Good day good people,
We continue together with the work of standing firm and the welcoming in the midst of whatever specific false self pattern we have identified with all of the many selves/little i’s manager, firefighter, and exiled parts (as they act out automatic reactivity, habits, conditioning, inner commentaries, negative states, and instinctual drives). This is ongoing work that we repeat again and again in service of creating moon in ourselves. Every time we stand firm and are able to welcome the mechanical habit from that deeper center of gravity inside, we are strengthening that center.
The moon we are creating, or perhaps discovering and developing an awareness of, is a center of gravity within that can influence our movements, actions, and manifestations in such a way that they are not as subject to the many little i's and parts of ourselves that are controlled by the power of the moon outside of us. Our aim is to see that we are many, and yet to allow the many to become organized around an inner moon, that can bring us into oneness.
One of Gurdjieff’s prominent students, Ouspensky, says, "if we ask what it may mean to create moon in oneself, we must first ask ourselves, what is the moon's function in relation to organic life?" To which he responds, "The moon balances organic life—all external movements are balanced by the moon." In speaking of what it means for us to become one within, he says, "The first step, which is still very far, is to create a permanent centre of gravity. This is what creating moon in oneself means. The moon is a permanent centre of gravity which balances our physical life, but in ourselves we do not have such a balance, so, when we create this balance or centre of gravity in ourselves we do not need the moon [outside of ourselves]. But first we must decide what the absence of permanent ‘I' means [in contrast to identity at the level of the many i's]. We have been told about many features of this, but they must be established definitely by observation, and in order to come nearer to the idea of creating moon in oneself we must distinguish what is important and what is unimportant. Then we must begin to struggle against the features which prevent us becoming one" (The Fourth Way, p. 264-265).
As we tune in even more to cultivating our relationship to this center of gravity within getting to know the experience of it in all three of our centers— intellectual/thinking, emotional/feeling, sensation/moving—let us take some notes about what we observe. How does the moon's function of balancing organic life—all external movements—speak to the function of an inner moon? What does it mean to you to become one? How would you describe your relationship to the moon within you, this permanent centre of gravity which can balance your life?
With love,
Heather
Readings from last week's Daily Contemplative Pauses
Monday, September 23rd with Joy
Reading: "Human consciousness is unique in that it has the quality of being "in the image of God." This quality is expressed by what we call free will, and free will at its core is nothing more than the ability to bestow light. That is to say, human consciousness has an inherent will to give. This human capability of acting like God in being a bestower is the fulcrum upon which the entire universe is balanced.
The reason this is so important is that if there were a will only to receive, as described above, the universe would be completely predictable. Everything would be predetermined, all receptivity would find shape in its implicit design, and every aspect of the unfolding of creation could be anticipated. The wild card introduced here is the premise that human consciousness is informed by a soul force that gives it the capacity to emulate the infinite Bestower.
Thus human beings have an extraordinary capacity to influence the direction of creation. Each time we make use of our free will by giving, we are in copartnership with the infinite Bestower. When this is accomplished, with clear awareness of what we are doing, we raise the consciousness of creation." — David A. Cooper, in God is a Verb: Kabbalah and the Practice of Mystical Judaism
Chant: In your light may we be light, In your light may we give light (Joy Andrews Hayter)
Tuesday, September 24th with Joy
Reading: "The four letter God name Y-H-V-H (Yud, Hay, Vav, Hay) is timeless, above and beyond nature. In Hebrew, these letters Y-H-V-H, rearranged, spell the word "existence." They are also letters that make up the Hebrew words for "was," "is," and "will be."
The four letters making up the Tetragrammaton are extremely powerful and can be used to enter deep meditative states. Visualizing the entire name, reciting the letters individually and combining them with certain vowel sounds, one can begin to feel the mystery of its creative force. It appears and disappears, requiring ever greater concentration to keep it from receding completely. In this way, the force of the Holy One is revealed, yet not approached. YHVH* is the God of our higher soul, and through His mercy and compassion all of the other God names are completed. Since the higher soul expresses the unique purpose of each individual, its relationship to YHVH is one of fulfillment. YHVH is where we begin to find peace through the acceptance of the incomprehensible in life, the mystery and splendor of the universe. It is where our yearning for unity and transcendence is heard and received.
*When the God name YHVH occurs in a Hebrew prayer book, the name Adonai is spoken in its place, or one may pronounce each Hebrew letter separately as Yud, Hay, Vav, Hay." —Shulamit Elson, Kabbalah of Prayer
Chant: intoning “Ah” (vowel for Hebrew hochma, or wisdom) and Yod-Hay-Wow-Hay
Wednesday, September 25th
Reading:
If we utter aloud the word mercy,
standing, each of us, by an open window
anywhere we are in the world,
then the word mercy will carry on the soundwaves
onwards and unceasing,
through the air of the wounded world.
And maybe, when it takes flight
into deed and kindness, justice and effort,
it will effect a healing, a hope and a blessing.
It may call the homeless home,
it may coax to hope the betrayed and broken,
it may ease the burdened earth.
Listen for it, the repeated word mercy, on this Mercy day,
Listen for its neighborly dialects and global idiom.
Imagine those who, like you, are saying it aloud,
and those who need to hear it, today…the word…mercy.
One word, one deed of justice, one kind effort at a time.
Creator God, sustainer of life,
Jesus, our companion Word, Spirit,
who, like the air, inspires,
Give us the simple daring this day
To say and to be Mercy.
— Mary Wickham, RSM
Chant: mercy, mercy, mercy, deep within and all around (by Henry Schoenfield)
Thursday, September 26th
Reading: "What is the quality of mercy? When I was a freshman at Mercy High School in San Francisco, our class read 'The Merchant of Venice,' a play by William Shakespeare. It contains a beautiful description of mercy.
Portia proclaimed,
The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath.
It is twice blessed –
It blesseth him that gives,
and him that takes.
Mercy is described as not strained. It drops from above and is gentle. Mercy is a blessing for those who give and those who receive. It is passed on. We can think of mercy as a blessing that flows. We first receive it from God and then we share it.
— By Sister Judy Cannon, RSM
Chant: mercy, mercy, mercy, deep within and all around (by Henry Schoenfield)
Friday, September 27th
Trisagion Prayer (Thrice Holy)
Agios O Theos (Holy God)
Agios Ischyros (Holy Strong One/Mighty One/Firm One)
Agios Athanatos (Holy Undying One/Undead One/Immortal One)
Eleison Imas (Have Mercy On Us)
Saturday, September 28th
Reading: "In speaking of “the idea of hope dwelling within rather than coming from without, we need to have some picture of where and how it could dwell in us, what inside us could embody it. Obviously there is a paradox here, an eye of the needle to thread. We ourselves are not the source of that hope; we do not manufacture it. But the source dwells deep within us and flows to us with an unstinting abundance, so much so that in fact it might be more accurate to say we dwell within it.
The story comes to mind of the little fish swimming up to its mother, all in a panic:
"Mama, Mama, what's water? I gotta find water or I'll die!" We live immersed in this water, and the reason we miss it is not that it is so far away but, paradoxically, so close: more intimate to us than our being itself.
The term I will use to describe this embodying fullness is "the Mercy." Ir is the water in which we swim. Mercy is the length and breadth and height and depth of what we know of God-and the light by which we know it. You might even think of it as the Being of God insofar as we can possibly penetrate into it in this life, so that it is impossible to encounter God apart from the dimension of mercy.” — Cynthia Bourgeault, Mystical Hope, p.20-21
Chant: mercy, we live in mercy, mercy we breathe in mercy, mercy, we breathe out mercy, mercy we swim in mercy (by Faye Cox)
Sunday, September 29th
Reading: “Hope's home is at the innermost point in us, and in all things. It is a quality of aliveness. It does not come at the end, as the feeling that results from a happy outcome. Rather, it lies at the beginning, as a pulse of truth that sends us forth. When our innermost being is attuned to this pulse it will send us forth in hope, regardless of the physical circumstances of our lives. Hope fills us with the strength to stay present, to abide in the flow of the Mercy no matter what outer storms assail us. It is entered always and only through surrender; that is, through the willingness to let go of everything we are presently clinging to. And yet when we enter it, it enters us and fills us with its own life — a quiet strength beyond anything we have ever known.” — Cynthia Bourgeault, Mystical Hope, p. 86
Chant: we swim in mercy as in an endless sea, we swim in mercy as in an endless sea (by Susan Latimer)
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