What Thoughts May Cometag:www.johnwiegley.com,2009-02-10://42009-05-10T08:26:11ZA journal of one mind's travels.Movable Type Pro 4.25Spirit and thoughttag:www.johnwiegley.com,2009://4.33792009-05-10T08:25:57Z2009-05-10T08:26:11ZWe were reading a quote that said “at the hour of the soul’s separation from the body”, and someone asked how could the soul separate from the if it’s not really in the body, but only associated with it.
...I know that many scientists around the same time had similar ideas, but let’s assume Einstein came up with the core idea that the passage of time relates to acceleration. ... Sure, time is variable; right… But what Einstein did is to keep working on the idea, purifying it, clarifying it, extracting from it certain core essentials that had nothing to do with Einstein, but strictly to do with space and time.
...At first the light illimunes the dross on the mirror, but as the mirror becomes purified, the same light “leaves” the mirror and now enters the eye, causing its original form to be seen by the viewer. John Wiegley
The following idea came up during a discussion this week. We were reading a quote that said "at the hour of the soul's separation from the body", and someone asked how could the soul separate from the if it's not really in the body, but only associated with it. Why would the Writings use the term separation?
It occurred to me that in some ways, the process of thinking is a lot like spiritual life.
For example, a potent thought usually begins with a moment of inspiration. In that moment we feel an intuition that there is much to discover in the idea, though the majority of its content is hidden, and potential. We may not have words to describe it at first, but it doesn't stop us from feeling a sense of this potential, stirring inside. This is not unlike the dawning of spiritual life in an individual, who senses there are things unseeen but who can't put words to any of them. It's a feeling of being "pregnant with possibility" -- an intuition of an unseen door, waiting to be found and opened.
The next step to developing a thought is to clarify it, distill it, and distinguish what is true and universal about the idea from what is fanciful and strictly personal. At this stage, the idea is very much colored by the attitudes of the thinker; it is enmeshed in his personality, so to speak. Some never pass beyond this point. They pursue the idea for gain only, and so it gets caught up in the thinker's desires and agenda. If the thought carries on too far like this, it may actually perish, because its inner truth is never discovered.
Take Einsten's theory of relativity, for example. I know that many scientists around the same time had similar ideas, but let's assume Einstein came up with the core idea that the passage of time relates to acceleration. For many years, this idea would have been seen as "Einstein's fantasy". Sure, time is variable; right... But what Einstein did is to keep working on the idea, purifying it, clarifying it, extracting from it certain core essentials that had nothing to do with Einstein, but strictly to do with space and time. The result was a set of ideas that were independently provable, and once proven, Einstein's idea truly began a life of its own.
One could say that at this stage, when the idea was proven and the equations were justified, it "separated" from the mind of Einstein. The pregnant intuition he had received as a patent clerk was laboriously purified until it became something universal and completely apart to his private dreams and wishes.
I think this might be part of what spiritual life is about. Our soul is given to us like an "in-spir-ation", a breath of Life breathed into a physical form. Initially, it's wholly bound up in our private hopes and goals. But there are eternal truths to this spirit as well, properties that have nothing to do with the individual. Trustworthiness, for example, is the same no matter who displays it. I don't know if the reader has had a direct experience of trustworthiness, but I find it other-worldly. The same is true of honor, honesty, and compassion. In their purest form they seem to shine of their own light, and while that light may be colored by the act and actor, its essence is universal.
As with an idea, I think our task is to purify and rarify the spiritual reality within us, until it takes on its universal aspects. And just as when an idea leaves the confines of the mind who imagined it, I think that when our spirit becomes universal, it likewise leaves the confines of the personality who engendered it.
Which is not to say that a thought leaving destroys the mind, or that our personality must disappear. In fact, when a mind has birthed a great thought, it too enjoys the fruit of it, and even moreso participation in its development. And I think that our individuality -- the carrier of spirituality -- continues to have a "relationship" with the pure spirit we're capable of manifesting.
To put it another way: if you burnish a mirror, the light becomes clearer and brighter. At first the light illimunes the dross on the mirror, but as the mirror becomes purified, the same light "leaves" the mirror and now enters the eye, causing its original form to be seen by the viewer. Otherwise, the dross in a way holds the light, interrupting its reflective journey onward.
So I may not be strictly "thinking" when I pursue a spiritual life, but perhaps the act has a similar form. In this way, I am the crucible and the flame, reducing to its finest product an infinitely rich ore.
Why it seems so hardtag:www.johnwiegley.com,2009://4.33782009-04-12T07:50:08Z2009-04-12T07:50:59ZThat these binary-based manipulations result in pages being printed, screens filled with pictures, or sound coming out of a speaker, does not change the fact that at its core, everything is encoded and decoded in terms of simple, 0 and 1 values.
Think about that for a moment: Everything you see or hear from a computer, whether it be Beethoven’s 9th symphony, watching Find Nemo, or writing e-mail to a friend in Des Moines: all you see and hear can be represented as a combination of ones and zeroes.
... What I mean by basic is this: A person stranded on an ocean without water will sometimes, if they get thirsty enough, drink seawater in an effort to make their thirst go away.
... This is where it seems we have a difficult road ahead of us: our needs are elegantly complex, a bar of notes arranged into a symphony; while our desires are crude and basic, more like a toddler banging on a drum.John Wiegley
Written: 2009/04/12 03:44 AM
Location: AcademyLand Apts, #5, True Blue, Grenada, West Indies
I've been thinking about why pursuing a spiritual life can be so difficult, and I think I can boil it down now to one, core issue:
> Our needs are complex, but our desires are basic.
That is: although our essential needs are very simple -- such as nearness to God -- by this selfsame token they are complex. Meanwhile, our desires are exceedingly basic, requiring constant training and attention to raise them to a higher standard.
## Simple versus complex
Because a system is complex does not make it complicated. A complicated system defies understanding because it is filled with too many distinct ideas; a complex system, on the other hand, defies understanding because of the richness of its core simplicity.
As an example of this, consider the binary number system. It's composed of exactly two digits, no more, no less: one and zero. It could also be expressed as true and false, black and white, up and down, right and wrong, etc., etc. Any world described in opposites is a binary world.
Binary is handy because computer systems are binary, representing their digits as "high power" and "low power". You could say all a computer is is a binary machine to manipulate electrical and magnetic fields. That these binary-based manipulations result in pages being printed, screens filled with pictures, or sound coming out of a speaker, does not change the fact that at its core, everything is encoded and decoded in terms of simple, 0 and 1 values.
Think about that for a moment: Everything you see or hear from a computer, whether it be Beethoven's 9th symphony, watching Find Nemo, or writing e-mail to a friend in Des Moines: all you see and hear can be represented as a combination of ones and zeroes. If it were any more complicated than this, a computer would be incapable of processing it. Yet this is also what makes it so *complex*: that even knowing a DVD is made up of ones and zeroes cannot help you understand how it works.
## Basic versus advanced
While our needs as spiritual beings may be ultimately simple, what messes us up is that our desires are at the same time exceedingly basic.
What I mean by basic is this: A person stranded on an ocean without water will sometimes, if they get thirsty enough, drink seawater in an effort to make their thirst go away. Their knowledge that it won't help the situation is overridden by the nature of desire itself. The mind knows, "I need water", but the body says only, "I want to drink".
A basic desire is heedless of the quality of its choice, or the consequences to the individual. Hunger says, "eat". It doesn't know about eating healthily or wisely. And the stronger a desire gets over time, the less it confers with the rest of one's being in seeking its satisfaction.
What this means is that, from the very beginning of life, we must train our desires to be more profitable. Children may try to eat anything, but maturity makes us more and more discriminating. Teenagers might even choose to diet, preferring health or beauty over the demands of their stomach. Then comes eating the right things, avoiding harmful or useless foods, etc., etc. By the time a person is older they must be very conscious of what they put in their mouths, or else their health (and perhaps even life) will suffer the consequences.
The same is true with desire in general. Although desire is valuable for *pushing* us toward our goals, we must make informed choices. How often desire chooses an unworthy target, with a compulsion very real and powerful. But we must master those desires, so that, like a bloodhound, they can be turned away from lesser prey and focused again on our truest need.
## Aye, there's the rub
This is where it seems we have a difficult road ahead of us: our needs are elegantly complex, a bar of notes arranged into a symphony; while our desires are crude and basic, more like a toddler banging on a drum. This turns us into creatures of confusion. We know we need something, but we can't identify it despite sincere effort; meanwhile our desires scream for whatever is nearest at hand or in our thoughts.
What chance have we, then, if what we need is beyond our understanding, but what we want is destructive to that very need? How much easier to crown our desires with truth so we can pursue them whole-heartedly and freely, than to rule our burning fires in the name of an Unseen!
I think it is in answer to this very state that Scripture was given to us. It offers enough of guidance to entince us along the Right Path, but little enough substance so we don't mistake it for the Goal itself. It says to me, "That you want is right and true, but for what you want: there is Better."
Moving forwardtag:www.johnwiegley.com,2008://4.26812008-11-14T12:00:00Z2009-02-10T07:43:33ZIt strikes me how earnestly many of us strive for ultimate acceptance. I see it in people's words and actions; in self-recrimination; especially in hopes and dreams. Most commonly there is an effort, according to some plan, to "reconfigure" ourselves...John Wiegley
It strikes me how earnestly many of us strive for ultimate acceptance. I see
it in people's words and actions; in self-recrimination; especially in hopes
and dreams. Most commonly there is an effort, according to some plan, to
"reconfigure" ourselves to match an idea of perfection. It's thought if we
attain this longed for state -- whether it be clarity of mind or heart, an act
of greatness, a sublime moment of complete resignation -- that God will nod
His head, and something may occur to make us whole again.
Considering the extent of work involved -- to such minute degree as how one
thinks during prayer, or sits, or envisions God -- it occurs to me the real
key is not one of change. Rather, the answer to the unsolvable conundrum is
to realize, deeply, fully, in both mind and heart and with real faith: that
God's grace far exceeds our gratitude. He is a better Host than we are
guests. "No man that seeketh Us will We ever disappoint." A child does not
convince his parent to love him; his foolish words and deeds only increase the
flow.
When this gate unlocks, a river of mercy pours into our castigated hearts.
And I believe *this* is the time to seek perfection of character. Not because
it stands between us and heaven, but as fulfillment. Michaelangelo did not
seek ready-formed blocks of marble, but rough, unhewed ones. He already knew
what the stone contained. And at the moment the bond formed between master
and ingredient, a long process of refinement began so its beauty might shine
out.
We are all rough and unmade stones as well. Should we form ourselves into an
idea of what is best, and then present ourselves to our Maker? Or should we
submit entirely to His hand; let His words trace their impression upon our
grain; and thus gradually, through a process of deep communion and cleansing,
reveal what luster lay beneath.
An absence of Freedomtag:www.johnwiegley.com,2008://4.25632008-09-08T11:00:00Z2009-02-10T07:43:14ZI live in a part of the world where I can mostly take freedom for granted. And I think it fair to say that this is how it should be, everywhere. As I read the speeches of the Romans and...John Wiegley
I live in a part of the world where I can mostly take freedom for granted.
And I think it fair to say that this is how it should be, everywhere. As I
read the speeches of the Romans and the Greeks, I see how much they loved the
idea, and the promise, of freedom. The framework of America builds on this
message of hope, believing that the souls thrive best when they have room to
go. I think even that some American teenagers wouldn't believe that freedom
barely exists in some parts of the world. It's the twenty-first century after
all; wasn't that all a thing of the past?
But for many, the lack of basic freedoms -- even something as primary as one's
belief in God -- still prevails to this generation. Case in point are my
fellow Bahá'ís in the Middle East and thereabouts. My wife's family fled
persecution to become refugees. Can you believe she couldn't even pursue a
medical school education while living in her own country? [^1]
Sadly, such persecutions are as fresh as the past two weeks. It seems that
the Yemenese government has detained a Bahá'í family for deporation back to
Iran, the very country and government they left in hope of greater freedoms
elsewhere. You can [read the news article here][]. Nor is this all that
remote of an incident, since one of the people being deported is the father of
my aunt's friend.
I'm posting this notice to get the word out there, since many citizens of
these governments simply don't know what's going on. Their media just doesn't
report it. But we who live in the land of freedom can.
[read the news article here]: http://www.news.bahai.org/story/651
[^1]: If it seems incredible, [read this account by Ahmad Batebi][], who
describes his misadventures with the repressive tactics of the Iranian regime.
[read this account by Ahmad Batebi]: http://www.iranian.com/main/2008/freedom-all
A single pointtag:www.johnwiegley.com,2008://4.25562008-08-24T11:00:00Z2009-02-10T07:43:13ZI have come to believe that all knowledge and understanding derives from a single Point, and that this Point is so complete, and yet so rarefied, that although it smacks us in the face at every moment, it remains unperceived....John Wiegley
I have come to believe that all knowledge and understanding derives from a
single Point, and that this Point is so complete, and yet so rarefied, that
although it smacks us in the face at every moment, it remains unperceived.
Bahá'u'lláh wrote:
> Say: My creatures are even as the leaves of a tree. They proceed from the
> tree, and depend upon it for their existence, yet remain oblivious of their
> root and origin. We draw such similitudes for the sake of Our discerning
> servants that perchance they may transcend a mere plant-like level of
> existence and attain unto true maturity in this resistless and immovable
> Cause. Say: My creatures are even as the fish of the deep. Their life
> dependeth upon the water, and yet they remain unaware of that which, by the
> grace of an omniscient and omnipotent Lord, sustaineth their very existence.
> Indeed, their heedlessness is such that were they asked concerning the water
> and its properties, they would prove entirely ignorant. Thus do We set
> forth comparisons and similitudes, that perchance the people may turn unto
> Him Who is the Object of the adoration of the entire creation.[^1]
I think the human mind cannot contain this Point, since there exist no human
concepts concerning its nature. I also believe, however, that the soul can
know it -- and know it intimately -- to the extent that you would recognize it
without hesitation, no matter how strange its form or appearance. Such as He
describes here:
> Each and every thing, however small, would be to him a revelation, leading
> him to his Beloved, the Object of his quest. So great shall be the
> discernment of this seeker that he will discriminate between truth and
> falsehood even as he doth distinguish the sun from shadow. If in the
> uttermost corners of the East the sweet savours of God be wafted, he will
> assuredly recognize and inhale their fragrance, even though he be dwelling
> in the uttermost ends of the West. He will likewise clearly distinguish all
> the signs of God -- His wondrous utterances, His great works, and mighty
> deeds -- from the doings, words and ways of men, even as the jeweller who
> knoweth the gem from the stone, or the man who distinguisheth the spring
> from autumn and heat from cold. When the channel of the human soul is
> cleansed of all worldly and impeding attachments, it will unfailingly
> perceive the breath of the Beloved across immeasurable distances, and will,
> led by its perfume, attain and enter the City of Certitude.[^2]
If this life is a place of color and form, then the Point of all knowledge is
that Light which, through reflection off of various objects, bestows on the
world those very colors. If all human knowledge and wisdom is like a
wonderful, intricate tapestry, yet it only has beauty because of that Light
shining upon it. If the tapestry were placed in a cave devoid of the Light,
it would appear no different from the surrounding walls of stone.
Whenever a person has discovered this Light, the meaning and reality of the
various colors is revealed; the entire spectrum makes sense, and is seen to
relate back to its Origin. Nor can the color's brilliance be confused with
the objects which reflects it. It's like in the Seven Valleys where He wrote:
> It is clear to thine Eminence that all the variations which the wayfarer in
> the stages of his journey beholdeth in the realms of being, proceed from his
> own vision. We shall give an example of this, that its meaning may become
> fully clear: Consider the visible sun; although it shineth with one radiance
> upon all things, and at the behest of the King of Manifestation bestoweth
> light on all creation, yet in each place it becometh manifest and sheddeth
> its bounty according to the potentialities of that place.[^3]
If the Sun is the origin of all colors and form, and if the world of creation
is known only through Its Rays, then to adore the Sun is to find all knowledge
wrapped up within it, like the many colors that exist in the spectrum of the
Sun's light. But as I said, the mind cannot do this, since it knows things
only through color and form. The soul, on the other hand, is a thing of the
Light itself -- an emanation from that very Sun -- so it can learn the
language of Light, which then illumines all the possibilities of color.
This Light, this spiritual essence which dawns on reality through the Being of
the Manifestations of God, reflects throughout time resulting in the creation
of society and the generation of human understanding. To know Them is to know
the origin of all things, and to disregard Them is to render the various
wonders of the universe an impenetrable mystery.
[^1]: Summons of the Lord of Hosts, para.76
[^2]: Kitáb-i-Íqán, p.197
[^3]: Valley of Unity
Apologies to Godtag:www.johnwiegley.com,2008://4.25742008-07-13T11:00:00Z2009-02-10T07:43:16ZDear God, I am sorry if in the past I have limited our relationship. I'm not used to the way things should be between us. You could say it's all new for me, my soul just being created and such....John Wiegley
Dear God,
I am sorry if in the past I have limited our relationship. I'm not used to
the way things should be between us. You could say it's all new for me, my
soul just being created and such. There are a few things it's taking me a
long time to learn.
For example, I keep forgetting how good You are. I think it's because Your
goodness exceeds my understanding, so I see some of the things You do as
cruelty at first. It leads me to imagine You as fickle, mean-spirited -- even
petty at times. That is why, when I call on You, I don't always expect an
answer. I even assume you ignore me most of the time. I can't think of one
friend who would treat me this badly, but I expect it of You. I've entirely
forgotten how good You are, and I'm sorry about that.
You gave me existence for free, and the ability to work, and the power to
appreciate and take advantage of life. But I still complain about what wasn't
made free, or isn't perfect, or doesn't match my understanding. Give a
starving man a fish and he eats; give a sated man a fish, and he wonders what
else you've got. You created me with so many riches, I fear I keep waiting
for what's in Your other hand...
Lastly, I apologize for putting a name to what You are. This, more than
anything else, has limited our relationship. Mathematicians write Infinity as
a symbol so it can fit in their equations, just as I use "God" to fit You in
my mind. But I've forgotten that You have no end. I try so hard to squeeze
you into my mind and my heart -- to eke out a drop of what You are that I can
call my own -- that I keep forgetting about the power and the beauty and the
untold depths of the Ocean. I confuse myself by what I know of You, and for
that, again, I'm sorry.
When my parents didn't give me everything I wanted, I often screamed that it
was so unfair. How sorely did I fail to perceive their love in those
limitations.
Yours (quite literally), John
اسير نشدنیtag:www.johnwiegley.com,2008://4.25772008-06-23T11:00:00Z2009-02-10T07:43:17Z A mirror cannot capture the light of the sun, nor can words -- but for a moment -- contain all that a heart may feel. Written for my wife Nasim on her birthday yesterday....John Wiegley
A mirror cannot capture the light of the sun,
nor can words -- but for a moment --
contain all that a heart may feel.
Written for my wife Nasim on her birthday yesterday.
Righteousness deserves no focustag:www.johnwiegley.com,2008://4.27272008-06-09T11:00:00Z2009-02-10T07:43:38ZThis entry is dedicated to my friend Sina, considering how many times we've pondered this subject together. The question of right and wrong has always burdened the religious mind. Some consume most of their energy seeking to toe an invisible...John Wiegley
This entry is dedicated to my friend Sina, considering how many times we've
pondered this subject together.
The question of right and wrong has always burdened the religious mind. Some
consume most of their energy seeking to toe an invisible line that, to them,
guards salvation. But I have come to believe that while righteousness fully
deserves our attention, it does not deserve our focus. To explore this idea
further, I offer an analogy.
Today I was driving on the freeway down to Phoenix from Flagstaff. As I
drove, I noticed the lines on the road, the traffic signals, and the signs for
speed and services. I was always aware of these things -- even when I wasn't
aware of them -- because for each and every moment of that three hour drive I
had to stay within lines not too much wider than my own car. Such a narrow
path demands constant, considerable attention.
But the fact was, once I set myself on that course I largely ignored these
restrictions. My focus was on the beauty of the day; on my thoughts; on the
feel of driving which I enjoy so much. The "rules" had my attention, but my
memory of the trip has nothing to do with the rules I followed.
If I had spent the whole trip angonizing over the exact distance I was from
each lane, over my exact speed, over the exact moment when I signaled to
switch lanes -- people would not reward me for my exactitude, but would think
I had a mental disorder. In fact, I bet I was far from "perfect" in my
observance of every rule. However, *the aim was to safeguard my journey, not
judge my performance*.
I think the "rules of the road" are like the rules of life. Religion sets out
a path of spiritual fulfillment and tells us how to successively traverse that
path. Now, I could completely ignore all these rules; I might even get away
with it for a while, but sooner or later it would lead to ruin, just as it
would in my car. There is value to following these laws, even if I don't
enjoy them as much as I would careening along at 120mph.
And if all God had wanted was a group of souls to go from point A to point B,
it would have been more efficient just to create them all at B, safe and
content. But since we have this life ahead of us, there must be a greater
wisdom in traveling than there is in arriving. It's like our joyful memories
of childhood: they are not memories of finally reaching adulthood, but of how
fun it was to be kid! Who we are is not a distinct, end product, but the sum
of all those moments of slow and steady growth. The journey makes us; the
goal was in the traveling itself.
We follow the lines on the road to avoid a crash; we stay on the road so we
can travel at high speeds and avoid damage; we stop at traffic lights to avoid
collision with other travelers: All of these details deserve the utmost
attention and consideration, but not a single one of them deserves our focus.
Life is much more than just what we do or how: it's in the flavor, the
experience and the effect. The real question is: where are these rules taking
us? What is the goal of righteousness? What fruit is to be had from a life
lived rightly?
One Sufi poet said it thus, writing as if quoting God, saying:
> "O handful of earth! If I had not heaven for recompense and hell for
> punishment, would you ever think of me? If there were neither light nor
> fire, would you ever think of me? But since I merit supreme respect you
> must adore me without hope or fear; and yet, if you were never upheld by
> hope or fear would you ever think of me? Since I am your Lord, you should
> worship me from the depths of your heart. Reject all that which is not I,
> burn it to ashes and cast the ashes to the wind of excellence."
The rules of morality do demand continued obedience, but even as important to
success as such rules may be, once the end is accomplished they live on only
in the fact of success itself. Their own substance is forgotten. Does the
virtuoso remember how he keyed the piano? His soul is home only to the music,
and all else a required means to that end.
Purposetag:www.johnwiegley.com,2008://4.27162008-05-16T11:00:00Z2009-02-10T07:43:37Z Whenever I have thirsted though my tongue sought water my soul sought for this. Whenever I have yearned though my dreams dreamt of futures my soul dreamt of this. Whenever I have labored though my efforts aimed higher my...John Wiegley
Whenever I have thirsted
though my tongue sought water
my soul sought for this.
Whenever I have yearned
though my dreams dreamt of futures
my soul dreamt of this.
Whenever I have labored
though my efforts aimed higher
my soul aimed at this.
Whenever I have swooned
though my heart longed for beauty
my soul longed for this.
Experience is a gilt onion.
I peel it back, layer by layer,
and always I find this.
This is the purpose.
This is the meaning.
This is the intent.
Perhaps you wonder what I mean?
In truth, you wonder about this.
i.plead.mmdtag:www.johnwiegley.com,2008://4.29962008-05-08T11:00:00Z2009-02-10T07:44:10ZEdited: 01/03/2009 The humble understand that hell is their proper abode and they measure their worth in grains of ash. Were it not for the questioning of others, they could not bear the impudence of speech. The clothes on their...John Wiegley
Edited: 01/03/2009
The humble understand that hell is their proper abode
and they measure their worth in grains of ash.
Were it not for the questioning of others,
they could not bear the impudence of speech.
The clothes on their backs are borrowed;
their belongings, a momentary indulgence.
Their own names are a token of mercy,
and the dust they tread, a constant reproof.
For the humble see themselves as they would be:
were it not for the mercy of God's grace.
Yet seeing themselves as handiworks of the Beloved --
and knowing perfection proceeds from perfection --
The gnat begins to flap his eagle's wings!
the kitten lets out a lion's roar!
the ant gallops on the field of battle!
and the drop merges with the deep, wide ocean!
The wretched one looks to himself, sees past himself --
finds the fabric of which he is made --
and the Tailor of that human garment.
Should a man fashioned of dust make any claims?
Can the mind, whose own workings are mystery,
assert the right to unfold Mystery?
Our tongues were fashioned by neither hand nor art;
it behooves us to ask the Maker of their proper use.
Humility is when a pupil seeing himself as pupil:
submissive and quiet before the Teacher's call.
As dust, we know the earth to be our home,
from which we arose, to which we return.
As His, we know Paradise to be our destiny.
"And now do I say, `Verily we are from God,
and to Him shall we return.'"
A drop of ink has little reason to boast,
should the poet's stroke immortalize a verse.
For the drop knows: even as they praise him,
their accolades belong to Another.
The beauty of thingstag:www.johnwiegley.com,2008://4.25852008-05-02T11:00:00Z2009-02-10T07:43:17ZAs I look around at the world, I find many things to admire. Certainly there is more misery than joy to be found, and I know few people who bath in happiness for any great length; but there is also...John Wiegley
As I look around at the world, I find many things to admire. Certainly there
is more misery than joy to be found, and I know few people who bath in
happiness for any great length; but there is also so much good... Enough that
sometimes I get excited enough for my friends to laugh at me.
Last night I was regaling a friend about the tastiness of fried plantains
(which, by the way, you have just got to try). I buy them at the store here
in Grenada every time I visit, and in fact just finished another plate of
them. But it's not the plantains themselves that get me excited; it's the
indefinable *quality* of them, a quality of goodness that to my eyes seems
universal of all good things.
For I think the world represents the greatest secret ever told, but that it
takes a lifetime to unravel what is just before our eyes:
> How strange that while the Beloved is visible as the sun, yet the heedless
still hunt after tinsel and base metal. Yea, the intensity of His
revelation hath covered Him, and the fullness of His shining forth hath
hidden Him.[^1]
The real question I want to bring up today is: why are the most religious of
people sometimes the most dour about life? I would think that the more a
person falls in love with God, the more their life would be full of... well,
love, peace, joy, happiness. Instead, religiosity seems to sharpen the eyes
of criticism when regarding this crude plane of dust. The more in love with
perfection people become, the more distasteful they find the imperfections of
the world. Until at last they simply long -- with day following interminable
day -- for their release from this fleshly prison.
I can't really fault them for this, seeing as how the Earth is not held up
very highly in Scripture. When referred to, it is "the dustheap of this
mortal world". Or: "... but a show, vain and empty, a mere nothing, bearing
the semblance of reality. Set not your affections upon it." Or even:
"... the whole world, in the estimation of the people of Bahá, is worth as
much as the black in the eye of a dead ant...".
Ok, so I'm not arguing this point and it would be foolish to try. The world
is just an amalgam of matter-formed energy with no apparent value beyond what
human beings make of it. Only we, in our poetry, eulogize the moon and the
stars and the sun above. The animals are content merely if their bellies are
full. And clearly we're the only ones who think that gold has any value
whatsoever.
What I want to argue is the difference between intrinsic and applied value. I
agree with the sentiment that the Earth is a ball of dirt. I myself am made
from the dust of stars. When Bahá'u'lláh refers to me as a "moving form of
dust", it sounds exactly right.
However, the Prophets themselves came to us in these forms of dust. They did
not appear in the guise of angelic beings made of light -- however much this
may characterize their inward nature. Rather, they appeared as dust so they
could speak to dust, using the language of dust. Yet I know of no pilgrim
who, in the presence of His Shrine in the Holy Land, would declare to me that
dust alone was buried there.
Consider likewise the example of ink and parchment. Parchment is the dried
skin of animals, such as goats or sheep. Ink is (or was) oxidized iron dust
mixed with water. It doesn't get much cruder than that. When the Holy Word
was written down at the time of Jesus Christ, it was fixed on animal skin
using watered dust. If that's all we thought of it, would anyone have paid
attention?
It wasn't the medium itself that had value, but the Message. The medium was
crude enough to be disgusting when you think about it, while the Message was
beyond all hope of words. That which is godly and divine was fixed upon a
point of crude matter. And this was done so we could have access to it, and
translate it into concepts and forms that made sense.
I think the world around us is no different. It practically sings with the
mention of God -- however much it may be, in itself, a ball of dirt. It's the
Message that's key.
Then why do the Scriptures emphasize and re-emphasize this point, over and
over, that the world should not be esteemed? I think it's because humans have
a tendency, over time, to revere the Messenger beyond the Message.
Take the example of parchment and ink again. When something like the Qu'rán
is written on it, the parchment becomes a relic by virtue of its content. And
the older it is, the more revered, until at some point, people make pilgrimage
to it just so they can see it and be near it.
But what if the One Whom it foretells as coming after should arrive at that
place of homage and set the book aflame, declaring that the time of the old
laws had ended? How would the people react? Muhammad did something similar
when he went to the Ka`bih in Mecca and destroyed all the sacred idols of his
forebears, claiming that idolatry was forbidden by God. Here He was, the One
charged with the Message of God, destroying the objects of veneration of His
own people. And this because crude matter, in the form of idols, had come to
mean far more than it should.
There is a constant danger of this kind of misplaced veneration in praising
what is good about the world, for fear that people will mistake the world
itself for what is being praised, rather than the Good reflected from it.
Human beings do the same thing when they imagine themselves to be beautiful;
and yet they, themselves, only manifest Beauty for a while; they are not the
home wherein it dwells.
But with that aside, neither can we throw out the baby with the bath-water.
If we held that all parchment was only the dead skin of animals, the word of
God could never reach us! If we avert our eyes from the world, thinking it to
be dust alone, how can the rays of Beauty reflect from it and reach us? What
medium of the Good will ever be acceptable to us, if we judge it solely by the
good of the vessel alone?
How can we long for God to reach us if inwardly, in that place where we long
for spirit and perfection alone, we unconsciously ask that He not appear to us
in mortal forms? If we deny the functional value of the world at the same
time that we deny its inherent value -- if we persist in this demand -- how
can we ever understand Who Bahá'u'lláh, and the other Prophets, really were?
They stood in relationship to God as the world does to His attributes. Each
is a Messenger bearing a divine Message. It's up to us not to confuse the
two.
> Even as the sun, bright hath He shined,
> But alas, He hath come to the town of the blind![^2]
[^1]: Bahá'u'lláh
[^2]: Rumi
Maturitytag:www.johnwiegley.com,2008://4.26752008-04-01T11:00:00Z2009-02-10T07:43:32ZA cornerstone of maturity is knowing how things will appear through the eyes of another: how others are affected by action and consequence. The perfection of maturity is when those other's eyes are God's....John Wiegley
A cornerstone of maturity is knowing how things will appear through the eyes
of another: how others are affected by action and consequence. The perfection
of maturity is when those other's eyes are God's.
All of us candlestag:www.johnwiegley.com,2007://4.25682007-12-31T12:00:00Z2009-02-10T07:43:15ZLocation: Bahji Sometimes I feel as though we are all candles, placed in a room, intended to illuminate the vast treasures that are contained therein. Some burn brighter, some not at all, but the more of us that do, the...John Wiegley
Location: Bahji
Sometimes I feel as though we are all candles, placed in a room, intended to
illuminate the vast treasures that are contained therein. Some burn
brighter, some not at all, but the more of us that do, the greater the scope
of these grand visions.
But it seems that at some times I am more mesmerized by the lights than I am
by what they reveal. Or I bemoan my own feebleness next to others; or I
feast on my pride next to still others.
But whether I am dim or bright; whether we are few or many; whether I am
held fast in the dust, or in the finest candelabra -- whenever I turn my
eyes toward the aim of our being, and that Face our inner light can best
reveal, it is then that all seems just as it should be.
Today and Tomorrowtag:www.johnwiegley.com,2007://4.28182007-12-29T12:00:00Z2009-02-10T07:43:50ZLocation: The Bahji pilgrim centre It was the first day. Even as the Earth I drew the clouds of self about me; blocking out a Sun Who never ceased to shine. And in that darkness, I wept with great sadness:...John Wiegley
Location: The Bahji pilgrim centre
It was the first day.
Even as the Earth
I drew the clouds of self about me;
blocking out a Sun
Who never ceased to shine.
And in that darkness,
I wept with great sadness:
turning the dust beneath me to cloying mud...
Caught in the mire between me and Thee.
Now it is the second day.
Green shoots have fought their way
through dirt and weighing sod.
From the muck arises a teeming life;
even the worms have purpose.
Tomorrow, it will be the third day.
When the sun shall break from the clouds,
and the mist of self -- of airy substance only --
will know an end to such days as these.
New computing blog is alive!tag:www.johnwiegley.com,2007://4.26032007-09-14T11:00:00Z2009-02-10T07:43:22ZI've recreated my computing blog, and moved it to an appropriate new home, at my professional site, [New Artisans LLC](http://www.newartisans.com/blog/blog.php), the company I use to front all of my computing work. I'm using a Mac application to create and manage...John Wiegley
I've recreated my computing blog, and moved it to an appropriate new home, at
my professional site, [New Artisans LLC](http://www.newartisans.com/blog/blog.php),
the company I use to front all of my computing work. I'm using a Mac
application to create and manage that site named RapidWeaver, which I hope
means that it will be much easier for me to keep up to date! Please read on
there for my latest article on org-mode in Emacs, and TCP/IP-based attacks and
the Linux utility `iptables`.