Zen, Yoga, Gurdjieff- perspectives on inner work: Out to Lunch

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Out to Lunch

Founded by the colorful iconoclast

Sept. 10 2019

Some impressions at lunch

It occurs to me today as I walk through the heart of midtown Manhattan that Christians don’t own Christianity: it belongs to God and the world. Jews don’t own Judaism; it belongs to God and the world. Muslims don’t own Islam; it belongs to God and the world. And so on.

If we understood this in the simple and most unadorned context of our various religious practices, we might see how we’re all servants who have no right to appropriate our religions (or anything else) as shields or weapons—which so often tends to be the case.

Another thought comes to me—I walk a bit straighter; my eyes see a bit more clearly. There is an inner gathering.

How best to represent the dignity and gravity bestowed upon us through life itself? There can be an effort to honor life itself—again, unadorned—by representing the Creator from within, in any simple task.

I bought baguettes.

What an astonishing gift they are! I ought to remember to be grateful that there is such a thing as bread; and that I can buy it. This isn’t some small thing, but a major event that lies at the heart of existence. I ought to see much more clearly how fortunate I am through these small things. I’m not worthy to gather the crumbs of the Lord up from under the table; yet here I am with a whole loaf of bread. God has well and truly blessed me, even though I’ve done nothing to deserve it: on the contrary.

Honor and Glory flow into us from above—Honor and Glory of the Lord, for all creation. When I’m available, some small portion of this force manifests in me.

Love is available—it can fill us in mysterious ways, in the most ordinary of circumstances. It flows inward in darkness; yet it brings light.

Today I thank God for my life in every detail.

May your heart be close to God,
and God close to your heart.

Lee

Lee van Laer is a Senior Editor at Parabola Magazine.

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Recommendations and current reading list

Lee's current reading list (all recommended)

The Iceberg- Marion Coutts. This extraordinary book deserves to be read by every individual engaged in an inner search. The questions it raises about life, death, and relationship are framed by the authors responsibilities to her very young child and her dying husband. This is a book about real work in life, not esoteric theory.

Far From The Tree: Andrew Solomon. Parents, Children and the Search for Identity. Highly recommended.

Inner Yoga, Sri Anirvan—This extraordinary book is essential reading for any serious student of Gurdjieff or Yoga practice. Written at a level of both practical and philosophical discourse well above other contemporary work, Anirvan investigates the deep roots of Yoga practice, theory, and philosophy in a deeply sensitive series of insights. Of particular interest is the extraordinary and challenging piece on Buddhi and Buddhiyoga, which examines the questions of practice, life, and death with an acuity rarely encountered in other work of this nature.

Divine Love and Wisdom, Emmanuel Swedenborg. Swedenborg gives us a detailed report on Reality as received from higher sources, reflecting many Truths one would be wise to study carefully. Readers will be astounded by the extraordinary degree of correlation between Swedenborg and Ibn 'Arabi. Many fundamental principles introduced by Gurdjieff are also expounded on in fascinating detail by Swedenborg. All of Swedenborg's works are well worth reading.

The Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom, Ibn 'Arabi. Another real gem, this book ought to be read by every seeker on the spiritual path. If you can only find the time to read one book by Ibn 'Arabi, this ought to be the one. By turns lighthearted, serious, insightful, and ingenius, al 'Arabi introduces us to our inner government character by character, explains their relationships, and indicates how to bring them into a state of harmonious cooperation. Written with love, the book deftly manages to avoid being didactic, delivering instead a sensitive, poetic, and even romantic look at how to organize our inner Being.

The Bezels of Wisdom—Ibn al 'Arabi. A compendium of observations about the nature of "The Reality"—what al 'Arabi calls God— from a 13th century Sufi master. This towering work easily holds its own against—and is worthy of comparison to—13th century masterpieces from other major religious traditions such as Dogen's Shobogenzo and Meister Eckhart's sermons.

Also worthy: William C. Chittick's The Sufi Path of Knowledge, an extensive review of al Arabi's works.