2000-1-25 11:38:00
I know that I have not answered all of your questions, but I think it is time to get back on the curriculum or we will lose continuity with the subject. I also notice that we have lost about twenty members lately and part of the reason may be the jumping around we've been doing. It is mostly my fault that we have drifted from the subject.
Many of you have asked interesting questions and I have chosen to answer quite a few of them. You may continue to ask off topic subjects, but I am going to try to stay closer to the subject and may answer fewer of them in the future for the sake of the whole.
One of the reasons for our drift is that we've had quite a few Mormons join us lately and I thought it was important to answer some of their questions to acclimatize them to the list, as the thought processes of the old timers in the group is quite different from most fundamental religions.
Sterling has brought up the hot topic of abortion. I know there are several views on the subject by members of the group and it is quite possible that once a discussion of this subject begins that it may last a while. Therefore, my plan is to cover it some time in the future when we can write about it as a group subject and give it the attention it deserves.
Our class subject (which we diverted from about two weeks ago) is the Principles of Discovery of Truth. We are currently on the tenth principle which is:
10. Effective Communication
(A) Communication through perception of the outside world.
(B) Person to person communication.
(C) Communication through the soul.
We have covered (A) and (B) and now we come to perhaps the most important principle. In the past we have talked quite a bit about soul contact on a personal basis and this is all important in personal discovery.
Let us cover briefly how much we can discover without soul contact. We can divide humanity into four stages upon the path:
Stage 1: Learning through the physical computer brain.
Stage 2: Learning through feeling in connection with the brain.
Stage 3: Learning through mind?the use of logic and reasoning in association with stages 1 and 2.
Stage 4: Learning and discovery through the synthesis of soul contact in connection with 1, 2 and 3.
We realize that Stage 4 could be split into several more categories but this would not be productive for our discussion, as soul contact applies to all seekers and talking about some direct contact with the Monad is meaningless to most.
Stage 1: Learning through the physical computer brain. The beginners on the path rely heavily on learning through the brain, but not using the heart and mind to sift through what is right or wrong about what is taken in. This person will trust his teachers and learn from them, but he will absorb the mistakes of the teacher without the discernment of truth from error. Such a person can even get a Ph.D. and have access to all kinds of data in his computer brain, but does not deviate from what has been spoon-fed him through established teachers.
Stage 2: Learning through feeling in connection with the brain. In addition to taking in data this person will sift through the data and tend to accept that which "feels" right and reject that which "feels" wrong. Because his judgments of truth and error are based upon the upside down world of emotion, he will often pick error rather than truth to pursue. The interesting thing is that it is not a bad thing, but all part of the great design for humanity to learn its lessons.
Before we can really embrace that which is true we often have to know through experience that which does not work. If we do not experience that which does not work, it will make it difficult to follow the path of truth with confidence; for without this experience one will always be looking over his shoulder wondering if the choice never made, might have been the better one.
Thus during Stage 2 the pilgrim stumbles again and again, experiencing turbulence after turbulence, suffering agony after agony, traveling through darkness, fear and depression. Finally after making about every mistake that he can make, he comes to the conclusion that he needs more than data and feeling to guide him on the path and he begins to use his mind and think and reason. He then decides to be guided only by that which makes sense, is scientific and sound thinking.
Stage 3: Learning through mind?the use of logic and reasoning in association with stages 1 and 2. At the beginning of this stage he will often be an atheist or totally reject his previous philosophy for a period of time having his whole belief system determined by reason alone. Then after a number of lifetimes his reason leads back to a belief in the possibility of a higher power and he becomes somewhat agnostic.
For a time the entity believes that the mind is the ultimate solution for living a sensible life. The philosophy is simple: If a thing makes sense, and is logical, embrace it. If a teaching or path does not make sense, reject it. He feels much superior to the person at stage two for he doesn't make nearly as many mistakes, but as time passes he keeps running into the same problem which faces him again and again.
His accurate conclusions are based on accurate facts and principles and if he is missing some of the data, then his conclusions will be wrong or perhaps no conclusion can even be drawn. The more he learns, the more he realizes how little he knows, until he reaches a point where it dawns on him that in many cases his mind has not revealed truth, but instead slayed that which is true. At each dead end the mind came to an erroneous conclusion and rejected the truth because it did not fit within his paradigm.
As this person gets the first glimmers of soul contact, he senses that there is some type of inner guide that is greater than mind, but uses both heart and mind. This first contact, then, is an intuition that there are answers within, greater than mind. At first he has difficulty in accepting this idea, but as his frustration with progress on the Path increases geometrically, he keeps returning to this possibility. Finally he has some type of painful crises and has no where else to turn except within, and for the first time he allows himself to believe that there is a contact available that is a sure compass of truth. This belief, and finally faith, after a journey of millions of years opens the door to the true reality.
Stage 4: Learning and discovery through the synthesis of soul contact in connection with 1, 2 and 3. For many, who are below Stage 4, it will seem that truth is a relative thing, for they see that there does not seem to be one other person in the world that agrees with their individualized thought. The discovery made at Stage 4, however, is that it is not truth that is relative, but the perception of truth that is relative.
Any two witnesses who are at the same crime scene demonstrate this principle. The two saw the same events, but perceived them differently and, consequently, describe them differently. The jury has to look for similarities to discover the truth.
At Stage 4 a true principle from A Course in Miracles is discovered. "The truth is true and nothing else is true." 2+2=4 and there is no other number in the universe that is the correct number. 2+2=4 and nothing else is true. If we believe otherwise it is because we perceive incorrectly. Our wrong perception does not alter any truth. Now we can shift our attention to millions of different formulas, or truths, but if tomorrow we are learning that 3+3=6; this does not alter the previous truth. Only our attention has shifted.
In the first three stages 2+2 will often seem to equal 3, 5, 7 or some other number. It seems that everyone has their favorite answer and there is little agreement as to which number is correct; nor does there seem to be any way to prove the correctness of any number. But the world of soul is different. All souls are linked to the One Life, who sees with the same eye of vision, and those who make this contact and seek the answer see that 2+2=4 and nothing else is true.
When soul contact is first made, the pilgrim will often feel lonely and have no one to commune with who has also made the contact. During this period he learns as an individual, but yearns to be one with others like himself.
This brings us to the pivotal point in stage 4 where two seekers become one through the one soul of humanity. He learns the secret of the words of Christ: "Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." The Christ is the Master of the Kingdom of the Soul for soul is the medium of the Christ principle.
Soul contact is the door that brings us to the Oneness Principle that I have often mentioned. When the door is open and the seeker enters in, he becomes one in the body of the soul and two or more who dwell beyond this door together will see the same vision.
Now that this first great hurdle has been crossed a second major obstacle is now in the way. It is fine to enter into the world of soul and then return and be "in the world," but when the consciousness settles down in this reality we tend to get spiritual amnesia and lose sight of the soul.
Losing sight of the soul is especially easy to do in relationships. As far as the isolated individual goes there is not as much to get in the way of soul contact as there is with another human being. Most of us see ourselves as good decent humans trying to do our best, but when we look at someone whom we are in relationship with, it is another matter. They often seem dead wrong, cold hearted, distant, stubborn, mean spirited, and just plain nasty at times. When these negative aspects, which are not part of the Kingdom of the Soul, are focused on, then the soul goes out of focus and the two remain two.
The principle of Oneness is this: 1+1=1. You, being one, communicate through the soul with another who is one; and join through the soul into a unified life where you discover that the two of you are a part of one soul with one vision. Thus 1+1=1. This mathematical formula will be rejected by mind without soul, but makes perfect sense to the soul infused personality.
Questions: Feel free to answer part or all. Do you believe that you have experienced soul contact with another person? If so why is it that you were able to do this and what did it feel like?
Do you feel one in the soul with any other members on the list?
What are the barriers that prevent two people from entering soul contact together and experiencing the Oneness Principle? How do we overcome these barriers?
Copyright 2000 by J.J. Dewey, All Rights Reserved