Silence is the vestibule to the space of experiencing 

 

Silence is not the first language of God; Experiencing is the language of God.

D. Carroll

It has been said “God’s first language is Silence;” This famous quote has been attributed to St. John of the Cross and Father Thomas Keating, Keating elaborating further; “Silence is God's first language; everything else is a poor translation.”  Is It?

Is that the case? In many spiritual traditions the universe was created by God speaking, i.e. In the Bible, Genesis: and God said, “Let there be light,” … And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” … Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, these are just a few excerpts from Biblical creation. Then there is the word, Om (Aum), it is considered the elemental sound of the creation of the universe encompassing all of creation, existence, and consciousness. Another example from ancient Egypt is “Hu” (ḥw), it was the creative utterance, the deification of the first word, the word of creation. These are examples of God speaking for creation. The Bible makes a further point of it in John 1 King James Version;1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, often referred to as the “Logos”. It certainly seems, with these examples, particularly with “in the beginning was the Word”, there was speaking/sound.

Science itself is theorizing the creation of the universe, came from a “singularity” (Oneness) and was created from an expansion called “The Big Bang Theory” (Cosmic Microwave background), originally and interestingly put forth by a Belgian Catholic priest, mathematician and physicist, Georges Édouard Lemaître.  Creation through the expansion of sound (vibration).

The cosmic microwave background is remarkably uniform over the entire sky, but tiny variations reveal the imprints of sound waves triggered by quantum fluctuations in the universe just moments after it was born. These imprints, appearing as splotches in the Planck map, are the seeds from which matter grew, forming stars and galaxies.

Universe Older Than Previously Thought                                Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA Planck spacecraft project.

Both spiritual philosophies and science put forth that creation came from sound.

So, can the documentation of spiritual philosophies and science putting forth creation came from sound be reconciled with the metaphors of “Silence is God's first language” and God’s first language is silence; everything else is a poor translation.”? I believe the answer is yes.

My answer may be considered nuanced, yet it broadens and still encompasses the concept of God’s language being silence and still one of sound/speaking/vibrations.

Rather than the metaphor of God’s first language being silence, that on its surface, is like a paradoxical Zen koan, it may be stated as God’s first language is experiencing. Words are birthed in and from experience. Experiencing also transcends words. It leads to silence, but does not originate in silence., experiencing cannot truly be put into words, words would be a “poor translation.”

As an example, consider the Grand Canyon or any personal awing experience. You could read the greatest word smith’s depiction of the Grand Canyon or see pictures and videos of the Grand Canyon that could be inspiring, or of any such event. Yet, these would pale compared to going and “experiencing” for yourself the Grand Canyon. It is the experiencing of it that goes so far beyond any words or pictures. In experiencing the awe, we would want to share the awe with others in words, symbols, or images and yes, it will be a poor translation of the experience, but one with hope for others experiencing. We would also resonate with others with such experiencing where words would not be needed.

 

 

From this perspective silence is not the first language of God; experiencing is the first language of God; everything else is a poor translation. Embrace the experiencing.

 

 

The expulsion from Paradise as an act of Love and compassion.

William Blake: The Expulsion. public domain

 

Many know the Biblical tale of Adam and Eve with God in the Garden of Paradise. The second version of humankind’s creation. In the beginning all was perfect and united, God spoke and walked with them in Paradise, and all was in union. God gave Adam and Eve only one requirement or caution, really: do not eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil for surely you will die.  This is not so much a commandment but a safety warning. Note: there were special trees in the center of Paradise, the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. God’s safety warning was only for the tree of knowledge.

As the tale went, Eve ate from the tree and so did Adam: ^“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked…” (Genesis 3:7 KJV). The impact of this created the new feeling of being naked and with this, feeling ashamed, a feeling that they did not have before. Their saga continues with God walking through Paradise calling out their names and asking; “Where are you?”  I would write since God created all the universe and was omniscient, this would seem a puzzling and unnecessary question.

Fortunately, Fr. Thomas Keating pondered this question and gave his answer in his book: “The Human Condition” (1999 Paulist Press),   …“As soon as they fell into a discriminating mind by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they became self-conscious; they experienced themselves not only as separate from God but also, because of their sin (missing the mark), as alienated from God.” (P.10-11)

As described, they became; self-conscious (how many of us have said I feel so self-conscious when feeling embarrassed or isolated from a group), separate and alienated from God. They had lost their union their Oneness with God and Divine Reality. That is why God asked them where they were.

Adam and Eve’s sad tale continues with their expulsion from Paradise. Why? For concern they would now eat from the tree of life. “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...” (Genesis 3:22 KJV). This was an ultimate concern, not a punishment. The removal from Paradise now included the hazard warning that if they ate from the tree of life they would live forever, they could have before, but now, after eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, (duality/separation) if they missed the mark again and ate of the tree of life; they would forever be separated from the union with God and the Divine Ground.  It was to protect and save them. This was an act of love and protection not punishment.

Such an expulsion by God was not done out of anger and punishment, yes, loved ones would be upset when a child does a dangerous act but out of distress and for the safety of the child, from one who understands the consequences of the dangerous act. Think of it as a loved one locking up the medicine cabinet to protect a child. Afterwards, I would state that God was then explaining to them the consequences of their own action they would have to deal with, this was not his response to their actions. God then, in love, acted to prevent further harm to them; removing them from Paradise, now lost, and the tree of life. God, knowing the gravity of the danger, guards’ paradise to protect them. This is like incidents in our lives and of loved ones where it is often said; the damage is done, now what can we do to fix it. Keeping infinite avenues open to come home, if we choose.

This is not a tale of anger and punishment, it is a tale of Divine love, compassion, and reuniting. Humanity being given free will to know, understand, to be peers and choose to be friends of God. “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” John (15: -15 KJV)

Often the “fall” in paradise has been preached as sin, evil, unworthiness, and punishment from a wrathful God. Does that make any sense? The same God that is describe as all loving and compassionate. Fear and wrath separate us; love and compassion unite us. It is more about being unready, than unworthy.

Remember the “Prodigal son” in the New Testament Luke (15:11-32)? A family loved one’s leaves home (separates himself) to strike on his own and squanders his birthright and “falls”.  After many painful experiences and trials, he realizes his errors. After these difficult learning experiences, he humbly returns and asks to be taken in, even as a servant. His father runs to him embracing him as a son and friend, not a servant and has a huge celebration for his return. Sounds more like a God of love and compassion just as presented here in the garden of paradise.

God is not angry or punishing anyone, we are more than able to do that to ourselves. God, in love, has protected us from permanent separation. We are given infinite opportunities to grow, to experience, to reunite in that unitive Divine Ground that called God, through free will as a family member and as a friend.  This is the mystic’s journey.

As an epilogue to this different interpretation to humanities fall/separation from unity, I would direct the reader’s attention to the article’s image of Sir William Blake’s art: The Expulsion. Interpretations of Blakes depiction include that they are being gently led out by the Archangel, Michael. He provides the grace and guidance necessary to travel through the physical world, where they will be to return to a higher state of redemption.

 

Pre-dawn ocean, waves sighing as they caress the shore. Early morn spiritual light preceding the sun; feeling its warm gentle hand on my head in blessing, moving to my forehead in anointment, then – Oneness. In an ocean of light, as a drop of light in the ocean and the ocean in the drop. The body does sing electric! All is experienced in clear knowing. Joy, laughter, ecstasy, an ultimate intimacy with the Empyrean. A choir of light in eternal celebration of our destiny.

 

 

 

Faith; Part II: A lesson: Knowledgeable faith versus blind faith.  Knowledgeable faith beyond hesitation

Some Time back I wrote an article about Faith. Donald B. Carroll: Faith

 A brief recap: 

 Faith goes far beyond its name.  Like another small word; atom, describing such a small particle that it can only be seen with some of the world’s most powerful microscopes, yet, split this minute particle and immense power flows out. The power in the atom pales compares what is contained in faith.

There are dictionary definitions of faith; a firm belief in something for which there is no proof. Perhaps the Bible gives one of the better definitions of faith; Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11.1)

 The Biblical definition and General Semantics coming closer to the mark realizing that the being, the concept of faith transcends physical proof and embrace the greater reality of mind and spirit.  Here is one of the first steps to measure how much faith is applied, practiced in our personal lives.  For faith is an experience, it is living and growing, it is active, not passive, it is participating with each other and the universe acting on its power and concept.

In the first article I wrote of the knowledgeable experienced faith as in the parable of the Centurion.

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant [Luke 7 International Standard Version (ISV)]

public domain

Jesus and the centurion

“6 So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to tell Jesus, “Sir, stop troubling yourself, because I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 That’s why I didn’t presume to come to you. But just say the word, and let my servant be healed, 8 because I, too, am a man under authority and have soldiers under me. I say to one ‘Go’ and he goes to another ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my servant ‘Do this’ and he does it.”

9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found this kind of faith!””

This Roman centurion did not just sit back and wait for the Master or the universe to stroll by and aid him; He Acted!  Even though he felt he was not worthy he participated and took action and, in his actions, he lived his great faith. Experienced faith.

The Centurion knew of Jesus, his spiritual philosophy, and his miracles, including healing, he was knowledgeable of him and, with that, believed. He acknowledged and understood, in his terms, this power, this spirit. He understood that balance of knowledge, trust, and authority combined with faith that makes it living and growing.

Ideally with these words and with remembering the knowing of faith we already have in our being we can incorporate them into our daily living and being, acting in faith and growing in faith.  In participation our faith will develop, will expand exponentially, like the splitting of an atom we can split open the word of faith into an ever-expanding transcendental experience of light for ourselves and others leading us to our ultimate destination of the Empyrean light.

This example is an important one. On occasion I have seen people, well intended, stop and say I have faith, and I am just going to sit here and wait for God to show me or give me a sign for what to do next.  I have been guilty of this misunderstanding of faith, in the past myself. To stop working and acting on faith, sitting back, and waiting to be guided. This is not going into the experience, the application of a living, active, act of faith. This is not participating with spirit, as the Cayce would term it; to become Co-creators with God.  To put it another way, if guidance is needed; get up and go, ask someone for directions, or go seeking a map.

Faith is not something that is passive; it is active living participation in our daily experiences and beliefs, which is how faith grows to move mountains.  It is even at the core of the act of communion.  The etymology of the word communion is mutual participation.

 Such lack of participation could be considered by another phrase we are probably familiar with; Blind Faith.

Faith Part II: The importance of trusting knowledgeable faith versus blind faith. Blind faith is a type of certainty that has one stop seeking.  Certainty can stop growth, evolution, certainty is not the same as trust. Trust is related to belief, hope and the knowing we have.  It aids in growing in a knowledgeable faith.

An example of the doubting of such knowledgeable faith could be the Greek myth tragic tale of Orpheus and Eurydice.  Orpheus was a son of a Greek muse (generally goddesses of inspiration of all the sciences and arts), his true love was Eurydice.  They married and she died shortly afterwards.  He was so in love and inconsolable over this he went to Hades (god of the underworld) to find her.  Orpheus was known for his divine music and charmed Cerberus, the three headed dog guardian of the underworld to pass though.  He then enchanted with his music and love, Hades, the god of the underworld, to allow him to bring Eurydice back to the world of the living.  The only caveat was that he could lead her out of the underworld, with her following behind, but he could not look back until they were in the living world. Orpheus agreed.

public domain

Eurydice be taken back to the underworld       

They traveled a long time on long roads and were nearing the living world and he worried that she was still following him.  As they came near to the living world he doubted and turned to see if she was there; she was.  Since he violated his oath, she was drawn back into the underworld.

This is a sad tale but a lesson of faith at the opposite end of the Centurion's faith.  Orpheus knew the Greek gods, he was part of them and their realms and even risk himself to negotiate for his true love, Eurydice, he had such knowledge. Then, even with all this knowledge, he lost faith and lost his love, falling back into the darkeness. Both the centurion and Orpheus had knowledge and experience to embrace faith; also, through mind and spirit. It brings faith beyond hesitation.

This is presented as example and differences between blind faith and knowledgeable faith and even the challenges of knowledgeable faith. Knowledgeable faith evolves and grows, and it is acted upon through our experiences. When such faith is then applied in an experience, the time for hesitation is past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are I AM’s in the I AM. Our Fractal Nature

The awakening to Oneness

knowing ourselves to be ourselves yet One with the Whole

                                                                                       image: D. Carroll

A challenge in anyone’s spiritual journey, at some point, seems to arrive at our individual consciousness and one’s relationship with thoughts of God/Godhead/Universal Consciousness.  Am I separate? Who am I? What happens to me if I am one with Universal Consciousness? I am advised to surrender myself; will I still exist? These can be some of the disquieting thoughts of many who have been raised in a culture of separation reality of identification of I, versus not I, duality reality versus and non-duality reality.

In turning to both Religion/Spirituality, (consider religion as institutionalized spirituality, which unfortunately sometimes sacrifices the individual uniqueness of such experiences) and Science for answers, ultimately both sides have to answer; it is still a mystery.  In religion the mystery is considered unsolvable; one is often told to take it on faith.   The concept of faith transcends physical proof and embraces the greater reality of mind and spirit from the religious view; importantly, not a blind faith but a knowledgeable faith.  For faith is an experience, therefore observable and often repeatable, it is living and growing, it is active, not passive, it is participating with each other and the universe acting on its power and transmuting its concept into a known experience.

 In science consciousness and reality are generally viewed as mysteries not yet solved, possibly never to be solved. One may ask how science explores such questions as consciousness and reality.  Science does so in trying to understand what consciousness is and how and where the universe/reality exists and comes from. In each example there is no consensus. For consciousness tumultuous debates continue as to whether consciousness is Prime (acting as the fundamental ground of reality rather than just a byproduct of physical brain processes) or in other words, just an epiphenomenon (a subjective experience of conscious thought as a byproduct of the physical brain neural processes).

Religions commonly approach consciousness as an individual soul, an individual consciousness, an offspring and portion of God or universal consciousness, a unique yet unitive aspect of Godhead.  This explanation is interestingly akin to the discoveries by science of fractals. A fractal is described as self-similar shapes across different scales that can continually reiterate themselves in such a manner to create an infinite perimeter in a finite area. This definition alone illustrates the paradoxes (mysteries) in scientific inquiry, infinite perimeters in finite areas. Science has many examples of fractals; one can view such as Mandelbrot sets and Sierpinski triangles. Further, science states that they can be found throughout nature such as ferns, trees, leaves, lightning, coastlines, clouds, snowflakes, and seashells.  Nature fractals include those throughout the human body such as in the branching of lungs, blood vessels, and nervous systems.  It is also posited that DNA appears to be fractally based.

The comparison of Fractals in science and spirituality is inevitable, self-similar shapes with infinite perimeters in finite areas throughout nature.  Then universal consciousness with individual consciousness made in its own image, the infinite in the finite.  The individual I AM united with the great I AM.

For an interesting personal experience of fractals, from both perspectives, try, safely, placing two dressings room mirrors face to face to create a reflection of the mirrors reflecting each other and you “ad infinitim” within their frame.

                                                              image: Public Domain

I believe science and religion will, over time, resolve many of the differences with shared observations, though different perspectives.

The religious approach is more of an immanent, individual, internal process where science tends towards separate external observation.  As an example, the experiences of meditation (an internal experience); meditation in various forms have been in existence for thousands of years with its adherents extolling not only the spiritual experience of the practice but the physical health and mental the practice also provided.  Science saw these claims as subjective and anecdotal, primarily because they could not observe the actual workings of the experience, then the EEG (Electroencephalography) was invented in the 1920’s and further refined in the 1950’s. (And still is being refined) Now the experience of meditation can be observed and measured. Now science will say it is “real”.  It also was real for all those thousands of years before also, just not accepted by science because there was no equipment to measure it.  That did not make it spurious.

This example shows the limitations of both religion and science.  Religion, the spirituality of its purpose, is not easily measured, it is primarily an immanent consciousness experience, not easily repeatable or measurable, and this does not mean it is not real.  Science is bound by repeatable, observable, measurable evidence and limited by its need for equipment to measure.

As for the fabric of the universe and reality, in general, spiritual view of reality suggests that the universe is more than material, that it is primarily rooted in a deeper, spiritual dimension that governs existence, viewing the physical world as a temporary or subordinate experience to an eternal, spiritual truth. (Sounding more like the holographic theory) It emphasizes that true reality is found through conscious, divine (universal consciousness) connection. Spiritual perspectives emphasize that the ultimate, true nature of existence is divine and is both immanent and transcendent, rather than merely ordinary or temporal, that all life is interconnected, of universal unity; that "the kingdom of God is within you," making spiritual reality an internal experience of consciousness.

In science, physics, where Newtonian physics (mechanics) works on the surface, quantum physics (mechanics) is the most recent avenue to plumb such mysteries at a deeper level, finding evidence towards an ultimate reality that is connected; entangled, even doing so, still with no consensus and, if anything, finding more mysteries.  Many such physicist are noting that their results are sounding more like spiritual writings found in such writings as the Hindu Vedas, mystic Judaism and Christianity. (It does seem to me, in a wry irony, Newtonian physics is ceding to what can be seen as a physics of immanent reality analogous to spiritual reality.)

The perspectives of defining reality: Religion is fairly clear about; that it is primarily rooted in a deeper, spiritual dimension that governs existence, viewing the physical world as a temporary or subordinate experience. Science using observable measurable data is creating their own mystery of a deeper reality beyond its observing or measuring, other than it is “missing”; Modern physics only explains and observes about 4 to 5 % of the material (visible) universe (dark matter and energy make up the rest). They cannot measure or observe over 95% of the universe.  So, whether it is the Spiritual perspective of the science perspective it seems were a barely in engaging in true reality in our daily lives.

And why is this? Perhaps the best suggestion for this is from Aldous Huxley.

 “Each person is at each moment capable of remembering all that has ever happened to him (her) and of perceiving everything that is happening everywhere in the universe.  The function of the brain and nervous system is to protect us from being overwhelmed and confused by the mass of largely useless and irrelevant knowledge by shutting out most of what we should otherwise perceive or remember at any moment and leaving only that very small and special selection which is likely to be practically useful. According to such a theory, each one of us is potentially Mind at Large.

But in so far as we are animals, our business is at all costs to survive. To make biological survival possible, Mind at Large has to be funneled through the reducing valve of the brain and nervous system. What comes out at the other end is a measly trickle of the kind of consciousness which will help us to stay alive on the surface of this particular planet.”

“Most people, most of the time, know only what comes through the reducing valve and is consecrated as genuinely real by the local language.” Certain persons, however, seem to be born with a kind of by-pass that circumvents the reducing valve.  In others temporary bypasses may be acquired either spontaneously, or as the result of deliberate “spiritual exercises or through hypnosis…”

Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley p.8

Ultimately, here in the study of the nature of the universe and the study of ourselves the sciences and religions can begin to be reconciled. Both explore these natures from microscopic to macroscopic levels with all the paradoxes and mysteries encountered. The fractal concepts and examples in nature also beautifully illustrate such religious thoughts as everyone is a unique consciousness (soul) yet also one with God (Universal consciousness). It is something to ponder; a fractal Universal consciousness having infinite consciousness’s within it.  I Am’s In IAM.

Sciences and religions can be collaborative and synergetic in understanding nature.  To quote Albert Einstein; "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind".

And others:

To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wildflower. William Blake

Deism is the belief that nature and God are one and the same thing. If you study nature, you're getting insights about God.  Dr. Bruce H. Lipton

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. Albert Einstein

He who understands nature walks close with God. Edgar Cayce ECR 1904-2

 

The Mystic Journey

Whether it is felt in Rodin's; The Kiss, St. Teresa's Ecstasy, or Solomon's "Song of Songs".

The Mystic Journey is towards the Ultimate Intimacy.