The Grace Of Understanding. Thursday, February 12, 2009

 

The truth only becomes apparent through understanding and at the core of that lies the observation of oneself and one’s relationship to everything.   That of course necessarily means paying close attention at every moment to our feelings and perceptions as they come up and flower into action.   When one makes this decision and commitment then there can be no more “sleeping at the wheel”.  You can’t ignore, avoid or deny anything and similarly you can’t judge anything.  Sounds like a daunting task especially in view of our conditioning to see-evaluate-react.  If we can’t approach life in this fashion then from what point of view shall we commence?  The answer to that question is the very basis of clarity and has no relationship whatsoever with anything already learned or acquired.  Don’t be concerned if that seems paradoxical because our brain has become so accustomed to categorising and processing material and stimuli in order to arrive at a conclusion from which we “react”.  But there’s a profound difference between reaction and action and only in the stillness of the heart can the latter we savoured.  Therefore, you cannot practise it, you cannot learn it as a technique nor can you discover it for only that which has been known and lost can be discovered and what we are talking about here is always present, always flowering anew.  It lies beyond the word, beyond the realm of thought and thus forever rests languidly in the timeless sea of the divine.

 

Realizing there are no props, no manuals and no authorities in this regard, how will you proceed?   How does one move into and out of “stillness”?  Who is at the helm directing the ship at this point?  Surely we will crash upon the rocks...or will we?  We’ve tried everything else, politics, religions, science, all of which have their own peculiar systems and dogma but none of this has succeeded.  We still live in confusion, chaos and violence, so there must be another approach, one that requires no studying other than the study of oneself and one’s relationship to everything.  This is awareness.  This is the fruit of the tree, the pearl in the oyster, the harvest of the sowing and the journey is immediate once the decision is made.  Whatever you came into this world with is more than you will need, in fact as you continue you will want to discard many of those things inherited.  This is the ultimate task to opening the door of realization and the price you pay is who you think you are.  Can you let that all go, as you would a helium balloon and watch it drift one last time into the ethers where it will be incinerated?  Can you see that this is the only way, or will you choose to struggle and experiment until your final breath?  This will prove nothing in the end and will not deliver you from the fire.  You must step into it with complete trust in order to receive the benediction and out of that right action will prevail, otherwise folly will be your endless reward. 

 

Are you able to see the lustrous beauty of the flower without naming it?  Are you able to feel the feeling without desperately trying to change or justify it?  This is hard work and yet comes easily during the quietening time.  Try it and you will see.  Can you set aside all that which is familiar and dissolve into the unknown?  There is no posture to practise, no scripture to be read and no mantra to repeat, all these are the mind’s way of tricking you into “belief” and if you believe then you are lost.  Truth has no relationship with belief because belief breeds division and truth has no other entity in its sphere.  It is all there is and all there ever will be.  It is a one act play and a one play act.  We simply have to relax and slip between the cracks created by all the illusions and there we will stumble upon the light and the glory revealing the brilliance which we are.

 

There is a seed crystal within your matrix that knows the truth and from this point arises an attractive force which will broaden the depth of love required to create significant change.  Like any seed it must be nurtured and nourished properly and sustained through understanding.  Let us see our role clearly.  Let us go forth on this most auspicious day as though we were marching together in a parade for peace and freedom, arms linked and hearts intertwined.  Let us be vigilant of what is going on both within and without and from this moment reach out to one another in the spirit of forgiveness and generosity and most of all let us forget ourselves.

 

With gentle humility,

 

Dr. John