“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet…” – William Shakespeare

Since the beginning of recorded history, man has been curious about the world around him. His inquiry, fueled by the desire to understand his existence and purpose, is largely confined within two major frameworks: mythological/religious and scientific.

The myths and religious beliefs tend to evoke and emphasize both thought and feeling by way of elaborate and beautiful stories, music, art and more, while the scientific approach rests more squarely on the cold and hard intellectual facts of life. Advocates of the former direct their inquiry to the totality of the phenomena they seek to explain and favor answers which point to the whole of truth, while proponents of the latter prefer to examine, describe and understand the component parts of the whole with the goal of eventually finding answers to the same questions about life and existence.

The myths/religious belief systems give answers to the largest questions of life, such as “Who am I,” “Why am I here” and “Where am I going” while the scientific approach typically focuses on identifying concrete answers to questions significantly more limited in scope. What interests me most about these two approaches, however, is that they share a common goal: understanding.

In some ways the religious framework has provided more words and concepts to describe the invisible aspects of life, but certain branches of science, such as quantum physics, are working hard to the same end. Whether the twain shall meet I cannot be sure, as both approaches tend to crystallize that which is inherently flowing and therefore divide more than they connect using the analogy in yesterday’s post.

Is the gold rush for information going to end in a bust? Is it nothing more than a trip down the rabbit hole? Time will tell. Do the religious approaches thin the veil which divides wisdom and knowledge? It shall be shown.

In the meantime, we have limited symbols – words and concepts – made available to us by both approaches through which we can peer to find insight into absolute truth.

If a scientist names an object, say a star, does it change it’s reality in any way? I think not. A star is a star, or as my mother likes to say, “It is what it is,” regardless of what some man or woman on earth names it.

The words or characters used in any language symbolize that which they attempt to describe. In this sense they connect an observer with the essence of something outside of himself. The same words or characters symbolize and therefore represent the reality of the object and as such they also divide or put something between the observer and the object. That which divides also connects.

In some cases, the words come quite close to representing the true nature of the object in question, as with onomatopoeic words like “cuckoo” or “pow.” But even the best imitation is only a close approximation. In other cases the words or symbols used are quite abstract and therefore more primarily divisive than connective in nature.

Modern language excels at describing visible, tangible and physical phenomena. It is relatively weak when it comes to describing the invisible, intangible, energetic yet omnipresent aspect of the universe in general and our lives in particular. Descriptions of the physical anatomy and the biochemistry of the human body, for instance, are elaborate, but trying to label the subtler physics or energetic nature of the same body can be quite a task. There just aren’t words to describe it in our present vocabulary.

The vocabulary of a people provides insight into their state of consciousness. If my analysis is correct, we tend to live on the outer surface of life. Our understanding of the provenance and inner workings of life is quite shallow. We see, give more weight to and are prone to confine our thinking to that which is obvious and visible. As such, the subtler or finer essences of life tend to be either overlooked, undervalued or dismissed entirely.

The question raised in all of this is: how do we develop a vocabulary in a way that connects man to the subtle essences of existence more than it divides? More on this tomorrow…

“Love seeketh not itself to please, nor for itself hath any care, but for another gives its ease, and builds a Heaven in Hell’s despair.” ~ William Blake

Love intensifies all things. It is the presence of presences; its absence is hatred. All that is consistent with its spirit is drawn nigh unto it. All that conflicts with it is discomfited, if not repelled by its presence.

Love is not something you find, it is the core of what you are. You needn’t look for love, in fact, if you’re looking for it you’re already on the wrong track. When you radiate love into the world around you that which is meant to be close is attracted to you.

Love moves forth intelligently. It is never blind, neither is it random. Love is purposeful, dynamic and expansive. Love is the power which animates the universe. There is but one power.

The way that power is put to use as it differentiates out into every level of organization determines the nature of that which is created. As such, everything that has ever happened did so because of its power, even if it is not done according to its will.

Love’s will bent is the source of hell. Love’s will kept is the the reverberation of that which is higher in that which is lower. Love’s will is eternal progress and perfect love casts out all fear, for hatred destroys itself once its stolen power – the power of love – is spent.

In the face of persecution, you have two options. You can either assume the role of the victim and be overcome by the attack or you can use the energy focused against you to move you closer to your goal.

There is only one energy. There is no “good energy” or “bad energy.” Energy can be focused in relation to constructive purposes or destructive ends, but the energy in and of itself is neutral. Most people are so busy judging how the energy is being used (particularly when it is being used against them) that they overlook the fact that energy, no matter how it may be clothed, can be put to good use.

Consider the spooking horse. When a horse spooks, it’s rider can either react negatively to the disruptive use of energy and consequently become tense emotionally, mentally and physically or the rider can channel the elevated energetic flow in a direction useful to his aim. Your reaction to changes in energy need not be a foregone conclusion.

A good rider, like one who has mastered the art of living, uses every energetic shift to advantage. Likewise, he does not lose his composure when sudden or extreme changes in energy flow occur, regardless of their provenance or nature.

Whether energy comes to you in the form of praise or persecution, agreement or disagreement is beside the point. The fact that you have more energy to work with is the point. The sooner you realize this the easier the rest of your life will be.

“It is folly for an eminent man to think of escaping censure, and a weakness to be affected with it. All the illustrious persons of antiquity, and indeed of every age in the world, have passed through this fiery persecution.” – Joseph Addison

Fallen human consciousness rejects messengers of truth in the present and reveres the same in retrospect, albeit on their own terms. Whenever and wherever the veil of human arrogance or ignorance is pierced, persecution immediately follows. The light of truth is a direct threat to the darkness of falsehood.

The truth sits above religion and science. Both attempt to comprehend the truth, but the truth cannot be fully encompassed by the human mind. Our minds and hearts are designed to translate the invisible power of love through the pattern of the truth into the visible expression of life.

Humanity has the potential in this sense to connect that which is above, metaphorically-speaking to that which is below. When this is the case, “heaven and earth,” as the Christians say, are one. Put differently, the hermetic principle “as above, so below” proves true whenever and wherever the mediating link between man and his divine essence is in operation. This is not a privilege accorded to a few, it is the central purpose of everyone on earth.

Man’s dissociation from the truth is the direct result of a struggle for control over the truth, the attempt to arrogate unto himself the knowledge of all truth. Having fallen from his rightful place of dominion, he desperately seeks to dominate the world around him to appease the sense of insecurity, discomfort and impotency that accompany the guilt and shame of being out of position.

Persecution is a fear-based reaction held by those who are afraid to be found out of place. It is an aggressive and violent defensive tactic that temporarily alleviates the sense of shame just as an analgesic dulls pain. The problem is that such an approach offers only temporary relief. The sensation of shame eventually returns and it is the early phases of the returning twinges of guilt and shame that the rationalizations flood in.

Fallen human consciousness loves to rationalize the rejection of perfection. They scramble to find sufficiently convincing excuses to escape the responsibility of living in the light of truth. They find ways to accept what they once rejected, albeit, as I mentioned above, on their own terms. Some of the most fantastic delusions under which man operates spring from this deadly cause.

The exercise of judgment destroys your capacity of discernment. In no instance is this more self-evident than in the matter of handling pressure. The ability to relax into pressure rather than judge it and consequently react negatively or withdraw from it is one of the greatest keys to unlocking your full potential in living.

Increases in pressure, whatever their provenance, test the integrity of your body, mind and heart at any given point in time. If you dedicate your life to the pursuit of truth, for instance, you will bring pressure on anything related to the subject at hand that is not aligned with the truth.

Those who have invested in faulty logic or reasoning, so that their understanding is composed of the “bricks without straw” of human opinion instead of on the immovable rock of truth, will tend to see those who represent the truth as foes, rather than as allies. That reaction or friction will tend to create an unnatural pressure and that pressure, dear readers, is your friend. By relaxing deeply into the pressure you overcome the reflexive mental and physical constrictions that harden you to the forces at work and put you in opposition to the increased energy inherent in pressure. That reflex is not instinctual, it is conditioned and most people are trained incorrectly from a very young age in this regard.

Rather than scanning your life in a attempt to affix blame somewhere else, why not skip that step and assume full responsibility for how you handle pressure? When the heat comes on, resist the temptation to blame, complain, withdraw or lash out.

Look instead to breath the pressure in metaphorically-speaking, just as an Aikido master would draw the attacking energy of an opponent close to himself so that it can be redirected from as close to his axis of balance as possible. Breath out or apply yourself to the solution at just the right moment (it takes practice) and you’ll find that the pressure you once reacted to is now working with you rather than against you.