Saturday 25 January 2014

Towards a Greater Reality

It can only be with a sense of wonder, coupled with more than a little relief and gratitude, that I see myself at the present stage of my inner journey. It would be pointless to attempt to identify where it all began, but I am aware of the lowest point in my life where events took an upward turn. Of course that could be described as one starting point, but only one of many such beginnings. There must also have been many a preparatory starting point which was to lead me into ever deeper chasms of spiritual destitution, a state I had to endure before being ready to look in an upward direction. 

The upturn in my spiritual fortunes began with some practical work on my personality traits, an experience which I may describe at some future date. What I wish to say here is that whereas many people who went through a similar ordeal reluctantly and painfully, I became fascinated with what I was discovering about myself. It must be said that some of my discoveries were far from pleasant, decidedly uncomfortable in fact, but that did not matter to me. The grand experiment was under way, and it was the collection of data and the possible good uses to which those data could be put that mattered to me. It was a journey of discovery.

At first sight this preamble may seem to have little relevance to the subject I wish to address here, but a start has to be made somewhere. Out of fumbling beginnings, something is bound to emerge. In my case, one of those emergent experiences was one which I struggled to accept in the early days, and even much later, only reluctantly. I was to discover that I was predisposed towards the mystical. It has been suggested that there are three points of entry to the study of spiritual wisdom. One point of entry is through the intellect and speculation; another through purely practical considerations; and, finally, the third entry point, the way of the mystic. Although my way began with a healthy dose of good practice, and additionally I love to think and speculate, my preferred way is that of the mystic. And a great deal naturally follows from that, not the least important being a profound conviction that there is that which I choose to name as God. This has nothing whatsoever to do with religion in its various forms, and certainly not the Church. I will go a step further and say that it has nothing to do those personages who, unfortunately in my view, have become the foci of religious personality cults.

When, recently, I found myself in that place of "brilliant Darkness" there was no doubt in my mind where I was or where I was headed. I was in the place of what has been described as the Eternal Self, the divine Ground, a description so often used by Meister Eckhart, the German 12th./13th. century mystic. And as Prof. Jacob Needleman once observed, the questions of the Self and of God may in the end be the same question, and that may lead to some very exciting possibilities. For now, instead of needing to struggle to find my place in the spiritual universe, I have abundant guides and pointers from many others who have passed this way, whatever their religious, deist or atheist orientations.

Life is never going to be the same as it was, even as it was a few short weeks ago. And when I consider that the overwhelming proportion of the physical universe is thought to be invisible Dark Matter and Dark Energy, and that symbolically reflects the "brilliant Darkness" of the Ground of my being, not only is that a salutary lesson for my visible ego but also an indicator of how much there is yet awaiting discovery and development in all sentient life. Is it not truly wonderful that we are able to take an active part in that process, rather than being dragged along, willy-nilly, uncognisant of the deeper realities within ourselves? 

20 comments:

  1. Your post will inspire a great deal of thought and discussion or comment, but for now I would just like to raise a minor query.

    You say “It has been suggested that there are three points of entry to the study of spiritual wisdom. One point of entry is through the intellect and speculation; another through purely practical considerations; and, finally, the third entry point, the way of the mystic.”

    Was there any particular source of suggestions that you had in mind when writing this? It sounds as though “the study of spiritual wisdom” is conceived of as part of some tradition, or even someone’s attempt at an eclectic view beyond particular traditions. In any case I don’t understand from your brief reference what these points of entry actually are.

    It’s a quibble which doesn’t diminish the sense of joy and wonder you convey at this authentic vision. It’s a rare thing to be able to converse live (or next best thing) with a mystic, & inspires me to develop an idea which has been nudging me lately: the demystification of mysticism. To put it back in the world, so to speak, showing how it relates to religion, speculation, the everyday in which we negotiate our survival. But not to try and be inclusive. It’s valid to base ideas on personal experience; suspect, in my opinion, to approach matters in a scholarly way, especially as only a minute fraction of people’s transcendental experience has a written record to show for it.

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  2. Bruce; There's nothing I can add to that.

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  3. Vincent; The reference you seek is, "The Perennial Philosophy" by Aldous Huxley, Chap.1 - That Art Thou. I was not content to take the reference at face value without trying to test it through meditation, and my own earlier investigations.

    I wish you well in your task of demystifying mysticism, because it is a path that is open, at least in part, to everyone; just as the other two paths are open to everyone also, with perhaps varying degrees of success. I would suggest that perhaps it is the loss of the contemplative, mystical experience from modern religions, that has caused those religions to fall ever further into sterile fundamentalism.

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  4. Admirable essay. I find, at this and every age, the active content of my mind and posture toward existence is a quotient of a lifetime of conflicting ideas that fought one another to mutual extinction. What's left is simple,kindly and reliable.

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  5. I can think of only one comment to make after reading this and ones previous: You are an inspiration, Tom. Truly, I couldn't be more delighted, or grateful, for your presence in my life.

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  6. Geo; A beautiful way to express life's experience. That which remains after all the cooking and reducing has been done with, is the delicious essence of life. (Incidentally, should you think my response a little odd, you happen to have caught me on one of my Indian curry cooking days.)

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  7. Susan; That comment is figuratively worth its weight in gold. Words cannot express my joy.

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  8. I am in awe, once again, in how you are able to voice your experiences in your mystical journey. Thank you. Tom.

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  9. Marja-Leena; "Thank you for your comment" seems to be too easy a way to respond, but it's all I can say.

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  10. how exciting! i feel like i'm taking a peek behind the curtains at some glorious play about a journey. what gift with words to engender such an emotional response in some many readers when writing about something so profoundly deep and personal.

    the term "brilliant darkness" has such great beauty to it. i can't wait to read about your further discoveries.

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  11. Agnieszka; I am so enjoying the experience of sharing something profound, and at the same time triggering such positives and warmth in my readers. This coming together has been described as a characteristic of love, and I hope to continue to play my part in that process.

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  12. Tom, your inner journey and the lucid, open way in which you express it reminds me of a beautiful circle, drawn freehand with a lighted torch in a dark night. It has material substance but is also immaterial and fluid. It describes reality but is also about something else, the way both a circle and light are not only about geometry and physics, at least to those aware of another reality.
    The coming together of your mystical experiences in this brilliant darkness is a joy to behold.

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  13. Natalie; That description is absolutely beautiful. May I suggest that such a description would not have been possible unless you also were tuned in to the same kind of experience.

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  14. I wonder if the work you were doing with respect to your personality traits was structured on personality theory, on something like Ignatian meditation, with the help of friends or advisors, or otherwise. If the first, I read a fine little book, I'm Not Crazy; I'm Just Not You, that uses the Myers-Briggs personality types in suggesting ways each type can learn from the others and become more whole. I never pursued that kind of work, however, even though I think the book's insights have helped me objectify conflicts between me and others and suppressed desires and expressions in myself I wasn't conscious of.

    Your post got me looking into Jacob Needleman again. I read his Lost Christianity years ago and loved it. In fact, his book reminds me of your blog -- a personal journey into hidden spiritual sources, and a delightful tension among the desires to be informative, objective, and yet personal. Anyway, thanks to your reference, I found another book of his today that I'd love to read.

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  15. Peter; Lovely to hear from you. Lucy (Box Elder) reminds me that I first found Prof. Needleman through a review you wrote of, I think, "Lost Christianity". That is one book that is never far from my hand.

    I first began looking at my personality traits and characteristics through the "12 Step Program for Families and Friends of Alcoholics." I did study the Ignation meditations as you will have gathered, but it was through my studies of the Myers-Briggs personality typing that I finally found my place in the world of personality. Following those studies, I spent some five years studying the Mystical Qabalah, and that was also helpful. Now, I attempt to remain watchful in the hope and trust that I will gain further understanding through reading and meditation. It's a great life.

    I don't know whether I did so at the time, but I certainly thank you for introducing me to Jacob Needleman.

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  16. I will be particularly interested in being here for that future date in which you describe "practical work" on those personality traits.
    It takes a certain perspective to be able to examine those, and yes of course, some discoveries are painful, but those traits are yours, and it seems likely that if you can identify them, then you can also understand why you gathered them to yourself along the way. What has been somewhat liberating for me is uncovering the whys.

    We've had some experience of your use of a mystical connection in the study of spiritual wisdom. The application of intellect and speculation I too have experienced. By practical considerations do you refer to meditation or prayer perhaps?

    I too feel wonder at the possibility that we may be able to take some active part in understanding some higher, purposeful energy before crossing a threshold beyond which there is no return.

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  17. The intense, personal inwardness of your writring reminds me somewhat of Thomas Merton—pretty good company to be in, I might add.

    It's interesting to me that dllgent pursuit of the real from both poles eventually converges at the same spot. Science, the most logical and practical of disciplines, in the hands of theoretical physicists, begins to enter the same territory as the Buddhist mystics. All the more evidence that their is a truth (God) that exists behind the screens.

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  18. Halle; I am on my way back to where I feel it all began, the lowest point in my spiritual life, to rediscover and share how I reached this point in my life. And, yes, by practical considerations I do mean meditation.

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  19. The Geezers; Your reference to Thomas Merton is high compliment. My thanks. For years I have been of the opinion that the highest realms of physics are perhaps indistinguishable from mystical territory. What a truly wonderful, Divine, country through which to travel.

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