Friday, September 25, 2026

When I First Saw...

 

AI Generated image



When I first saw your topic 

of “Working Together in Harmony” 

I thought of how we can be with others 

while sharing a common purpose, 

and what goes into making that work 

with synergy and balance. 

I know that in a pure sense 

a shared aim and purpose is the beginning, 

but then I went on to wonder 

what makes it harmonious, 

what makes the octave sing 

and become self-propelling. 

Somehow there must be 

a natural ebb-and-flow within the process, 

between us.

For me, it is recognizing each voice 
and what melody or counter-melody or harmony 
it has to add to the organic whole — 
accepting this without needing to control anything. 
Letting the song or the symphony unfold on its own, 
trusting in the divine plan. 
This comes 
with a certain relinquishing of my own plan, 
my need to project and control the outcome.

And yet, I can have a fully conceptualized plan, 

and somehow let the details emerge surprisingly, 

let them unfold 

in the community of that shared process. 

I need to recognize those magical moments 

where holding back and observing 

allows others to shine their light—

a light which moves us all—

and allows us to fully realize 

the mysterious potential 

that we can only have when we are together, 

each fully ourselves, 

yet fully engaged with each other.

~J



 AcademyofEuropeanArts.com




Wednesday, September 23, 2026

This Week...

 

Christ in the House of His Parents by John Everett Millais



This week I made an aim to notice and accept 
"What is" whether inside or outside of me, 
but at the same time to make every effort 
to ask for higher help. 
In these last weeks, 
I felt like each cell, "inside and out", 
as if a piece of a mosaic, 
vibrating and separate from one another - 
but with a desire to come together, 
like magnets drawn, 
pulled by an invisible energy 
existing between them, the spaces. 
Each moment of self-remembering, 
presence, making that "Space" alive -
as this boy is making the space alive 
around him with his gift of a voice.
~C



 AcademyofEuropeanArts.com





Monday, September 21, 2026

Forgiveness...





"Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds 
on the heel that has crushed it."
~Mark Twain



 AcademyofEuropeanArts.com




Friday, September 18, 2026

I'm On The Phone...

 



I’m on the phone in my car 
parked across from a white fence, 
experiencing what reflected light 
I can see through the gray clouds. 
I meditate on the warmth it brings. 
The warmth of the soul is there too, 
and I close my eyes. 
In a moment I feel something on my leg. 
It’s like a gentle touch as I sense warming. 
Then I open my eyes 
to see the sun peeked through the clouds 
and was shining on my 
thigh for just a moment.
~M



AcademyofEuropeanArts.com





Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Gurdjieff's formula: Hope, Faith, and Love






Image by Myo Min Kyaw - Pixabay





Gurdjieff shares a formula with us: 
Hope, Faith, and Love.


Hope in consciousness

Faith in consciousness

Love of consciousness


Hope in consciousness means 
recognizing that it is always 
available now, not in the future. 
We always have a chance to work, 
and it is here for us.

Faith in consciousness is beginning 
to trust that everything one 
experiences comes from the Absolute.

Love of consciousness is the state 
of being we grow into as we start to 
hold all and everything.

~S










































Monday, September 14, 2026

While We Are...

 



While we are in this body 
we can go up and down the cathedral, 
even to the tower 
where we might experience for a moment this Freedom. 
So strange that we can travel through these worlds. 
It doesn't make any sense without the light inside, 
the light inside illuminating - 
searching for the great Light.
~J







Friday, September 11, 2026

As We Welcome...

 


AI generated image


As we welcome the Jewish Holiday of Rosh Hashanah 
and the beginning of a New Year, 
I am also mindful that this time of year 
carries the memory of September 11—
a day that reminds us of the preciousness of life, 
the fragility of our world, 
and how deeply we need one another.
May this New Year bring renewed hope, 
healing, peace, and compassion. 
May we remember those we have lost, 
cherish those who are with us, 
and work toward a world filled 
with greater kindness and understanding.
Wishing you and those you love a happy, 
healthy, peaceful and meaningful New Year. 🍎🍯✨
Shanah Tovah.
~P








Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Our Mission: The Gift of Presence






The Mirror of Venus - Sir Edward Burne-Jones





Our mission is to bring the gift of "Presence" 
to as many people as possible and to deliver 
as many as possible from the lower worlds 
to a place where they can help in this great work.

I would ask each of you to speak to people 
and try as much as you can to assist in the Birth 
and subsequent growth of the School.

Speak to people in whatever way your heart tells you to.



Love, 
Mervyn Brady
- email to his students Tue Oct 26, 1999







Monday, September 7, 2026

When I Feel More Balanced...

 






When I feel more balanced, 

I breathe as though through the centers 

and silently say  “I Am.” 

When I say “I,” 

I feel the three centers 

as though something stands up; 

and when I say “Am,” 

I also feel them, 

but as though something sits down. 

When I breathe in, I say “I” 

and represent to myself 

that the active elements of

the air are entering. 

When I breathe out, I say “Am” 

and feel them flow into and fill my body. 

I do not try 

to make anything more of this “I” and “Am,” 

simply say the words to myself. 

With each breath, 

I follow this order for filling: 

right arm, right leg, left leg, left arm, 

abdomen, chest, head 

and then the whole body.

~Jeanne De Saltzman






AcademyofEuropeanArts.com






Friday, September 4, 2026

At Death...

 

AI generated image


At death the lighted lamp
of your heart
Will be placed
in the wide center of the sky.
Will it, flickering, go out,
Or in one final act
of all-consuming being
Catching the corners
of the wind
Wake in the ocean of light
Filling a heart
now also without limits.
~John Clarke



AcademyofEuropeanArts.com





Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow






Image by Alexander Fox - Planet_Fox from Pixabay




"In order to know the future
it is necessary first to know the present 
in all its details, as well as to know the past.

Today is what it is because
yesterday was what it was.
And if today is like yesterday, 
tomorrow will be like today. 

If you want tomorrow to be different, 
you must make today different."

G.I. Gurdjieff









































Monday, August 31, 2026

I Love Spring And Fall...

 




I love Spring and Fall. 
The seasons that seem in-between that seem to be moving, 
perhaps across a threshold. 
Becoming, and Growing as displayed in Spring —
Accepting and Letting Go, 
as mirrored in the golden and red leaves 
that fall to earth (and us!) in Autumn. 
Gifts of nature which can reflect our own nature 
as we reflect upon them. 
These seasons seem to me the most active, 
the most promising.
I’m oh so glad to be back living in a part of the country 
where I can fully experience them once again. 
What gifts will they bring me this year?
~J











Friday, August 28, 2026

When We Start...

 


AI generated image



When we start to touch our soul, 
we begin the process of letting go of what is not real in us. 
Yes, now we are dying to our machine. 
And like the leaf, 
we become more unique as we become more real.
~J







Wednesday, August 26, 2026

The Ladder of Impressions

 






Melanie Guerra - The Ladder of Impressions





To remember ourselves is to receive life 
without immediately losing ourselves in it. 
Between what arrives and what we do with it, 
there is a sacred space where consciousness 
can enter, and where transformation becomes possible. 

Impression by impression, we build a ladder 
of awareness toward the divine.

~M





































Monday, August 24, 2026

Today I Had A Strange Observation...

 




Today I had a strange observation from Great Nature. 
I have been sitting outside 
making an effort to Be present 
and Observe the beauty of this season. 
And a beautiful yellow golden leaf fell on my lap. 
I made an effort 
to observe it a little more intentionally. 
And then I realized that it is a dying leaf. 
Letting go. 
And how strange that it is so beautiful. 
And the colors it gives to the senses. 
So Rich, so Objective in its beauty. 
It seems like a lesson, perhaps, 
for me to learn about death of the physical existence, 
not sure, but it was a shock to digest more. 
A lesson Great Nature is trying to convey perhaps.
~S



http://academyofeuropeanarts.com





Saturday, August 22, 2026

I Was Once...


John Melhuish Strudwick



R: I was once told that Mervyn 
was determined to stay present 
when he was a struggling Man No. 4 . 
Desire or determination is intentional, 
not mechanical.
Mervyn talks about desire. 
We aren’t awake 
because we don’t desire it enough.
How can we get more desire - 
more Eros?
C: I’m reminded of making one’s environment 
conducive to self-remembering 
with beauty and music; 
the I of intentionally taking in the beauty
of art, people, etc., to build desire.
~From Illuminations



http://academyofeuropeanarts.com




Thursday, August 20, 2026

The Heart Leads The Mystic Way






Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. - St Theresa of Avila & St John of The Cross





To be like mystics stay with them awhile,
For even if you should be made from stone,
Through mystics as a jewel you'll soon be known;
Plant love of saints now firmly in your heart,
Submit your soul to those who'll never part,

While there's still hope don't wallow in despair,
Why choose the dark when there's a sun up there?

Your heart will lead you to the mystic way,
Your body drags you to its cell of clay,

So give your heart food from those in accord -
Seek fortune from the ones who know their lord!

Rumi - Extract from The Masnavi