|
The
Quiet Place Within
Before
reading through this article, pause for
a moment. Sit back. Let go of the many
‘I’s and try to divide
your attention. Just
be aware of yourself and hold this awareness
as you notice what is around you. Shift
your gaze every few seconds so that you
look at things without having thoughts
about what you see. Try this for
30 seconds or so.
When divided attention is sustained
like this—or longer—it starts
to produce an internal calm. The momentum
of the lower
centers diminishes, the
noise of the many ‘I’s grows
quiet, and presence begins
to emerge. As the Sufi mystic, Rumi,
said, “The
sun fills with light when it gets hold
of itself.” This is what happens
when we divide attention and keep it
divided. Presence starts to get hold
of itself. As it does, we step out of
the second
state and
onto the threshold of the third
state of consciousness.
We start to awaken.
Mr. Ouspensky described this
process as entering “the
quiet place within.” He
said, “Continue to
observe and you will find
that there is a place in
you where you are quiet,
calm, and nothing can disturb
you. This quiet place is
not a metaphor, it is a very
real thing—only it
is difficult to find the
way there. But if you do
it several times you will
be able to remember some
of the steps, and by the
same steps you may come there
again.”
The whole idea, of course,
is to “come there again” because
this quiet place within is
what makes human beings so
unique in the universe. It
is in this place—and
only in this place—that
we can cultivate a state
of wordless presence which
is capable of flowering into
higher states of consciousness.
(At this point in reading,
pause again for a
few moments and try to reestablish
divided attention. It may
help to reread the first
paragraph before continuing.)
In the second
state of consciousness, without
divided attention, the door
to the quiet place within
is closed and the entrance
is blocked. The main thing
blocking it is imagination—the
constant veil of ‘I’s
that keeps us from seeing
the way to
presence. The other barrier
is identification
which
has such a strong hold over
us that our undivided
attention never breaks free
enough to establish presence,
much less prolong it. And
so it goes with negative
emotions and
unnecessary
talk, the other
impediments to presence.
But even knowing about these
impediments is not enough
to get past them. We have
to learn the exact steps
that lead to presence. We
have to know what the first
step is, and the second,
and the third, and so on.
We then have to connect these
steps like links in a chain
of conscious effort. As Mr.
Ouspensky said, “Control
means effort at every step.”
Mr. Ouspensky also pointed
out that, “Continuity
is the main thing.” He
said,
“Glimpses [of presence]
might happen, but continuity
needs effort.” In
other words, periodic efforts
to divide attention are
not enough to reach the quiet
place within. We have to
sustain divided attention,
we have to do it repeatedly,
and we have to remember why
we are doing it.
All of this—learning
the steps that lead to presence,
learning to retrace them
again and again and again,
and understanding where they
lead and for what purpose—has
always been the special work
of
schools.
As Mr. Ouspensky said, it
is why schools exist.
See
our web site in 9 languages
English
Deutsch
Español
Français
Italiano
Magyar
Português 
Russian
Czech
Introductory
lectures
We offer two introductory lectures
in cities around the world. To register:
• Call our USA information line (1-800-642-0212),
or
•
Find a center nearest you.
1—
An introduction to the system
• The system is ancient, objective
knowledge
• The microcosmos man can transcend
himself
• Schools use precise methods for awakening
2—
The four lower centers
• How the lower centers function
• How the lower centers displace presence
• Using lower centers to reach higher
centers
Membership
information
The Fellowship
of Friends, Inc. is a school for spiritual
awakening with centers worldwide. Membership
is monthly. For details:
• Email contact@beingpresent.org
- OR
• Call 1-800-642-0212
|
|
Egyptian tomb with the statue of a pharaoh looking in. (This
image is included here for educational purposes
only and is not intended for any other use.)
About the quiet place within
It
is easier to find yourself in silence than
in speech.
Robert
Earl Burton
True
art makes that divine silence in the soul.
Hafiz
Our
mind is pure and simple, so when it is stripped
of every alien thought, it enters the pure,
simple, Divine Light. When this comes to
pass, it is followed by a quietude which
contemplates all.
St. Simeon the New Theologian
All
the doors remain bolted, except for him who
enters through the door of the law.
Ahmad Ibn Ajiba
Satisfaction
is quietness of heart in the midst of troubles.
Qushayri
Come
and sit in the innermost room, where you
will be safe from the love-thief. Come to
this table of quietness.
Rumi
I
am the silence that is incomprehensible.
Gnostic Gospels, Nag Hammadi
Quietness
is the surest sign that you’ve died. Your
old life was a frantic running from silence.
Rumi
When
the words stop and you can endure the silence,
that is the time to try and listen to what
the Beloved’s eyes most want to say.
Hafiz
Ask the editor
Have a question or concern? Write to the editor@beingpresent.org.
Forward
this issue to a friend
Please
forward the newsletter to anyone who
may have an interest in learning more about
the Fourth Way and the Fellowship
of Friends.
Subscribe
Go to our
sign up form.
Send us your comments
Is this newsletter helpful? Let us know
on our response
form.
Read
back
issues
Unsubscribe
Use this ‘safely
unsubscribe’ link or contact us.
Fellowship
of Friends, Inc.
(a non-profit religious corporation)
P.O. Box 100 · Oregon House, CA 95962
copyright © 2006 · all rights
reserved
No part of this newsletter may be copied,
reprinted, or reproduced in any form without
written permission from the Fellowship of
Friends, Inc.
|
