LET THERE BE LIGHT! Agape Gathering Oct 13 2018

Post date: Oct 15, 2018 1:14:56 PM

Take a moment to sit quietly and breathe:

Breathe in HESUKA (darkness, the unknown) and breathe out NUHRA (light, the known)

Personal Reflection:

Let there be Light! The Celts understood that the 7 days of creation was not chronological but a meditation on the ever-present mystery of creation. Light is at the heart of life. It is the centre from which life proceeds. The light in us moves us to passion and creativity. The Being on which all being rests is in the strength of the wind, in the goodness of what grows from the ground, in the light of waters, in the wild roaring of a bear, in the innocent beauty of a child. The Celts held that mystery was both full of light (insight) and darkness (the unknown) … John MacLeod.

When we come to search for God,

Let us first be robed in night,

Put on the mind of morning

To feel the rush of light

Spread slowly inside

The colour and stillness

Of a found world…For Light by John ODonohue

Jesus said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will have the light of life.” John 8:12

You are the light of the world. A city built on a hilltop cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on a lampstand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way, your light must shine for all so that seeing your good works they give praise to God. Matt 5:14-16

The speed of light in a vacuum is a fundamental physical constant, the current accepted value of which is 299,792,458 metres per sec.

The speed of light is a limit that can be approached but not reached by any material object.

Depending on our position and speed, time can appear to move faster or slower to us relative to others in a different part of space-time. For astronauts on the International Space Station, that means they age a bit slower that those of us on earth.

Every second, four million tons of sun is being transformed into light. So one way to think about the sun every time we see it at dawn is to think of it as an act of cosmic generosity. It is this vast giveaway of energy that enables us to survive and all life to thrive. Brian Swimme

Blessing: Beraka - The Blessing by Michelle Sherliza & Jan Novotka

From the source of everything, from the ground of being,

Receive strength and light; receive peace, receive love.

From my heart to your heart, from my soul to your soul

Receive strength and light, receive peace, receive love.

REFLECTION: Be your own light

After nearly a half century of teaching, the Buddha lay dying surrounded by his distraught disciples. In tearful whispers they pleaded, “Blessed One, who will be our teacher now? Who will guide us? How will we achieve enlightenment without your help?”

The Buddha’s last words were, “Be your own light.”

All those who had followed his teachings understood. The truth is the light. Seek the truth, and the truth shall set you free. Free from sleep - sleepers awake! When Siddhartha Gautama “woke up,” he was recognized as “The Awakened One,” a Buddha. He was his own light, he was enlightened.

Everyone has their own light. Inside each of us is the glow of the memory of who we really are, where we come from, and where we are going. In this light, the sound of truth can be heard, clear as a temple bell. In a moment, there is an understanding and awareness of the answers to our questions. Everything appears to be exactly as it should be, with a divine reason for everything. A sense of profound love and gratitude may overflow into tears and laughter.

Throughout history people have experienced enlightenment, a sudden illumination that reveals a larger reality. For a moment, an hour, a day, a year, people flower, unfolding to receive the Light. It may come by meditation, music, sport, sex, gardening, touching a wild animal, or in near-death experiences. Any moment will do. It is always there.

The Buddha realized that everything is connected. There is only the One. Separateness is an illusion. When Indra, the Hindu Lord of Heaven, fashioned the Universe, he cast an infinite net in all directions. He tied a pearl at each knot. Every atom that exists is a pearl. Every thought, every moment is another pearl. If you look at one, you see all the other pearls reflected in it. Like a hologram, each pearl contains the whole image.

Modern science has confirmed the existence of a mysterious membrane embedded in the Universe that communicates information across vast distances instantly. Physicists call this interconnectedness, “quantum entanglement.” Albert Einstein described it as “spooky action at a distance,” because nothing known could travel faster than the speed of light. Cause and effect appear to intersect everywhere at once.

Einstein came to the same realization as the Buddha, "A human being is a part of the whole called by us `the Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest, a kind of optical illusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening the circle of understanding and compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

These words of wisdom are stepping stones to another point of view, extending our vision with the benefit of insight, hindsight and foresight. They enable us to see beyond the limits of our own mind, revealing new answers and new directions. We all have our own itinerary in life, but words that resonate with Truth, illuminate our path.

(Presented at Mt Archer gathering 14 October 2018)

About the Author:

Robert Welton is a Metaphysician living in Santa Barbara, California. After years of practice and study, he collected the Great Statements of enlightened mystics and masters throughout history, and put them into his new book, Be Your Own Light. A sample is available for reading on Amazon.