The scene painted in the previous encounter represents an ideal situation in which the damaging effects of an unbridled ego are not present. However, that is a case not realised in practice. Spiritual cataracts trouble the divine lens, and tendrils of blackness reach out to ensnare the soul. It is as if the soul forgets, "a hundred, a thousand times a day.
It is as if it forgets the treasure held in some dark, run-down, Dickensian pawnbroker's shop. There is a constant need to self-remember, but such matters go beyond the remit implied in the first incounter described earlier.
I spoke earlier of the need for the soul, imaged as an egg, to break through its surrounding shell and be hatched. This, perhaps, gives too strong an avian flavour to the event. That sense of hatching out is better described as a proto-star bursting out into full brilliance.
To progress any further would be to attempt to describe the steps that the soul deems to be necessary in order to escape its confinement. And that lies beyond the limits of this discussion. I will, therefore, bring these writings to a halt. The nightmare has been noted, and that is enough to bring it into focus.
I will leave with this final quote from Father Sylvan,
"It is not demanded of us that we always be in a state of the heart (or soul - my bracketed insertion) which grants us vision and self-mastery. It is only demanded of us that we know the state we are in. But this is difficult."
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ReplyDeleteHi Tom,
ReplyDeleteSoulful expressions is indeed a challenging subject and there will be many unanswerable questions.
Modern science wants to present the hypothesis of soulful existence as a failed mission positing the idea there is nothing more than the material brain for ultimately we are but evolved star dust.
Yet even the most ardent atheist must acknowledge there are times when we (as human beings) are able to “transcend nature “ in our wonderment of existence and the need to find meaning which provides experiences that go beyond the ceiling of language.
What is evident is the “self” as otherwise how would one begin to understand the limitations of our knowledge and appreciate the beauty and terror that surrounds us? - To consider for instance whether or not we are just a collective of ongoing perceptions or not.
The question then arises what is the soul as part of that self or is it so inextricably linked it is difficult to separate the two.
Is the self “spirit” in a relationship with itself and others?
The answer of course goes to personal belief so that theologically I would say the soul is that part of our consciousness that can be regarded as divine... in other words that part of our consciousness that transcends the ego.
There is no particular distinction between the secular and spiritual whereas that soulfulness becomes manifest in existence to provides the foundation for our personal values.
Whether it is acknowledged or not does not detract from its existence that can only be experienced because of the ceiling limits of language. So it’s from within and outside of that part of our consciousness as the most fundamental energy source that underpins all human existence within the cosmos.
The extent to which that energy source interacts in the minds propositions about the world and our relationships will depend on the individual’s openness or otherwise about which I cannot nor would I wish to be in judgmental.
Thanks for your insights and I trust my thoughts help to underpin some thoughts on the matter. The last quote says it all.
Best wishes
Hello Lindsay,
DeleteBeautifully put. To say any more would be only to gild a lily.
I've been hooked on your blog for quite some time now, and your new posts are as captivating as ever.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them.
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