The Path Of The Teacher And The Path Of The Student

Remember that all teachers get to the point where they get the feeling they must withdraw. Sometimes this is called - the test of power but there has been confusion about what that means.

The test of power does not mean that the teacher is being tested. It means that the students must show that by their interest in the teachings, by their application in practical and benevolent ways of the teachings that they are then prepared to either pick up some of what the teacher has been teaching and teach it themselves or prepare to act on their own inspirations and see if those inspirations will lead to benevolent applications and most importantly benevolent outcomes.

Of course along the way of benevolent outcomes one does not always feel benevolent or experience benevolence but if one says that - the discomforts one feels are the price one pays, for example, for that benevolence one can easily fall into the trap that says we must strive for this or that and disregard all the suffering and we miss - then you see - the person misses the fact that the discomfort is meant to deter you from that path.

So that is why progress progresses so slowly because you have to feel every bit of the way - is this the best path and if you cannot find a path in any direction that is best or feeling as good as the one you are on in whatever you are pursuing then it is safe to say that one must simply wait.

Sometimes waiting gets a person nervous but eventually there will be a means to move on.

The best teacher of this is water. You will see sometimes a trickle of water or a stream when perhaps a dry stream is beginning to be replenished and sometimes that water will come along moving rapidly and then get to an area where it cannot move. Perhaps there is some block there, perhaps there is a hole or something then this water fills that up and it waits until it can get over, around, under or through that block but until then it waits but it builds up a certain amount of pressure behind that block.

In this way water teaches that the stress it feels is its desire to go to where its going but at the same time while it is waiting it builds up strength in numbers and it creates a certain amount of companionship with its fellow portions and in time it is able to get through, around, above (meaning over) or under that block and move on and in time the block itself will be either worn down by the passage of that water or will simply no longer be a factor.

This is seen very often in geology where one sees so called rainbow bridges of stone where there was once a path of water that went under and left that former block of stone in what was left of it as that bridge. So one learns that the pathway of water is often a good teacher.

Of course since human beings do not live their entire existence in a natural form - since cultures do not always cater to what is natural for human beings and sometimes things are stated to be natural which are either adaptations to what exists or just as often they are attempts by this group or that group to say that something is natural when in fact there is an agenda at work - so one must always have the opportunity to observe nature.

What are the animals doing? If you do not have deer or elk or something like that living around you then what are the little animals doing - the many leggeds. How are they acting? What do they do - but if there is some doubt about what it means to the human being then you can always observe - what is water doing?

If you are living in a dry area then you might have to use - what is the wind doing - alright. That will often help. I know it is not always easy to interpret but I will attempt to help.

Goodlife.

An Homage To Nature By Man

Patrice has asked an interesting question a little while ago on this post. I've decided to put up the answer here on the blog in case others of you have similar interests or concerns. First his question, then the answer.


Dear Robert,
We are living just in the middle of aa potentially very beautiful park in Tokyo. Lots of old trees, there is also a big artificial lake that attract seasonal birds.I said the place is potentially beautiful because I feel the trees and all the creatures, even the water are not really considered as sacred, the result is that the water of the pond is getting quite rotten trees are weakening and the crows assemble almost everyday and shout in group like if they were releasing anger or stress. There is a Shinto temple in the middle of the park but it feels like if they do things very formally. Any suggestion about a way to help this beautiful place to regenerate and feel loved.

Patrice


Patrice, thank you for your comment. This is what I recommend. First relax and sit someplace so that you can look at that park and lake and birds. Don't be in the park. Just sit someplace where you can look at a distance.

Then close your eyes and say this living prayer. I recommend you say, "I am asking that the spirits of flight redeem and energize this shrine to the world of nature and bring to it the heart intended to be illustrated by this demonstration of mankind's homage to nature."
After you say that relax for a few minutes and when the energy fades let it go and go on.

Keep in mind my friend, that this is ultimately an homage by man to nature but it is not an actual allowance of that to which it pays homage is it. So don't be attached to the natural processes of Earth reclaiming and recycling in the way Earth does.

You can if you like - the next time you're in the country also say this, "I am asking that the country be respected and allowed to remain in its natural state for its own sake as well as to be visited by human beings who respect its naturalness and learn to respect their own in the most benevolent way."

Goodlife my friend.

Understanding Mother Earth: Fire

There is a way Mother Earth creates renewal and I think we all know what that is. It is not a pleasant thing in most cases but it is used in ways that do incorporate a form of cleansing.

It is known, at least in the past, that when doctors and other health practitioners need to use instruments to safely work on their patients that they use heat in order to clean their instruments and there are other professions that use heat in order to say - work metal so that it can be made into forms that serve us in some way - and yet what about Mother Earth.

She gives this example of heat by creating fire through lightning or volcanism and other methods. For instance there might be a reflection off of something - a piece of glass, a piece of metal - some dry brush and poof. In other words all fires are not caused by human carelessness. No, a great many of them are caused by natural means.

Mother Earth does not have a resentment against life on her body - plants, animals, people but she does require that she uses her actual elements to keep her body refreshed.

I am not saying that fire is good in all cases for it causes a great deal of suffering to us all and that cannot be avoided and yet we are fascinated by it are we not. We are so fascinated that it is not unusual for people to build a fire in a fireplace even in the warm months simply because of the pleasure we get looking at a log burn, even a manufactured log and the way the flames go.

There is a certain mystical attraction to the flame and I will say a little more about that just now. Fire, you see, burns on its own accord. It goes where it is attracted to, not unlike water, and it moves in a way that recreates form.

We consider at the deep level of our own being that the recreation of form must have something to do with Creator. After all, Creator sparks life on our planet with that soul that is in each and every one of us - plants, animals, humans - yes and therefore when we see an element that is of Mother Earth recreating form it strikes a familiar chord within us and as long as it is recreating that form in a way that feels safe to us we feel as if we are observing something almost holy in action.

And yet, even though some religions identify fire as a element of change wrought by Creator there are others that consider fire to be - yes that element but also to be considered something holy and sacred. Hence candles in churches, temples and other places of worship.

It is a ongoing conundrum however why we consider that the use of fire as a punishment or as a way of enforcing our will on others is also used. My feeling is that fire is meant to be honored as a natural means of renewal that is a part of Mother Earth's personality and considering the damage that it can do as well as its beauty and its capacity for renewal my feeling is that it is best to allow it to be yes - adjudicated if you like - to be provided by those beings who feel the most confident in expressing it as part of their personalities.

Creator yes, Mother Earth yes but not so much something that we who feel we have the capacity to control it but often it leaps out of our control - perhaps its not something that we can yet express as part of our own personalities.

Given that, it has an eternal quality and in my experience the eternal is best left to beings who are eternal.

I am not saying - don't use fire. I am saying use it with respect, use it with caution and recognize that it is all about the change of life we all go through, the cycles of life we all go through and the nature of the re-formation of matter by eternal spirit. Respect yes, honor yes and keep our distance with that respect. Fire - a element of nature.

Goodlife to you all and goodnight.