16 February, 2017

Reflecting on the TRUE SELF

OUR JOURNEY IN SEARCH OF THE TRUE SELF

Our Journey in search of the True or Real Self  paradoxically results in us returning to the place where we first started. It is a journey back 'home'. I find the following quote from  Thomas Merton, a  great Christian Spiritual Master so telling and true .

 

13 February, 2017

Encounter with Mystery



ENCOUNTERING THE MYSTERY
( a short 'reflection' ) 

In our quietest moments and at our deepest centre, human beings have always been aware of, and attracted to, their  inherent sense of mystery that lies both at their heart and the  heart of creation. 

This awareness and attraction to mystery is all around and within us. We are each faced, at our deepest depth, with the essential questions ‘Who am I’ ? , What is my ‘true’ self ? and How am I connected to the Ultimate Source, the Self that is the Mystery at the heart of creation?  These are existential questions and, although we often deny or suppress them, they bubble beneath the surface of our awareness and if ignored can lie at the heart of our inner restlessness and angst.

All the Spiritual and Faith Traditions have struggled with these questions and the mystics, sages and teachers of the past have provided some pointers and possible answers. There is a wonderful story from the Zen Buddhist traditions that attempts to provide an answer or, response, to the questions

The Candle & the Mirror

A Chinese Empress once asked a Buddhist Master about the relationship between the ONE ( Mystery) and the Many. The Master sat for a moment and then has a series of mirrors placed all around the room – to form a complete circle.

He then placed a candle in the middle and lit it. The Empress was both moved and delighted by the wonder and splendour of the reflected light.

The Master explained that the light from the candle was the ONE and the reflections were the Many




This story provides us with a useful metaphor that is a typical of the many attempts that can be found in all the Traditions. They can provide us with a view of the Mystery at the heart of our being. This Mystery reaches out to all and invites us to enter into a deeper on inner relationship of Self to self. This is an invitation to an encounter with the Mystery . 

 This is an example of the I : Thou relationship outlined by the famous  philosopher Martin Buber. Encounter is a central concept for Buber and for his theory of relating. For Buber, this encounter   occurs with ‘God’  or Mystery  ( by whatever name you call It) who is the eternal Thou and who sustains the I/Thou relationship
 

This spiritual I/Thou relationship is one of total encounter and  many examples can be found in the Jewish Scriptures and the Hindu Upanishads.  It also has echoes from Celtic Spirituality, where ‘presence’ is such an important part of encounter (See the Resources page of the Satsang Website www.satsang-companionship.org.uk ‘Echoes of Creation )    

 In this ‘encounter, this ‘Presence’, this I/Thou relationship between the person, others , the environment  and Mystery, there is a unity of being, a sense of ‘indwelling presence’ one to the other. Thus there is no barrier of other relationships which separate the individual from Mystery , and thus there is direct communication. All is seen as ‘Presence’, be it Mystery, nature, the environment or people.

Discovering True Joy

Discovering True Joy
We live in a world that can easily get fixated of the search for pleasure and not Joy.  The following quote is offered as a short reflection on true Joy