Suffering is the way of the world. To transcend suffering, you must rise above attachment and aversion.

True service is to cultivate single-pointed inner devotion, and to follow practices that enable yourself and others to awaken and become free of the play of opposites. 

I think that this is what Gurdjieff was referring to when he said that “man is third force blind.”

By consistently invoking the third force, we have the hope of awakening.

This is what Gurdjieff called “The Work,” and it IS work.

Every particle of LOVE,

Any sprig of a herb,

Speaks of water.

Follow the tributaries.

Everything we say has water within it.

No need to explain this to a thirsty man.

He knows what to do.

Unconnected to the heart, the mind is brittle and unyielding, as dry as a husk. No good and beneficial fruit will come from this kind of thinking. The heart disconnected from the mind leads to delusion, infatuation, and divisiveness. For the birth of true knowledge the mind and heart must vibrate as one. It is a discipline that must be borne. The great beings that we hold in our collective memory have done just that. It is the birthright of all of us.

The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

— Marcel Proust

My hope is to make this my theme for the last drawing, coming soon!

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.

— Lao Tzu

” Life Is Beautiful is a 1997 Italian film which tells the story of a Jewish Italian, Guido Orefice, who must employ his fertile imagination to help his family during their internment in a Nazi concentration camp.” Wikipedia

This film demonstrates how it is possible to hold the highest awareness and vision– while at the same time keeping our eyes open to what is really happening in the world– and taking right action.

I think this is perhaps the most inspiring film I have ever seen.

There is a temptation to close our eyes and not get into the tangle of the opposites in the world. But that way bars the gate to the Void.

I feel at last my life’s reality

Which, severed from the world’s existence,

Would in itself obliterate itself,

And building only on its own foundation,

Would in itself bring death upon itself.

— Rudolf Steiner, The Calendar of the Soul, Twentieth Week (August 18-24)

Here is a link to the short segment of the film I mentioned. It shows in a gripping way that we can live and engage fully in this world with an evolved consciousness. We can keep our eyes open, avoid getting snagged in reactions, and act toward the highest ends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y9aKqawdUQ

Abandon all thought and take refuge in me: I am in every aspect of nature.

Nature is filled with examples of gentleness. Let them inspire you… Follow the course of nature day by day.

— Gurumayi Chivilasananda, Enthusiasm, 138

This morning had its own subtle essential qualities, difficult to put into words. I felt the uniqueness of the sunlight, muted partially by clouds. I breathed in the warm air with its barely-detectable fragrance. The chickadees and nuthatches seemed to have songs and rhythms of movement adapted to this particular morning. Like a bee alighting on a flower to snuffle in its nectar, I imbibe each moment. Each moment is unique and special, and will never happen in the same way again. It is my retreat to behold nature each morning. It provides me with a flavour for the day, something to re-experience throughout the day as I remember to– when I “wake up.”

This morning just after sunrise, I heard the sound of a lot of geese on the move. I made haste to go outside with my camera in hand to capture part of an upwelling of geese, which truly seemed to arise from all around me. I have heard geese in the last week, but farther away and fainter. This is a sure sign, along with the rapidly shortening days, that the summer is coming to an end.

This morning I was up and ready for sunrise, which appeared in magnificent color under the edge of a gray sky blanket, behind which the sun would soon disappear. After preparing the coffee, I returned outside just to be and breathe in the warm morning. It was then, in the stillness of watching my breath, that I was present to hear the very first drops of light rain falling. When I am present, there is so much beauty and newness presenting itself to my senses. What a contrast to the state of ruminating in my own thoughts that veils the world around me!