Spiritual Contemplation
Spiritual Christmas - 13 - Attention for your inner development
Spiritual Christmas - English
03-01 Narrative 13 Chapter 44 of the Aquarian Gospel: Greek masters listen to a speech about the limitations of the mind
Narrative:
Narrative 13, for the evening of 03 January: Greek masters listen to a speech about the limitations of the mind
Reflection:
Reflection 13, for 03 January: Attention for your inner development
Narrative:
Narrative 13, for the evening of 03 January: Greek masters listen to a speech about the limitations of the mind
Chapter 44 of The Aquarian Gospel: Greek masters listen to a speech about the limitations of the mind
The Greek philosophy was full of pungent truth, and Jesus longed to study with the masters in the schools of Greece. And so he left his home in Nazareth and crossed the Carmel hills, and at the port took ship, and soon was in the Grecian capital.
Now, the Athenians had heard of him as a teacher and philosopher, and they were glad to have him come to them that they might hear his words of truth. Among the masters of the Greeks was one, Apollo, who was called, Defender of the Oracle, and recognised in many lands as a Grecian sage.
Apollo opened up for Jesus all the doors of Grecian lore, and in the Areopagus he heard the wisest masters speak. But Jesus brought to them a wisdom greater far than theirs; and so he taught. Once in the Amphitheatre, he stood, and when Apollo bade him speak he said, Athenian masters, hear! In ages long ago, men, wise in nature’s laws, sought out and found the place on which your city stands. Full well you know that there are parts of the earth where its great beating heart throws heavenward etheric waves that meet the ethers from above: Where spirit-light and understanding, like the stars of night, shine forth.
Of all the parts of earth, there is no place more sensitised, more truly spirit-blest, than that where Athens stands. Yea, all of Greece is blest. No other land has been the homeland of such mighty men of thought as grace your scrolls of fame. A host of sturdy giants of philosophy, of poetry, of science, and of art, were born upon the soil of Greece, and rocked to manhood in your cradle of pure thought.
I come not here to speak of science, of philosophy, or art; of these you are the world’s best masters now. But all your high accomplishments are but stepping stones to worlds beyond the realm of sense; are but illusive shadows flitting on the walls of time. But I would tell you of a life beyond, within; a real life that cannot pass away.
In science and philosophy there is no power strong enough to fit a soul to recognise itself, or to commune with God. I would not stay the flow of your great streams of thought; but I would turn them to the channels of the soul. Unaided by the Spirit-breath, the work of intellection tends to solve the problems of the things we see, and nothing more.
The senses were ordained to bring into the mind mere pictures of the things that pass away; they do not deal with real things; they do not comprehend eternal law. But man has something in his soul, a something that will tear the veil apart that he may see the world of real things. We call this something, spirit consciousness; it sleeps in every soul, and cannot be awakened till the Holy Breath becomes a welcome guest.
This Holy Breath knocks at the door of every soul, but cannot enter in until the will of man throws wide the door. There is no power in intellect to turn the key; philosophy and science both have toiled to get a glimpse behind the veil; but they have failed. The secret spring that throws ajar the door of soul is touched by nothing else than purity in life, by prayer and holy thought.
Return, O mystic stream of Grecian thought, and mingle your clear waters with the flood of Spirit-life; and then the spirit consciousness will sleep no more, and man will know, and God will bless. When Jesus had thus said he stepped aside. The Grecian masters were astonished at the wisdom of his words; they answered not.
Reflection:
Reflection 13, for 03 January: Attention for your inner development
Attention for your inner development
An enormous drive for development hides behind every visible and invisible creation. In everything and everyone are hidden very dynamic life forces that wish to manifest themselves, right through all kinds of resistances. Resistances, as we saw, are the steps with which the ladder of development can be climbed and so they are the unexpected helpers of creation.
Each seed contains such an urge to life and it shall germinate when the right circumstances occur. It can be the seed of a thought, of an inner image or emotion, or of a wonderful plan, and once germinated the thought or the emotion is very difficult to put back into the seed…
Driven by the corresponding emotion a thought leads you irrevocably to action. Sometimes you regret the action but could not have stopped it. The life force of your invisible thought has then made itself visible through your action.
Universal law
On each level of life and within each plan or thought there exists a force that drives the invisible to a visible form. That is a universal law. And when you take a good look at yourself you will certainly notice that the working out of this universal law is also taking place in you. Thoughts, life force, struggle and development eventually lead to action, even right through all resistance. Each action makes us into creators and all our acting makes visible that which takes place within us.
When on the spiritual path you then become conscious of the Other-One-within-you, of the inner Jesus, then you will want to show his invisible life force to the outside world. And there you are, as nobody understands what has ‘suddenly gotten into you’… And you yourself do not actually know what to do with this new urge.
There exists more in the germinated seed in your heart than the urge that you are experiencing. Enclosed within it lies a plan of development for you and for humanity. And you, as a material human being, are the only one who is able to make this invisible plan visible to others.
It is the plan for the new phase of humanity, the Aquarius-phase, the phase in which the higher soul must come to life. It is the cosmic and divine plan for ‘the path of return’. That is why Jesus travels through ‘the world’ – through you as a personality – to teach you all aspects of this higher plan. It is up to you to accept His lessons and become an Aquarius-man.
Now that the outer development of humanity seems to be reaching a limit, interest in inner development is increasing. It is experienced more and more that the outer development of man alone does not make him happy. But for many, the interior is still only a world of emotions, thoughts and motives.
Wisdom instead of knowledge
At this border, there is an increasing longing for wisdom instead of knowledge, for true harmony and unity, for pure love and true friendship. However, as personalities, we search for the realization of all this outside ourselves and not within. And then we find ourselves on social media or surfing the Internet, twittering and taking selfies. We search for unity and connection, because our inner urge drives us.
In chapter 40 of the Aquarian Gospel Jesus tells us where the source of wisdom is to be found. In order to find this source, inner silence is needed. In that silence, the soul is able to meet God, or the Gnosis, the Light.
Now, in the early morning, Jesus came again to teach and heal. A light not comprehended shone about, as though some mighty spirit overshadowed him. A Magus noted this and asked him privately to tell from whence his wisdom came, and what the meaning of the light. And Jesus said, There is a Silence where the soul may meet its God, and there the fount of wisdom is, and all who enter are immersed in light, and filled with wisdom, love and power.
That is true inner development. And when we truly wish to realize this wisdom and love within our own being, that will demand all our attention and cooperation.
The basis is being formed by the surging remembrance of an original life of all-encompassing love and wisdom. The experience that everything on this earth turns into its opposite causes us to feel that the destination of our life lies elsewhere, and so we want to return to that source of wisdom.
Silence
That wisdom is already potentially present in us, namely in our hearts. Although the human being is mortal, he possesses an immortal nucleus, a seed which corresponds with the higher life-field where true love and wisdom exist. That seed will awaken when it receives the right kind of attention, when “there is a silence where the soul may meet its God”, as stated in The Aquarian Gospel.
What kind of silence is meant here? Not the absence of sound, not the ending of all dialogue. This silence is not easy to describe – it is not a place enclosed by walls or steep cliffs nor is it guarded by the sword of a human being. We are not able to demonstrate it, write it down or speak about it, we cannot put it on YouTube; we can at the very most have an inner image of it.
Silence is the absolute stilling of the forces of the natural human being, putting aside daily turmoil, relaxing our connections to this world with its matter, money and possessions.
It is the ‘not-doing’ with regard to the interests of this world, the ‘wu wei’ of Lao Zi.
Silence exists beyond our direct sphere of influence but can impart itself to us. It connects the extrasensory with the indwelling, the transcendent with the immanent.
Creative Spiritual Force
Silence is a creative spiritual force that can only do its work when we make space for it. Silence provides a confrontation with yourself but it also offers a voyage within yourself that poses enormous possibilities to the spiritually driven human being.
There is a silence where the soul can meet the Gnosis. That silence is the source of knowledge and wisdom. Those who enter there, are immersed in light and become filled with the Spirit.
Human beings always carry this place of silence with them, as is stated in The Aquarian Gospel. No matter where one is – on top of a mountain, in the deepest valley, at trade markets or quietly at home – one can immediately, at any time, throw the door wide open and find the silence. In that silence there is Gnosis, which is knowledge, wisdom and love. If you want to find this silence of the soul, you will have to prepare the way to it yourself and make space for it.
How can a human being find the way to the silence?
Through a completely new mode of life.
Put all the mental tensions aside. Distance yourself as much as possible from all daily worries, all fear, all doubt and all troublesome thoughts. Do not allow yourself to indulge in the wounding power of criticism, or rash conclusions and judgements, both of yourself and of others.
Criticism and judgement are powerful thought-seeds that germinate quickly and easily. Do not allow them to do so. Do not allow emotions such as aggression, anger or irritation to suffocate the silence of the soul. Forcing or suppressing yourself, however, is not the answer, as these approaches are not in accordance with the nature of the soul.
Move along harmoniously with all possibilities that the world offers because a great plan underlies your life. Your victories over yourself form the steps upon which you become co-creator of the great plan for the new phase of humanity: the higher life of the soul.