"Man cannot live by bread alone"

[WofthesunEofthemoon]

The above quote from the New Testatment, Matthew 4:4 seems to me to describe the urge we have to pursue our spiritual yearnings. Too often, if we feel that the traditional religions do not offer what we are looking for, we search through the so called 'teachings' of 'masters', such as 'Ramtha', or other the organisations, such as the one which I joined, then left, over 30 years ago.

Like many of you who have been left with a huge gap in your lives after the disillusionment of the so-called 'answer-to-everything', I had to go through the extremely painful process of finding my spiritual path/purpose once again, without recourse to the ideas of others. It goes without saying that my first job, as it were, was to rediscover the joys and purpose to ordinary, everyday life, along with shouldering its problems and burdens. Recognising these to be a major part of our existence and reality within any incarnation on this planet, therefore of primary importance (should one either believe in reincarnation, or just believe that we are here for one time, only) was a timely wake-up call for me. I really needed to firmly re-ground myself.

However, my spritiual yearnings hadn't died - although I realised that I had to cease from imagining that any other fallible person, born of this earth, with all that that entails, could possibly tell me what all that was about, in its entirety. They were all as likely to be incorrect as I might be, bearing in mind that we are all seeking for wisdom within the light of our own aspects, and our own personalities, not to speak of our own baggage.

Please may I share with you a piece which 'came to me' when I was in great confusion and abandonment, searching for my purpose. It must be read bearing in mind what I have said about a writer's personality and personal baggage.

The Cathedral

Help me to build a Cathedral, Dear Lord,
To fashion every niche and cornice well and skilfully,
To lay each patient stone with measured step,
Whilst guided by Thy Mason's Art,
That it may be a monument to man
And fitting gift of love to Thee.

Yet, as I labour on the way to learn my craft,
May I handle all my faults courageously
And learn to build anew, with greater understanding,
Drawing from Thy knowledge.

May each stone and rubble core
Be founded in Thy strength and might,
Each aspiring pinnacle to rsoar with Wisdom's beauty
And may each line and angle lie aligned in endless Truth.

May corbelled domes and arching vaults give space
And airy symmetry,
The windows shedding golden light, expanding hidden vistas.
And may the whole be structured sound
In mathematical proportion;
|Majors, minors,
Harmonics, melodics,
With cross-beams set in logic;
Yet that which is illogical, vibrate with intuition.

All Principles amassed in One;
Chaos, perfection,
Order, imperfection,
The temporal and infinite
All reaching out to Thee!

May it be achingly lovely,
Resoundingly pleasing,
To inspire with joy;
And to remind me to be, unto Thee, everlastingly thankful!

Love to you all

WofthesunEofthemoon

[Another Dimension60]

Thank you Wolf...Thank you.
I would add one line to the end - to sing your Note of Love - which your poem does....

in many ways you articulate my journey of healing from jzland.... and, again, I'll add to your 'song' - from time to time a book or set of audio tapes or 'accidental' discovery of an internet video or tv show or ... will give me a new insight/ perspective /'validation' / encouragement.... An inner journey with occasional signposts along the way....
And, I can at best reinforce your point - to not give our authority, our decisions to an other person/group/organization.

Thank you.

[WofthesunEofthemoon]

You are most welcome, AD60, and may I send you my love and thoughts for your continued safe journey home to yourself. It has been a hard struggle for me to find myself again, and my heart is with all those who have unwittingly been led astray, in some way, or another, whilst searching for their spiritual path.

W.E

[ex]

the gotic cathedrals got build after christianety got in contact with muslims. great example of personal spiritualety in a crazy dogmatic world.

[WofthesunEofthemoon]

Very insightful of you, ex, that you well spotted the Christian roots of the writer, even though the dogma of the religion was cast off many years ago. I really do love beautiful architecture, and the spiritual atmosphere that you can sometimes sense in cathedrals, along with the immaculate acoustics which enhance and lend wings to the voice of the soul, have always been uplifting for me - never mind the occasional tedious sermon that I remember from days of old. However, as I said, all of these thoughts have to be taken in the context of the make-up of the individual, not as eternal truths without qualification.

Here is another idea, expressed in a very different way:

Trappings

Trappings here and trappings there
It seems we've trappings everywhere -
From Mystic Meg to racing cars,
Spaceships, or ladders to the stars,
To seek God's riddles to unravel
Or just a faster way to travel!

By trappings we can be undone
Unless we know they're just for fun,
To make life smoother on the way,
To live and play another day.

But, seeking God - run hither, thither
From one soothsayer to another?
And grab each latest passing fad
To cure all ills? That must be bad!

To gain your spiritual advancement
Is not a predictable enhancement.
"How can I gain a better me?"
"In ten years' time, how will I be?
Is there someone out there who can see?"

"What does this meditation mean?
Are my guides here? Have they been?
I'm sick at heart, I must be seen
To learn to heal and knowledge glean.
I'm so involved, so concentrating -
I know somewhere that God is waiting
Knowing that I'm trying hard
To find the right way to be good.
But, what He knows is what I know,
I need to know that I have grown.
'How am I doing?', basically.
Each day I ask more desperately,
I bend myself with awkward teachings,
Pray He'll understand my reachings."

But, on the Path of metaphysics
All these things are counterindexed.
The Path's a heart that's strong and sure,
That Worries less and sees out more.
Where the word is never 'Me'
With great big 'M', but always 'thee'.
For it's through others that we grow,
But only when we're free to know
We're strong enough to bear the storm,
Secure enough to weather harm,
Profound enough to search the deep,
Skilled enough to heal in sleep,
We're loved enough to be OK,
Love self and others in this way.
For if the psyche is not healed,
A strong and steadfast soul to yield,
We need a hand to help us win,
Our God without, our God within,
A private matter to discover,
The trust of One within the Other.

[Felicitas]

Thank you, I really enjoyed reading 'Trappings', it's got just the right mixture of insight and humour.