Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Continuing the Journey...


Continuing the Journey...


As the Gods begin to work in the Soul of Man, he will tend more
towards the virtues and his sense of right and wrong will slowly change.
In the meantime we must be guided by the duties of our common
Humanity; kindness to our fellow man, humility, the growth of Love, etc.

These virtues act as a yardstick against imagination and the
introduction of I's from the Creature. I personally have always tested
myself against children. Their returning glances endorse my states
more than the most learned Theologian.

We have to continue our journey in the direction in which our feet
were set. We must remain present to the Inner Miracle. If we forget
it and do not upkeep  it, we will lose it. The Gods will only work for a
defined period without the co-operation of the Host.




Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Divine Spaces...


Divine Spaces... 


So many realizations opening, unfurling, and gathering up to this 
pure moment of ecstatic love. In this process we are eternally coming 
into being, recognizing through all senses our own eternal beauty, 
shattering in joy, and being remembered again whole. Like the great
light of spirit holding each part of my body in cohesion.  In this
moment I can reach out and touch the spaces.
Many years ago,while working with Mervyn, I dropped a plate on
the floor. He looked at me with great love and said, "That is your 
soul, it will unify in order for you to remember yourself."

I felt the beauty of his gaze as the wisdom of his words and being
pierced my heart and soul. Today I realize I have to become the
spaces between all the shattered parts. It is in that divine space that
we become the architects of our own souls.

Mervyn smiled again and hugged me, mentioning the words
of Plato,

"We already know everything, we just have to be
reminded of who we are."

Monday, November 28, 2011

On Prayer...

On Prayer...

Do not pray for strength.  Pray to be pierced.  Pray to be opened and
willingly offer your pain in exchange for the birth of your soul.
No quarter must be given


Honoring the Heart...




Honoring the Heart...

 

Dear Heart…
Window of my soul,
Gateway to my freedom
Feel…Breath…Love.
Dear Heart…
Doorway to my bliss,
Sacred container to my suffering
Open…Inhale…. Be.
Because of you
I exist, I vibrate with life
I emit my truth.
I find my inner peace.


Thank you Heart
For you perceive all,
For you hold the key to higher wisdom.
Through you I grow in understanding.
Through you I can be pierced
I can be lifted in inspiration.
With the winds of passion and desire
I can create, heal,  love deeply.
I can be reflected in another
I can merge with all around
and melt into nothing.

 

Precious heart
Flowering inside me.
You can open another,
Cry with tears of deep compassion,
Share hidden secrets in silence,
Touch with tenderness and kindness,
Dance in joy and abandon yourself to laughter.

 

Dear sacred Heart….
Reclaim my soul,
Expand my wings,
Infuse me with holiness
Help me project God’s grace.
and release me from blocks to the light.
I surrender to you.
With deep desire and longing
I invite the spirit of Love.
I invite the emergence of myself.

 

Help me , God, guard this treasure
And keep it aflame into eternity.
So that I can share and serve
With gratitude and humility.


Sunday, November 27, 2011

In Presence...


 In Presence...

What is inscribed 
upon the soul 
in presence,
creates the space 
for love 
to work 
its 
magic.


~C

God Is Love...


God is Love...
 
God is Love.  And Love must love.  And to love there must be a Beloved. But since God is Existence infinite and eternal there is no one for Him to love but Himself.  And in order to love Himself He must imagine Himself as the Beloved whom He as the Lover imagines He loves.


Beloved and Lover implies separation.  And separation creates longing:  and longing causes search.  And the wider and the more intense the search the greater the separation and the more terrible the longing.

When longing is most intense separation is complete, and the purpose of separation, which was that Love might experience itself as Lover and Beloved, is fulfilled; and union follows.  And when union is attained, the Lover knows that he himself was all along the Beloved whom he loved and desired union with; and that all the impossible situations that he overcame were obstacles which he himself had placed in the path to himself.

To attain union is so impossibly difficult because it is impossible to become what you already are!  Union is nothing other than knowledge of oneself as the Only One.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Revelation...

Revelation...

Often when the soul speaks, man calls it revelation.  This is a downloading of the divine mind into our mind.  A thrill passes through all men at the reception of new truth.  When higher centers manifest, the power to see and understand becomes connected to the will to Do and the doing comes from a joyful obedience of the creature.  Every moment that higher centers manifest, is potent memory.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

If You Only...




If You Only.... 

If you only see the leaf on the branch,
you miss the beauty of the tree.
If you only see the tree,
you miss the greatness of the forest.
If you only see the forest,
you miss the magnificence of the landscape.
If you only see the landscape,
you miss the greatness of the planet.
If you only see the planet,
you miss the vastness of the universe.

Only with the eyes of the soul
you can see the whole universe
in the detail of the leaf in the branch.
And the detail of the leaf can be appreciated
as being a particle of the whole universe.

Only with the presence of the soul
you are able to trespass the layers of illusions
and simply
Be.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

A Vessel...

Mervyn Brady...


Love comes not only from the soul, but is the soul. 

Memory is not enough, the present moment 
has to be filled with love.

Become a vessel of love...
for love is a prelude to the 
highest form 
of 
awakening.

 



Speaking From the Soul



Speaking from the Soul...

If a man where to speak from the soul, 
every word would sound vain, pompous,
and obscure to those who have never been there.
But it would be music to those that had experienced their soul.
Most people cannot speak from the soul, 
although they often use the words of
the conscious men and women who dwelt there.

~Mervyn

Monday, November 21, 2011

You Are There...

You Are There...

There is a hole in my heart
Life can pour in there, I do not let it stop.
I cannot question this love,
it is just becoming the cup
I want to hold.


All in this life can come to me
Some things are like walls that create big shadows.
If I stay patient, I creep around the corner
and find my Garden again.
It has all the honey and flowers I need.


God is busting through each
crevice in the brickwork;
the light is always somewhere.
The shadow is not real.
I am meeting again and again the light in your eyes, 
the smile etched by an artist
with the knowledge
that you
are
there.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

The Nameless...



The Nameless...

May I suggest that when you are present 
and feeling "The Nameless" drawing near, 
why not offer a discreet invitation 
to the Holy Ghost to hover awhile
and interface and infuse with you.

Then may you in your turn, delight and enlighten others.
Then the fruitful joys of the Mystic life 
will become more and more numerous
throughout the
World.


Advice From a Caterpillar


The Caterpillar's question is , "Who are you? 

Alice replies, 
"I-I hardly know sir, just at present--at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then." 

With this, Lewis Carroll reminds us--We are constantly being reborn into the moment.  

Have a beautiful rebirth today!

~JB






Saturday, November 19, 2011

Dark Night of the Soul




Dark Night of the Soul

by St. John of the Cross


On a dark night,
Kindled in love with yearnings--oh, happy chance!--
I went forth without being observed,
My house being now at rest.

In darkness and secure,
By the secret ladder, disguised--oh, happy chance!--
In darkness and concealment,
My house being now at rest.

In the happy night,
In secret, when none saw me,
Nor I beheld aught,
Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart.

This light guided me
More surely than the light of noonday
To the place where he (well I knew who!) was awaiting me--
A place where none appeared.

Oh, night that guided me, 
Oh, night more lovely than the dawn,
Oh night that joined Beloved with lover,
Lover transformed in the Beloved! 

Upon my flowery breast,
Kept wholly for himself alone,
There he stayed sleeping, and I caressed him,
And the fanning of the cedars made a breeze.

The breeze blew from the turret
As I parted his locks;
With his gentle hand he wounded my neck
And caused all my senses to be suspended.

I remained, lost in oblivion;
My face reclined on the beloved.
All ceased and I abandoned myself,

Friday, November 18, 2011

Surrendering...



 Surrendering...


Lately, I have been learning a lesson in surrendering and allowing the heart to quiet down and listen. One day this week I felt a lot of pressure in my body and a tremendous build up of negativity. While tidying my bed I asked out loud, “please help me Angel, I cannot do this alone!”

The next morning I awoke refreshed throughout my whole being and even before I put my feet on the floor these words came up from my heart:

“Be patient dear love, for you are being held in the loving hands of eternity and being shaped beyond your knowing. You watched the sea raging in the full moon, and you know you cannot swim in storms. The truth is raging in you until you are washed clean of all that is not you. The true creator waits patiently until you are calm, and until the sun rises above the mountains and beams it’s light into your heart to welcome you once more in the unity of Spirit where we abide and assist you. Just ask, stay close, and keep watching.”


Thursday, November 17, 2011

Nature...

 Nature...


Being part of Nature and being able to look
through its eyes, gives you a simple, yet deep
level of understanding beyond any words spoken.
Nature simply is, and questions not why.
It sits plainly, filled with the inspiration
and ebb and flow of the breath of
The Creator. 
When we observe it, we see only our thoughts
reflected...we recognize a part of ourselves
that at times is hidden.
Being is effortless, is accepting, is loving. Reality,
truth pass through us whispering their secrets. If we
are still, then perhaps we will listen.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

On Presence...


On Presence...
  
A court of kings in stately grace,
reclining in repose.
Their eyes aglow, relaxed their face,
a sense of  all is known.
Ascending spirals, lifting wings,
a pull beyond all measure.
The entity- a king of kings,
awakens their surrender.
Released the veils that do not serve,
emerging light, the truth is heard.
A state that joins their souls as one, 
alas the journey has begun.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

A Vision...

A Vision...

After an incredible afternoon with students I had a most vivid experience. I had a vision. I saw every one floating in space in a spiral which was moving extremely slowly upward. Everyone was holding hands and we formed a spiral like a wine opener. When I looked down I couldn't see the end. There was a feeling of total freedom from any thought or idea, as if our bodies were as light as feathers. 

Then someone asked you, "When are we going to awake? How do we know it has happened?" 

You smiled and said,


"Dear friends, but you have been awake all this time. Your search for the truth has helped you awake more and more. Your awakening is a process that begins in the moment you decide to search for the truth, and it goes on until the moment your body dies."


~G




Monday, November 14, 2011

Introductions...



Introductions...

As the soul sat in recognition and gratitude for being able to be set free, the body wrestled for control. The understanding, logical mind did relinquish and sat back to allow for the soul to listen, and I believe it heard all that it needed to hear to recognize itself and rejoice in its existence.  The soul, so glad to come out, the yearnings of the soul have been deep. How sweet, wordless, powerful. Can words express this? Can I hold on to the sweetness of it? Is it transient? Thank God for it. For the simplicity, there is no answer, wisdom or knowledge for this. It is a glimpse of the experience of the eternal. 

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Crystalization...


Crystallization...


Crystallization is form...

To work with the law of crystallization is to….
say “no” to someone you always 
responded with a ”yes.”
To take a different route home, 
especially if it’s off the beaten path

To not make your bed for one week.
To make your bed for one week.

To stretch your thoughts beyond a rigid mind and
enter a door from behind.

To not do what your mother told you to do,
or do what your mother told you to do...for once.

To not perform, do, or act by rote,
but add a little passion, love, and emote

To stop and enjoy the sunrise 
 at the beginning of your day -
enjoy the same 
if it’s at the end of your way.

To clear the cobwebs of your 
thoughts, feelings and actions,
repetitions, habits, and  routine

Take this moment, 
wipe the slate clean.

Perseverance...

Perseverance...

The Soul must persevere 
in the struggle like Jacob, whatever difficulties it may find 
in inner recollection, till the light breaks 
and God
gives us his blessing.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Lifting a Finger...


Lifting a Finger... 

In this piece please note the definitions for the following terms:
First Line Work: Ones own efforts towards awakening.
Second Line Work: Efforts with another on the path. 
Third Line Work: Efforts towards the growth or service to the group, sanga, or school.

Mervyn taught that the three most important parts of our Work are Self-remembering, Chief Feature, and Non-expression of Negative Emotions. His words stayed with me and this became the topic of conversation with a fellow student. A vision came in a moment that a triad – every triad – is not just three separate things that are in some way related to one another, but that a triad is meant to be a living, breathing organism with its own level of Consciousness.   What makes this Consciousness possible is the “lifting a finger” and doing our parts to bring triads to life.

First, Second and Third Line Work are a good example of a living, breathing triad.  Energy cannot begin to flow from one type of work toward another and the system remains stagnant if I do not attempt to work on my machine upon entering the school.  No longer do I perceive these three parts of our Work as simply being parallel to each other, nor are they merely three parts of the Work that I must put into action simultaneously.  Now I perceive them as three interdependent organs of a living Being. Without my efforts they remain three separate points in space without a cardiovascular system to connect them. As a newer student I learned that efforts at First Line Work eventually move energy toward opportunities for Second Line Work, which will eventually present opportunities for Third Line Work, and all the while I must continue to work on myself. Second and Third Line Work present me with more opportunities to do that. Through effort and with help from the Gods, a Working Triangle has been put into motion. I must continue to Work for the motion to continue. This makes me feel like I am working with the Gods by emulating their creative process in a very real way.


The Cage...


Meher Baba

 The Cage of Religion
NOVEMBER 11, 1944
On Saturday night, November 11th, darshan began at 9:30 P.M.   in Gorakshan Maidan, where almost thirty thousand people had gathered. Baba   gave a message on "God and Religion" which Justice Niyogi read out, Deshmukh   translating in Marathi and Manek Mehta in Hindi. The following is an excerpt:

The organized religions of the world often fail to express   the real vision of those who have been the fountainhead of inspiration for their   very coming into existence. Dogmas and beliefs, rituals and ceremonies, can   never be the essence of true spiritual life. When religion has become merely   a matter of external rituals and ceremonies, it has become a cage for the soul.   Nor does it help very far to change one religion for another. It is like going   from one cage to another. If religion does not help man to emancipate the soul   from spiritual bondage and realize God, it has no useful purpose to serve. Then   it is time that religion should go to make room for God!

I am, therefore, not interested in founding a new religion.   The world is already divided by numberless sects, based upon dogmas and beliefs.   I have not come to give another cage for man, but to impart to the world the   illimitable Truth. The world needs awakening and not mere verbal instruction;   it needs the freedom and the amplitude of divine life, and not the superficiality   of mechanized and pompous forms; it needs love, and not the display of power.
The world task ahead of me is particularly creative. Really   speaking, none of you have to receive divinity from me; but what I have to give   is the knowledge and experience of the Oneness of us all.
Man will be weaned away from the allurements of the ego-life.   He shall come into full inheritance of his own divinity and know himself to   be none other than the supreme God Himself; and his heart shall be unlocked   so as to release the dynamic love divine. Divine love knows no decay, fear or   corruption, because it is illumined by the understanding that all life is One.   Let those who are alive to the real values hearken to this call of mine; they   will have an ample share in bringing into existence the New Era of Truth and Love.

Rest...



Learning to Rest...

"Everyone who goes far in this Work must learn how to rest. The tension which he meets will be too strong for him otherwise. In fact there is only one true kind of rest- this is in the thought of God, in the remembrance of God, in God".
~Rodney Collin.

Since I read this sentence a few weeks ago, I am experiencing the truthfulness of these words.
It happens that sometimes during the night I wake up feeling a sort of activity in my heart ... in my mind ....

In the moment that I can stop all thoughts
and my thought goes only to God ...
Peace enters ...

I remember God ...
and in the thought of God I can rest ...

I can truly rest.



Long Island - November 19th

“The Six Mysteries of Love” 

 

The “Six Mysteries of  Love” describe what humans experience 
from the conception of a relationship to its end.
 
When we act from Presence and work to live in a state 
of Conscious Harmony as awakened Souls,
the Six Mysteries teach us how we experience each relationship as a
State of Love that is Eternal.
 
Please join us:

Saturday, November 19th, 4:30pm

We will discuss the “Six Mysteries of Love” as they apply to all 
of our relationships with our romantic partners, 
Family members, and  friends.

For location in Great Neck, Long Island:

longisland@academyofeuorpeanarts.com
or

New York City - November 16th

 The Different Dimensions of Time

Please join us to discuss:
 
Time and Consciousnesses
 
Wednesday, November 16th, 7pm
 
“Think that you are not yet begotten, think that you are in the womb, that you are young,
that you are old, that you are dead, that you are in the world
beyond the grave, grasp all that in your thoughts at once, all times and places”
~Hermetica

For Location in Mid-Town Manhattan

newyork@academyofeuropeanarts.com
or

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Chicago - November 14th



Conscious Beings
The Spiritual Teachers who Brought Us to this Path  

These beings may have pierced you through poetry, music, paintings,
religious and philosophical writings, and through conversation.
 
Please Join Us:
 
Monday, November 14, 2011, 7:30pm
 
Please bring readings, information or other impressions
by those enlightened ones who have moved you.
 
For Location in Chicago Please Contact:
 
chicago@academyofeuropeanarts.com
or
1.866.312.7922
 

 
 
 



Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Soul of the Rose


Soul of the Rose...

This painting by John William Waterhouse, entitled "Soul of the Rose" inspires me in many ways. The flower symbolizes the physical cellular body - the beautiful rose with its thorns: life's pleasures and pains.  More importantly, the lovely woman is mesmerized by the flower's fragrance, its essence, the soul - as appreciated in molecular form.  Unseen by the eye, but intoxicating nevertheless. 


In life, most people live within the realm of the rose; at what they can see, touch or explain with the intellect. However, I tell you, that life really begins when we are able to go beyond the rose, at the level of the soul and beyond.  Pity the poor person who is unable to "Wake up and smell the roses!"


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

All That is to Come...


 All That is to Come...


You, my God! Who make galaxies and waves to move! You, who have touched so slightly my soul! Merely the tip of your finger was enough to fill me with such thirst for You! At times, I’m overwhelmed by anguish and my being cries because of our separation. And still, all this tears become the payment to get back to you.

Each instant helps to break the illusion; it pushes us, without any option but to go deeper and deeper. There, where the words get drowned under the silence, where the emotions cease to run; exactly where knowledge, understanding and Being fuse together into one with the One.

“I’ve made it!” – I think.

Patience! –is the answer

The path hasn’t come to an end yet. Only some parts of the shell got broken. And still, this longing, this thirst for God has become the impulse to go through all that is to come…