Good day my brothers and sisters.
On the left is a photo I took of our Lady chapel at All Saints church Luton. We are raising money to have it partitioned off from the rest of the church with glass panels. This will mean our heating bills will be reduced, by concentrating the heating on this small chapel. The stain glass panel on the left portrays St Francis, who happens to be one of my favourite saints. My favourite lady saint, after St Mary, is St Teresa of Avila. The following is from a book about her called, `Entering The Castle`, by Caroline Myss.
THE SIXTH MANSION
I was twenty four years old when I first saw a holy man from India and heard him lecture. Not yet having attended graduate school in theology, I had not truly opened up to the messages of spiritual teachers from all world traditions. The holy man was dressed all in white and had a long beard. I still recall his radiant smile. Everyone in the room was awestruck by him, bowing to him, which at the time made me so uncomfortable that I left the room and listened to the lecture from the hall. Distracted, I heard only bits and pieces until almost the end, when I stepped just inside the doorway and heard someone ask, "What is the greatest gift we can give the world?" The holy an smiled and giggled, and replied, "A fully healthy you."
I thought, What a ridiculous answer.
Of course, today I would think, What a wise, wise response. If we could each be fully healthy. what a world this would be. this illuminated soul passed on to me a true gift of wisdom that has guided me ever since to try to help others find their real power.
The Sixth Mansion is a masterpiece of mystical literature, an archive of instruction and wisdom. "If one is not oneself a sage or a saint, " Aldous Huxley wrote, "the best thing one can do is to study the works of those who were, and who, because they had modified their merely human mode of being, were capable of a more than merely human kind and amount of knowledge."
Teresa ascends fully into her role as an illuminated mystic, writing extensively about the signatures of mystical experiences. In this mansion, which could stand on its own as treatise of the soul`s experiences with God, Teresa is authoritative. In the lower mansions, she often asked, "but what do I know?"Here, she discerns authentic from inauthentic mystical experiences with details that would have been unappreciated in an earlier mansion. Every line of instruction in the Sixth Mansion is as applicable to us today as it was to the nuns she four hundred year ago. It is apparent that she intended this to be a no-nonsense instructional classroom for those students who managed to make it this far in their inner pilgrimage. Instructions end at the Sixth Mansion. The seventh Mansion is the experience of being "consumed" by God, taken into Divine consciousness.
As with much of Teresa`s writings, woven in among her profound mystical instructions are praises and prayers written to the divine as her beloved Jesus. This imagery of a passionate relationship to Jesus as a partner in a mystical union can be difficult to comprehend until you consider that Jesus is the equivalent of the Buddha, Krishna, the Great Spirit, the Goddess, or the Beloved in Rumi`s poetry. Teresa is describing a transcendence of the physical, five-sensory world and all its illusions. She reached enlightenment, nirvana. She was released from the wheel of somsara, or however one wishes to frame the cosmic pilgrimage of this great soul who, in the sixteenth century incarnated as St Teresa of Avila.
Teresa understood the pain of betrayal, having been the subject of her fellow nuns` gossip and criticism. But, she points out, praise is equally painful. Both praise and criticism test the ego and the soul; illusions of earthly power can seduce anyone who is unable to remain humble. A rise in power and status always brings challenges, and everyone around you-professional colleagues, friends, or family-will have opinions of your conduct. Few people will praise you, especially if they perceive that your empowerment diminishes theirs. You will be a target of criticism-on that you can count. Thus, it is wise to know how to maneuver through ups and downs, through cycles of power and this empowerment. Teresa gives five specific rule for dealing with your need for praise and vulnerability to criticism. Each is as valuable to someone on a spiritual path as it would be to anyone in the outside world, because the underlying issues concern the management of power, vanity, ego, and the control we give to others over our lives. Here are her rules to hold to in your inner and external life:
* Do not be judgmental. Everyone, including you. is quick to make both positive and negative judgments of others and of the trials God sends us. You never know the truth of what God has in mind. To judge anything is an error.
* Never envy the experiences of others, spiritually or otherwise, because envy reveals a lack of humility. By your actions and attitude, you are demanding to be given what is not rightly yours. To envy the mystical experiences or the spiritual life or calling of others hurts the soul. Envy is a reptile.
* Everything good about you comes from God-your talent, your skills, and all your abilities; thus you should not take credit. To fuel your ego shows a lack of wisdom. Control your ego, be humble about your gifts so that you do not misuse them; when you keep yourself focused and clear that God is truly the source of your gifts, your struggle with being pulled apart by either praise or criticism will cease.
* Remain humble. Do not look for praise. When someone praise you for your gifts, do not let the energy of the praise penetrate your ego or your mind. It will fuel your insecurities rather than support your soul. You will begin to think, What if I lose this talent? or, What if I fail? You will begin to torment yourself with thoughts of how others are judging your actions. You will create goals for yourself instead of listening to inner instructions and guidance for how you are supposed to use your gifts. Soon your gifts will fall under the control of others, as you will fall prey to their judgments of you and lose sight of your trust in God.
* Develop a special appreciation of those who criticize you; do not resent them. They are your allies. Look on them as sacred adversaries in action in your like. They are more helpful than those who praise you because they support your humbleness. They have a true spiritual role in your life. To resent those who criticize you is to forget that you have also criticized others. Remember to use your soul`s ability to illuminate your shadows so that you see clearly through seemingly negative events. Always, beyond the darkness, Gods greater plan is in motion. That is the truth you need to trust It is a truth reached through prayer and the security of humility.
Entry Prayer
I cross the bridge into the silent bliss of my Castle. I close the drawbridge and forbid all outside influences from entry into this holy place that is my soul. Here in my Castle, I am alone with God. Under God`s light and companionship I discover the depth and beauty of my soul. I embrace the power of prayer. I open myself to divine guidance. I surrender myself to become as a channel for grace, healing, and service as God directs my life.
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As often happens, copying the above down, has had a greater impact on me than merely reading it. That is why I suggest that any of you who read this blog and are on a spiritual journey yourselves, do likewise. This is just a suggestion, which of course is just as okay to ignore. We all have to follow our own paths, whether or not they coincide with others. You all have a good day my brothers and sisters. A special hello to whoever is seeing my blog in Saudi.
Your brother, Peter
