"Growth is natural to man. No one thinks of a flower trying to bloom, or of a tree trying to grow. The blossoming of the flower is a manifestation of universal law flowing through the plant; it is the will of the Infinite made manifest in the finite. Illumination is the blossoming of the soul in man; it is just as natural, simple, and inevitable as the flowering of the rose. The wise man does not try to be wise; wisdom is as natural to him as folly is common to ordinary mortals. Man does not have to try to be himself. Effort is evidence of inconsistency in the individual. Most religious organizations impose strict rules and regulations upon their members. These rules and regulations consist principally of “thou shalt nots,” the purpose being to force man into a state of grace by inhibiting and limiting him. Any individual who tries to crush out with brute force of will the vices within himself, achieves only inhibition and neurosis. When through realization we come to understand the divine energy that causes us to exist and grow, we cease to impede its natural flow in and through ourselves. When through realization we become aware of this divine virtue within ourselves, our inner nature is enlightened, with the result that our outer nature inevitably is transmuted. Metaphysical disciplines should not be directed toward material ends. The true mystic does not meditate or concentrate in an effort to attract to himself the things of the material world; nor does he attempt to find in meditation an escape from the responsibilities or problems of his objective life. This does not mean, however, that metaphysical disciplines produce no physical result. When a man puts his inner life in order, through meditation and realization, the result is a happier and better physical existence. If you can be taught the philosophical life, that is, the effortless way to grow, you will have been established in the foundations of wisdom. If this book can reveal in some way through the insufficient medium of words the wordless truth that being wise is the most simple and natural state of the evolved man, a great and permanent good will be yours. The Chinese goddess, Kuan Yin, the “Lady of Mercy,” is depicted robed in flowing garments which are, to the Buddhist mind, symbolical of the cosmic pattern of life. Existence is really a patterned flowing toward the real; a motion in space; a flowing of all life toward wisdom and truth. Metaphysical disciplines are not to be regarded as competitive exercises in which one vies with another in the magnitude of his imaginings, or yearns toward some metaphysical aristocracy. All metaphysical exercises worthy of the name are an unfolding of self into the light of virtue, beauty, and wisdom.” — from Manly P. Hall’s book “Self-Unfoldment by Disciplines of Realization: Releasing and Developing Inward Perceptions, Practical Instructions in the Philosophy of Disciplined Thinking and Feeling”
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 03:39:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015