirs.
May the love that is in my soul pour forth to them.
May the strength that is in me lift and aid them.
May the thoughts which my soul creates reach and encourage them.
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The following notes are from May 2011 about 11 pages
Continuity of consciousness
If we consider what is most important in life, it is not so much the things we have or even the things we do, but rather the way we experience anything or any doing. Experience is what it is all about, really. For example, one can experience with love, peace, joy, or else with some kind of negative or unsatisfied quality. One can really be present, or else only be half present or perhaps only sub-consciously present. Remember that life does not have much meaning, without consciousness and experience. Just imagine living without any consciousness or experience. You might have or do all sorts of neat things, but what would all this mean if you were not really consciously experiencing it? So consciousness, or the quality of consciousness. is the essential factor in having a meaningful life.
This also applies to a greater view of life, not just this particular one we have now. For consider what might be carried on when the physical component dies. We won't be carrying our things. We will carry on who we are, essentially. This will essentially be our consciousness, the quality of our consciousness. It will be the kind of consciousness we have. For example, we might have a love consciousness, not a hate consciousness. We might have a joy consciousness, not a miserable consciousness. We might have a peaceful consciousness, not an upset or a worrying consciousness. We might have a whole unified and harmonious consciousness, not a fragmented or conflicting consciousness. So, this is the question to consider. What kind of consciousness do we have, and what kind is maintained, and thus what kind of consciousness will carry on. Because the outer circumstances will inevitably change, and outer things will inevitably fade away, but our quality or kind of consciousness will carry on. And most essentially, this is who we are.
Also what we carry on are our being-essences. These are similar in meaning to our qualities of consciousness. Yet to understand one's being-essences, consider the very essences of who you are, or what qualities you believe that you have... down deep in your truth. These being-essences carry on... into the next 'world', and into the next life. We might then also reach down even deeper inside to know our self potentials, or the great possibilities of who we can be. These too are part of who we are, part of our 'soul', and carried on. Finally, what carries on are our unresolved confusions and unresolved emotions. For all that is still confusing or unresolved will carry on until resolved with understanding and peace. Peace is attained, most often, by sympathetic compassion and forgiveness. Sympathetic compassion is an emotional understanding of other persons. Forgiveness is very needed, because this is the letting go of retaliation for harm done. As we might notice in the world, but also in our our own psyche, there is an emotional desire to retaliate for harm done, a getting back at the other person who did harm to you or to your loved ones. This can also have a sense of righteous justice in it. But this is the cause of much harm, and it needs to be given up; it needs to be forgiven.
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a time for bringing into manifestation the Higher Cosmic Ideas, which are like blueprints in the Cosmic Mental Plane, On an individual level, this is a time to manifest the Highest Ideal of who we are, or who we can be.
Notes
I build a lighted house, a lighted temple, and therein dwell (where consciousness dwells)
-- with the substances of will, love and intelligence.
Building the lower and higher bodies
Organized soul and matter, building, according to Higher Plans
The Spark from the Source comes into matter, first sleeping, then awakening, then consciously infused with personality.
The Spark from the Source builds bodies… higher then lower.
Incarnation, descent into matter.
I’m building a body of the Divine
Building the soul body (or the mental-intuitional body)
Building higher consciousness.
We know the experience of developing mind and intelligence through learning. Now, we also need to build higher-intuitional mind and higher emotional body. Build the highest inside us. And building a group soul.
We build these higher bodies with will, but also with consciousness dwelling therein.
Building love and bliss.
Geomancy new to add in..
Pervading and throughout the Earth is one primary energy. There are many names for this energy, such as prana, chi, etheric energy, or vital energy. It gives power to life. Also, this a subtle electromagnetic (em) energy, as it has some analogous properties of both electricity and magnetism. In general, this is the same as what we might call planetary energies or earth energies. People use different names for different purposes, so it is important to know that, usually, people are speaking about the same energy but using different names. Significant to understand is that this is one great connective energy, interconnecting every single life and part of the planet. It is moving through us and we are in it. Everything and everyone is sensitive to this planetary energy, in that everyone is inevitably affected by it, without choice. However, not everyone is consciously sensitive to it. If we can be consciously sensitive to it, then it is possible to work purposefully with it and also to enhance our experience of life. We then can also make use of this energy consciously for healing and for expansion of consciousness.
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{{{ note that this below already went into spirit of place.. but check if I re-uploaded it. }}
also note that I can repeat many of these pieces; tactic: make it similar to a book quote with indentation or with italics and then at end of it put in a LINK to the primary page it is in. This is brilliant -- I can do this multiple times with key pieces.
Remember about sacred sites being in 2 files sensitivity and receiving energies, and some might also be in power sites.
I still need to create a whole bunch of LINKS
Be aware of the presence of place
This involves three aspects of place. First, be sensitive to the etheric-vital energy of the place, also known as prana, chi, earth energy, or life energy. Our main receptive centre for this is called the hara centre, just below the belly button, yet our whole body can be sensitive to the energy, especially our hands and the soles of our feet. The soles of our feet are especially significant, because they receptively connect us to the earth below. Thus, we can consciously sense the earth energy rising up through our feet, and we can also sensitively ground ourselves through our feet to the earth below. The Native wisdom says to be conscious of the Earth below, as we stand or walk or sit, and through our feet we can actually sense the living energy of Earth. Conscious breath is also very important, both for sensitivity and for intentional use of this energy. How to actually make use of the vital earth energy of a place is something to ponder upon and perhaps experiment with. Hints and suggestions will be made in various parts of these writings, but for now just experiment consciously with sensitivity and breath.
Next, it is possible to feel the emotional quality of a place. This is the feeling of a place. Each place will have particular qualities, usually a mixture of qualities but often one quality will be more apparent. Yet don't complicate this with thinking; just feel whatever you feel in the presence of this place. Perhaps you can feel the love and the beauty of the place.
Third, we can be sensitively open to the spirit-consciousness of this place. This could be thought of as the mind or intelligence of the place. Each spirit-of-place has consciousness and intelligence. Here is a practical suggestion. Allow yourself to be 'seen', and also be open to hearing any natural wisdom offered by the spirit-of-place.
see trees
include more about the intelligence, emotional, and vital energies. (((then go onto the land...))
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note on electrical and magnetic energies:
make sure this is clear -- about this topic.. both are present but one more dominant.
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Let us meet one another in the Universal Mind/Heart. Let us meet in the shared Universal Consciousness. Perhaps if one person meets another in this knowingness, the other will realize this as well. Recognition is shared. Then, one might ask within as to what level of Universal Consciousness this is, or how inclusive of Consciousness this is. In meditation, one might ask who is all here; for in the One Universal Consciousness (of Mind/Heart), there is an intricate hierarchy of beings. Think of a huge pyramid with many vertical levels (or stories), and at each level horizontally are many rooms or sections of group souls.
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some key ideas
· make a bridge, mentally, to higher ideas, ideals, and purposes
· make a bridge, emotionally, to higher feelings, such as love, joy, and caring
[my own thoughts] --
Happiness, Joy, and Bliss
It could be said that an ideal of any ethical and just society is for the people to be happy, and it is possible to some extent to find a relation between happiness and material circumstances. But we should also remember that happiness depends on the subjective attitude and spiritual connection of a person, and not just dependent on material or outer circumstances. We all deserve to be happy and to have happy lives, and this will require good enough circumstances. However, what is 'good enough' is somewhat of a subjective judgment.
Continuity of happiness requires one to find a way to be happy in every moment. So, happiness has to be an attitude one has in life, rather than being dependent on circumstances. One has to be absolutely flexible in response to circumstances. It involves an attitude of acceptance, and that this is “alright”, or good enough. Whereas the critical judgmental mind is often fixating on the thought, “this isn't good enough.” But when we often think that circumstances are not good enough, this could be because we have too strict or too high of ideal, such that we are often dissatisfied. This sort of thinking, or this kind of dissatisfaction, can become a routine pattern of the personality. Also involved in this pattern of dissatisfaction and unhappiness, very often, is because circumstances are not working out the way we want them to. In other words, we are not getting what we want, due to circumstances or due to how other people are, and so we are unhappy about this, dissatisfied and sometimes quite upset. But this is merely an unhappiness of the ego-desire for not getting what it wants, and then reacting negatively about it.
Yet happiness requires us to be much more light about life and not so concerned about getting just what we want, or how we want it. Happiness requires us to to be easy about life and about other people; then it is easy to be happy. We don't get so quickly upset at people when they do things we don't like. We easily forgive and let go. So we remain happy whatever the circumstances and however other people are in relation to us. Though, we will have to admit in this, that there is a limit to how accepting and easy we are in circumstances; for it is imaginable that some circumstances for some people could be unbearably unpleasant. But as a general principle, with certain exceptions, it is possible to be predominately happy in most moments and events of our lives; because this happiness depends on our own spiritual attitude and our own relaxation of reactive, negative, critical judgment.
If we realize, finally, that happiness depends more on our subjective attitude, than on outer circumstances; then we can start to hold ourselves responsible for being happy, rather than blaming others or circumstances for being unhappy. This is a very hard lesson to learn. It requires a lot of letting go of blame... blaming others and outer things for our unhappiness or discontent. First of all, we need to more easily let go of our reactions and discontents, and also let go of our upsets when others and the world do not conveniently behave in the way that we would most like. Second, we need to take a positive responsibility in having happiness in each moment of life, which requires a conscious acceptance of life and others. It requires us to simply be happy in any conscious moment, with whatever, and happy with the moment and whatever. So, how to be happy? The answer is to be happy. We each have to find this happiness in our self and also find how to be happy.
Joy is very similar to happiness but different in degree, for joy is more intense than just happiness. Joy really emerges from our inner soul. It has something to do with a realization of our inner essence and the feeling that our inner essence/soul is able to emerge. Much of our true soul is usually submerged, hidden, and unrealized. So when a portion of our soul is able to emerge into realization and into expression, a spontaneous joy also emerges. Thus, joy is related to self-expression and self-actualization. Joy is also related to our interconnectivity with others and with nature. We naturally feel joy from the heart when we have a real, inter-connective, inter-relational experience with someone else. When this happens, a certain joy can be noticed. This is because we are interconnecting with another, from soul to soul. There is joy because our souls are having a relational experience. The third kind of joy is felt when we consciously relate with the Divine. We have a conscious relational experience with the Divine, the higher Reality, and thus we feel joy from this. These are the three kinds of joy, each related with our soul.
Bliss is in relation with God Absolute, and it involves our surrender. We can enter into the absolute, or the highest. But this requires surrender. We have to surrender our mind, our heart, and also our will. Our will is offered to God. All of this results in bliss. Thus, bliss is the resulting quality of surrender. Yet this is not a surrender of our self to someone else or to some kind of system; no, this is surrender to the God, the Absolute Divine, and foremost this is a surrender of the heart.
This is about our own relation with God or the Absolute Divine, as it is for us. There is no sense in wondering if a person is in contact with the “right God,” or even worrying whether this is God or not. If one feels to have a relation or contact with God, or with the highest possible Divine, then this is good enough. The relation could even be with one's guru or teacher, and this is alright as well. What is important is the conscientious, sincere feeling that this relationship, or this contact, is with a higher/greater love-wisdom-being, or with God (as we feel God to be). God is the name we give to the very highest and most universal Being, with which we are capable of having contact.
? Consider more in depth, in discourse, the ideal of happiness. And shouldn't this be a prime goal in life.
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New notes -- Aug 2011
Mystical Consciousness -- a Profound Goal in life
One of the great Goals of life is to experience mystical consciousness. This might not happen every moment of our life, yet a spiritual goal of life is to develop our mind in such a way that is possible to enter into mystical consciousness at will at any time.
So what is mystical consciousness? It is the experience of Oneness with the Wholeness. It is also called unitive consciousness, or mind in unity. This experience of Oneness also involves a dissolving or disappearance of separative thought. And what we mean by 'separative thought' is any thought or thinking that has an implicit assumption of us being separate from the Whole. And most thought has such assumption in it. But in mystical consciousness such separative thought has disappeared, and mind is only absorbed in the unity of Wholeness. Our mind and also our feeling-of-being is all absorbed in the experience of Oneness, Unity, Wholeness.
Most spiritual teachings describe this as a oneness or mystical union with God. Fundamentally in essence, this is true, because God is the Absolute One Being of the Whole Universe, and thus any experienced unity in the Wholeness would be an experience of God -- since God truly is the Wholeness. In other words, if we truly experience Oneness, Unity, or Wholeness; then this would be God.
However, there is another way to consider this, yet without any contradiction to what has just been stated. For we can interpret and experience Wholeness in a more localized manner - this being the Planet, rather than the whole Universe. So, rather than interpreting and experiencing mystical consciousness as unity with Universal God, we might experience it more 'locally' as unity with the Planet Earth, the Life-Sphere in which we actually live. And this might make more sense to many people, especially those who are skeptical about an idea to experience unity with the wholeness of the Universe, or with God the Universal Being.
So consider this kind of experience - which is to enter into mystical or unity consciousness with our Planet Earth. Some will call this Mother Earth, or Earth Mother, or we could think of this as the Earth-Being in which we all live. And of course, this is a very important point to consider -- that we do actually live here on the same one Planet Earth, and thus we are all living in and part of the same Earth Being.
Understand that, in a spiritual view, the Earth as a whole is a Being. It is a unity of Being already. It is one whole Being; in a similar way that each of us is one person. The Earth is a unity; it is one Being; and we are in it and part of it. This Earth Being has three obvious parts, or aspects. One is physical, another is mental, and another is emotional. In other words, besides the most obvious physical aspect, there are energies of emotion and also energies of thought moving all over the planet.
These emotions and thoughts may well, of course, seem to be disconnected and often at odds. Yet they are all, nonetheless, interacting together and thus making a Whole Web of relation and interconnection. That is, even if the many thoughts and emotions throughout our planet might not necessarily be harmonious or coherent; it is nonetheless true that they all interact and form a vast complexity of inter-relation; which means they are inter-connected in some way, as is everything on this same Planet.
One very obvious fact is that on our Planet there are many differences in thought, emotion, and physical forms. Yet all of this is in the same Sphere of Unity, this Planet Earth. All of these differences, or diversity, are in the same Whole Sphere of energy, in the same whole electromagnetic sphere. Within this Sphere, everything is inter-connected and inter-related in some manner.
So first realize that we each are inter-connected and inter-related with everyone and everything else. Second realize that all of the interrelations together form one whole intricate Web of inter-connections and inter-relations. Thus, this Web is a whole unity, even though every part in it is not necessarily coherently in harmony with the other parts. Therefore, it is possible to tune into the Whole Field of relations, and to mentally experience this Wholeness.
This experience of Wholeness (or Unity) with the Planet Earth (and all that is part of it) is mystical experience. So, mystical experience is not necessarily about God. It could just as well be about the Earth. It could be an experience of Unity with nature, with the natural world; but it could just as well be an experience of Unity with all beings of this Planet, including all human beings. But understand that to have an experience of Unity with all humanity does not necessarily mean that one is in agreement with all humanity, and nor does it necessarily mean that everyone in this one humanity is in actual harmony. It just means that we are all interconnected and interrelated, which forms an intricate Wholeness, which can be experienced in a meditative state.
This is the experience of mystical unity with all of Earth life, the Earth Wholeness, or with the whole Beingness of Earth. Call it what you will. This is not an intellectual treatise, nor a theory. It is a suggestion for deep meditation. It is a pointer for a possible deep and profound experience of mystical unity with all of life, all of Earth. This is an experience of deep unity with our Earth Mother, our Home, and all that is part of This. We live in an amazing Being, an amazing Planet of life, and this is our Home. It is the only great Home we know, and this is our Great Mother, our Mother of life. Come into the experience of Unity, Oneness, Wholeness with this Earth Sphere.
Note that I could now launch into a teaching about --
the Earth Soul brings forth from Itself the diversity.
Then each part of the diversity is semi-autonomics in its creativity
this also touches upon a very important point metaphysically -- and psychologically -- that to believe in divine origin 0r Higher ontology
is actually psychologically therapeutic ; vs. the scientific theory of accident and adaptation.
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Notes from June 2011
Very newest:
4 Practices of the Way
Union
Radiance
Quality Thought
Recognition of Qualities
12 petals of the heart-soul. 4X3.
3 aspects of will, love, intelligence
each working through the 4 elements
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remember to also include enjoyment as a purpose of life
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((this is also in Great Invocation) -- also I could make a Link fro G-invocation to this..
The Divine Plan is for a gradual unfoldment of Love and Light. This works outward into actualization from its inward potential. The Plan is for a gradual spiritual or holistic awakening, an expansion of consciousness, as well as a gradual awakening of love for others, and a gradually developed expression of love and beauty.
The Divine Plan is a kind of general blueprint of the Process. It is a kind of structure or way of how the Divine will manifest, but it is not some kind of set fixed detailed plan about how every moment or everything will turn out to be. It is all about the unfoldment of Light and Love into the world, which is always a work in progress. This process is gradual over time, because it takes time for us creatures to slowly develop our capacity for greater light, consciousness, awakening. This is all part of an understanding about spiritual evolution -- which is the evolution of life through the unfoldment of Spirit in life. The Plan is that Light and Love and also Spiritual Will shall gradually awaken, unfold, and manifest through people and in the world. Realize that Light, Love, and Will are not simply already fully present in the world, and nor does this automatically unfold. The unfoldment of Divine Light and spiritual consciousness requires a ready and developed receptacle, and it also requires some form of asking or invocation. Thus, this all takes time.
Love and Light are meant to successfully unfold in humanity, to be realized and expressed. Then, as this happens, evil gradually dissipates and finally disappears. Some people are not comfortable with the term, evil, probably because it has such a diabolical or even satanical connotation. Yet the fundamental simple meaning of evil is ignorance, or the lack of knowing, or lack of Light, and this lack of knowing or lack of real awakening is the cause of bad human actions. Evil also involves a lack of love. For any awfully bad or unethical action in the world will have a lack of love. A lack of love will produce poor (or relatively evil) actions; and we will find that any poor actions will have a lack of love. So, evil is really about a lack of light and love. And thus, if Light and Love truly work out in humanity, as coming from the Spiritual Source, then evil will disappear.
Esoterically, there are two simultaneous movements in the Divine Plan, the downward spiral of manifestation and the upward spiral of realization. Both are significantly necessary. Some theosophical teachings show how there is a downward cycle of time, of Spirit entering into further dense materialization, as Pure Spirit comes through gradual planes until finally materializing as the densest of energy/matter and separating into the greatest abundance of diversity. Then, after this reaches an apex, as it were, the cycle moves upward through the planes back towards Pure Spirit and Unity. There is truth in this and it something to contemplate on for an understanding. But this knowledge misses an even more profound significance, which is that the downward and upward are happening all at the same time, such that there is always both the downward and the upward going on in existence, and possibly in our own life. We say it is ‘possible’, rather than inevitable, because the upward cycle of realization requires an extra effort and work, which may or may not happen; while the downward movement of Spirit is guaranteed since Spirit is always seeking to materialize.
newer put in (Oct 10)
metaphysics
Libra also refers to the Natural Law of Balance.
This is a Real Natural Principle in the Universe, as much as Gravity. This Law of Balance compensates the Law of Freedom. The Law of Freedom allows anything and anyone to veer off into any direction and cause various amounts of harm; yet freedom can also lead to new ideas and synthesis. Each life has only a limited capacity for freedom, but freedom does give people an opportunity for creativity, which can lead either to evolution or to regression. Yet besides the impulses of Freedom, there are also the Forces of Balance – which bring us back from the ridiculous or the fanatical to a complementing opposite that will bring balance.
Forces of Balance can come from anywhere around us, from nature, from circumstances, or most likely from other people. Forces of Balance can be subtle and easy, or else they can be more harsh and challenging. The difference between easy balance and harsh balance mostly depends on our own attitude about Balance. If we accept balance, then it comes easy, but if we resist balance, then it comes as more difficult to us and harder at us. Difficult forces of balance are usually known as karma, though karma can be nice as well as harsh. The Law of Balance is part of the Law of Karma, because whatever we vibrate outward or whatever action we make will be a cause that produces an effect, and this effect will bounce back to oneself in a potentially balancing way. The Law of Karma is basically that whatever we think or act will bounce back to us at some time. Positive thoughts and actions will bounce back positive energies, while negative thoughts and actions bounce back negative energies. This is karma in a nutshell. Karma is also known as Justice. So, whatever is bouncing back will be a balancing force in our lives. The positive energies coming to us will balance us in subtle ways, while negative energies coming to us will be balancing in a more harsh manner.
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write a bit more about Wiil of God as Spiritual Will of the Universe -- which we can contact as purpose --- Will as an energy towards.. a yearning towards.. ; rather tha Will of God meaning whatever happens.
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I think I forgot to put this file into the ALL NOTES
Make God real in you. In what way are we to make God real? God is already real in us. God is already real; in fact, many high spiritual teachings and spiritual teachers say that God is real but you are not! For God is the very Ultimate Reality.
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This is the Understanding that leads one on the Path
God is the Absolute One Being in which we live,
and of Whom we are.
I am in God
I am in the Being of God
I am in a journey within God
I am in a journey of awakening, within God
I am in a journey of realizing more and more of God
This is the journey, this is the exploration, and this is the discovery
I can be a living experience of God
I can be a creative thinking mind of God
I can be a loving and compassionate heart of God
I can be a unique and beautiful expression of God
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The Tao of being in harmony
Why are we so scared or resistant about breaking out of our little patterns, or the social regularity?
New notes on to write about or meditate on:
Unity, sphere of humanity, earth, all together, oneness, cooperation,
ideas and visions to manifest: is the plan
Soul
Soul is our innermost self; while personality is our outer self.
Soul is the inside of life; it is what is inside the apparent.
Theme: of
What nourishes the soul is beauty, love, and challenges
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New: for maybe a file about Hierarchy (connection)… and even also somewhere in PATH.
subject to mention is about spiritual mediators . Why useful; why not just God?
Establishing a connection, a higher relationship ; based on LOVE, respect, and openness to learn and be helped.
Desire is alright; but have desire without attachment
Consider creative beauty ; how the purpose is to manifest beauty -- as beauty is seeking to manifest -- and human destiny is to bring MORE beauty into being.
Consider the 2 poles of power: creative and destructive.
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Add this to part on need for unison between mind, heart and will.
Is that there so often not unity. Instead, one is often scattered and confused in the mind; one is often conflicted and oscillating in the heart; and one is often fragmented or indecisive in the will.
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Triad of will, mind and emotion-- infused with the three rays. .
The importance of Both -- invocation and visualization;
AND also the work of our being…
Note on justice in the world:
No divine necessary justice.
Justice may have not yet manifested or happened yet. Those perpetuating injustices need to Learn, and we have to teach justice to them and also help develop their conscience and sensitivity to justice.
Spreading of qualities through magnetism and vibration.
Needs to be aspiration,,, a further subjective wish or desire for spiritual refinement.., something inward not see out ward. So there is the external and the internal ..
aspiration helps others aspire .
Add a topic to investigate in metaphysics
-- related to Light and Sound (Vibration ).
Law of sound and vibration emanating from the Source.
Sound proceeds from Subtle to Dense .
and Vibration proceeds from Infinite Frequency to slower – until matter comes from this.
Matter is the densification of sound / vibration / light.
There are infinite levels of subtle/ty of sound. So we hear a range of sound; yet underneath this is a more subtle sound (like of its soul).. but underneath this is an even more subtle sound, and so on , infinite… so that the Source of all energy/sound is infinitely subtle Sound. (Just as the source is also an infinitely subtle perceived light – of the infinite high frequency. And as these move outward (metaphysically) the light vibration slows down and finally solidifies as atoms/matter… and the Sound slows down and becomes less subtle – until solidifies.
Desire
Desire is the great motivator. So the key to all transformation is desire. You have to really desire something in order that it become a high priority in mind and heart, and only then do other desires subside in deference to this greater desire and aim.
Desire is not usually understood intellectually. Usually, desire is simply a power in what we do and our intellect is disconnected from this.
Make a connection between desire and intellect. Make an understanding. For our understanding and our intellect will provide a force in this ambiguous field of desire.
We need reminders of wisdom and also motivations to spiritually practice. Or in different words, we need reminders and motivators for awakening out from states of ordinary routine walking sleep. This is the value of spiritual teachings and traditions. If one can set these up on one’s own, then that is perfectly fine and there will be less dependence on teachings and traditions. But most people need a regular outside coach. Also, parts of oneself can be subtly misleading . So, having some kind of spiritual teaching that is consistent will be useful as a ‘checks and balance’ to one’s own automatic ego tendencies.
Law of karma. World events are not directed by God. They are the results of previous causes.
But karma is not punitive. The natural law of karma is actually compassionate, because it teaches us lessons so we can learn and develop our intelligence and soul.
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Beauty
Beauty is our guidepost along the way.
Follow beauty and you will find the way forward.
Beauty can give us a key, a marker, towards what is good and towards our spiritual goal. Beauty can show the Way. But this is more than just physical beauty. Physical beauty shows us the way, but also anything that enchants the mind and heart with aesthetic attraction.
Beauty gives a special essence to us. Beauty nourishes our heart and mind with a very subtle nutrient. There have been many philosophical ideas about beauty but most neglect a very important point, which is that the understanding of beauty can only come from an understanding of how beauty effects us. When we understand how beauty effects us, then we understand what beauty is. So if we want to know what is beautiful, it is whatever effects us in this special way.
This is why it is useless to decide what is beautiful by way of the intellect or by some kind of logic. That is like finding out about love by way of the intellect, logic, or thinking. We know what is love by our feelings of love or by the effect someone has on us. The same is true of beauty.
We know what is beautiful by how we are effected, by how our mind and heart are effected. Beauty always involves both mind and heart; never just the mind and never just the heart. So beauty is partly a mental apprehension, and beauty often even seems to titillate the mind, but it always involves an emotional joy as well. Thus, beauty is very special for many reasons, but one reason is that it involves both mind and heart, a mental enthrallment and an emotional joy.
Beauty has to involve both mind and heart.
Aesthetic attitude necessary….
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Newer topic: comfort and at peace in harmony
vs. balance of struggle and intentional work.
The affirmation of a Disciple:
This is an esoteric affirmation of the Truth. The value of affirmations is to keep reminding the personality-mind of truths which ordinarily get forgotten. They have no use unless one already understands what is being stated; but they are invaluable reminders to one who has already realized such truth yet too often forgets it in everyday life.
This affirmation is as follows:
I am a point of light within a Greater Light.
This gives a humble realization that our own mind-consciousness is within a greater Consciousness. This is God for the esoteric disciple. I am a consciousness within a greater Consciousness. God as Consciousness is right here. I am within this Consciousness. But also, this greater Consciousness is everpresently available to bring forth a more expansive Consciousness and wisdom-guidance in our lives.
This stanza also reminds us that we are, essential, a consciousness in the world; in fact, a point of consciousness in the world. Consciousness is all over and in everyone, and each person is one point of Consciousness. Finally to realize is that each of us, as a point of light, is a potential beacon of light for others. Each of us can give light to others and even to the world in general. What this light is and what we can give is some degree of wisdom, guidance, inspiration, and love. And everyone needs all this.
We can thus radiate our light and give this to others, yet without being depleted ourselves. People too often think that they will be depleted or exhausted by others if they give, and this belief tends to make people cautious about generosity and giving of themselves. We should be careful that people do not sap our energy or steal it by being overly insistent on our attention and energies. However, the radiance and giving of light and love does not deplete us. If we share our love and light and help with others who need it, in an attitude of divine service, then we are not depleted by this givingness. For as we give our love and light, unconditionally in service and from the very attitude of love, we are immediately given more love and light from the Divine Source. As one gives, so too they receive.
But do not expect to receive back from whomever you give. It is of course very nice to receive back from those to whom you give, perhaps even a thank you. But if this is expected or subtly needed, then this is a set-up for disappointment and perhaps resentment. The best attitude is to have no expectation whatsoever for any reciprocated love or respect. Just give unconditionally and without any expectation or demand. Just give the light and the love for just the sake of giving it. The light itself loves to give, radiate, and share. So if one has become the light, then one is simply wanting to give and share the light. It’s just free. You have to just give it freely; just for the love of the giving, or just in the naturalness of it all. Because this is all just part of being a truly naturally person.
In summary, we are each points of radiant beautiful light, potentially. This is a potential for each person. It is each person’s soul potential. For in fact, the soul is made of radiant light; so it could just as well be said that we are each points of radiant soul, potentially. The potential is here, but the actualization requires some extra ordinary effort. This effort is essentially quite simple; involving a will to be a light. Like most wisdom secrets, the secret is quite simple. Decide and be a radiant light or a radiant love. It is that simple. But some extra ordinary effort is always needed; that is, effort that is more than just ordinary regular.
Once again, we are each points of radiant light, potentially; which means that we can give this light to others, and this light is awakening. But when it is also realized that we are a light within a Greater Light; then we realize that our own light is nourished, replenished, and maintained by the Greater Light. Our light is dependent on the Greater Light, and our own light is really a focalized expression of the Greater Light.
Also another aspect to this is how we so often cover up our potential radiant light and love.
Next
I am a fountain within the Ocean of Love
There was so much explanation on the light stanza that we could just as well skip explaining this stanza, since it is all about similar principles. So the advice to readers is to re-read the above exposition regarding the light but replace it with love, and then see what meanings come. This would be a very useful exercise.
Distinguishing conscious mind and automatic mind
The most essential aspect of meditation is to enter into consciousness and remain there. This may seem to be an odd statement to those who think they are normally conscious. But the average, normal state of most people has a little bit of consciousness along with a lot of automatic mental-emotional state. Consciousness itself, in its purity and intensity, is much more rare than most people think. Yet, this is what we can develop in meditation, and this is what is essential in meditation.
To make this into an easy to understand model, basically, there are two states possible in a meditation practice, automatic and conscious. We can also call these, automatic mind and conscious mind. Think of conscious mind as higher than automatic mind, or as above the other. It is very important to understand the difference and to recognize one from the other.
Automatic mind is when our thoughts or emotions take us on a little journey. It is sort of like thought-dreaming, and it really happens most of our waking time. We normally think we are awake and fully conscious, but mostly we are in this thought-dreaming state or else in an emotional reactive state which is even worse. These are automatic states, and we are calling them automatic mind because it all happens so automatically and routinely. It is very difficult to notice or catch ourselves in such states, because they are so regular and normal to us. But we can catch sight of the state is we intentionally practice self-observation, which is to simply observe one’s thoughts and emotions in their automatic state. It is easier to catch and recognize these automatic, thought-dreaming states when in a meditation practice. And it also easier to achieve a real state of consciousness when in meditation.
The real state of consciousness has a much different quality from the automatic state. First of all, there is an everpresent light effervescent in it. Light is actually the phenomenal aspect of consciousness, and so light is noticeable when one is actually in the consciousness state, or in meditative conscious mind. Second, there is an aspect of immediate knowingness in the consciousness state. This is because one is now in the Intuitive level, also called Wisdom or Buddhic mind. But best to understand this as being in consciousness, or as being truly conscious. It is here that one can really understand the inner reality or the spiritual reality.
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(this was the second part from above)
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Inward attention (this was written after “Trust in oneself) – and this could be added to that piece
Related to the tendency of hoping to find spiritual truth from sources outside of oneself, from others or from religions, is the tendency to always maintain an outward attention. The tendency for outward attention, rather than inward, is very similar to the tendency to look for outer sources of truth rather than inward sources.
An outward attention is of course important in life, but we should not neglect the importance also of an inward attention. A felt need to constantly have outward attention, vs. inward attention, is a common neurosis of modern people. Yet, inward attention is important for a healthy spiritual life. But this doesn’t necessarily mean a serious, introspective attention; like trying to find what is wrong about oneself. Serious introspection is one kind of inward attention, but it is not the all of it. One could be inwardly attentive in a relaxed and listening mode; not trying to focus on anything in particular nor deal with any issue in particular. One is simply being inward and giving attention to whatever is emerging in feeling or thought, with an attitude of learning about oneself. And it is in this inwardly learning mode that one actually gains insights of truth – truths not just about oneself but also about life as well.
This requires an attitude of just listening and feeling, but in an inward rather than outward way. And whatever emerges from this inward mode of experience is truly a learning experience about oneself. And when truth is learned about oneself, there is also some truth learned about others else as well. In fact, learning about oneself is the foundation for understanding about others.
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Christ is the being-knowingness of God (Total Spiritual Reality)
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Surrender to God’s Will is not simply relinquishing one’s will and decisive action, nor simply accepting whatever comes to be as being God’s Will. Rather, one needs to fuse one’s own personal will with God’s Will -- so that God’s Will is my will. Then, I have will, but it is aligned with God’s Will.
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The Ageless Wisdom
7 aspects of our soul:
· light / love / power / beauty / freedom / struggle / immortality
4 Truths:
1. There is just One Source nourishing all
2. All lives and all levels of reality are interconnected
3. In each being is a soul with spiritual purpose and direction
4. A soul’s direction is towards finer cooperation, harmony, beauty, and unity
Overall and in general, life is moving towards finer cooperation, harmony, beauty, and unity. People and all of nature is evolving in this way. Yet this does not mean that each particular life is moving this direction. Everyone, meaning every person and every life, is not moving in this direction. But many are. It’s important to understand what is meant here; because it is possible to misinterpret the meaning of these sentences. Ambiguity and confusion is in the nature of english sentences, because generalities are confused with particulars. So, overall, life is moving in a spiritual direction, but not every single particular person or life. This is because not everyone has connected with their inner spiritual soul, or in other words, not everyone has realized the spiritual goal.
Now it might be noticed that this goal has to involve others, so it cannot be just an individual goal. If the goal were “personal enlightenment” or “personal freedom” or “being in heaven with the Lord,” then this would be an individualistic goal which one could work on without any importance about others or the rest of the world. In other words, I would just be concerned with my enlightenment, my progress, or my ascension into heaven.
But the goal stated here is not like that. It says that the goal is finer cooperation, harmony, beauty, and unity. All of these four sides of the goal must also involve others and the rest of our world. Cooperation is meaningless unless it involves others, and so is harmony. Beauty has to involve everything and everyone in the whole world, because we are speaking about an overall beauty rather than a mere individual beauty. Beauty is how we can experience our environment; it is not just about one’s own self; so we need to work at making our environment more beautiful. And what is unity without everyone in it, or at least having an increased unity among everyone. So the true spiritual goal of every soul has to involve others and the world, rather than merely oneself.
When a person knows their soul, has united with their soul, and become the soul; then this is the direction one will have. This will be the desire and aim one has. Many will not understand, because they have not yet realized it all; yet many others will understand since they too are heading in the same direction, or at least struggling towards that way. The spiritual process wants to head towards this. But it does not just happen, unless a person somehow comes into this realization. So, some realize this, yet others do not; and such has been the case throughout human history. But gradually over decades and centuries, more and more people come into the realization, and thus there is overall progress towards these goals. May these realizations spread, because the whole spiritual evolution of the world depends on this.
Some degree of realization must happen first, in any person, before the other stages can unfold. For until a person has some degree of spiritual realization that some of these goals are absolutely important in the very purpose of life, they cannot possibly proceed in a struggle towards such goals.
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Next, it is important to know that everyone can receive spiritual help and power from the Absolute Source. We need this power in our personal struggle. Because in our struggle we will encounter the powers/influences of other people, the social media, and also those habit-influences within our own personality makeup. So we need plenty of help, in order to not get continually sucked into energy vortexes of those around us or of those parts in us that are not realized. Thus it is important to remember, in our struggles of life, that we can ask for help and receive necessary power from the Absolute Source.
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Our soul is not so esoteric and not so transcendental. It is the influence within us that guides us to love and care for other people, nature and the whole world. It gives us that impulse, that will, that desire to love. Yet most of the time, people are not in touch with this and are sidetracked into competition with others. Most of the time, people are lost in their self-centered desires, and so they cannot feel their deeper soul desire to be loving and caring. They cannot feel the love and care coming from their own being.
Next coming from the soul is the impulse, will, or desire for Truth. Truth has been purposefully capitalized in this statement because the soul-desire is for an actual real Truth. One is not merely content with relative truth, or culturally dependent truth, or truth from one person’s perspective. Sometimes we just have to accept that, in certain issues, different groups of people have different perspectives of truth from other people. This is relative truth. Often these are issues involving aesthetic taste or preference. But in these teachings it is maintained that there are Absolute Truths, Real Truths, Objective Truths. Just as much as there is a real world we live in, with real problems and real solutions. This is not to suggest that the Truth is easy to discover or to understand. Most of the time, people only have partial glimpses of the Truth; which then does produce a relativistic perspectivism. But it is possible to gain more complete, holistic, and integral understandings; which then better approaches the possibility for real Truth. Understanding Truth is a very high and difficult aim. First of all, it is not just one Truth; and then one can say I know it. Instead, there is a Truth understanding about all sorts of things; so there is an infinite amount to possibly understand. In fact, each moment and each circumstance presents itself uniquely in its own naked Truth; which we may or may not see the Truth. Second of all, it is difficult to get beyond one’s usual and habitual self-perspective about what is true, no matter what the issue is. For we so often revert to our habits of belief and of what we read or were told, rather than see it fresh and understand it in a new way.
Have an ultimate Goal
Here is a very practical teaching. It is about having an ultimate Goal, which is to have an overarching Goal. Imagine a great arch in front of you. This is the arch you must pass through to reach the finest of goals. Now of course, we all have many goals, and there is nothing at all wrong about that. But so often it is hard to see the common thread in all of them; and perhaps there isn’t. But one of the spiritual practices as taught by the masters is to discover and define an overarching Goal – one that can encompass all of our most important goals and also guide them all. Then, our life will have a sweet, common, coherent thread. Yet understand that the very purpose of discovering one great Goal for ourselves is to then be able to have this Goal influence and direct everything we do. In other words, the our great Goal becomes the inspiration and guidepost for every decision and action we take. Well, that is if we remember it. For the biggest obstacle is to first remember it; since it is so easy to get distracted by lesser goals and desires, and thus to forget.
This is the most important meaning in the spiritual teachings of remembrance. First remember your Goal. Or if you cannot at all remember, then at least discover again what it is. And at the moment of true, sincere seeking of one’s deepest and most profound goal, this is a moment of learning from our soul. Because this great, deepest and most profound goal has to come from our true soul, our most inner truth of being. It should not come from just the thinking mind; neither from the trivial-mindedness of our culture, nor from the most sacred of books. You have to find the Goal from your own truth of being. It cannot just come from someone else telling you it is this or that, because then all you are doing is mimicking or pretending. It has to be real, true, and thus it has to come straight from the deepest you. And then you will know that this Goal is Yours; not just something you read was a good goal to have. So, first have a true Goal. Then try to remember it and work for it.
At this point it would be useful to have an example. So here is an ultimate Goal. My ultimate and most essential goal is to be the Divine Self – in all of its primary qualities. Of course though, I can only do this to the extent I am now capable, and there might be some personality obstacles that are making this difficult to achieve, but nonetheless this is a Goal. To have a goal does not mean that it is already here, nor that it is without obstacles. So, one might as well have a very profound goal, as long as it is meaningful and sincere, and also possible to at least move towards. Also, it could be noticed that the phrasing of such a Goal is quite dependent on each person and the terms/concepts they know and use. Each must find their own best descriptive phrase, based on what is most meaningful to that person. Next understand that the chosen phrase itself might want to be revised. This is because it is extremely hard, maybe impossible, to find a single phrase that is totally it. Such is the limitation of all descriptive language and terms/concepts. So perhaps the phrase might change, or maybe vacillate between a few alternatives. But his is alright. What is important is just having a great and profound Goal. The actual phrasing is somewhat secondary. For example, a new way of understanding the same Goal might be: to be the Universal Truth expressing in this life.
…. Or … .. ?
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(this was taken from soul science) but could also be used elsewhere)
We need to nurture, develop, and bring forth our inner capabilities and qualities, which come from the soul, the seed potentials of the soul. This is especially true of love. Love is the core essence of our soul being. In a sense, it exists between will and consciousness, the other aspects of soul. Love has a number of significant essential aspects or qualities in it.
First is a feeling of belonging, relatedness, and connection with others and with life. This might also be a feeling of unity-with. This feeling, or feelings, will start off with a very limited inclusiveness. By analogy, an infant or young one will feel this belonging, relatedness and connection first with its mother but not much with anyone else. Gradually this related-feeling expands to include another and then another and then the family and then maybe the extended family or relatives. This feeling then expands gradually to include, perhaps, the tribe or the larger community. This feeling of love-relatedness can potentially keep on expanding, even becoming inclusive of all humanity and the whole planet.
But the usual norm is that it stops expanding at some boundary and becomes sort of separative. Yet this does not need to be, since the real soul in everyone loves to love and would love to include all in this love, to belong to all, related to all, and connected with all. Again to keep in mind is that love is a potential in us, a soul potential, so this needs to be nurtured and brought forth from its latent state of merely being a capacity in us.
Another significant aspect of love is sensitivity. Sensitivity is the foundation of our emotional being. This too comes from our inner soul. Emotional sensitivity, or let us say heart sensitivity, is very much like an ability, or capability. In fact it is. Yet people do not see it as such, so they take sensitivity for granted and do not consider the need to nurture this, in oneself and also in others, and to develop it, just as one would develop their inherent capacity to read or to write. So in homes and in schools we see a need to develop and improve a child’s ability to read and write, yet we do not think about the need to nurture and develop a child’s emotional/love sensitivity, in order to bring this human potential, this human capacity, into actual ‘ableness’ ; just as we would treat any other potential human ability, such as dance or singing or even skateboarding.
Sensitivity is being emotionally sensitive to the feelings and needs of others. In saying it is emotional does not have to mean emotional drama, nor emotional gushiness, nor emotional reaction. Emotion does not have to be a reaction; it could be a ‘response’ which is pro-active rather than re-active. Then, in this sensitivity and with this sensitivity, a person can act and respond with love, giving another person a feeling of love’s belonging and acceptance and a receptive kind of understanding.
The third essential aspect of love is caring, which also needs to be nurtured and developed from its soul latency into personal expression. Caring is a significant capacity in everyone, but it needs to be nurtured into maturity by the local social environment. This could also be said of all soul potentials in us. If the social environment is not itself caring, or not love sensitive, then the developing soul (or child) in that environment will not be experiencing these qualities which will hinder the bringing forth of their own potentials for sensitivity, caring, and love. So in order for caring to develop from its latency, from capacity to actuality, the person needs to first experience this from its environment. Then hopefully those around the person will also help nurture the caring capacity in that person. This is like teaching a child to care; but instead of saying teaching, we might say ‘reminding’ or help the child ‘recognize’ in their own inner being the feeling of care. Because this quality-capacity of care is already within everyone; it just needs to be given a bit of positive support and nurturance from those around, which is of course their expression of love and care.
Later on, as an adult, we might not need to rely on others so much and the social environment might not so crucially effect us; in other words, as an adult one becomes more independent - which is a developed ability to maintain one’s own self-integrity while not being so emotionally dependent on others. This might turn into a closed-off sensitivity, but not necessarily, because it is very possible to develop emotional non-dependency (not being desperately needy for other people’s attention, approval, and acceptance), while at the same time be emotionally caring and also love-sensitive in relation to others. That is, I can be increasingly sensitive and caring, in relation to the feelings and needs of others, but not emotionally dependent on everyone around me necessarily expressing love and care to me, or giving me attention, approval, and acceptance.
This is all part of developing emotional maturity, which includes a developed self-integrity of independence but also an increasing sensitivity and care in relation with others and all of life.
These are the fundamental three aspects of love. Consider them with great importance. If we might consider a fourth aspect of love, it would be compassion. This is a very important idea in most religions, but difficult to understand. The word comes from two parts, com and passion. Passion means desire for, or wish for. Com has a similar meaning with communal, or with. So using a kind of word play for understanding, compassion would mean a wish for communal-ness, or communing with another. But passion can also mean an impulse to action, so compassion has this wish for the good of another, as well as an impulse to act in favor of that person’s good. Compassion has the sense of caring, mixed with a sympathetic sensitivity, and also mixed with a feeling of communal belonging. Compassion is saying, ‘I feel your feelings and needs, and I wish to actively help you.’ Compassion also gives one an impulse to act towards others as one would hope others would act toward oneself; because one has a feeling of relating to the other as if that person were part of oneself. In fact, this is a spiritual practice -- to see others as parts of one’s own larger Beingness, then to act accordingly to them.
Often, an ego is developed from an insecurity. This insecurity might be at the very base level of physical survival, or it might be an insecurity about being accepted or loved, or it might be an insecurity about self-esteem or self-worth. The more insecure an ego is, the more neurotic a person is. Though of course, these physical and emotional needs are quite important, and for some people their circumstances are actually deficient, so a perception of lack might well be real for some people. We cannot generalize that all insecurities are mere paranoia, but we can note that insecurity breeds ego desperation, and desperate strategies are often dysfunctional.
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Practical Teachings for our activities
1. In any activity, do it as perfectly as possible and strive towards perfection.
2. Bring forth the finest in oneself, which is waiting in potential to become.
3. Increase any mental and physical talents within oneself.
4. Make all activities to improve the future, for oneself and for others.
5. Make a prayer and affirmation in preparation for any activity.
6. Do not waste energy and do not waste yourself. Use energy efficiently.
7. Act with self sufficiency and responsibility, not being dependent on others.
8. Watch to see if you are feeding your arrogance and self-importance.
9. Take care about what you say. Be positive and use restraint in talking.
10. Do not force your opinions and desires onto others.
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More notes:
Also sacrifice ? Will as sacrifice ?
Also.. expanding one's consciousness into the Greater.
Expanding one's love into the Greater
and finally, expanding one's will into a greater service.
Soul as a flame of inspiration (fire as destructive but also as inspirational)
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fusing the spiritual and physical: ****
Seeing/realizing the Spiritual in the physical.
and
bringing the Spiritual into the physical.
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The Pymander treatise The Corpus Hermeticum
Gospel of Eve
I am thou, and thou art I; and where so ever thou mayest be, I am there. In all am I scattered, and whence so ever thou willest, thou gatherest Me; and gathering Me, thou gatherest Thyself."
1Reference note to building the soul