Mary Magdalene
Painting by Pietro Perugino, year 1500
Painting by Pietro Perugino, year 1500
One
striking characteristic of the human mind is the tendency to look for
solace and answers only in external world.
Also true is the fact we have always heard remarks such as “the truth is inside you, search inside”; but do we really understand that? The clumsy mind thinks it does, then looks inside, finds distress, gets bored and scared of those monsters and tries to escape, ending up as confused as before.
Also true is the fact we have always heard remarks such as “the truth is inside you, search inside”; but do we really understand that? The clumsy mind thinks it does, then looks inside, finds distress, gets bored and scared of those monsters and tries to escape, ending up as confused as before.
As Heraclitus and other great
guides already pointed, our problem is a lack of faith on the
voice of the Logos, that universal intelligence that connects and reconciles all things, uniting opposites, solving all conflict.
In the beginning was the Logos/Verb –John 1:1
Yet listening to the Logos can only take place by getting in touch with our deeper nature, the Light Soul that acts as guardian and guide of our life, hoping to merge with oneself, to live trough oneself [1].
In the beginning was the Logos/Verb –John 1:1
Yet listening to the Logos can only take place by getting in touch with our deeper nature, the Light Soul that acts as guardian and guide of our life, hoping to merge with oneself, to live trough oneself [1].
The Light that dwells deeply inside does not get incarnated but its finer vibrations speak from each cell and are expressed in silent intuitions that break any mirage and deceiving thought.
But even our rapport with the senses and intuition is missing, and thus, Light is not born in the body and one cannot to receive the gifts of the spirit.
But even our rapport with the senses and intuition is missing, and thus, Light is not born in the body and one cannot to receive the gifts of the spirit.
The genuine spiritual task is not the search for a suicidal
extinction in an inner void or fullness of light, or getting strange
spiritual experiences. Enlightenment in itself cannot be reached
because our Essential Nature is already enlightened.
Truly I say unto you that he who is not born from above cannot enter the Kingdom of God–John 3:3
Truly I say unto you that he who is not born from above cannot enter the Kingdom of God–John 3:3
In the Gospels, the Christ receives his baptism of Water, Spirit and finally Fire. Thus he goes through the Cross of the senses to resurrect and rescue the atoms of
light of the First Adam, which are spread in all directions
since the fall, in the lost sheep of Israel, that is, the Soul of Humanity.
In a similar way, in his sacred tale, the Buddha is born in the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaia –the Earth–, freeing himself from inner slavery and helping others to do the same.
In a similar way, in his sacred tale, the Buddha is born in the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaia –the Earth–, freeing himself from inner slavery and helping others to do the same.
That is
the reason why the Soul must be born in human individuality, otherwise it
would have remained in the luminous heights.
Thus,
the essential task is to live from the essential being, returning
every single perception to its source, by means of the conscious use
of the senses and the mind, bathing the world with conscious acceptance and compassion for others.
Each element of life is part of the Great Truth. Everyone is right, yet no one has all the truth.
Each element of life is part of the Great Truth. Everyone is right, yet no one has all the truth.
The
practice of returning all perceptions to their origin was known by
the Iranian sufis as ta´wil, and it seems clearly linked to
the teachings of Empedocles and the ancient idea of common
sense –koiné
aisthêsis–,
as
Peter Kingsley observes [2].
Incredibly revealing is to find this
spiritual art at the heart of Christianity, and more specifically in
the teachings that Mary Magdalene supposedly received from her master
and companion Yeshua.
Of
course, it can be found in a veiled form in the Canonic gospels, but
very explicitly in the wonderful Gospel of Mary Magdalene [3]:
Then
Peter said to him:
Since
you have explained everything to us, tell us one more thing. What is
the sin of this world?
The
Savior replied:
Sin
as such does not exist. You only bring it into manifestation when you
act in ways that are adulterous in nature. It is for this very reason
that the
Good has come among you pursuing its own essence within nature in
order to reunite everything to its origin.
Then
he continued:
This
is also the reason for sickness and death, because you
embrace what deceives you.
Consider these matters, then, with your spiritual intellect.
Attachment
to matter gives birth to passion without an Image of itself because
it is drawn from that which is contrary to its higher nature. The
result is that confusion
and disturbance resonates throughout one’s whole being.
It is for this reason that I told you to find
contentment at the level of the heart,
and if you are discouraged, take
heart in the presence of the Image of your true nature.
Those with ears, let them hear this.
This passage dispels the dualistic idea that some Gnostics
had concerning the evil nature of the world. The visible universe is
full of divine goodness waiting to be recognised and thus
returned to its divine root.
However,
the gospel hints at something else which is incredibly intriguing:
Attachment
to matter gives birth to passion without an Image of itself,
what causes suffering.
These ancient traditions teach that everything has a
model of perfection, an ideal way of manifestation. But because of
our lack of contact with the perfection of one´s authentic being, we
become shadows or caricatures of what we should be, and thus
everything else gets twisted too, and the world appears as a
frightening monster, protection of the inside.
Do
not judge and you shall not be judged; do not condemn and you
shall not be condemned –Luke 6:37
Everything
outside mirrors the inside. So if one only finds malaise in life, it
means one is not living as one should, but throwing crap buckets
upon oneself.
And
what the gospel is stressing is that the only possible way of
correcting this distortion is to live from our perfect being, "take
heart in the presence of the Image of your true nature".
To
receive the guide of the authentic being entails to let go of
physical, mental and emotional knots that keep one trapped. And that
is only possible with conscious attention and heart sensitivity.
The
space of silent loving awareness recognizes everything as a
reflection or shadow of herself.
Precisely,
what we don´t like in ourselves and others, is what more love and
attention needs, being the repressed part that we need to recognize
and reconcile. Nobody can feel offended with something which is not
already inside. The same is perceived by the same.
But
only from the silent and intuitive space one can embrace without fear
the caricature and its pain, purifying it from the root, gaining
force, understanding and humility. It is then when the kiss of the Soul arrives, and with her serenity and conscious love.
We should not forget this is not something to consider
intellectually, but it implies conscious work, what also requires
certain daily discipline to prepare the ground.
Useful approaches might be silent sittings, incubation and other conscious activities, such as cleaning, cooking, washing the dishes, tasting the food, gardening, doing with full awareness of what one is doing, without striving to arrive anywhere or finishing anything, but simply living the moment as if it were eternal, from the Soul.
Useful approaches might be silent sittings, incubation and other conscious activities, such as cleaning, cooking, washing the dishes, tasting the food, gardening, doing with full awareness of what one is doing, without striving to arrive anywhere or finishing anything, but simply living the moment as if it were eternal, from the Soul.
For related articles on unconditioned meditation see articles:
–Unconditioned Meditation III, published on October 16, 2013:
http://cantoderealidad.blogspot.com.es/2013/11/que-es-la-meditacion-no-condicionada.html
–Incubation, a western form of meditation, published in April 6 2006:
http://themusicofwisdom.blogspot.com.es/2009/04/incubation-western-form-of-meditation.html
© Copyright 2015
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[1]
Further insight into the inner guide or being of light can be found
in Henri Corbin´s jewel: Man of Light in Iranian Sufism. Those who can read Spanish will find it for free here:
http://laescalera-sophia.com.ar/biblioteca/El_Hombre_de_luz.pdf
http://laescalera-sophia.com.ar/biblioteca/El_Hombre_de_luz.pdf
[2] See Peter Kingsley´s interview Common Sense:
[3]
Excerpt from the article The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, by Cynthia
Bourgeault, published in Parabola Magazine. Highly recommended:
