jueves, 19 de diciembre de 2019

LAW OF THREE (69) Will and Eternity


LAW OF THREE (69)

WILL AND ETERNITY

"Eternity is not the feeling of existence; it is not the feeling of being permanently living in the present; it is not undivided consciousness: it is becoming sensitive to influences coming from beyond existence; from the world of will. Eternity is becoming receptive to intuition,  to timeless intelligence, and to the universal source of love."    From my notebooks, unknown author.


Eternity if the medium that enables us to be touched by Intuition, Intelligence and Love.  Eternity reconciles times and space enabling us to become sensitive to influences coming from beyond existence. 

Intuitive intelligence enables the exercise higher discernment,  inviting Love to give purpose and direction to our actions.   In J.G. Bennet´s prayer: "be ready in all things to sacrifice the less for the greater and to with hold nothing from the demands of Love"*

Wisdom schools emphasise: "being for the sake of doing." Consciousness is not the end of the journey but a necessary step in the way to responsible action.  Consciousness is not an active force; it does not initiate actions. Actions depend on the receptive power of the individual will to attend. When attention is able to rest in the space between two opposite forces (active-resisting) a gap is formed which enables the entry of new information or meaning (3rd Force)needed to aid the the powers of discernment, decision and action latent in us.

In the Christian spiritual way, the practice of alert attentiveness (receptive will), teaches the ear to hear what the Spirit has to say. "He who has ears, let him hear", Mat 11-15"; " To hear is to obey", St Benedict. To obey is to respond, to act. In Gethsemane Jesus responds to the Father: "not my will but your Will." Mary on hearing the voice of the Angel Gabriel, "let it be done according to your Will."

When the ear can hear, we are invited to participate in the play of creation as a receptive, consenting, and acting will (I).



* Oh Eternal Essence, O Holy Jesus, o Transcendent Godhead,
grant me the keys of salvation,
to fulfil the destiny for which I was created,
to be ready in all things to sacrifice the less for the greater
and to with hold nothing from the demands of Love.

J.G.Bennett









domingo, 29 de septiembre de 2019

THE LAW OF THREE (68) Depth or The Third Dimension of Wholeness


LAW OF THREE (68)

DEPTH OR THE THIRD DIMENSION OF WHOLENESS


"Our ordinary looking is almost two dimensional; in it there is very little sense of depth. We talk of the ordinary "personality" world where we are occupied with thoughts and reactions as flat - with
good reason. But when the transition comes and there is depth, we find ourselves in a different state. We feel different. Indeed, the feelings become awakened, and a freshness comes."

Anthony Blake A Seminar On Time


Most of our life seems to take place in the confines in a world with very little sense of the spatial reality or depth, where we miss the sense of wholeness 

With the sudden awareness of the dimension of depth* our experience is comparable to waking into a new dimension of ourselves.  From which perspective the two dimensional world of thoughts seem like a dream.

With this experience of depth our perception changes. A third dimension has been added to our body experience and our field of our awareness is expanded. In this new configuration our body seems much less solid than before, and its borders less defined.

Perhaps Raimon Panikkar referred to this experience when he wrote "The spiritual experience that we may call "mystical" does not put us in touch with a third world, but let us experience the third dimension of the one and the same world, opening us up to a more real union with reality."

The experience of the third dimension of the one and the same world referred by Panikkar is depth.     It is the experience of depth that makes us aware of what it really means to be in a body.

"There is a factual change which comes into the transition to an awareness of depth, as well as in the quality of feeling" Anthony Blake


*Third dimension of space.

lunes, 23 de septiembre de 2019

LAW OF THREE (67) Dying and Rebirth


LAW OF THREE (67)

DYING AND REBIRTH

"We do not have within us a principle of stable existence. What we find in ourselves, on the contrary, is a principle of renewal, of return, of being lost and found again. This principle we can really only understand if we experience it in ourselves; and we know its taste as the taste of rebirth: whenever we come back from a state of oblivion, or forgetfulness. This happens again and again, to such an extent that we become accustomed to it and cease to see how important it is - and how really wonderful it is - that we should be able to come back again after having been lost."

J.G. Bennett


We cannot be aware of the instant of falling asleep or the instant of waking up.  All we can say on returning to our own awareness is  'I am here, now! '  .

We are unaware that our life does not run in a continuous line, but that it is constantly interrupted, renewed or given back.

Dying and rebirth is a constant in our lives without being aware of the extraordinary miracle that it represents.   It is  'the action' of an independent creative force which does not come from ourselves.* that constantly brings us back to life.

It is the continuous interplay of the three independent cosmic forces (life-birth-death), that makes possible the experience of being here now:

'I am here now in this immediate space in contact with a life force which supports, enlightens and unifies my presence' John Pentland







*Everyone who begins to study and know their own states is well aware that our experience is a constant dying and rebirth. We must not be frightened as we come to see this, although it is really a terrifying thing that we have no power to keep hold of our life: that it has to be renewed or given back to us by something that does not come from ourselves.

But even when we see the helplessness with which we fall into oblivion, at that moment when we are most trying to hold on to ourselves, we must learn to trust that there is something that calls us back. And if it calls us back from sleep at night, it will call us back from that other sleep into which we shall enter,

J.G.Bennett



domingo, 15 de septiembre de 2019

THE LAW OF THREE (66) Who Is The Third One?


THE LAW OF THREE (66)

WHO IS THE THIRD ONE?


WHO IS THE THIRD who walks always beside you?
When I count, there are only you and I together
But when I look ahead up the white road
There is always another one walking beside you
Gliding wrapt in a brown mantle, hooded
I do not know whether a man or a woman
-But who is that on the other side of you?

"The Waste Land" T.S. Eliot



According to the law of three, every phenomenon and event in creation is the work of three independent forces: active, passive, reconciling. A dual perception is only aware of one or two forces: the initiating force and the resisting force. Awareness of the presence and action of a third force requires developing a non dual perception. It is from a dual perspective when Sta. Teresa of Avila says: "We pray to God as if He was absent."

Duality is the world of thinking. Thought is responsible for the illusion that 'I' (an imaginary character) 'can do'. The illusion that 'I can do' was shaken when St. Paul discovered: " I do not understand what I do, for what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." St Paul was struggling with the thoughts of sin.  I suggest that St Paul´s real struggle was with a dual perception.

The eye of duality is unaware of  presence that underlies all experience:

"That which makes the eye see, but needs no I to see, that alone is Spirit"  Upanishades

But who is that one on the other side of you? The seer that sees though all eyes cannot be seen* but it can be revealed in the sudden entry of a Third Force when we realise that we are neither the seer or the seen but the seeing that brings the seer and seen into a unitive or triadic  experience.


* "The observer that can be observed in not the observer." Dvid Finkelstain.


domingo, 8 de septiembre de 2019

THE LAW OF THREE (65) Manifesting God


LAW OF THRE (65)

THE CENTER IS EVERYWHERE

"Except for the point, the still point, there would be no dance and there is only the dance."

T.S. Elliot

What is a point? A point has no dimension. It is the source of all shapes and the beginning of all dimensions. The point is not an object.  The subject is not an object.  The subject experiences itself in relation to the manifest creation.

The point is our centre.  It is the eternal now. "If we cannot live in the present we cannot live anywhere,"  Huang Po

Where is the point?  In a conversation with Raimon Panikkar,  I mention that we practised Centering Prayer.  "Ah,"  he exclaimed,   Centering Prayer,  and added,  "the Center is everywhere!"

The center being everywhere conveys the idea of eternity.  Eternity brings into relationship time and space.  Eternity awareness is the gate that offers relief  from the limitations of the time-space where the ego resides.

Find the center or "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all things shall be added unto you" (He will give you everything you need) Matt 6 (33)
















martes, 20 de agosto de 2019

LAW OF THREE (64) Making One Out of Two


LAW OF THREE (64)

MAKING ONE OUT OF TWO

"When you are able to make two become one, the inside like
the outside, and the outside like the inside, the higher like
the lower, so that man is no longer male, and a woman,
female, but male and female a single whole. When
you are able to fashion an eye to replace an eye, and form
a hand in place of a hand, or a foot for a foot, making one
image supersede another -then you will enter in."

The Gospel of Thomas (22)

"When you are able to make two become one...then you will enter in."   This quote signals the path of action by way of the "construction" of a non dual world in which we can reside.

The task of the Triad is to make one:

Making one out of two is not a question of eliminating one of the two opposing forces (as for example in war) but by bringing them together into a relationship by the power of a third independent one, and giving them equal meaning and significance in a way that enables out of the two to make one.

Making one is the task of Love:

The well known statement: "love your enemies..." describes the nature of the reconciling force of Love.  Love is indivisible.. If we only 'love' our friends we do not know Love.  We find no use for our enemies.   We cannot evolve.  We cannot make one out of two.

The task of the Triad is to make meaning:

In the statement "I and my father are one", the third force is the meaning of the word father. Father brings into a relationship God and Me (I), giving rise to the form of One. Three distinct and mutually 'related' terms giving rise to a unit of meaning.

Raimon Panikkar's reflection:

The relation between God and man, therefore, instead of being one of pure transcendence (which does not admit any relation) is one of immanence. God is the transcendent mystery immanent in us. Hence there is a conviction common to different religions that someone that claims to have seen the transcendent God is not telling the truth...
It is in immanence that transcendence is discovered. We realise that we 'remain' in something that, being within us, is greater than we are, transcends us.

Immanence is the link which transcends the duality of God and Me and brings the unitive (triadic) experience of God in Me and I in God.



















viernes, 2 de agosto de 2019

THE LAW OF THREE (63) Transforming Suffering


LAW OF THREE (63)

TRANSFORMING SUFFERING


"If thou hadst known how to suffer thou wouldst have been able not to suffer. Learn thou to suffer and thou shall be able not to suffer." Apocryphal Gospel of St. John.

"Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you and that persecute you." Sermon of the Mount. Matthew 5:44

The above two quotations challenge our attitude toward the obstacles we encounter in life. We are invited to welcome the negative forces we need to face. Without enemies we could not exercise the power of the reconciling force and participate in the creative process.

In the the language Law of Three:

"We are always fighting the negative part of us, and therefore we cannot grow. The one who rejects is the ego who feeds on rejection" J.G. Bennett

"In no way can we eliminate the second or negative force: life would loose interest if anything we wanted were instantaneously produced without any effort from our part to overcome resistance.
P.D. Ouspensky

In spiritual language:

"Suffering is never an end in itself, but a stepping stone to transformation. In this view it may be the necessary step to force us to let go of what we overtly depend on (ego) for the fulfilment of our idea of happiness." Thomas Keating


viernes, 12 de julio de 2019

LAW OF THREE (62) The Still Point



LAW OF THREE (62)


THE STILL POINT (1)


"One who sees inaction in action and action in inaction, is intelligent among men, and he is in the transcendental position, although engaged in all sorts of activities." Bhagavad Gita (400 bc9
 


"At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascend nor decline. Except for the point, the sill point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance." T.S. Elliot


The still point brings time and space in a relationship with eternity, the third dimension of our experience.  In the Gita it is "the transcendental position'', free from the tensions between absolutes. Neither action nor inaction, at the point where the dance flows.

The still point is where all working surfaces meet (active-passive-neutral). It is where we reside: our home. When Thomas Keating was asked in one of his last interviews wether he was longing for home he answered: 'I wold like to think that I am already at home.'

In the method of Centering Prayer as taught by Thomas Keating our intention is to return to the still point by letting go of attachments to circling thoughts.  We offer an open invitation to the divine presence to join in the transcendental dance.  We center in the dot, in the still point.  Its nature is eternal because its center is everywhere.




domingo, 7 de julio de 2019

LAW OF THREE (61) The Purpose of Thinking (2)


LAW OF THREE (61)

THE PURPOSE OF THINKING (2)

"If you are going to think, at least THINK. Use your own mind, heart, and grounded presence to see what is actually going on and try to understand with what is the most awake in you, not the most asleep" Cynthia Bourgeault


The question is: can we THINK?

"The most thought-provoking thing in our thought-provoking time is that we are still not thinking"

Martin Heidegger, What is called thinking.


Implicit in the above quotations is that the power to THINK needs to be developed. In an earlier blog (59), I wrote: "From an intellectual perspective, thinking needs to evolve into understanding in order to become an instrument of the will." As it is, in its undeveloped state, thinking maintains the dream of a separate existence, preventing us from thinking for ourselves. We are prey of a thinking process that goes on subjectively without purpose or self-critical reflection.

In its undeveloped state our attention is trapped by thought. When the attention is free from its attachment to thought we are able to observe consciously and objectively the stream of thought. Out of this detached observing,  understanding may arise. This arising of understanding requires our conscious presence (reconciling force) or as Cynthia puts it, it requires the presence of 'what is most awake in us'.

In true thinking our attention needs to play a discerning role in the articulation of thought. We need to actively be able to think our thoughts, instead of our thoughts thinking us. This change of direction of thinking can start with the question: Am I in control of my thinking?

Only when we are in control of our thinking are we responsible for our thinking. The first step in the evolution of thought requires our witnessing presence. It requires the discerning presence or what is the most awake in us.'

Perhaps Rene Descartes was right after all in his famous 'cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am) if he meant: 'I can think, only when I am'.
















viernes, 14 de junio de 2019

LAW IF THREE( 60) Conscious Influences


LAW OF THREE (60)

CONSCIOUS INFLUENCES

"When the attention is not free and independent it is trapped in the world of duality lending its power to like and dislike, belief or not belief, and so on,   It feeds duality and cannot choose independently. When directed consciously it can become the gate through which conscious influences can enter creation."

J,G. Bennett


Freedom depends on our power of choice. Choice depends on our attention not being caught in the limitations of like-dislike, belief-non-belief, right-wrong, pleasure-pain, good-bad.

When the attention is not subject to the pairs of opposites it can become a bridge through which conscious influences can enter creation .

When we  give full attention to a person in need, our conscious attention becomes a gateway through which the afflicted person can connect to the inner listener.  In this way we unable the speaker to sense the healing power of his 'deeper self''  (conscious influences).

In the ordinary state of our attention is lost or undirected.  St. Mark says: "having ears do you not hear?" People may be speaking to us and although we are aware of their words, we may not aware of their meaning.   Suddenly a sentence may catch our attention, consciousness is present, and both the speaker and the listener can hear. A new dimension has entered our awareness.

When our attention is free and independent we can direct consciousness to an issue, and in this voluntary act we become carriers of the neutral or reconciling force (3rd, force) aligning ourselves with the intelligence that transmits meaning (4th force). In this configuration what may arise is the solution to a deadlock, and lead us forward into a new direction.


















jueves, 30 de mayo de 2019

LAW OF THREE (59) The Purpose of Thinking


LAW OF THREE (59)

THE PURPOSE OF THINKING

"...thinking must never be regarded as merely a subjective activity. Thinking lies beyond subject and object. It produces these two concepts just as it produces all others. When, therefore, I, as thinking subject, refer a concept to an object, we must not regard this reference as something purely subjective. It is not the subject that makes the reference, but the thinking. The subject does not think because it is a subject; rather it appears to itself as a subject because it can think.

Rudolf Steiner. Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path.


Thinking is a human experience. Its usefulness depend on how conscious we are of the thinking process and to what use we put it. The clarity of our awareness determines whether we think our thoughts or our thoughts think us. The first is real thinking and the second fictitious thinking.

'That we are thinking is real, while what we are thinking may be a fantasy' A. Blake

Thinking can be seen as a dialogue between thoughts, feelings, and sensations. It may consist of what I am, what I wish, and what I do, each voice claiming an independent I and an independent will.

Thinking arises out of conflicting aims and desires between voices.  Each with their respective semi-conscious or unconscious agendas. The need for discernment and reconciliation of conflicting aims and desires has given rise to the development of different psychological and spiritual targets, methods and techniques.

From an intellectual view of evolution, thinking needs to evolve into understanding by the practice of conscious dialogue or formulation.   From a devotional perspective, thinking is the necessary resisting force to let go in the way of surrendering our ego programs.

Both the intellectual and the devotional ways and methods bring stillness to the mind, facilitating the observation of its movements, sounds and articulations.









sábado, 11 de mayo de 2019

LAW OF THREE (58) Sin and The Law of Three

LAW OF THREE (58)

SIN AND THE LAW OF THREE

"Sin comes from a Greek word meaning to miss the mark, 'a term from the art of archery' What does missing the mark actually involve? It presupposes a target, which is called the bull's eye. A bow is the means by which the archer tries to launch the arrow into the centre of the target. The purpose of the art of archery is to hit the target every time or to get as closed to doing so as possible." Thomas Keating. Heartfullness.

In the same context Thomas Keating says: 'The psychological experience of a separate self sense is the root of all sin; get rid of that and there won't be any more sin."

From the perspective of the Law of Three, sin is a dual experiencein which the presence of the 3rd or reconciling force within is not felt. 





In Archery, when the archer, the arrow, and the target are in perfect alignement they become a unity. In this configuration the target does not exist as a separate entity: the target , as it were, enters creation when the archer is united with the target and the felt sense of separation no longer exists.**

Nearly three thousand years ago the 'omnipresence' of the bull's eye is explained in the Mahabharata (the sanskrit epic of ancient India)

"Dronacharya organised an archery competition to test the skills of his pupils. He kept a small wooden bird on a tree at a distance. He asked all the pupils to take aim at the wooden bird's eye. To every pupil he asked the question:'What do you see?

Each disciple replied the same: I can see the bird, leaves, fruits, sky, etc. Dronacharya's anwer was: 'put down the bow and leave.' 

The last one to be asked was Arjuna. Dronacharya asked him: 'what do you see?' He answered 'I can only see the eye of the bird', Dronacharya kept asking him if he could see other things but Arjuna replied,  'No teacher,  I can see nothing other than the eye of the bird.'  Dronacharya, happy with Arjuna's  response told him to shoot. The arrow sprang from the bow and went straight into the bird's eye."



**I am in God and God is in Me.



viernes, 3 de mayo de 2019

LAW OF THREE (57) Attention, Carrier of the Third Force

LAW OF THREE (57)

ATTENTION, CARRIER OF THE THIRD FORCE

"We are carriers of the Third Force which we can bring into a situation through the power of Attention."      J.G. Bennett

 Attention is not another force in a triad, but the carrier of a force (the 3rd force) which we can bring into any situation. Attention directed to a point releases information.  If we put our attention to our left foot, information from our left foot will arise carried by our connected attention.  The information arising from the left foot will be the reconciling force of a first triad. 

One triad leads to another.  If the information received about our left foot is cause for concern and feel the the need to visit the doctor, need will become the active force in a succeeding triad where the resisting force will be the reluctance see a doctor.  Our indecision could be halted by contradictory circling thoughts preventing temporarily the entry of a new reconciling third force which would facilitate progression. However those circling thoughts may be brought to an end if a new alarming information enters in the form of a painful and swollen foot.  The new information may trigger the entry of the final decision to visit the doctor.

Information may come from different sources.   It may come from the present or from the past; from higher or from lower planes.   It may come from memory or it may come from intuition. .

If we direct our attention to our hand for a couple of minutes, we notice all kinds of information and commentaries entering our awareness.  Information from the past may come in the form of thoughts like: 'what a worn out hand this is', etc.  However if we allow all the past recorded memories about the hand to pass by,  a new vision from a deeper source of information may arise like: the extraordinary miracle of the sudden apparition of 'this hand'.














sábado, 27 de abril de 2019

LAW OF THREE (56) The Third Force


LAW OF THREE (56)

THE THIRD FORCE

"Imagine how the energies of our planet would shift if we as Christians took seriously our obligation to work with the Law of Three as our fundamental spiritual praxis. Face to face with the vast challenges of our times -environmental, economic, political - we would avoid making judgments (because according to the Law of Three, the denying force is a legitimate player in every equation), set our sights higher than "winers and losers" (or even negotiated compromise), and instead strive in all situations to align our minds and hearts with the Third Force."

Cynthia Bourgeault


What is the significance of the Third Force?

The Third Force 'allows' the power of 'direction' to enter all spheres of creation.

In a car the accelerator (active) and the brakes (passive) are forces that move in opposing directions or against each other. Only the presence of a third force, or the steering wheel (reconciling force),  can reconcile accelerator and brakes and direct the car in the chosen 'direction' *




* Accelerator, brakes, steering wheel represent three distinct and independent movements in a triad working as a unit. At the centre, the driver (the will) decides in every moment which of the three forces will be active, passive or neutralising and in doing so he (the will) maintains direction.




viernes, 19 de abril de 2019

LAW OF THREE (55) The Observer

LAW OF THREE (55)


THE OBSERVER


"In non-duality the separate self sense is greatly reduced and even disappears. Everything that happens is the direct experience of reality. It is being able to lead ordinary life without thinking of oneself. When you look at a tree, it is a tree, and not you looking at a tree. The latter is the response of our rational intellect.  "Thomas Keating 

Who is looking at a tree?

"That which makes the eye see, but needs no eye to see, that alone is Spirit."  
The Kena Upanishad:

The observer that can be observed is not the observer.
David Finkelstein

In observation' we can discern three independent forces: the seer, the seeing, and the seen.  Our individual power of attention enables us to exert the power of seeing just by focusing the attention to an object  However the source of sight does not come from ourselves. The power of 'seeing' is given. 

Full attention without reference to the ego (felt-self-sense) gives rise to those rare moments of experience without thought. In the absence of thinking you are simply seeing.You see the tree and not you looking at a tree.  This is the experience of the unity of seer-seeing-seen.




viernes, 12 de abril de 2019

LAW OF THREE (54) The I and the Will


LAW OF THREE (54)


THE I OR THE WILL

"We have various, of what Gurdjieff called, 'centres' or 'intelligences'; but, ordinarily, these are in 'discord' They do not agree with each other in what they see or want. They are at cross purposes. The aim of 'work on oneself' was to clean up the centres and bring them into a co-operative state. It is so that they then coalesce and create something new, this is to create or realise one's true 'I'."

Gurdjieff's psychology



From the perspective of the Law of Three we may consider a car to be a three-fold unit in which three independent and mutually necessary forces give rise to an instrument capable of operating in the world of time and space. In this example the accelerator is the active force, the brakes the resisting force and the steering wheel the neutralising force. When these three powers are in tune, the driver, that is, the true I or the will, can direct the car in the direction he choses. We may consider the driver to be a 5th force which can only operate when the three sides of the triad are brought into a co-operative state (a triadic unit or No.4)

Why the 5th force?

Gurdjieff's example of Man nos. 1,2,3,4,5 etc, (blog 47) may help to answer this question. According to his scheme man number 5 can only manifest when Man, nos. l,2,3 are in balance giving rise to Man No.4. When the three have become one, at Man no 4, Man no. 5, a true "individual" or 'will' can operate.

Another useful example of three forces giving rise to one unit or 'articulation' can be found in the arising of understanding. In the arising of understanding, when sensations (no.l) feelings (no2) and thoughts (no.3) have become one, 'understanding' (no.4) , then the I or the will (no.5) can enter and act.

Metaphorically speaking...

If I can manage my three energy centres I can manage everything else. If I cannot, then everything is hard and has to be forced. If I do not know that the engine can take a car from one place to another, I push it, and this is how most of us do things: we push our machine about like a person pushing a motorcar, and then it can easily happen that the steering wheel is out of reach.



viernes, 29 de marzo de 2019

LAW OF THREE (53) Decision


LAW OF THREE (53)

DECISION

"God made man so that He could know Himself." G.I. Gurdjieff


WHO OR WHAT DECIDES?

The nature of decision has occupied my mind for a long time.  I mean decisions beyond the ordinary day to day choices.  For example:  Did I decide to be born?   Obviously this is a question that cannot be resolved with my ordinary level of consciousness

I would like to differentiate two kinds of decisions: 1. Decisions that come from the Ego, the Me, or the False self and 2. the decisions that come from an I, or Self, beyond the sphere of my ordinary self-consciousness which might through some light to the question:  Did I decide to be born?

The Decision that come form the ego can be traced back to the play the three active forces of thought-feeling-sensation acting continuously in our minds and the predominance of one of the three forces over the others.. 

I gave the example of shopping for a pair of shoes and purchasing them on the basis of the predominant emotional force of liking,  which power or force decided the acquisition of the shoes. 

However there are decisions that the ego cannot make:

As a young man at the age of 26, I was walking down a local street, when a decision struck my being. I was to leave my comfortable life in Spain and move to England! The decision came out of infinity. And even though such possibility had been playing in my mind for years the enabling power and force of the decision had not entered my awareness until that instant. From then on the pattern of my life was completely restructured

Strictly speaking, I did not take the decision... and yet.... something beyond myself... which is still at the very core and centre of myself ... took the decision... which I was bound to obey!

An experience that I guess might be recognisable by most of us.



sábado, 16 de marzo de 2019

Law of Three (52) Centering Prayer and The Law of Three


THE LAW OF THREE (52)


CENTERING PRAYER AND THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

"Just by the very nature of our birth, we are on the spiritual journey" 
Thomas Keating.


 Thomas Keating says:

"Our basic core of goodness is our True Self."
"The acceptance of our basic goodness is a quantum leap on the Spiritual Journey."
"This basic core of goodness is capable of unlimited development, indeed of becoming transformed into Christ and deified."

The True Self, our basic core of goodness, is the Self engaged in the spiritual journey. This Self is"capable of unlimited development, capable of becoming transformed into Christ and deified."

Centering Prayer and the Law of Three forces
The Law of Three stipulates that nothing is brought about, changed or accomplished unless three independent forces are involved.  In Centering Prayer the intention is to consent to God's presence and action within ourselves.  The three forces are:  i. intention (the active or initiating force); ii. thoughts (the passive or resisting force); and iii. consent (the reconciling force). When these three independent forces act in harmony, a "gate if consciousness" opens permitting Gods action  
It is essential to distinguish the two different forces which intervene in C.P :  intention and consent. Intention comes from the Ego and Consent from the True Self *)
True consent may give rise to unsuspected events:
"God will bring people and events into our lives, and whatever we may think about them, they are designed for the evolution of his life in us." Thomas Keating.






domingo, 10 de marzo de 2019

LAW OF THREE (51) Power in Weakness


LAW OF THREE (50)

POWER IN WEAKNESS

"The only self we know is the false self that developed in infancy under the influence of the three emotional programs for happiness and especially under the influence of a separate-self sense. The infant after six or eight months of depending on its mother, begins to realise that she is not going to do everything for ever, so it begins to take care of itself. It then needs to feel secure, loved, and free to experience power and control in some degree." Thomas Keating

In the first months of life we are unaware of ourselves, our needs, or our existence. The needs and weakness of the infant is a force that commands the attention and assistance of those around him.

As memory grows the child learns to speak, with speech comes self-awareness and the need for some degree power or control. Gradually we identify with the thoughts, feelings an sensations until we claim ownership and possession of "my thoughts. my feelings, my sensations ."  Eventually with the arising of the ego our essence is forgotten.

In our essence is our strength.   The recognition of the commanding power of essence is evidenced at birth.  In T.K's words: "This core of goodness is capable of unlimited development, indeed of becoming transformed into Christ and deified." 

The spiritual journey begins at birth: "The spiritual journey is a process of gradually desindentifying with the personality (or Ego) and identifying with our Essence, our True Self". Russ Hudson

Dos St. Paul have in mind the the power in the helplessness of the new born child? "For my strength is made perfect in my weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather glory in my infirmities, so that the power of Christ may rest on me" Cor. 12:9



viernes, 1 de marzo de 2019

LAW OF THREE (48) Background to the Law of Three



THE LAW OF THREE (48)

BACKGROUND TO THE LAW OF THREE

The law of three states every phenomenon and every event in creation is the work of three independent forces.

When we see the action of three independent forces in every event and phenomenon, then we see the world as it really is.

In order to produce any phenomenon or event the three independent forces meet in a relationship of positive, negative and neutralising

Considered by itself, every force in the universe is positive or active.

Only at the point of meeting do the three forces become structured in this relationship.

We can see very easily the positive or active force in any event or phenomenon.

Sometimes we are aware of the negative or resisting force as well.

But very rarely are we aware of the presence and action of the third neutralising  or reconciling force. 


Background to the concept of the Triad

The Law of Three was introduced by Gurdjieff about 100 years ago during his teaching period in Russia just before the Bolshevik revolution. These ideas were taken up by groups run by Gurdjieff's one time pupil Ouspensky. Other teachers operating within the same circle, like J.G. Bennett, developed the study of the Triad in their own ways.

Gurdjief idea of the triad was very simple and direct. It was about how things change, and how change was at all possible. His originality was to insist that: nothing is brought about, or nothing is really changed unless there are three independent forces involved.


Ouspensky said: There are ideas that could all stop al quarrels, such idea is the Law of Three

He also said that: In order to penetrate in the experience of the Law of Three we must be present fist (the three forces operate in the present, now)

jueves, 21 de febrero de 2019

LAW OF THREE (50) The Universal Dance


LAW OF THREE (50)

THE UNIVERSAL DANCE


"Triads are connected with further triads. These connecting triads go on and on: nothing is free from this Law and nothing exists in isolation. It is no exaggeration to say that by tracing from triad to triad it is possible to plot the connection between any two phenomena in the Universe, from a doorknob to a galaxy, from a fish to a table, from a chimney-pot to the moons of Saturn; taken that we have sufficient knowledge to do so" George Jeffery


"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid..." Luke 12.7

We are counted and we count. The Universe is a vast entity of interconnected and fluid triads. Each one of us participates in the universal dance as a force in the triad

A triad consists of the active interaction of  three forces. Science recognises two forces, but it is unaware of a third force. Yet the third force is implicit in scientific formulation. To avoid stalemate there must be a third element that weakens "the action-reaction" immobility and allows further progression.

Man can act as a false third force or as a true third force. When acting as a false third force we lend our powers to one of the conflicting sides ensuring automatic repetition (like-dislike, right-wrong, good-bad, etc.) When we act as a true reconciling third force we hold in ourselves the tension between two poles,  and become a medium through which a fourth or healing power may enter creation, facilitating conscious evolution.

An evolutionary triad requires the sacrifice of the ego.

Why the ego?

The ego is not an independent force, but it is a force, except that it can only operate through the active or resisting forces. It cannot be an independent or true reconciling force because its view is dual. The ego cannot love both friends and enemies and become a neutralising force at the same time. Love your enemies is beyond its comprehension.







sábado, 9 de febrero de 2019

LAW OF THREE (49) The Gap


THE LAW OF THREE (49)

THE GAP


"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy..."

Hamlet 1.5.167-8



What am I ? A conscious exploration into depths of our being can reveal that I am nothing tangible. 

What can I do?  Wisdom teacher stated that we spend our lives trying to do what we cannot do, and avoid doing the only thing that we can do..

Which is? To give conscious attention.

Conscious attention separates subject from object by becoming aware of the space between the two.  The space between the Observer and the Observed reveals that we are neither the Observer nor the Observed but the 'observing presence' which brings the Observer and the Observed into a relationship.

In the Upanishads the Observer is Spirit.  Spirit is described as the Seer that sees though all eyes but needs no eyes to see. Spirit experiences itself through seeing.

In the Christian tradition we speak of God experiencing himself in the human form. Man becomes the point of encounter of God with Himself.

Reflecting on the Rule of St. Benedict, an old Abbot pondered: Where is man in the activities performed by the monks in this monastery?  Only Christ is involved in all activities; Christ prays in the monk; Christ is the stranger that comes through the door, Christ is all in all.  But of course, he added, 'it takes Christ to recognise Christ'.


 'God in us is serving God in others.' Sta. Teresa of Avila



lunes, 4 de febrero de 2019

LAW OF THREE (47) A Three Fold Operating System


LAW OF THREE (47)

A THREE FOLD OPERATING SYSTEM.

In the Gurdjieff tradition, we speak of Man number 1,2,3,4,5, etc. up to number 7. Man no.1.  is dominated by the moving centre, man no.2, by the feeling centre,  and man no. 3,  by the thinking centre. Man no.4,  has all three centres in balance. According to the Gurdjieff scheme, it is possible for the 'real I' to enter such a balanced man, when he becomes Man no.5, a true 'individual' .

From the Gurdjieff tradition.

Gurdjieff uses numbers to differentiate the stages of self-development leading to the entering of the true 'I' at num.5.  The entering of our true 'I' or "individuality" is only possible when man nos. 1, 2, 3 are in balance.

Nos 1,2,3 represent three sides of a triad. A triad is a dynamic unit showing the cooperation between three independent forces. The triad only manifests when the three forces are integrated in a dynamic whole. In the Gurdjieff scheme a balanced man, man no. 4, arises out of the balanced triadic articulation of thought, feeling, and sensation.

Man nos. 1,2,3 could also be referred to as the three powers which when they come together articulate the evolving mind.

St. John of the Cross in his mystical poetry speaks as the voice of man. no 5, "my house being at rest" and of the "delightful wonder" of freedom.

In a dark night,
inflamed with love,
o delightful wonder!
I left and non saw me,
my house being now at rest..."

St. John of the Cross


* "En una noche oscura, con ansias en amores inflamada, ¡oh dichosa ventura! salí sin ser notada, estando ya mi casa sosegada."


martes, 22 de enero de 2019

THE LAW OF THREE (46) The Arising of Meaning


THE LAW OF THREE (46)

THE ARISING OF MEANING

"The task of the triad is to make a unity, though every action produces a reaction. In the mechanical world, Newton's laws apply, particularly that 'action and reaction are equal and opposite' and their sum is zero. In real life we have to do something more than what we are expected to do. The 'something more' is the third force. It is the secret of 'doing'. It may not actually have to be done by us. We can 'wait' until it arises of itself -when we speak of the 'propitious time' or the 'cubic centimetre of chance', etc.- before we act." Anthony Blake


The third force that brings into a relationship two opposing forces may be conscious or automatic.  Men, as carriers of the third force,  may lend his force to one or the other of the two opposing forces, and strengthen their automatic reactions or, if more consciously awake, he may lend them both his conscious presence and hold them in a relation until a new pattern or response enters the triad. 

If someone insults us or attacks us we get upset. We react or criticise and then we learn nothing from the situation. Action and reaction are equal and opposite. To learn from the situation we need to encompass the energy of the 'attacker' and bring it inside ourselves. This requires us to bring something from our deeper self, something that is impartial and aware.

The arising of a unity is the arising of meaning. Meaning arises when the thinking processes that continuously go on in ourselves, in the form of dialogues between though, feeling and sensation, come to an agreement. Only when the three mental functions come to a unitive perception, meaning enters. Three become one.  

When meaning arises we can understand each other. We can enter into each other. We can abide in each other. With the entering of meaning a new triad arises. We grow in understanding. When meaning does not arise we experience conflict in the form of automatic rejections.    This is the current situation in the world of politics where impartial dialogue seeking reconciliation seems impossible.


"When two or three are gathered in my name I am there in their midst" as a reconciling force.



viernes, 4 de enero de 2019

LAW OF THREE (45) Not my will but yours.


LAW OF THREE (45)

NOT MY WILL BUT YOURS.

"We human beings naturally try to achieve satisfaction in all things through our own autonomous
effort and control. This is just as true in our search for spiritual fulfilment as it is in the rest of life.
We may yearn to "let go and let God" but it usually doesn't happen until we have exhausted our own efforts." Gerald May


St. Teresa of Avila. says "el centro del alma es Dios" (The centre of the soul is God"). St. Teresa reminds us that God shares with us all the tribulations of our life.

The discovery of the hidden immanent presence does not come through our own efforts.  It comes when we have exhausted all our own efforts. It may come over when we realise that nothing we have been trying works and that we need help.

"Let go and let God" requires change of signs in the triad. From acting as an initiating force we act as receptive force.  From closing our hands to opening our hands. From feeling proud of our achievements to feeling humbled by our shortcomings.

God's evolution in us* needs receptive cooperation. It needs letting God do in us and through us. It requires letting go our own autonomous efforts to accomplish our aims and allowing God accomplish his own aims in us.

This interdependence of God and Man makes us co-creators or as my old hermit friend puts it:

"God Is but cannot Do. Man can Do but Is not. So God Does in Man and Man Is in God.

An "interabading" realisation which requires the dimension of eternity to manifest.




* "God will bring people and events into our lives and whatever we may think about them they are designed for the evolution of HIS LIFE in us." Thomas Keating

THE LAW OF THREE (80) War in The Holy Land and The Reconciling Force

    The Law of Three (80) War in The Holy Land and The Reconciling Force  Today ,  I am taking sides. I am taking the side of  Peace . Peace...