The Feeling-Basis of Existence— Notes on The Kingdom of Heaven, Part IV

One can only encounter the feeling basis of existence through the perception that life flows into us without impediment. Every interference with the inflow of life into being is an impediment; life ought to flow into being first and without any obstacles to inhibit it. It’s only in this condition, in which it has not been tampered with, that it can provide the deepest kind of spiritual food which it was intended to provide us with. This deeply spiritual food can form our being in a new way. And, as Christ indicated, that newly formed being exists only in a new vessel, that is to say, that part of us which contains it is not the old part of ourselves, the natural part, but this newly spiritual being, which is a sacred vessel devoted exclusively to a personal relationship with God’s love.

That relationship with love needs to come first within being, because if it is put right within its place at the center of our lives, everything else emanates from it: all of our thoughts, actions, words, and the deeds are formed from within that place of spiritual compassion and then emerge.

There are extraordinarily difficult conundrums presented in this action, because survival in the natural world demands intense contradictions with the spiritual being. The waters are fast and rough, and require an extraordinary amount of intelligence to navigate. One of the reasons there needs to be a barrier between the spiritual and the natural self which is never crossed by the natural self — a defense of sorts — is because the natural self will do everything that it can to contaminate the spiritual self. As my own teacher Betty Brown put it, one cannot mix levels. One has to be quite aware and conscious of the difference between the spiritual levels and the natural levels and keep them separated.

Wishing the best for you on this day,

Lee

Lee van Laer is a Senior Editor at Parabola Magazine.