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Class 3 - The path of the heart
- Richard Bach
In the Star Wars movies there is the Force. The Force has a dark side and evil forces personified by Darth Vader, and the Emperor of Darkness inhabit it. On the dark side there is a lot of anger, aggression, hate and human ego. Thankfully there is also a light side of the Force with a Jedi master, Yoda, Obi-Wan Kanobi and other ‘Jedi’ knights who embody peace and love and truth. In our classes we speak of this Force as one interesting way to explain states of mind or consciousness. The thoughts we allow into our consciousness will decide where our state of mind is located. Our low or high consciousness will determine the way we view the world. We all live on the same planet but according to our state of mind we can view the world in as diametrical a manner as heaven or hell.
Simply put, if we allow ourselves to be thinking negatively, to be caught up in hate or anger or restlessness and worry, then we are going to view the world through that state of mind. It is as if we are wearing a pair of glasses that warps our vision in a negative way. Our average state of mind might be -50, our range of thoughts and experiences are limited to say -80 thru to -20. That is, in some moments we are mildly unhappy, whilst in others we might be suicidal. For us in that state of mind it is very difficult to even imagine what love is and if we do touch it would only be with great effort and for a very short time we might glimpse a low love. Reflect also that negative people find themselves attracting negative events, other negative people and negative futures. Conversely if we are able to live in a positive state of mind, then the range of our thoughts and experiences are elevated. In our bad times we might be a little unhappy but most of the time we would feel the more 'heavenly' qualities of love, wisdom and joy. From here we can also begin to understand how our states of mind affect each other. Have you ever walked into a room where people had been fighting and immediately felt a certain uneasiness in the air? Or conversely have you ever met a person you immediately felt happy being with or you noticed that person made everyone feel better, just by his or her presence. Think about this; imagine that if you are in state of mind that is, for example, +20, what it would be like to meet someone in a +200 state of mind. Obviously, your consciousness would be raised just being with that person. Imagine, for a moment, what it would be like to meet a real spiritual master, perhaps his or her consciousness might be +20,000 – you might find that you would be immediately feeling more peaceful, happier, more loving without perhaps, really understanding why. The soul enjoys silence and peace, not by many reasoning's, but by simply contemplating the truth.- St Peter of Alcantra The really interesting thing about this process, is how light attracts light. Have you noticed that when you are in +50 state of mind you attract other +50 people and +50 situations. The ways we perceive the events of our life are reflections of our state of mind. It is exciting to note how the more conscious we are of each moment, the more each moment has the capacity to guide and inspire us.
. You might also have already discovered that people with higher states of mind inspire and elevate you. Obviously it is important for us in pursuing higher levels of consciousness that we choose life situations that enhance our state of mind. In summary, it becomes evident as we notice the effect of our levels of consciousness that;
- Firstly – we
view the world through our states of mind. Significantly it is simple arithmetic to contemplate how the negatives in our lives can be turned into positives. While we cling to darkness we cannot release ourselves to the light. Most of us would be aware that we cannot conquer hate by repressing it – we must transform it, illumine it with light. For example, if we hate someone, then it is very difficult to raise our consciousness to any significant level because our state of mind is being dragged by this very strong negative in our consciousness. We cannot just repress it, for it is still a part of our nature – for us to proceed we have to let go of our attachment to that hate and illumine it with light (in this case, love). Very simply, we must try and move along the Force – perhaps imagine that we only ‘don’t like’ that person, then perhaps we can work towards being just ‘indifferent’. It is often said that we must learn to forgive our enemies. By forgiving we are letting go of our negatives. Finally, though we might see that all people are inherently loving, peaceful, wise and happy souls, some people’s states of minds are so far from the light that their outer actions are often negative. We should identify with their real natures, rather than their outer actions and we will find that we can then ‘like’ or even ‘love’ those that previously we had hated and our liberation from that negative is complete. The light side of the Force is nothing other than your own heart. How conscious you are of your heart reflects the height of your consciousness. This is important: the light side is nothing other than a heightened awareness of your heart, whilst the dark side is ignorance of your heart. This is what is meant by consciousness from a spiritual perspective, it is simply how 'conscious' we are of our heart. Notice one last thing. That on the dark side there is an increased rate of thinking, often with an even more decreased degree of control. When we are angry there are so many thoughts whirling around and so little control - whilst we are angry, we cant listen, we cant stop and breathe, it is out of control. Come to the light side and you will see that in love there is no thought, there is just the 'Aah' moment. As we travel to the light side, our rate of thoughts decreases, our control over our thoughts increases and finally we enter into the intuitive experiences of the heart when we are fully on the light side.
The Path of the Heart
The basis of the Path of the Heart, is you and your relationship with your highest self, your Heart. Upon realising that all meaningful moments originate in the heart, it is also inevitable that the spiritual seeker, growing in wisdom and confidence in him/herself, will learn to trust and seek out more of those moments from within. It is with this wisdom that we are finally ready to embark upon the journey.
The journey "Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great, crystal river. The current of the river swept silently over them all – young and old, rich and poor, good and evil, the current going its own way, knowing only its own crystal self. Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to the twigs and rocks of the river bottom, for clinging was their way of life, and resisting the current what each had learned from birth. But one creature said at last, “I am tired of clinging. Though I cannot see it with my eyes, I trust that the current knows where it is going. I shall let go and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I shall die of boredom.” The other creatures laughed and said, “Fool! Let go, and that current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed across the rocks, and you will die quicker than boredom!”. But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go, and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks. Yet in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more. And the creatures downstream to whom he was a stranger cried, “See a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies! See the Messiah, come to save us all!”> And the one carried in the current said, “I am no more Messiah than you. The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is this voyage, this adventure.” But they cried the more, “Saviour!” all the while clinging to the rocks, and when they looked again he was gone, and they were left alone making legends of a Saviour." – Richard Bach, Illusions
Prepare for your meditation as usual Before you start, contemplate these quotes: "The kingdom of heaven is within"- Jesus, "He who knows himself, knows heaven" - Mohammed, "So doth heaven abide within thee, why search without" - Vedas See " inspirational quotes" on the side bar on the left for more quotes.The simple truth is that no matter which philosophy or religion you investigate, all recognise that within each of us, are all the qualities of heaven. It is here now, in this place, where you sit. So I'd like to suggest that you begin to visualise within yourself those qualities wherever you are. When we think of heaven, usually we associate it with infinite love, infinite peace and bliss. There is a timelessness to it and perhaps we think of ourselves not being bound any more to a particular place or time in history. You might imagine that there is a golden light deep within you, that radiates these qualities and all you have to do is to focus for it to flow out into your awareness. So this exercise is one of identifying the process of discovering the heaven within you, the process of unveiling your real nature.
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The Force (the journey of consciousness)
The more significance we give the moment, the more the moment becomes significant.
