Veritas Administration – Page 74

The Energy of Life

… electricity, which is a generic type of energy and therefore ‘impersonal’. When it runs through a toaster or a fan, the device would then mistakenly identify itself as being the primary source and not realize it is only an outlet unit. Without the ‘life’ energy of electricity, each receiving unit would be inert.

… To continue the analogy, the primordial source of life energy is independent of localization as units. The units assume themselves to be the primary rather than merely expressions of the universality. The energy of life is a radiance from the field of consciousness… The capacity for Enlightenment is merely a consequence of consciousness returning to its source…

The ego/self identifies with its various functions and qualities and labels them by ownership as ‘me’ and says that is ‘who I am’.

From Discovery of the Presence of God, p. 211-212

Silence and Peace Can be Chosen

The ego/mind is attracted to novelty and therefore searches frantically for interesting form and sensation. This can be refused and replaced by interest in the silent, formless substrate that is always present and merely has to be noticed. It is comparable to the silent background without which sound could not be discerned.

The phenomenal world is like a giant Rorschach card – the figure ‘means’ whatever one wishes it to. Sound is discernible only because it is superimposed against the background of silence, and thus form can only be recognized because it is superimposed within formless space. Likewise, the content of mind is only identifiable because of its formless, silent background screen. The experiencer can thus be directed to focus on the silent, formless backdrop. The substrate, because of its silence, has an innate feeling of peace. Silence and peace can be chosen, appreciated, valued, and welcomed as relief from the constant tension of the ever-watchful expectancy of the experiencer function. When peace is more valued than the entertainment of the insatiable ego, it will be discovered to be ever present and available.

From Discovery of the Presence of God, ch. 15, pg. 247-248

The Mechanism of Addiction

The mechanisms of the human organism are also regulated by the neurochemistry and structure of the brain, with its inherent pain/pleasure responses. This self-actuating reward mechanism is another trap that has to be bypassed. Human ingenuity has baited this mechanism by the discovery of artificial reward/pleasure devices, such as artificial substances to which the chemistry of the brain is vulnerable and reprogrammable; thus, there is even an inherited genetic propensity to addiction that then eclipses and replaces all other goal seeking.

… Although this recapitulation of the biological roots of the ego may seem obvious, the purpose is to increase awareness of the origin and importance of these mechanisms that are inherent and inborn rather than personally self-created. … It can be accepted compassionately as such without condemnation and is therefore neither good nor bad. Mankind lives in the realm of tension between emotional instincts and the counterbalancing power of spiritual awakening (i.e., the animal/angel conflict).”

From I: Reality and Subjectivity p. 111

There is No Happiness Outside One’s Self

There is anger and resentment, as well as fear at loss of control when loss is involuntary and unexpected. Disruption of life by the unexpected also creates anxiety at the forced readjustment, which may require major decision-making. … all suffering and emotional pain result from resistance. Its cure is via surrender and acceptance, which relieve the pain.

… A basic truth to be realized in the process is that there is no possible, actual source of happiness outside one’s self. Loss really brings long-standing illusions to the surface, along with opportunities to lessen its dominance in the psyche. The ego has a multitude of attachments to beliefs, slogans, objects, people, titles, money, conveniences, entertainment, furnishings, sentimental tokens, and memories of all the above. The ego/mind cherishes that which is temporary and transitory because it is valued as ‘special’ and therefore sees it as a ‘source’ of happiness.

Paradoxically, loss is simultaneously freedom and the opening of new options. Loss services inner adaptations and qualities that represent opportunities for growth. Simultaneously, the mind regrets and would like to undo change and return to the comfort of former circumstances, but evolutionary developmental growth is insistent.

… All forms of loss are a confrontation to the ego and its survival mechanisms. All aspects of human life are transient; therefore, to cling to any aspect eventually brings grief and loss. Each incident, however, is an opportunity to search within for the source of life, which is ever present, unchanging, and not subject to loss or the ravages of time.

Grief or loss, like any stressful situation in life, can be seen as a valuable growth opportunity and a time for reassessment of values and goals. If this is followed, eventually it is possible to let go of all attachments, including belief systems, and experience the source of happiness that emanates from within.

From Transcending the Levels of Consciousness: The Stairway to Enlightenment p. 94-96

Grist for the Mill

The person who is involved in spiritual work is always looking at what is occurring in life, seeing it as the teacher, as the grist for the mill. What is happening represents that which is being worked on, so an acute catastrophe would just be a continuation of the process that is going on anyway. As a result, the person who is intensely involved in spiritual work would then see it as a golden opportunity, painful and regretful perhaps, but one of great benefit. The essential nature of spiritual work is to remain focused on what arises from instant to instant and become aware of ‘what’ is experiencing and where it is being experienced.

… Out of this experience comes an ever greater willingness to rely on that inner Presence, with less and less reliance on the small self. Less frequently, then, does the person look to the small self to handle life’s problems, as there is a progressive willingness to surrender to one’s higher Self. The progressive loss of identification with the small self and the increasing identification with the Presence, along with the willingness to surrender life and all of its aspects to the will of God, become the very core of the person’s spiritual exercise and experience.

The acute catastrophic experience is a key learning opportunity that teaches us to go to the very core, to the very essence of the experience, to see what it is and handle it at the level of experiencing within the energy field of consciousness itself. There is the willingness to surrender and to let go of wanting to change what happened ‘out there’. There is the letting go of wanting to control by thinking about it and trying to handle it with the intellect and the emotions. There is the willingness to surrender to the essence of the experience without calling it anything, or labeling it, or putting names on it. There is the willingness to handle the energy field of it and go directly to the inner experience. The surrender to the inner experience is the open doorway to the experience of something greater than the small personal self.

From Healing and Recovery p. 258-259