The World Behind The World - Living at the End of Times
Nov 9, 2021 9:34:35 GMT
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Nov 9, 2021 9:34:35 GMT
This book by Michael Meade was published in 2008 and it is extremely relevant for these times. Highly recommended as far as I am concerned. Quoting a passage from the book is almost impossible as all the texts are equally relevant. Nevertheless this section I will share as it was here whilst reading that the thought came up to share. It reminds me of the words of the Hopi: "God is at eye level".
This book may be comforting for those who struggle with the current reality. Most of us know that the Real sits behind the reality that human eyes and ears perceive. Yet it helps sometimes to be reminded of it. Stay connected to your inner guidance!
This book may be comforting for those who struggle with the current reality. Most of us know that the Real sits behind the reality that human eyes and ears perceive. Yet it helps sometimes to be reminded of it. Stay connected to your inner guidance!
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Its like the famous occasion when someone asked a holy man why it was that no one saw god anymore. The world had come upon hard times and the horizon of life looked dark and troubled with stormy clouds. People wondered whether god had become tired of the world and all the errors and mistakes of human societies.
The holy man didn't deliberate long before answering. No one saw god anymore because people were unwilling to bend low enough. People were looking in the wrong direction; they expected help from above when the redeeming energy was inside them and near those whose most threatened in the world. Since most had taken to relying on the religious experiences of others, they expected the divine to be high above this fallen world. Looking down to find something holy seemed patently unorthodox and possibly blasphemous.
Yet sometimes higher elements must be sought in the lowly places. By its very nature, the divine often goes against the grain. That which comes to be considered holy is often anything but orthodox to begin with. Manu and Noah and all the old thinkers that came to be considered the founders of unorthodox attitudes were unorthodox to begin with. All the great makers and founders and pathfinders start out in contrary ways; it is that very quality that makes them unique and open to the sacred.
Not only that, but the holy ones find god right here on earth. Manu simply touched a fish, Noah turned a dream into a ship. Didn't Moses keep running into burning bushes? The divine hides in the things of the world causing the smallest entity to have some hidden divinity. It isn't that more people are needed who will follow the "letter of the law". That often causes more trouble than it cures, especially when the times demand some sort of surrender and an awareness of the suffering in this world. Usually, what's needed most are those who can lend a hand in creative ways, those who can sympathize with the plight of the lowly and become bigger than their usual self.
Many people prefer their god to be "Holier than thou" and a confirmed resident of a much higher place. The notion that god made the world and then departed for a higher place suits many people. They like the idea of a "deus abconditus", a god who starts everything up only to abscond to a better place. That way things seem clearly divided with higher and lower firmly separated. Anything judged to be below them can also be dismissed for being god-less and foresaken. Lower things , lower people, even lower instincts can be condemned as unworthy of the sight of god.
Many people prefer their god to be "Holier than thou" and a confirmed resident of a much higher place. The notion that god made the world and then departed for a higher place suits many people. They like the idea of a "deus abconditus", a god who starts everything up only to abscond to a better place. That way things seem clearly divided with higher and lower firmly separated. Anything judged to be below them can also be dismissed for being god-less and foresaken. Lower things , lower people, even lower instincts can be condemned as unworthy of the sight of god.
The trouble with those who take such a one-sided approach is that they can only reach the divine when this world no longer exists. The heaven they wait for only appears after this fallen realm consumes itself. They see the worlds as sequential rather than interconnected. They miss the whispering of the divine in the presence of the fish of this moment even if they use an abstract fish as an emblem of the god they imagine to be in the higher realm.
As a god idea, Vishna presents a continuous involvement of the divine in this world. Vishna incarnated many times, often taking the form of an animal, although sometimes a lowly beggar boy. The deity can appear in any form because he secretly dwells at the center of each creature. In that world view everything remains connected to the divine realm, the world that remains behind and yet continues to be necessary to this world.
If the divine waits to be found nearby or within, then all those qualities relegated to heaven might be found right on earth. In that case this realm becomes more sacred and each being in it something to approach with greater respect. Yet such notions only appear where people become willing to bow to the reverence of life and bend low enough so that the heart can rise above the head with its fixed attitudes and strange need to be superior to other elements of creation.
The World Behind The World - The Song of the Chaosmos. Pages 113 - 115
The World Behind The World - The Song of the Chaosmos. Pages 113 - 115