Dwell in God: Bridging the Inner and Outer Worlds

 

Free Image from Pixabay

If we do not have a substantial place or presence 

in the inner world, there is nothing there able 

to respond to higher influences; 

nothing to receive and bear the impulses 

of conscience and sacred emotion; 

nothing able to live in such a way 

that knowledge of the Will of God, 

or objective reason, is a possibility. 

Work on oneself is necessary in order to 

form a bridge between the outer world 

of causal events and the world of possibility, 

the free creative world where we can 

‘dwell in God’.

From Anthony Blake (1977) - 

Introduction to Part III from Deeper Man by JG Bennett:

AcademyofEuropeanArts

A Beginner...

 

"A beginner in this work 

means someone who has begun. 

It means that they have begun again 

where they left off the last time. 

For each student this is a very different starting point. 

For one on a 9th lifetime 

the starting point is very different 

than one meeting the work for the first time. 

This is one reason why longevity 

in this work is not an accurate picture 

of where one stands in relation to it. 

Every angle is important, 

as we do not always know, 

or can judge from how deep within one it came from. 

Some of the most refreshing angles I have heard 

are from people right at the beginning of their re-entry."

~Mervyn 

AcademyofEuropeanArts

Beginning Is....

 

AI generated

Beginning is, actually, 

quite a wide open topic with many points of entry. 

In order to begin 

we just need to pick one 

and then we can find our way through 

and to the others. 

The quote from Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki, 

"In the beginner's mind 

there are many possibilities, 

but in the expert's mind there are few” 

has so much in it. 

For me, it speaks to an attitude; 

an approach to lines of  work and way of living.

 It has a photograph embedded in it, 

the implication of feeling oneself 

an expert speaks to the dangers of vanity and crystallization, 

being closed to new possibilities 

because one already knows 

or thinks they know and understand 

and have the being so the mind and heart 

are or can be closed. 

But we each know and have experienced 

that the only moment is this one - 

right here - right now 

which by the time I finish typing is already gone. 

And we are into this one right here and now, 

so each moment is a new beginning 

and can approached with Fresh Eyes.

~J

AcademyofEuropeanArts

Oh How Sweetly

Annas-Bird-Bummingbird-Perched - Pixabay

Oh How Sweetly

Trying to find my way back.

Working through the layers that harden,

the vines that cling.

Out of touch with my ability to fly,

I wait for an epiphany

to launch me upward in freedom.

I'm thirsty, I do not feel my skin.

Why do all my sorrows

Bounce off me like so many raindrops?

I'm hovering like a hummingbird

over your flower of grace

and yet I cannot drink.

I've lost my vision.

I have no program to fix this.

So I will write to you, my sweet, my love.

I will write it all -

the confusion

the fear, the emptiness.

I will write until I lose all the me-ness of things

Until my heart speaks just to You,

And maybe, just maybe

I will be feeling

sometime soon

(oh how sweetly)

That you've not just

come back to me …

But that you've been there all along …

Jennie Hansen - August 22, 2011

AcademyofEuropeanArts

On Forgiveness

Old Man in Prayer by Rembrandt (1629)

"In my experience I have encountered a word 

which can "Stop" Supernatural Grace 

entering the Soul. It is subtle and if 

the Student is not aware of it, It will 

reject most of the efforts of Higher 

influences to penetrate the Soul. 

This word is called "Forgiveness."

It is you yourself who is the Judge 

on Judgement Day. And I know many 

condemn themselves afresh and 

repeatedly because they do not realize 

that they must "Forgive Themselves." 

This is SO important.

Now it is YOU who must forgive yourself. 

It is You who must examine yourself, 

and it is You who must absolve yourself 

and forgive. Then it is You who can r

eceive Supernatural Grace or the direct 

intervention of God.

Each one of you should have a little c

onfession with yourself this week. 

Check the "Accounts" book and forgive 

yourself as the Gods are willing to do. 

Later you will have to take on the 

bigger octave of "Forgiving" others, 

but that is another story.

Forgiving Yourself is within your power 

right now. For only then can Love and 

Supernatural Grace enter and believe me 

there is a lot of it around."

Mervyn Brady - Excerpt email on 

Forgiveness, Mon Oct 16, 2000

AcademyofEuropeanArts

Commitment to the Work

Image by Sven from Pixabay

During the recent retreat, I saw a peer commit 

himself fully to a minor role in a short play. 

His dedication pierced me deeply. 

Not only was he committed, but he also worked through and 

transformed so much last minute stress, 

accepting the little that was given to him and 

working with it so purely.

Then, I heard a voice in my heart say: 

"if we commit fully to the Work, just as he 

did to his role, the light will certainly shine within us."

AcademyofEuropeanArts

Life Is...

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. 

Don't resist them - 

that only creates sorrow. 

Let reality be reality. 

Let things flow naturally forward 

in whatever way they like.

~Lao Tzu

AcademyofEuropeanArts

 

I Watched The Solo Dance ...

 

AI generated 

I watched the solo dance 

of the main character last night in "The Nutcracker" 

as he finished and stood still. 

The ballet dancer was breathing heavily 

and straining with all his might 

to achieve such wonderful and graceful composure! 

Then, floated away, off stage. 

It was like watching the filaments of a flower 

shaking in the wind! 

And connecting to all those moments of effort 

that had brought him there 

to eventually perform 

those exquisite movements for us 

to view through time. 

Being in presence 

allowed me to connect into his energy 

all the way into 1968 when the production happened. 

The soul is timeless 

and can embrace eternity 

and reach into each effort. 

I can only imagine what GOD feels through us!

~C

AcademyofEuropeanArts

This Beloved...

Katharine Ward

“This Beloved of ours is merciful and good. 

Besides, he so deeply longs 

for our love that he keeps calling us to come closer. 

This voice of his is so sweet 

that the poor soul falls apart 

in the face of her own inability 

to instantly do whatever he asks of her. 

And so you can see, 

hearing him hurts 

much more than not being able to hear him… 

For now, 

his voice reaches us 

through words spoken by good people, 

through listening to spiritual talks, 

and reading sacred literature. 

God calls to us in countless little ways all the time. 

Through illnesses and suffering 

and through sorrow he calls to us. 

Through a truth glimpsed fleetingly 

in a state of prayer he calls to us. 

No matter how halfhearted such insights may be, 

God rejoices whenever we learn what he is trying to teach us.”

― Santa Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle

AcademyofEuropeanArts

 

I Have Been...

 

AI generated image

I have been asking myself 

what is the practical understanding of refinement. 

And this meeting

and my work within this meeting 

has been showing me. 

I started the meeting outside feeding, 

feeling in essence 

as the sun is shining in the blue sky. 

But it wasn’t hydrogen 12. 

I could hear the music with my emotional thought. 

I love the music but how deep was it going? 

I had to start sacrificing the I’d 

which was and is not easy to do. 

The work of refinement 

is very grounded in a way, 

right here in this moment. 

So easy to lose sight of. 

I remember Ouspensky sharing 

that false personality 

is everything but your efforts. 

And refinement 

is about seeing more I sense. 

How much can I see in this moment?

~S

AcademyofEuropeanArts

At The Service of The Highest

The Merciful Knight - Edward Burne-Jones 1863

The nerves with their muscles serve

the tendons even as soldiers serve

their leaders, and the tendons serve the

common sense as the leaders their captain,

and this common sense serves the soul as

the captain serves his lord.

Leonardo Da Vinci -

Excerpt from his Notebooks

AcademyofEuropeanArts

Hope And Faith...

AI generated image

Hope and faith are our greatest weapons. 

As long as we have them, 

everything is possible.

With hope and faith, 

we demand to be on another level - 

and it will never be denied us.

~ Rodney Collin, The Theory of Conscious Harmony

AcademyofEuropeanArts.com

 

I Begin...

 

The Magical Moon

I begin to see more that every day 

is broken up into "Little Acts, or Scenes" 

and if something is difficult, 

I could say to myself 

"I Do this for God”, 

instead of giving into complaining, let’s say, 

and something magical 

always seems to occur in that attitude!

~C

AcademyofEuropeanArts.com

Went To A 1920's Huge Party...

 

Christina Ostrander-Larocque

Went to a 1920s huge party. 

Hundreds of people. 

All dressed up in a magnificent structure 

with columns and music and costumes. 

Had such an odd experience 

as if everyone was in a play 

getting ready for something. 

All these different colors, different ages, 

different faces all in one play.

Something in me just walked around 

and looked into people’s eyes, 

smiling as if they were so so dear to me. 

I fixed someone’s hair 

and she almost bit off my finger 

but then melted:) 

Then I touched an older man’s shoulder 

because he seemed so so nervous 

with his sex center and he melted. 

Many connections. 

And the heart just melted 

one after another after another. 

What is that? 

We are all one, 

we are all part of a play. 

We are all so so beautiful.

~M

AcademyofEuropeanArts.com

There Are Many...

AI generated image

There are many other kinds of suffering

through which you will pass 

before you attain your aim.

Try to understand that suffering 

is the only active principle in us 

which can be converted into higher feeling -

which is also higher 

thought and higher understanding.

Do not be afraid 

of thinking of your emotions 

and finding contradictions in them,

even if it hurts you.

Only by comparing different emotions 

referring to the same subject 

can you find buffers in yourself 

and eventually destroy them 

if you work hard enough 

and are not afraid

of hurting yourself.

Remember that this will lead you 

to the awakening of conscience, 

which is the simultaneous feeling 

of all contradictory emotions; 

and remember that the awakening of conscience 

is a necessary step 

for transferring yourself 

to the higher level of consciousness.

~P.D. Ouspensky - Conscience The Search for Truth

AcademyofEuropeanArts.com

 

Room for More

AI Generated Image

I can see that we can always love more. 

It is as if we are born with a limited amount 

of love within ourselves, a baseline that varies 

from person to person. 

Some people naturally have a greater capacity to love 

or more love to give, while others have less. 

But regardless of our starting point, 

I see that there is always room for more. 

Nobody teaches us this. 

We are taught that we can be "better human beings, 

more responsible, more successful, etc." but 

rarely that we can consciously choose to love more.

A Spanish song comes to mind with a chorus that says, 

"Falta Amor (there is a lack of love)." I see that. 

There are moments when I know I could easily give more 

to my loved ones, but I don’t. 

In those moments, I recognize my own lack of love 

and the vast room I have to grow. 

The question is: how? How do I love more? 

How do I cultivate a purer heart? 

Sometimes I struggle to see the correlation 

between the capacity for love and the capacity for 

self-remembering, but Mervyn did. 

He taught us that the process of love follows 

the exact same rules as the process of self-remembering. 

This means love can grow as the soul grows. 

Let's continue self remembering, lets continue increasing 

our capacity to love.

~T

AcademyofEuropeanArts.com

Dare To Declare...

 

“Dare to declare who you are. 

It is not far from the shores of silence 

to the boundaries of speech. 

The path is not long, 

but the way is deep. 

You must not only walk there, 

you must be prepared to leap.”

~ St. Hildegard of Bingen

AcademyofEuropeanArts.com

 

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