I have faith of the heart

Seeing what is taking place in our world today, I began to realize it is not by chance, that the dire events happening are not the blind blowes of haphazard events, but are ominous fore warnings of the strife to come.  We must recognize that despite the agony and the sadness that we are now indowled with, there are spiritual powers and forces sweeping over our earth, rearranging, remaking, and reshaping, setting a progressive, positive evolution of a higher order. Fear not, it will all work out to an already predestined and sublime ending.  

I also, have began to realize, that we humans are spiritually intertwined within Universal Nature, and as such, being the blind humans that we are, will not enter whole heartedly into Universal Nature's majestic processes, but instead of helping Her, oppose Her.  If you want to know the reason for the suffering and agony, the terror and appalling privation that are upon us, look directly into the mirror, and view your own image.  It is no intra cosmic God, who has put these horrible things upon us, but we ourselves. It is the tragedy of society that has lost its trust in an abiding spiritual power, and we have let reason lose its proper seat.  This  entire universe of ours is but an appearance, an outer shell, a physical body, manifesting the tremendous forces at work on the other side of the veil of nature; and no man, or god can oppose these powers with impunity; universal laws rule this world. 

All that is grand and unselfish will live.  What is false and selfish will not merely pass by, but be overthrown.  Put your entire faith in the divine power behind nature and live in accordance with her and, nature will look upon you as her master and will pay deference to you.  Those of you who have ears to hear, hear!     (thank you G. De Purucker)

                                         One truth, many paths.  Do good, be good.

                                                           Louis DiVirgilio     

                   

emancipation from donkey economics

Remember the metaphor from the movie, Pinocchio I used to describe how our current economic system operates, specifically the description where Pinoccio sets aside his discriminating capability to follow his desires and passions into Pleasure Island? A clue to the emancipation from donkey economics (here I made a big assumption, that there are people who desire emancipation) rests in Pinoccio's decision to put aside his discriminating faculty in order to indulge his passions. An even more telling clue can be derived from a quote in Thoreau's Journal, Oct. 22, 1853..."Consider how the broker collects his winter wood...Postponing instant life, he makes haste to Boston in the cars, and there deals in stock, not quite relishing his employment and so earns the money with which he buys his fuel. And when by chance I meet him about this indirect and complicated business, I am not struck with the beauty of his employment. It does not harmonize with the sunset"... 

 We move through every day geared to the high RPMs required by the system and practices of our economy. We are swept into this speedy rhythm spending most of our daily energy and attention keeping our heads above the economic waterline. Our minds are thus overflowing with stress, anxiety, depression, and fear, like rushing currents of water flowing over a waterfall. As our hearts beat to the frenetic percussion of our economy we rush by the rosebush. Its deep colored, scented flowers, have little attraction to our preoccupied minds. The poet, Wordsworth admonishes us in his poem, The World Is Too much With Us: "The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours..." 

Stop! and smell the roses: inhale their fragrance, take into your view their deep, pure color. They are offered to you as a gift, with no strings attached. When your attention is completely occupied on the roses, your mind will have slowed to the present moment. The slowing of your mind is the first step in emancipation. A mind that is fast is disconnected and unfocused, and synonymous with negative thinking. A mind that is slow is integrated and focused, and synonymous with positive thinking. If you think that is a false statement, test it out for your self. Of course, in order to test, you must be able to slow down your mind, a formidable task. A clue for the next step towards emancipation can be extracted from the last sentence of the Thoreau quote, ..."It does not harmonize with the sunset."... The broker's choice of labor is out of step with Nature. Nature is never synthetic, nor does it operate in an exclusive, singular manner, but moves in an inclusive, all encompassing manner. The buying and selling of stock is an enterprise on par with gambling. Its intent is singular, to gain a profit from a capital investment in a business. The investor speculates on a business's profitability, long or short term, and intends to share in those profits. The investor is far removed from the daily operations of the business and has little personal or legal responsibilities, aside from voting privileges. 

Nature on the other hand, is always directly involved with every aspect of Her operations, and Her primal motive is movement towards perfection. The broker participates in his out of step business process and receives a fee and buys his firewood. Not only is his choice of labor an act of disharmony, but also his manner of purchasing firewood serves to compound his disharmony with Nature. If he were in tune with Nature, he would have forged and cut his own firewood. The emancipation of our economic mental slavery starts with our awareness and discrimination of its causal and deleterious effects: generalized anger and tension, frustration, lack of joy, poor health, negative thinking, and generalized disconnection with our higher self or soul. We next need to slow our minds down by focusing on the present moment. After those two steps, we need to pay attention to Nature, begin to understand Her ways as they relate to our own natures, and finally to attune ourselves to Nature's rhythm, so that we can, ..."harmonize with the sunset."... 

We must change our perceptions so that instead of ..."seeing little in Nature that is ours,"... we begin to see that everything in Nature is directly related to us. These perceptions are not beyond the capacity of our human faculties, and in fact spring out from within the vary essence of who and what we are. We are in truth, a complete living analogy of our Cosmos, and at the same time magnificent participants in our Cosmos. The same forces and qualities that uphold the Cosmos uphold us; we in it, it in us. Nakomo, an American Indian, puts it beautifully, in his poem, "The Circle Is My Path:" ..."We are all on the rim of the world and at its center at the same time. We are attached to the ripples that emanate from the center. We ride the waves-the wind turns us, we flow as the prairie flows and we are bound to the sacred land."... 

 There is a chamber of our hearts were we can begin to know our true Cosmic heritage, one that lies beyond mere material acquisitions and accumulations, and the knowledge of which leads not to self-importance, but to great impersonality, balance, and universality.  

                                        One truth, many paths. Be good, do good.                          

                                                              Louis DiVirgilio

                                     

Meditation-A Discipline of Mind

The idea of meditation and its practice has nested within our cultural confindmints for a number of years.  Generally, it congers up for us visions made popular by T.V. and movies: of priests or monks cloistered in some remote place, either chanting or quietly absorbed in prayer, or a practitioner of one of the marshal  arts preparing for mortal combat or some spaced out "newager" sitting in a crossed legged position trying to experience oneness.  Beyond those images, we have not a cultural niche of real value in which to place the practice of meditation.  

The problem is that we have no tradition, no established conceptual foundation, aside from the Science of Psychology whose study mainly focuses on the functions of the physical brain.  We therefore, need to barrow the cultural traditions of mind established over many ages, from the Orient and from India to help us understand, experience, and establish a true value for meditation. These borrowed traditions of mind are difficult for us to quickly and neatly integrate, adapt, and transpose into our culture.  Yet as remote as these concepts seem from our everyday experiences, we are beginning to realize that the practice of meditation has a relevance to our spiritual, mental, and physical lives. 

The motivation for this releverancy comes from our desperate desire to, in some way, neutralize and manage the stress and anxiety we create in our daily lives. People are desperately seeking any practice, method or technique that may relief their stress and bring some peace of mind.  The problem is that the search is usually confined to the material side, trying to find the right pill, therapy, medical technique  , psychological training, ect.  The more we search for cures from the outside, and the more our attempts fail to satisfy, the greater our stress, anxiety, insecurity, and confusion.  We are trying to satisfy infinite appetites with finite practices; an exercise in futility and ultimate frustration.  Life's enduring fulfillments lie within us, and the practice of meditation puts us in touch with that infinite world within.  The practice of meditation begins to discipline our mind and gradually begins to abate those 1000 voices in the mind speaking at one time. 

Our mind is always on; 24-7.  The Masters of the mind's world tell us that there are more than 84,000 points or centers of entry for streams of thought-atoms coming from innumerable terrestrial and comic sources.  Our mind's are continuously filled with these thought forms, whether we are awake or asleep. Our own experience of the workings of our mind tells us that there are differing patterns in the receiving of these forms, ranging from very slow and clear an to rapid and diluted.  Science has confirmed this intuitive observation.  It has studied the electrical impulses generated by the human brain through an instrument called an "electroencephalograph" and has grouped and labeled common brain waves rhythms: alpha, beta, theta, and delta.  These rhythms are measured in cycles per second (CPS).  It generally is agreed that about 14 CPS and higher are known as beta waves, about 7 to 14 are called alpha, 4 to 7, theta, and finally 4 and below delta.

The mind patterns we are most habitually involved with is beta.  Under the influence of a beta pattern our thoughts are reeling through the center of our head at great speed, with infrequent gaps or brakes. There is a Toltec word, (mih-toe-tay) which succinctly describes this kind of mind chaos.  It describes an untrained mind as having 1000 people talking at the same time, and nobody understanding the other.  Zen Master's, call this speedy beta mind, "monkey mind."  Through our ignorance, we become so thoroughly attached and familiar with this beta pattern of thinking that we aspire to it, and swell up with pride as we proclaim, "I am adept at multitasking."  In truth, our customary speedy mind acts to disperse our attention, energy, and desires, in a multitude of directions, while depriving us of a chance to experience the true nature of our mind.  It is a mind that once trained, can focus a stream of attention to a single point without a brake or gap, until the mind is completely absorbed and all disturbing thoughts disappears.  It is within our ability to meditate, and that the bridge between our monkey mind of self-seeking, and our higher mind of self-forgetting, can be found and utilized.  The practice of meditation will allow you to see and directly experience the true nature of your mind, and it will also expose the existence of dimensions far beyond the feverish, daily pitch of your monkey mind.  This inner knowledge of mind will fill you with an unbending security, inspire you with wisdom beyond the reach of mere intellect, and release within you the capacity to react calmly and compassionately.  

Meditation, generally defined then, is a practice that allows the mind to focus deeply and continuously upon any single idea or object.  Under this general definition, if you are walking in a garden, single-mindedly admiring and sensing the beauty of the flowers, you would be meditating; if you were single-mindedly writing a poem or some prose, you would be meditating; if you were single-mindedly studying a textbook, you would be meditating; if you were single-mindedly doing arts and crafts you would be meditating; if you were singled-mindedly praying, you would be meditating; even if you were single-mindedly musing about any general topic you would be meditating.  It is therefore obvious that the capacity to meditate is not a DNA predisposed mental talent, but part of the innate capabilities of all human beings.  The human disposition of mind works the same for all, and the ability to train the mind through meditation is a jewel within the vastness and complexities of the mind's field of operation. 

The practice of meditation, considering it from an operative sense, should be thought of as a discipline. In other words, it is training of attention, with the aim of mastering the thinking process. Here we have our usual monkey mind, filled with fast flowing streams of thought forms, and here we have our meditative practice, slowing down our speedy mind by the one-pointed focus of our attention.  Of all the disciplines related to human development, the discipline of meditation is the most effective for it directs its discipline towards the seat of all behavior, the mind.  Since thought is the initiator of all action, a discipline whose goal is the control of the thinking process would be directed at the point of greatest effectiveness.  In addition, since thoughts initiate actions and weave a destiny, meditation is the most powerful tool for affecting change. If you can discipline and control your own mind, you can control your own destiny.  If you think the idea of thoughts causing your destiny is mere whimsy, than hear from Lord Buddha, "All that we are is the result of what we have thought."  

Even though the practice of meditation operates at the most effective level, progress does not occur readily.  The first stages of meditation are tough, and beyond that it gets even tougher.  The person who dares to examine the nature of their mind must take a long view of attaining the fruits of meditative practice, keeping in mind that anything worthwhile takes long arduous effort, and cannot be teached in a single leap.  Some of the fruits however, do come within the first weeks of consistent practice.  The  aspirant will experience a sense of calmness especially revealing itself under circumstances that previously produced great emotional reactions.  It is those fruits that reach to the highest qualities of our mind that take the longest to attain. The attainment of the highest fruits of meditative practices, such as a continuous calm, clear, and peaceful mind, is extremely difficult to achieve, but not out of the range for the average human being.  What is needed for success is a mustering of the full attention of the mind and the full affection of our heart to become one-pointed in thought, and an unbending willingness to press ever upwards through the personalized veils of consciousness and feelings in order to reach our higher consciousness, our Higher Self.  When success does come, we can say what Lord Buddha said, "I am the happiest of mortals.  There is no one happier than I am."  

Meditation should not, however be thought of as a practice that will bring the practitioner only, what the psychologist's term, peak experiences.  That is, experiences of bliss, joy, expanded awareness, peace of mind, or feelings of a closer connection to God.  Carrying this specific kind of expectation into the meditative practice turns the practice into a form of worship, were the worshiper wants to see only the positive aspects of God.  When the meditator experiences the destructive sides of the cosmos, he or she may begin to doubt the correctness of his or her's practice, and may stop meditating.  It should be remembered that meditation is not just experience of peace, but also a comprehensive experience including both the positive and negative aspects of life.  The aim should be to see beyond the conceptual evaluation, and integrate all experiences that emerge during meditation whether a peak experience or a negative one.

The person who examines the nature of his or her mind by the practice of meditation, who purifies the negative energy of envy, anger, avarice, and fear, and who dedicates his or her's action for the benefit of all beings follows the path of the gods.

                                     One truth, many paths.  Be good, do  good. 

                                                          Louis DiVirgilio

            

        

  

the cyclical revolvings of all things

There is a contemporary saying, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."  There is an ancient saying attributed to a Hebrew wise man, "There is nothing new under the sun."  What these two sayings have in common is the suggestion that even though we see what is collectively designated as new, it is really a permutation of something that has already been.  What is thought to be new is an adaptation of something that has been, and what has been is a bases from which adaptations are created.  It is analogous to the Egyptian and East Indian myths of the Phoenix and the Garuda respectively.  These two birds, consume themselves in fire, then are resurrected from their ashes.  The operational theme in the above representation is the cyclic movement, from a time current bases, (from their former bird form, to an ashes form, then to a renewed form), to modifications, without a brake in the causal chain.  If we were aware of the movements of our lives, we would be also aware of its cyclic nature, but for most of us, cyclic movement is only a background, of which we pay little attention.    

We live within the great circulations of the Universe.  The Hebrew prophet, Ezekiel, described this cosmic movement as, "wheels within wheels."  We live through the cycles of our lives, even before birth we must gestae for nine months, then the life cycle: birth, growth, death, decay.  Every manifest thing has duration, and moves in step with Universal Nature's cycles: beginning, middle, and end.  Within Universal Nature's Great Wheel are numerous major and minor wheels, Our Milky Way or galactic cycle-our imagination can scarcely grasp at the enormity of its cyclic movements or duration.  Then there is the cyclic movement of our solar system within the our galaxy.  Then are the lesser movements, our planet Earth's 365 day movement around our Sun, our Earth's 24 hour rotation, and how about our satellite, the Moon's 14 day cycle around our earth-"wheels within wheels." 

All these cycles, and many, many more we know and do not know, are webbed together, and are causally linked one to another.  Nature repeats herself everywhere, and it is on her repetitive action that the laws of cycles are founded. 

Our brothers and sisters, the American Indians, have embraced the rhythms of Universal Nature's cyclical movements, and have applied them to their worldview.  Here is an expression of that worldview through the poetical creation of Nakoma in his poem, "The Circle is My Path:"

                                          "From where I came I will return.  Born from the

                                          womb of  Mother Earth and weaned from 

                                          her-I grew as the grass grows upon her lap,

                                          receiving nourishment.  I am grateful.  

                                          My roots are strong, I was given wings. I 

                                          sprang into my life cycle-I travelled in a circle

                                          with no end, as the seasons and years run one 

                                          into another since time began.  I was carried

                                          by the wind.

                                         We are all on the rim of the world and at 

                                         the center at the same time. We are all attached at the 

                                         ripples that emanate from the center-life is so.

                                         We ride the waves-the wind turns us.  We flow

                                          as the prairie grass flows and we are bound to

                                          scared land, walking our path in a sacred manner.

                                         The smoke from my pipe carries my prayers

                                         And they are answered-our Creator hears

                                        and responds with his life-giving sunlight,

                                        rains and snow, warming and cold, mild and 

                                        harsh-it is all part of the cycles of things.

                                        From the four directions we receive and give 

                                        thanks.  From his hands we have evolved-

                                        time changes us...

               

The Great Wheel moves us within its boundlessness.  It has been explained as a "circle whose circumference is everywhere, and whose central point is everywhere" or as Nakoma puts it, "We are at the rim of the world and at its center at the same time," or another description, the movement is from the Source to the Source.  Whether we aware of its movement or not, whether we like it or not, 'the circle is our path.'  It is best not to resist the movement of the Great Wheel, but to surrender, and jump on now: learn from its movement, and just roll with it. 

                                                One truth many paths.    Be good, do good.

                                                                     Louis DiVirgilio

                                          

                                          

                                 

  

the inner characteristics in all things

As I age, and my body morphs into an older characterization of my younger self, my feeling of myself within my mind has not changed.  That is to say, in my mind my identity, my character, the way I use my energy, has remained constant.  And further, this felt quality of myself would remain the same even as I awakened from sleep, even if  I were hit on the head and lost consciousness, even if I awakened from a coma, even if I had amnesia.  This individualized quality of being is experienced, at sometime or another, by every spiritual awakened human being.  Even though there is unrelenting change bombarding our being, there is also a place of constancy within our consciousness, and this constancy gives us our feel of our unique quality.  

All manifest things have a certain predominant quality.  For instance, if an oak tree seed were planted, an oak tree would manifest, not a pine or maple tree.  The oak tree's DNA has instructions and memory to form an oak tree; of course within the instructions are continuous adjustments of internal relations to external relations.  Therefore, not all oak trees would look 100% identical, but their oak treeness, their quality, their essential characteristics, and their function would predominately remain the same. 

You the reader, have probably noticed the difficulty of confidently understanding some of the meaning of certain ideas put forth in this bloge. This difficulty arises first, from your unfamiliarity with the ideas put forth, and the limits of the English language for explanation.  The English language has no equivalent words for some of these ideas.  They are beyond its syntax.  That is the reason Sanskrit and other languages are used.  These other languages have incorporated these ideas into their word syntax.

So without further adieu, there is a Sanskrit word, "gunas," which identifies the three qualities inherent in all differentiated matter. The three qualities are called, (in Sanskrit): "satta, rajas, tamas" (see Bhagavad-Gita for reference, Chapter XIV).  The explanation that follows will be a paraphrase from the Gita.  Universal Nature is the womb where the seed and production of all things emanate.  The three qualities run throughout the web of Nature, each participating of the nature of the other two, yet each one possing its predominant characteristic.  However, not one of these three can be considered apart from the other two. The sattva quality is light or truth: the rajas quality is passion or desire, the tamas quality is indifference or darkness. The sattva quality by reason of its lucidity and peacefulness entwines the soul to rebirth through attachment to knowledge and that which is pleasant.  Rajas, is of the same nature of desire, producing thirst and propensity, imprisoning the Ego through the consequences produced from action.  Tamas, the offspring of the indifference in nature is the deluder of all creatures and imprisons the Ego in the body through folly, sleep, and idleness.  Therefore, the gunas emanate from Universal Nature and affects all differential matter.  The predominate quality of all things comes from the constancy of our higher consciousness, moving through all manner of experiences, aggregating those experiences into individualized characteristics or qualities.

The idea of constancy of the predominant quality within a world of constant change appears paradoxical, and because our world is partly built upon dualistic principles of attraction and repulsion, many ideas are paradoxical.  Yet, there is a way through paradox, but it takes a shift from linear thinking to a more expansive, universal thinking.  The Zen Buddhists use "koans" as one technique to help initiate a brake down in the inductive thinking pattern of their students.  Koans are paradoxical questions sprinkled with nonsense, ie., 'You know the sound of two hands clapping, what is the sound of one hand clapping'?  The student tries to solve the koan through inductive thinking, but after spending much time, energy, and frustration, ultimately fails to understand.  Understanding only comes after the student surrenders their inductive thinking pattern, thus allowing a shift of thinking into a more universal pattern.    

So, how does our predominate quality of being stay constant through constant change?  All manifested things have at their core, the essence of their being, an indivisible god-spark.  Pythagoras called this essential core a "monad."  Because the monad is indivisible its quality is homogeneous, stays the same essentially and is not affected by change.  Thus the monad stays within its divine realm or plane, and is not affected by change.       

                                          One truth many paths. Be good, due good.

                                                             Louis DiVirgilio

because     

Indwelling consciousness of all systems, entities, and beings

All things have consciousness.  "I don't agree," you are probably saying.  "My senses show me that some things have consciousness: human beings, are self conscious, animals to some extent, even plants have consciousness, but a rock would be too great a stretch for my mind to include under the idea of consciousness."   

Let us take some time and examine the viability of your senses to provide real understanding.  Your senses are of limited quality.  For instance, our vision is limited to within a certain range of light waves.  Physicists tell us that the total known range of light waves is from far infrared at 3 millimeters, to vacuum ultraviolet, at .3  nanometers, (one-billionth of a meter).  The average range of light waves visible to human senses is from 400 to 700 nanometers.  We hear within a specific decibel range.  We taste, touch, and smell all within specific ranges of flavors and tactile sensations,  These given sense limitations function as a clearinghouse, filtering out all senatations not precisely corresponding to our standard range of reception.  The result of this filtering process produces a standard range of experience patterns, and their corresponding states of consciousness.  So within the limited range of our senses is a broad spectrum of possible misperceptions.  Who has not misperceived a coiled rope or hose for a snake, or a leaf lying on the ground as a bird or squirrel?  Thus we can understand that using our senses as a competent measure of reality is not always reliable, couple that with the capacity of our emotions to misinterpret our perception of reality, and we have a formidable dynamic for misperception.  There is a American Indian saying that gives credence to our capacity to misperceive our senses, in goes: "Believe, only 50% of what you see, and nothing of what you hear."

Thus far we have a good argument for not trusting our senses to distinguish reality, but that is not altogether enough evidence to conclude that a rock has consciousness.  Here we will turn to a specific field of physics called Quantum Physics for an opinion.  Scientist in this field, theorize that at the core of the material world there is a non-material realm that can be termed consciousness. And as we can say that the material world is made up of atoms, we can also say that this indwelling field of consciousness is what the universe is made of.  A rock then, is fundamentally made up of fields of electromagnetic energy-molecules modulating on an energy level of very high frequency and low amplitude.  The rock's outer wrapping (as to density, form, and color) is the direct effect of the quality of the energy radiating from within.  Thus even a rock, whose outer nature appears inert, has an inner, non-visible nature of dynamic energy.

In the Chandogya Upanishad, a father, Uddalaka is teaching his son, Svetaketu about the invisible nature, called the Self, our higher Self, the Atman:

                       ..."Please Father, tell me more about the Self."

                          "Yes, dear one, I will,Uddalaka said.

                          Bring me a fruit from the nyagrodha tree." 

                         "Here it is, sir." 

                          "Brake it,  What do you see?"

                          "These seeds, Father, all exceedingly small."

                          "Break one, What do you see?"

                          "Nothing at all."

                           "That hidden essence you do not see dear one,

                           From that a whole nyagrodha tree will grow.

                           There is nothing that does not come from him.

                           Of everything he is the inmost Self.

                           He is truth; he is the Self supreme.

                           You are that, Svetaketu; you are that."

Consciousness is a medium that we, and all things manifest, live, move, and have our being; much as water is the medium of aquatic beings.  It is the essential core of all being and is the nexus between all manifestation.   The same core of consciousness is within you, as Lao-Tzu calls the "10,000 things."

However, not only does consciousness support and sustain being, but also generates it.  Consciousness as consciousness, is a pervasive, most subtle, ether like fluid, infilling space, the largest mass, and the most minute particle, all this while maintaining its infinity.  Its is analogous to our Sun-probably the highest consciousness in our solar system.  The Sun continuously emits its rays in a 360 degree pattern.  It does not discriminate where its rays impact.  All things within its range receive as much unconditioned sunlight as they are capable of receiving.  Yet the Sun's essential quality remains the unchanged.  Of course, even the Sun lives, moves, and has its being from Universal Consciousness, and this is were a complete analogy brakes down. 

Here, as we are discussing Universal Consciousness, know we are touching the apex of thought.  Our thoughts are reaching to our Source.  This is such a sacred sphere of thought that the ancients would not blasphemy by giving a name to the Source.  In the Sentences of Sextus, Sextus the Pythagorean, says, "Do not investigate the name of God because you will not find it.  For everything called by a name receives its appellation from that which is more worthy then itself.  So that it is one person that calls and another that hears.  Who is it, therefore , who has given a name to God?"...  To the ancient sages, God was Unspeakable, Unutterable, Ineffable.  They would speak of It in the most pure and sacred location, among humans of wisdom, and would only mention It in the most universal terms, such as, That, Self, That which is and is not.  Consciousness qua consciousness, in its most pure and universal ideation, is the quintessence of all being; Consciousness is the Source.  All things originate from that, all evolutionary developments appear under Its will, and all things will return to It. 

Contemplate the idea of Universal Consciousness; let your mind open to Its possibility.     

                                      One truth many paths.  Be good do good. 

                                                         Louis DiVirgilio                       

  

    

the meaning of life

The idea that anyone could know, in a comprehensive manner, the meaning of life, seems to most people an absurd notion.  Life qua life, is such an enormous, interwoven, complicated idea that it appears to defy comprehension, and further there is a general feeling today among Western Culture that a person searching for life's meaning is wasting scarce energy, scarce time, and being counter productive.  "Monty Python," a group of English funny men, created a satirical spoof movie called, The Meaning of Life.  Of course their title was meant to be sarcastic and to taunt the viewer with the high concept of "the meaning of life," then they immediately began to mock it in the most irreverent of ways.  After many comedic skits, that had little to do with the meaning of life, the movie ended with one of the Monty Python crew sitting in a chair saying , "Oh! You really expected to see evidence of the meaning of life?"  Then he reaches over to a small table standing next to him, picks up the book setting there entitle, "The Meaning Of Life," opens it and begins to read in a flippant manner, "treat every one as you would like to be treated, turn the other cheek, love your neighbor as yourself, blah, blah, blah," then throws the book to the side on the floor as the movie ends. 

Viktor E. Frankl, a Viennese psychiatrist, wrote a book entitled, "Man's Search for Meaning."  His presentation was taken seriously by millions of readers, owning to the facts that he was an immanent psychiatrist, and a survivor of Nazi death camps at Auschwitz and Dachau.  On page 154 of his book Frankl encapsulated his perception of the meaning of life, ..."Man is not fully condition and determined, but rather determines himself whether he gives into conditions or stands up to them.  In other words, man is ultimately self-determined.  Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment"...  Thus the meaning of life for Frankl, expresses itself from man's innate capacity for self-determination.  What is not made clear from Frankl's above perception or perhaps it was implied, is where the capacity for self-determination originates?  The answer is, it originates from our self-awareness. 

Since we are sentient beings our lived lives are exposed to us every moment.  We see, hear, smell, taste, and touch our lives.  It is like a continuous life-long movie, the difference being we are the producer, director, actor, and the audience or more accurately, the watcher. It is the fire of our self-awareness that allows us to see our nakedness, to learn from our experiences, to extract general insights and understandings, to create wisdom, and where from meaning to our lives. This self awareness process that extracts meaning from our lived experiences, is what could be term an elemental imperative.  The human race, from its origin has continuously searched, discovered and added to its meaning.  For instance, twenty five hundred years ago Gautama the Buddha had put on all the spiritual practices and techniques of his time, and found them unsatisfactory.  A bit despondent he sat under a Banyan Tree determined to become enlightened, and as the saying goes, "the rest is history."  The Buddha left an accessible and simple spiritual pathway for anyone to follow successfully.  At the ancient Greek Temple of Apollo, at Delphi, over the door entrance was a crosspiece carved with the phrase, Gnothi Seauton, "Know thyself," an admonition and a reminder to all that entered, that within the structure and operation of their own being lie universal principles of life.  Thus, humans have an ancient heritage of  not only searching for meaning of life, but also finding the meaning of life. 

There is an ancient worldview from India that relates a time, millions of years ago, where the gods walked the earth among nascent mankind.  There gods instructed mankind in principles of life, science, and the arts. Then when it was time for the gods to leave, they took the highest developed members of man kind and trained them to be in charge of Mystery Schools.  The Schools were meant to be the crucibles of the cosmic truths taught by the gods to fledgling mankind, and through a strict initiation process were meant to establish a trough of truth to feed evolving mankind.  

Some of the truths have been, over the millennia, let out through master teachers, especially in periods of darkness, to act as beacons of light for struggling mankind.  Some of the truths remain within the Mystery Schools, even today, to be let out as necessary to aid humans unfold their spiritual evolution, but to those humans whose desire for truth is unwavering, whose hearts are pure, and whose minds are highly trained these teachings are available in full.

When studied comparatively and comprehensively, the truths or various teachings that have been let out compose the basis for understanding the origin, nature, purpose, and destiny of our lives.  However, there is a caveat.  The ancient teachings are conceptually difficult to understand, owning in part to their universal nature, and their web of interconnections and interrelationships.  It is best to remember that the universal nature of these teachings relates and reflects the same universal  nature of the core of each human being.  Therefore, by affirming one's own universal nature one will open a contact point to begin to comprehend these wondrous and most satisfying teachings.  

However, this opening is gained by pressing through the present thought forms or mind molds of our minds.  These minds molds have been caste there and habituated by the intense exposure to our system of education, our cultural customs and mores, and to our religious and spiritual beliefs.  It is like changing directions while driving an automobile; tremendous force and energy must be brought under control before the directional change can be made.  It is difficult, but not beyond the capacity of ordinary humans like you and I.  

There is another necessary step of preparation, and that is in considering the idea of expectations.  These teachings are so vast they touch the outer reaches of our Home Galaxy, and the smallest particle of our earth.  Exploring such a vast body of wisdom it is best not to expect any final understanding or definition, as we are accustomed to expect from our traditional educational system.  Thus to know such teachings on one level is vital, but a relatively small step in an progressive advancement towards truth.  One last word, I promise, these teachings are not just for intellectual viewing, but are meant to be put-on and practiced.  They are intimately wrapped around the highest ethical principles and conduct.

Here is a listing of some of the teachings let out as apart of our human heritage:

                             1)  Composite organization of all beings and entities

                             2 )  Indwelling consciousness of all systems, entities and beings

                             3 )  Karma and reincarnation

                             4)  Cyclical revolving of all manifest things

                             5)  Hierarchical arrangement  of all things

                             6)  Innate characteristics of all things

                                 One truth many paths.  Be good, do good.

  

                                                    Louis DiVirgilio