Dear Friends,

Sometimes the simplest truths seem the hardest to grasp and certainly difficult to express in a world of increasing complexity. What is it that weaves the veils of illusion around the true kernel, the simplicity and essential nature of reality? Key representatives of large bodies of knowledge, of large corporations, of governments and many others in the public gaze act out for us the effect of those forces which amaze and confuse to veil the essential truths that ultimately must emerge despite all efforts to distort and hide them.

Our duality-based systems of government and justice - government/opposition, prosecution/defence - were designed in past ages to facilitate the emergence of truth through the process of polarisation. But we now see how the practitioners can become lost in the struggle for power, in the desire to win at any cost. And yet from an objective distance the "ordinary" man, representative of greater humanity, can now see through much of the obfuscation of the spin doctors, marketeers and image-makers. We have been bombarded with so much of it and, by succumbing, have gradually learnt the falseness of its promises and can begin to see through to the simple truth at the heart.

The world of expression is rich indeed in its diversity but ultimately expresses the One Life we share. We are told that "revelation concerns Oneness and nothing else". How do we grapple with such great simplicities? If we live mainly in our concrete minds we can wield such statements of truth as platitudes, theories and common sayings whose form we recognise but perhaps without experiencing the transfiguring glory at their heart. They can be passed around like cheap takeaway formulas of brief appeal and little sustenance.

"One of the easiest things in the world" the Tibetan tells us "is to say that life is one; that there is nothing but unity. That is a trite formulation of a very ancient truth, and one which is today an occult platitude. But life is not yet one in consciousness, however true it may be in fact. The reason for this is that life is loving synthesis in action, and of that there is little today in demonstration. We have life in activity but love, based on a realised unity and leading to expressed synthesis, is still absent. The vision of it is, however, upon the horizon of many, for in these days many are attaining sight and light is pouring in. Revelation will come when…(we)…have perfected the art of revelation." [The Rays and the Initiations page 300]

And thus we come to that realisation that transcends all past achievements where it can be said of each that: "He begins to understand that the lower mind, with its multiplicity of differentiations and its tabulating, analysing and complicated approach to truth, is only a foundation upon which he can take a firm stand, but that he is faced with a profound simplicity …. He has to wrestle with the problem of this simplicity, with its penetrating potency, and with its swift comprehension of the basic truth underlying the many truths; he learns, finally, to substitute the intuition - with its swiftness and its infallibility - for the slow and laborious work of the mind, with its deviousness, its illusions, its errors, its dogmatisms and its separative thinking and cultures." [Discipleship in the New Age Vol II, page 414]

How do we plumb the depths of the exquisite reality at the core - beyond the surface ripples, reflections and distortions? What is the path to the centre of their emanating subtlety and power? Through millennia the unfolding revelation has guided us through the outer complexity to the profound simplicity within. The Tibetan reminds us:
"…the two greatest revealing Agents Who have come to Earth within the range of modern history made the following simple revelations to humanity:
1. The cause of all human suffering is desire and personal selfishness. Give up desire and you will be free.
2. There is a way of liberation and it leads to illumination.
3. It profits a man nothing to gain the whole world and lose his soul.
4. Every human being is a Son of God.
5. There is a way of liberation and it is the way of love and sacrifice.
The lives of these Revealers were symbolic representations of that which They taught, and the rest of Their teaching but an extension of Their central themes. Their contribution was an integral part of the general revelation of the ages which has led men from the primitive state of human existence to the complex state of modern civilisation. This general revelation can be called the Revelation of the Path which leads out of form to the Centre of all life; the purity of this revelation has been preserved down the ages by a small handful … defending the simplicity of that teaching. … All revelation, however, when put into words and word forms, loses something of its divine clarity. …(for) much of the revelation of the past …the original simplicity has been lost … as the illusion has deepened over time."
Such Illusions as "the illusion of power", "the illusion of superiority" and "the illusion of doctrine and dogma" have held us in thrall yet revelation continues to unfold: "Much of true revelation … has come to the world along the line of science. The presentation, for instance, of material substance … as essentially only a form of energy was as great a revelation as any given by the Christ or the Buddha. It completely revolutionised men's thinking and was a major blow struck at the Great Illusion. It related energy to force, form to life, and man to God and held the secret of transformation, transmutation and transfiguration." [Glamour, A World Problem page 185-187]

Life itself pounds on the shores of consciousness until through intuition, the wisdom of the heart, oneness is revealed.
"…'And at evening he laid the thought upon his heart, and at morning he pronounced his decision' - has been said of the Sage of the Mountain in Persian annals. … an entire Teaching is contained precisely in the saying 'Laid the thought upon his heart'. Nowhere can the thought be transmuted except upon the altar of the heart. …It is difficult for (many readers) to dissect thought in their disturbed consciousness. And it is impossible for them to discover the heart in the convolutions of their minds. But he who has already sensed the altar of the heart will also comprehend the discipline of spirit. … We send calls of unity to those whose hearts have already sensed the music of the spheres. …
…The altar of the heart is called thus, not only as a symbol but also because upon placing a thought upon the heart one can feel a seemingly light pressure upon the upper part of the heart. This sensation is so delicate that one inexperienced in subtlety of feeling may not even notice it. But people with refined consciousnesses will clearly sense this pressure of thought energy.
…Feeling will always prevail over reason. …Therefore when we speak of the heart, we affirm the citadel of feeling. But how different from lust is the feeling of the heart! The teaching about creative feeling is the realisation of the creativeness of thought. Let us not dissect the realm of feeling, because it is a single field in bloom. We know the sowing of feeling, but where are the fruits of the mind alone? Reason cannot create if the seed of the heart is not provided. Thus, when we speak of the heart we speak of the beautiful. …" [Heart, slocas 394, 396, 391]

Beauty opens our hearts and eyes to see and thence to reveal through its transfiguring power. It surrounds us in many guises - easily missed if our gaze is only on conventional forms rather than the truth radiating through them. A grievously injured child can emanate such beauty that it touches the heart of thousands and reminds us of the essential and exquisite simplicity of life expressed through our relationships within it - as Sophie Delizio has shown. A child bereft of a beloved father whose love was large enough to embrace his children, family and the whole animal kingdom reminds us of the direct interconnection and continuity of all that gives meaning to our lives - as Bindi Irwin has shown. Even the tragic death of young teenagers can remind us, however painfully, of the subtly powerful bonds that relate us in love and bring us closer to the essential being we are - its truth and its values.

So much beauty can be "taken for granted" and passed by, yet we are surrounded by the revelation which flows through it - the selfless sacrifice of the flowers that bloom and permeate the atmosphere with their fragrance; the sacrifice of a beloved Teacher that demonstrates the beauty of life eternal flowing through all temporal things. Dr Arthur Guirdham describes an experience of revelation:
"The vision I saw was in no way a comfort, a recompense, a solace for my weariness. It was a dazzling revelation which spoke its own language. I was taken out of myself into another world where there were no questions and where one was engulfed in a harmony so total that the instant and eternity were identical and God and I were part of each other."
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The Festival in Scorpio will be celebrated at a meditation meeting at 8 pm on Sunday, 5 November, at the YWCA, 5-11 Wentworth Avenue, Sydney. The keynote for reflection is:
Warrior I am, and from the battle I emerge triumphant.

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The Soul, The Quality of Life - This compilation from the works of Alice A Bailey has been reprinted and is again available. An order form is enclosed. "The soul is the heart of the system of the spiritual man; it is the seat of life and the consciousness which animates the personality…"
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Calendar of Meditation Meetings for 2007 - please also find enclosed the schedule for next year's meetings.