These ideas presented here, extracted from various written sources, have been gathered and ingested over a period of thirty years. I can not claim originality, nor full comprehension of these deep and grand ideas, for they were always present as part of our world; although, behind a veil of illusion and ignorance. What I can claim credit for is having a determined motivation to lift that veil a little, and let the incoming rays of truth wash over my consciousness and expand it, a little. To expand consciousness on one level is vital, but a relatively small step in the ever progressive advancement towards enlightenment, towards truth, towards finial liberation. The above description of progressive, expanding consciousness, alludes to Plato's "Allegory of the Caves," in his
"Republic," (if you have an interest, look into my blog archives for an essay on "The Allegory of the Caves").
There is an ancient tradition of spiritual knowledge, from a world view that dates back millions of years, when the gods walked the earth among nascent mankind. The gods instructed mankind in principles of life, science, and the arts. These principles claim a Reality underlying life, which rituals cannot discover, and which the agency of ceremonies or the priest craft cannot bring forth. I know, I know, I can hear you readers saying, "Millions of years ago? You must be daffy; current scientific theories and religious interpretations are against you." Please! stay with me; placate my seeming mad ravings. This world view teaches us that this Reality is the essence of all that is manifested, and sustains the Universe. It also teaches we are one with this Reality, that this oneness can be realized directly, not after death, but in this life, and that realizing this Reality is the ultimate purpose for which we were born, and the aim towards which evolution moves. Thus, these divine principles represent our divine heritage, and in total, what we may called the "wisdom of the gods." This god-wisdom is then the bases for answering our most fundamental and universal questions of life: "What is our origin, our nature, our purpose, and our destiny?"
Lets start like Genesis in the Old Testament, "In the beginning"... In the beginning all that could be manifest began from an ethereal or spiritual form or ideal. We did not originally appear on this earth totally materialized, with fully evolved human bodies. We could not call our first spiritual ancestors human, for they had not as yet evolved a material human form or self-consciousness. To give your imagination something to feed on, I will relate a description of our spiritual ancestors as given in "Symposium" one of Plato's dialogues; Aristophanes is the speaker, ..."First you must learn the nature of man and the history of it. Formerly the natural state of man was not what it is now. For at first there were three sexes, not two as at present, male and female, but also a third having both together; the name remains with us (hermaphrodite), but the thing is gone. There was then a male and female sex and a name to match, sharing both male and female, but now nothing is left but the title used in reproach. Next, the shape of man was quite round, back and ribs passing about it in a circle; and he had four arms and an equal number of legs, and two faces on a round neck, exactly alike; there was one head with two opposite faces, four ears, and two privy members, and the rest as can be imagined. They walked upright as now, in the direction they liked; and when they wanted to run fast, they rolled over and over on the ends of the eight limbs they had in those days, as our tumblers tumble now with their legs straight out. and why there were three sexes, and shaped like this, was because the male was first-born of the sun, and the female of the earth, and the common sex had something of the moon, which combines both male and female; their shape was round and their going was round because they were like their parents. They had terrible strength and force and great were their ambitions;they attacked the gods, and it is said of them, that they tried to climb into heaven intending to make war upon the gods."... Similarities to the above description of our spiritual origination can be found in the creation stores of American Indians, and by the way, their stories are said to have an antiquity of hundreds of thousands of years. Also, such similarities can be found in Genesis of the Old Testament, specifically with the explanation of the creation of male and female, if not taken literally, but taken as an allegory. The New Age saying aptly hits the mark in summing up what has been said, "We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a physical experience."
To bring more clarity into a mostly, unfamiliar and cloudy concept of our primary, causal, spiritual origination we will change our view and come at the concept from a different angle. We will call this angle , natural or rational thought, . Most of us have formed a concept of the reality of ethereal beings and entities by an association with religion or some ancient or contemporary philosophy or some spiritual teaching. We therefore have no difficulty accepting the reality of gods, angles, devils, demons, ghosts, and a whole host of ethereal beings and entities. Now lets compare our concept of ethereal beings and entities with materialized, human beings, we should agree, that the ethereal beings and entities have a greater duration than do materialized human beings. Now days, human being's earth life duration, is on average seventy to eighty years, while ethereal beings and entities have a much greater duration, and in some cases are thought to have an immortal life. Rationally than, the creation of a human being would logically follow a material sequence of aggregation over a period of time from an ethereal model body. This concept of development from the spiritual to the material is succinctly stated by an ancient Egyptian, Hermetic axiom, ..."as above, so below; as below so above"... Don't tie up your thinking process by taking this axiom literally. Think of the "above" as the apex of a hierarchy and the "below" as the lowest; from the highest, spiritual, to the lowest, (gross matter), and all the gradients in between. An analogy of this would be the case of a painter using a conceptual model in his mind to paint a two dimensional representation on a canvas. The conceptual model in the painter's mind has a more fluid and ethereal quality then the more static, materialized canvas representation, but the "above" model is causally related to the "below," and the "below" is likewise related to the "above." The evolutionary course is from the highest or "above" to the lowest, "below," and not visa versa. Clearly than, from a rational perspective , our primary origination is from spiritual forces and not from physical forces. How this reverse generation process changes the meaning of our lives, will be part two of this series on God Wisdom; giving you ample opportunity to mull over the content of this essay.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Thursday, January 24, 2013
building a spiritual shield
I have a print called, "The Path." It depicts the path humans must travel to gain spiritual victory. It symbolically portrays a male human ascending an ascent filled with physical and subtle challenges of the most horrific kind. This warrior is fitted with the protections and weapon he needs to win the victory: a helmet, to protect his mind, but with a opening to clearly direct and focus his vision to the path of victory, a double edged sword, tempered with the strength of his desire, so he may vanquish his inner and outer dragons, a shield to protect him from his foes, the physical and the shadow forms, and a coat of mail, protecting his body, so it will not know fatigue.
The shield not only protects the seeker, but also temper's itself with each assault from the physical and shadow forms. It thus becomes the metaphor for the faith and determination upon which the seeker stands. Behind all right spiritual progress is the right spiritual knowledge, and that right spiritual knowledge is that all human beings are, at their essence, a god-spark, the face of god, the Higher Self, the progeny of the divine. Katherine Tingly, a Theosophic. says this idea so well in
her book, "The Path of the Mystic," "...For man .cannot find his true place in the great scheme of human life until he has ennobled and enriched his nature with the consciousness of his divinity."
This ennobling and enriching of man's nature with the consciousness of his divinity is no small feat. It takes the realization of our dualistic natures, and awareness that there is a continuous struggle between our spiritual side and material side for the dominance of our soul; a drama as old as our self-consciousness. Not one of you can remain neutral; you cannot serve two masters. The cry has gone out to each, and each must choose A choice and a corresponding path must be taken. The spiritual path though steep and rough it ends in integration with divinity. The material path though broad and smooth, but from its crown on rocks the traveller is tumbled down, and ends in disintegration. The spiritual path proceeds in concert with Universal Nature. The material path proceeds in direct opposition to Universal Nature.
Katherine Tingly warns those who choose the spiritual path, "Let us be careful, in making this forward step, that we do not ungird our armor through fear." ..."Fear nothing, for every renewed effort raises all former failures into lessons; all sins into experiences"... ..."So fear nothing for your self, you are behind the shield of your reborn endeavor, though you have failed a hundred times. Try slowly to make it your motive for fidelity that others may be faithful. Fear only to fail in your duty to others; and even then let your fear be for them, not yourself."...
The shield not only protects the seeker, but also temper's itself with each assault from the physical and shadow forms. It thus becomes the metaphor for the faith and determination upon which the seeker stands. Behind all right spiritual progress is the right spiritual knowledge, and that right spiritual knowledge is that all human beings are, at their essence, a god-spark, the face of god, the Higher Self, the progeny of the divine. Katherine Tingly, a Theosophic. says this idea so well in
her book, "The Path of the Mystic," "...For man .cannot find his true place in the great scheme of human life until he has ennobled and enriched his nature with the consciousness of his divinity."
This ennobling and enriching of man's nature with the consciousness of his divinity is no small feat. It takes the realization of our dualistic natures, and awareness that there is a continuous struggle between our spiritual side and material side for the dominance of our soul; a drama as old as our self-consciousness. Not one of you can remain neutral; you cannot serve two masters. The cry has gone out to each, and each must choose A choice and a corresponding path must be taken. The spiritual path though steep and rough it ends in integration with divinity. The material path though broad and smooth, but from its crown on rocks the traveller is tumbled down, and ends in disintegration. The spiritual path proceeds in concert with Universal Nature. The material path proceeds in direct opposition to Universal Nature.
Katherine Tingly warns those who choose the spiritual path, "Let us be careful, in making this forward step, that we do not ungird our armor through fear." ..."Fear nothing, for every renewed effort raises all former failures into lessons; all sins into experiences"... ..."So fear nothing for your self, you are behind the shield of your reborn endeavor, though you have failed a hundred times. Try slowly to make it your motive for fidelity that others may be faithful. Fear only to fail in your duty to others; and even then let your fear be for them, not yourself."...
Sunday, December 16, 2012
sayings and comment 4
"The nature of god is a circle which the center is everywhere and the circumference is nowhere."
(Empedocles ancient Greek philosopher)
COMMENT;
The circle was used as an ancient symbol to help explain the nature of god and the cosmos. Its configuration so impressed Michelangelo that he said, 'that an artist can claim perfection if he/she could draw, by free hand, a perfect circle.'
A diagram of a circle, in our case, symbolizes the boundless All; it also represents space. Within this boundless All resides all things that are and could be manifested. The sages. in an attempt to clarify the meaning of the boundless All, talked about it in terms of, "fullness." The possible permutations of manifestation are relatively infinite. To illustrate, lets take the case of our physical body, Scientists tells us that the bacteria alone number in the trillions, to say nothing of its cells, atoms, molecules, and sundry other manifested parts of our body. Now , what if we added all manifestations in our solar system and in our entire Universe, we have relatively infinite manifestation-fullness.
When Empedocles says that the center is everywhere, his meaning is that, even though the symbolic circle is marked, there is no real containment because the possible permutations of manifestation are relatively infinite. Thus the circumference is nowhere.
Now when Empedocles says that the center is everywhere, his meaning is that each unite of manifestation represents a point, a center, and since all possible permutations of manifestation are relatively infinite, all points/centers are everywhere.
(Empedocles ancient Greek philosopher)
COMMENT;
The circle was used as an ancient symbol to help explain the nature of god and the cosmos. Its configuration so impressed Michelangelo that he said, 'that an artist can claim perfection if he/she could draw, by free hand, a perfect circle.'
A diagram of a circle, in our case, symbolizes the boundless All; it also represents space. Within this boundless All resides all things that are and could be manifested. The sages. in an attempt to clarify the meaning of the boundless All, talked about it in terms of, "fullness." The possible permutations of manifestation are relatively infinite. To illustrate, lets take the case of our physical body, Scientists tells us that the bacteria alone number in the trillions, to say nothing of its cells, atoms, molecules, and sundry other manifested parts of our body. Now , what if we added all manifestations in our solar system and in our entire Universe, we have relatively infinite manifestation-fullness.
When Empedocles says that the center is everywhere, his meaning is that, even though the symbolic circle is marked, there is no real containment because the possible permutations of manifestation are relatively infinite. Thus the circumference is nowhere.
Now when Empedocles says that the center is everywhere, his meaning is that each unite of manifestation represents a point, a center, and since all possible permutations of manifestation are relatively infinite, all points/centers are everywhere.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
our dualistic nature
Most of our life we feel and react to our dualistic nature without being aware of its innate reality. In our instinctive reaction, we interpret its felt effect, as some elemental, cosmic effect. For instance, if we get into a serious car crash, we might blame some vengeful god or say it was god's will or bad luck. If we won the lottery, we might believe that it was god's will or good luck. We are for the most part ignorant, that our life is conditioned by a dualistic process.
Within our dualistic process we recognize and relate to the quintessential position we humans are put into many times every day. Motivated by the evolutionary impulse to progress, our desires and thoughts aggregate to interact, either to attach or repel, with others, (others being , national interests, cultural interests, institutional interests, etc.) desires and thoughts to create conditions with which we must respond. Our choices are what they always are: doing what pleases us, what offers immediate gratification, to our senses, feelings, self-will or choosing the best consequences regardless of personal feelings or self-benefit. In our Western Culture these universal choices are amusingly portrayed with a devil sitting on our left shoulder whispering, in our ear, ego centric advise, and an angel sitting on our right shoulder whispering, in our ear, celestial advise.
Our dualistic nature has also been the theme of dramas dating back to Sophocles' tragedies and on to J.R.R. Tolken's "Lord of the Rings." A clear and highly dramatic portrayal of our dualistic nature comes from a contemporary rendition of a movie called, "Excalibur." This 1980 something movie, shows a scene where Sir Lancelot's, a Knight in King Arther's Count, dualistic selves are locked in combat. One self is King Arther's Knight, loyal, noble, courageous, the other self is in love with King Arther's wife, Queen Guinevere. There in Lancelot's dualistic condition his struggle begins, and there soon ends with a sword thrust by his noble, loyal self into the side of his passionate ego self.
We can see clearly that our dualistic nature is played out upon a continuum of extremes: spiritual/physical, good/bad, etc. There is than a perpetual tension and struggle coursing through our lives. This perpetual tension is what ignites our self-consciousness, and our self-consciousness must than navigate through the continuum of extremes. This movement within the continuum of extremes can be thought of as a, "duality of scale." However, this scale does not always balance because our evolutionary, environment, in which we have our being, is heavily tilted towards the physical side of the spectrum. This tilt towards the physical/phenomenal side is the direct cause of our ignorance of our spiritual side of the continuum. Thus we spend most of our energy moving towards our dominate physical side, and the building and sustaining of our ego identity.
Can our ego identity be integrated with the spiritual side of the spectrum? The quick answer is yes, but aside from placing us at the threshold, of enlightenment, our rational mind is incapable of enlightening us. All our rational attempts at enlightenment, will invariably, lead to paradox, since it operates through our dualistic process. Put another way, all the physical bricks and mortar the rational mind uses to build our ego personality must be removed in order for us to be liberated. There is a Sanskrit word , "samsara" which describes the mortar that binds the ego bricks together. Samsara means , conditional tendencies, usually negative, and self-willed, to particular ways of thinking and acting. ..."all beings fall into error by reason of the delusion of the opposites which spring from liking and disliking,"... says Krishna in the "Bhagavad-Gita."
The path towards spiritual enlightenment is very difficult. It is said, 'of all those who aspire to enlightenment only one takes the first step, and of all those that have taken the first step, only one succeeds.'
Our spiritual nature impels us to take the first step. So why not comply? Today is a good day to take that first step. .
Within our dualistic process we recognize and relate to the quintessential position we humans are put into many times every day. Motivated by the evolutionary impulse to progress, our desires and thoughts aggregate to interact, either to attach or repel, with others, (others being , national interests, cultural interests, institutional interests, etc.) desires and thoughts to create conditions with which we must respond. Our choices are what they always are: doing what pleases us, what offers immediate gratification, to our senses, feelings, self-will or choosing the best consequences regardless of personal feelings or self-benefit. In our Western Culture these universal choices are amusingly portrayed with a devil sitting on our left shoulder whispering, in our ear, ego centric advise, and an angel sitting on our right shoulder whispering, in our ear, celestial advise.
Our dualistic nature has also been the theme of dramas dating back to Sophocles' tragedies and on to J.R.R. Tolken's "Lord of the Rings." A clear and highly dramatic portrayal of our dualistic nature comes from a contemporary rendition of a movie called, "Excalibur." This 1980 something movie, shows a scene where Sir Lancelot's, a Knight in King Arther's Count, dualistic selves are locked in combat. One self is King Arther's Knight, loyal, noble, courageous, the other self is in love with King Arther's wife, Queen Guinevere. There in Lancelot's dualistic condition his struggle begins, and there soon ends with a sword thrust by his noble, loyal self into the side of his passionate ego self.
We can see clearly that our dualistic nature is played out upon a continuum of extremes: spiritual/physical, good/bad, etc. There is than a perpetual tension and struggle coursing through our lives. This perpetual tension is what ignites our self-consciousness, and our self-consciousness must than navigate through the continuum of extremes. This movement within the continuum of extremes can be thought of as a, "duality of scale." However, this scale does not always balance because our evolutionary, environment, in which we have our being, is heavily tilted towards the physical side of the spectrum. This tilt towards the physical/phenomenal side is the direct cause of our ignorance of our spiritual side of the continuum. Thus we spend most of our energy moving towards our dominate physical side, and the building and sustaining of our ego identity.
Can our ego identity be integrated with the spiritual side of the spectrum? The quick answer is yes, but aside from placing us at the threshold, of enlightenment, our rational mind is incapable of enlightening us. All our rational attempts at enlightenment, will invariably, lead to paradox, since it operates through our dualistic process. Put another way, all the physical bricks and mortar the rational mind uses to build our ego personality must be removed in order for us to be liberated. There is a Sanskrit word , "samsara" which describes the mortar that binds the ego bricks together. Samsara means , conditional tendencies, usually negative, and self-willed, to particular ways of thinking and acting. ..."all beings fall into error by reason of the delusion of the opposites which spring from liking and disliking,"... says Krishna in the "Bhagavad-Gita."
The path towards spiritual enlightenment is very difficult. It is said, 'of all those who aspire to enlightenment only one takes the first step, and of all those that have taken the first step, only one succeeds.'
Our spiritual nature impels us to take the first step. So why not comply? Today is a good day to take that first step. .
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
sayings and comment 3
"On the Buddha's birthday, as he sprang from his mother's side, I hit him once and killed him, and feed him to a hungry dog. The whole world was at peace." (Yun-Men, Chinese Zen Master)
COMMENT:
This blatant, cold, cruel statement startles us. It is beyond our imagination that such a cruel, action and such a confession in a unremorseful tone could ever be conceived within the mind of a human being. To stoke the outrage more, lets put the statement closer to home, "If you see the Christ along the side of the road, kill the Christ and bring peace to the world"
The above saying is typical of Zen teaching, making straight forward, outrageous statements, leading the student to see through the outrageous to a more clear spiritual meaning. In line with this indirect method of teaching, is what is called a "koan." It is a mind puzzle, usually nonsensical, but made to appear rational, i.e. "You know the sound of two hands clapping. What is the sound of one hand clapping?" (I am kind of sorry for giving you the koan, because I expect some of you may be up all night trying to figure it out.)
Gautama the Buddha is recorded as saying, "Be lamps unto yourself." This simple statement opens the door to understanding Yun-Men's saying. The Buddha did not mean that, physical you is the intellectual light that can enlighten and liberate you. His meaning was based upon his enlightenment. He knew that there is a non-modifying consciousness, that remains unaffected and pure throughout our varying interactions with the physical, sensual, mental, and spiritual planes of our being.
This non-modifying consciousness can not be defined, for Its essence lies beyond duality, and abides within the realm of infinity. We humans, consciously stuck in duality, can only reason by measuring and judging one thing or condition against another thing or condition. However, our essential core of being is pure consciousness. We are a Spark of the Infinite; we are It and It is us.
It is this Spark of Infinity that the Buddha meant when he said, "Be lamps unto yourself." This Spark is where all truth and wisdom resides. If we are aware and connected with It, we need no doctrines, teachings, rituals, ceremonies. It is the Light of lights.
Yun-Men is referring to the same Spark of Infinity. His meaning is, do not become attached to the spiritual master who speaks universal or non-modifying truths; don't let the master become the object of worship, for such attachment only keeps us in the consciousness of duality.
Become your infinite Self by directing your consciousness towards devotion to the universal truths the masters represent.
COMMENT:
This blatant, cold, cruel statement startles us. It is beyond our imagination that such a cruel, action and such a confession in a unremorseful tone could ever be conceived within the mind of a human being. To stoke the outrage more, lets put the statement closer to home, "If you see the Christ along the side of the road, kill the Christ and bring peace to the world"
The above saying is typical of Zen teaching, making straight forward, outrageous statements, leading the student to see through the outrageous to a more clear spiritual meaning. In line with this indirect method of teaching, is what is called a "koan." It is a mind puzzle, usually nonsensical, but made to appear rational, i.e. "You know the sound of two hands clapping. What is the sound of one hand clapping?" (I am kind of sorry for giving you the koan, because I expect some of you may be up all night trying to figure it out.)
Gautama the Buddha is recorded as saying, "Be lamps unto yourself." This simple statement opens the door to understanding Yun-Men's saying. The Buddha did not mean that, physical you is the intellectual light that can enlighten and liberate you. His meaning was based upon his enlightenment. He knew that there is a non-modifying consciousness, that remains unaffected and pure throughout our varying interactions with the physical, sensual, mental, and spiritual planes of our being.
This non-modifying consciousness can not be defined, for Its essence lies beyond duality, and abides within the realm of infinity. We humans, consciously stuck in duality, can only reason by measuring and judging one thing or condition against another thing or condition. However, our essential core of being is pure consciousness. We are a Spark of the Infinite; we are It and It is us.
It is this Spark of Infinity that the Buddha meant when he said, "Be lamps unto yourself." This Spark is where all truth and wisdom resides. If we are aware and connected with It, we need no doctrines, teachings, rituals, ceremonies. It is the Light of lights.
Yun-Men is referring to the same Spark of Infinity. His meaning is, do not become attached to the spiritual master who speaks universal or non-modifying truths; don't let the master become the object of worship, for such attachment only keeps us in the consciousness of duality.
Become your infinite Self by directing your consciousness towards devotion to the universal truths the masters represent.
Friday, November 9, 2012
sayings and comment 2
"Words are the fog one has to see through." (Zen Buddhist)
COMMENT;
Words are not mere puffs of wind shaped by the tongue, but are alive. Although we have a developed lexicon to tract their meaning, their essential force, power, and life comes from the desire and intent of the human being who speaks them. When someone intends to mislead, he takes words out of context and forms them in a manner that misleads the original intended content, implanting his own intention. We see this kind of derailing of original intention on to misleading meaning happening countless times daily on T.V. ads. The user of transplanting content currently comes under the heading of "rhetoric," (artificial eloquence; showiness and elaboration in language), but its use , more accurately, should come under. "propaganda," ( ideas, doctrines or allegations used disparagingly to connote deception or distortion.
I wrote a poem called, "Wasted Words," that will, I believe, help dissolve "the fog of words."
Hold your tongue and listen a minute,
to the great avalanche of words entering your ears.
Day and night, words pumped out through mouths
in rapid-fire succession.
Where once they were used sparingly and with care,
now derelict of truth they spew out faster then a
machine gun with little care and little heart.
Words wasted, as if there were an eternal supply;
mere puffs of wind, traveling the air and dying off
as smoke.
But where do they go?
Do they reverberate through the cannons of space like
some eternal echo?
Do they completely dissolve into emptiness?
Do they gather at some cosmic point and mark their
selves on some universal verbal ledge?
Every word and its intent imprints upon the cosmic waters.
There, every cures, every boast, every syllable, every atom
of sound lives and follows its path to effect. There is no
escape, not under the deepest ocean, not atop the highest
mountain. It is your breathe that breathes them out and they
will seek their effect directed by your will.
Thunder is the voice of lighting and responds only to the bolt-
never more, never less.
What would the world be like if all humans spoke so succinctly?
COMMENT;
Words are not mere puffs of wind shaped by the tongue, but are alive. Although we have a developed lexicon to tract their meaning, their essential force, power, and life comes from the desire and intent of the human being who speaks them. When someone intends to mislead, he takes words out of context and forms them in a manner that misleads the original intended content, implanting his own intention. We see this kind of derailing of original intention on to misleading meaning happening countless times daily on T.V. ads. The user of transplanting content currently comes under the heading of "rhetoric," (artificial eloquence; showiness and elaboration in language), but its use , more accurately, should come under. "propaganda," ( ideas, doctrines or allegations used disparagingly to connote deception or distortion.
I wrote a poem called, "Wasted Words," that will, I believe, help dissolve "the fog of words."
Hold your tongue and listen a minute,
to the great avalanche of words entering your ears.
Day and night, words pumped out through mouths
in rapid-fire succession.
Where once they were used sparingly and with care,
now derelict of truth they spew out faster then a
machine gun with little care and little heart.
Words wasted, as if there were an eternal supply;
mere puffs of wind, traveling the air and dying off
as smoke.
But where do they go?
Do they reverberate through the cannons of space like
some eternal echo?
Do they completely dissolve into emptiness?
Do they gather at some cosmic point and mark their
selves on some universal verbal ledge?
Every word and its intent imprints upon the cosmic waters.
There, every cures, every boast, every syllable, every atom
of sound lives and follows its path to effect. There is no
escape, not under the deepest ocean, not atop the highest
mountain. It is your breathe that breathes them out and they
will seek their effect directed by your will.
Thunder is the voice of lighting and responds only to the bolt-
never more, never less.
What would the world be like if all humans spoke so succinctly?
Monday, November 5, 2012
sayings with comment
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark, the real tragedy is when men are afraid of the light." (Plato)
COMMENT:
A child not yet invested with his full compliment of rational capacities can be easily frighten, especially in the dark. In the dark, where our out stretched hand cannot be seen, our imagination is inspired with limitless possibilities. As I remember, my first frightful experience was in a dark movie theater, watching "the Wizard of Oz," when the "Wicked Witch of the West" suddenly pop on the screen, with her green face, large crooked nose, and her menacing laugh. I bet most adults can relate.
The idea of human beings tragically being afraid of the light, can be explained by a consideration of their spiritual side. The light side represents a chosen path leading to liberation and unification with the Source. The dark side, is where 90% of the time we live and have our ego identity, as Darth Vader said to Luke, there is great, ..."power in the dark side." The reason we have blinders on in relationship to the light side is because we know , deep in our soul, that in order to follow the light path we must renounce our dark identity; its pleasures and its pain. We in truth, are not ready to renounce our familiar dark side because of our ignorance and fear of the light side.
COMMENT:
A child not yet invested with his full compliment of rational capacities can be easily frighten, especially in the dark. In the dark, where our out stretched hand cannot be seen, our imagination is inspired with limitless possibilities. As I remember, my first frightful experience was in a dark movie theater, watching "the Wizard of Oz," when the "Wicked Witch of the West" suddenly pop on the screen, with her green face, large crooked nose, and her menacing laugh. I bet most adults can relate.
The idea of human beings tragically being afraid of the light, can be explained by a consideration of their spiritual side. The light side represents a chosen path leading to liberation and unification with the Source. The dark side, is where 90% of the time we live and have our ego identity, as Darth Vader said to Luke, there is great, ..."power in the dark side." The reason we have blinders on in relationship to the light side is because we know , deep in our soul, that in order to follow the light path we must renounce our dark identity; its pleasures and its pain. We in truth, are not ready to renounce our familiar dark side because of our ignorance and fear of the light side.
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