AFTER SOME CANYON HIKES AND CONTEMPLATION, THOUGHTS HAVE EMERGED WITH REGARD TO A QUESTION I RECEIVED IN A RECENT EMAIL FROM A FAMILY FRIEND, A QUESTION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT SOME PROCESSES SHE HAS COME ACROSS, AND SOME THINGS THAT SHE HAS READ WERE THE SAME AS, SIMILAR TO, OR DIFFERENT FROM THE WORK AND WAY OF WORKING OF THE PATH OF POTENTIAL. AT LEAST THAT IS THE QUESTION THAT I SAW IN HER NOTE. I VISITED THE WEB SITE SHE MENTIONED. AND WHILE I DID NOT ATTEMPT TO ANALYZE THEIR OFFERING, SOME OF THESE THOUGHTS WERE EVOKED BY WHAT I SAW AT WORK THERE.
AND SO ON TO THE REFLECTION…
THERE IS AT WORK – NOW, AT THIS TIME – A STIRRING, AN INNER STIRRING THAT IS BEING EXPERIENCED ACROSS THE LAND… AN INNER STIRRING THAT IS BEING UNIQUELY EXPERIENCED BY THE WOMEN. PERHAPS NOT SURPRISING IN THAT THIS STIRRING HAS WITHIN, THE CHARACTER OF WISDOM, OF WISDOM SEEKING TO ENTER… REFLECTING THE NECESSITY, AT THIS TIME, FOR WISDOM TO LEAD REASON. AT THE SAME TIME, PERHAPS ALSO NOT SURPRISING, IT IS NOT UNCOMMON TO SEE WOMEN RESPONDING TO THIS INNER STIRRING OF NOW WITH PATTERNS OF THEN… PATTERNS THAT HAVE BEEN A SOURCE OF MEANINGFULNESS AND RENEWING ENERGY… PATTERNS THAT CREATE THE FEELING OF OKAYNESS, OKAY IN THE SENSE THAT WE ARE NOT ALONE IN WHAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING… PATTERNS THAT THE SEEKER HOPES WILL MATCH WHAT IS BEING INNERLY EXPERIENCED, COMMONLY THE EXPERIENCE OF THE NECESSITY FOR MOVING TOWARDS WHOLENESS, AND FOR CREATING COMMUNITY. AT THE SAME TIME THERE IS AN INCREASING FEELING OF HOPELESSNESS AMONG MORE AND MORE WOMEN THAT WHAT HAS WORKED NO LONGER WORKS. A SENSE OF HOPELESSNESS THAT ANOTHER FRIEND HAS COME TO UNDERSTAND AS A LOSS OF SELF ESTEEM. THUS THE NEED TO CLEARLY TURN OUR THOUGHTS TO THE NOW: NOW IS NOW, THEN WAS THEN.
NOW IS THE TIME FOR WALKING THE PATH OF OUR SPIRIT… ALL OTHER JOURNEYS CAN WAIT. IT IS A TIME FOR WALKING A PATH THAT REQUIRES FAITH IN INTENT; A PATH CREATING FOR US AN ONGOING PROCESS OF YES, A SAYING OF YES.
WALKING THE PATH OF OUR SPIRIT, THE PATH OF INTENT… THE START POINT, PERHAPS THE PROVERBIAL NARROW GATE, IS THE EMBRACING OF AND ONGOING SERIOUSNESS WITH REGARD TO:
THERE IS A SOURCE, A SOURCE OF LIFE, A SOURCE OF TRUTH, LOVE AND GOOD.
WE ARE OF AND FROM LIFE; WE ARE NOT THE SOURCE.
WE ARE INTENDED INSTRUMENTS FOR ETERNALIZING LIFE, INTENDED VESSELS FOR TRUTH, LOVE AND GOOD TO ENTER INTO THE WORKING OF THE WORLD.
THERE IS INTENT AND INTENDED WAYS OF WORKING THAT EMANATE FROM AND THRU THE SOURCE.
INTENT, INTENDED WAYS OF WORKING, AND THE SOURCE ARE ALL ABOUT LIFE; LIFE AND THE REALIZING OF POTENTIAL IN THE HERE AND UNFOLDING NOW.
THIS IS A PROCES OF WILL… THE DEVELOPMENT OF AND THE EXERCISE OF OUR WILL IN WAYS CONGRUENT WITH INTENT – THE WILL OF THE SOURCE… AN EXERCISING OF OUR WILL THAT IS MANIFESTED THRU PURPOSE AND WORK; THRU OUR TAKING UP OF INTENTIONAL PURPOSE AND CALLED WORK.
ALONG THIS PATH, THIS PATH OF OUR SPIRIT, WE WILL MEET AND OF NECESSITY HAVE A PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH SOME PROCESSES ESSENTIAL TO OUR BECOMING INTENTIONAL; ESSENTIAL TO OUR TAKING UP OF CALLED WORK: PRAYERFUL QUESTIONING, INTENTIONAL READING, WILLFUL WRITING, REFLECTIVE WRITING, AND REFLECTIVE DIALOGUING. PRAYERFUL QUESTIONING BEING THE PROCESS WHEREBY WE OPEN OURSELVES, THRU AN EMPTYING OUT PROCESS, TO INTENT – INTENDED WAYS OF WORKING. A PROCESS OFTEN INITIATED BY AN INTUITIVE SENSE OF SOMETHING – SOMETHING THAT BRINGS FORTH A FEELING OF SIGNIFICANCE… SIGNIFICANT TO THE PROCESS, THE WORK, THE PERSON ETC. IT IS A QUESTION FORMING PROCESS, WHICH SEEMS TO FLOW WHEN RIGHT SEEING BEGINS TO EMERGE. AT LEAST THAT IS A TRACE OF MY EXPERIENCE OF THE PROCESS. THRU INTENTIONAL READING WE DEVELOP THE CAPACITY FOR TRANSCENDING THE COMMON, MORE FAMILIAR PATTERNS OF READING. PATTERNS WE USE WITH REGARD TO GAINING KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION, ENJOYMENT, ETC.; AND THEIR ASSOCIATED PROCESSES OF ANALYZING, MEMORIZING, BEING MOVED ETC. WITH INTENTIONAL READING THE AIM IS TO LET THE PROCESS DEVELOP THE EYE OF THE MIND SUCH THAT WE CAN SEE INTENDED WAYS OF WORKING… INTENDED WAYS OF WORKING THAT EXTEND BEYOND THE CONTENT OF WHAT IS WRITTEN. THIS AIM IS REALIZED BY READING THRU – CONSCIOUSLY IGNORING THE PATTERNS THAT WOULD CAUSE INTERRUPTIONS IN THE FLOW, ESPECIALLY THOSE FAVORITES OF OURS, SUCH THINGS AS UNDERLINING, ETC. – AND REPEATING THAT READING THROUGH ONCE OR TWICE MORE. EXPERIENCE CONTINUES TO SHOW THAT THRU DILIGENT EXERCISE OF THIS PATTERN, A VERY DIFFERENT SEEING AND UNDERSTANDING EMERGES – A MORE WHOLE, WHOLISTIC SEEING AND UNDERSTANDING. WHICH ITSELF OFTEN EVOKES REFLECTIVE WRITING ON THE PART OF THE READER… REFLECTIVE WRITING BEING A NATURE OF WRITING THAT IS FREE OF ANGST AND REFLECTS A WORKING PRESENCE OF INTENT. SINCE WE HAVE ENTERED THE REALM OF WRITING, IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THE WAY OF WORKING OF THE PROCESS ITSELF: PEN TO PAPER IS MIND ORGANIZING, FINGERS TO KEY PAD IS THOUGHT ORGANIZING. WILLFUL WRITING IS THE NATURE OF WRITING WE TAKE UP TO MOVE TOWARDS WHAT IS REALLY AT WORK WITHIN US – A WORKING WITHIN US THAT IS OFTEN BROUGHT ABOUT BY WHAT IS HAPPENING “OUT THERE.” COMMONLY TRIGGERED BY SOMETHING THAT HAS EVOKED A STRONG FEELING, BE IT POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE. IT CAN PROVIDE STRONG CLUES WITH REGARD TO ESSENCE AND CALLED WORK. WILLFUL WRITING FOLLOWS A PATTERN OF THREE – THREE WRITINGS OF THE SAME SUBJECT, EACH A DEEPER EXPRESSION OF THE PREVIOUS. REFLECTIVE DIALOGUING BEING ALL ABOUT IMAGERY, ABOUT DEVELOPING BEING AND A WORKING MIND AMONG THE SEEKERS. IT IS A PROCESS THAT SEEKS TO BE FREE OF ARGUMENT, A NECESSARY CONDITION FOR ACCESSING WISDOM. THE WISDOM NECESSARY FOR MORE WHOLISTIC SEEING, A DEEPER GRASP OF INTENT.
ALL OF THESE ESSENTIAL PROCESSES ENABLE THE BUILDING AND DEVELOPING OF THE ADVANCING HUMANNESS MIND OF POTENTIAL… THE MIND THAT HOLDS THE PERSPECTIVE REQUIRED FOR THE SEEING OF WHAT IS BEING CALLED FOR NOW. BUILDING AND DEVELOPING A MIND IS ONE OF THE MORE COMMON, NATURAL, HUMAN UNDERTAKINGS. WE SEE THIS WITH REGARD TO ROLES AND WORK… ROLES SUCH AS MOTHER, EDUCATOR, WRITER; AND IN WORK SUCH AS FARMING, PARENTING, TEACHING… REMEMBERING THAT WHEN WE ARE CONSIDERING MIND WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT A COLLECTION OF CONCEPTS; BUT RATHER A WHOLISTIC SEEING OF WHAT IS AT WORK, WHAT ARE INTENDED WAYS OF WORKING. AND REMEMBERING AS WELL THAT AT THIS TIME OF NOW, MIND IS ALL ABOUT HEART – THE MIND AND EYE OF THE HEART… THUS IT IS NOT SO MUCH ABOUT KNOWING AS IT IS ABOUT SEEING, SEEING AND BEING.
AS THIS NOTE BEGAN TO NATURALLY CLOSE, A FAMILIAR REFRAIN CAME TO MIND: “THERE IS NO ESCAPE, THERE IS NO AWAY, AND THERE IS NO FENCE UPON WHICH TO PASSIVELY PARTICIPATE”… NONE OF THESE APPROACHES WILL LEAD TO PURSUITS THAT WORK FOR ALL CHILDREN, ALL CHILDREN IN THE WORLD… NOR WILL THEY SATISFY THE THIRST THAT IS UPON THE LAND, THE THIRST THAT IS BEING UNIQUELY EXPERIENCED BY THE WOMEN.
Terry P. Anderson, Philosopher of Potential
