I would dream on occasions of the Great Power descending, seeking out what is lost, sent exactly for that purpose. Often I'd fancy how, in its descent, it influences commited workers and transforms them in Its eyes and hands, how It gives them wings. How It ascends again with Its 'prey'.
That might be one of the things that the falcon-symbol stands for. It might be possible to understand what this bird's unerring vision, spotting helpless mouse, who will not escape, means. What the death-cry of the prey, who is now - or will be so shortly - released from the pain-factory, means. We may have an inkling what a triumph it must be when those birds soar high up again.
Well, that is fishing. That is fishery. That is the story of the nets thrown in the sea and pulled out, full to the point of tearing. That is what all that ploughs and sowing and reaping is about, and that is why the axe is at the root of the tree already.
If you understand these things to some extent you will also know, just to one example, why the cow is never at home. Why she regularly sits on 'satsang's elsewhere, making her husband and children ask involuntarily "but where the hell is she?". Because she finds that her husband is 'spiritually incompetent'. Because she cannot 'spiritually cooperate' with him. But you will also know something that the cow herself doesn't know. You will know that she had been doing a little harmless 'spiritual act' just before things have gottten that far, that is, she did mentally degrade her huband and his spiritual ability, perhaps with some help of a 'friend'-ess or astrologer with which she so frequently discussed the 'problem' that could be discussed elsewhere, nearer its source. Having thus deprived herself of clear sight she now feels that she is not loved. It is all distinctly stated somewhere in Epistles where Paul says something to the effect "let wife respect her husband and let the latter love the former". It seems that Paul knew but too well who comes first in the procedure of "changing the mind". (To Mr. Morality Paul's views appear too harsh though his 'civility' secretly likes them. But Paul did not write for Mr. Morality nor was himself a moralizer. Too many places that reveal somewhat deeper knowledge of life. Thus e.g. "respect" is not something cultural or behavioral but leans more towards intellectual centre as distinct from "love". Not that respect is something non-emotional; on the contrary.)
It will also be clear why the cow and its more than sorry 'social bottom' rejoice whenever they can cave in somebody weaker then them, usually after years of awe-inspiring efforts; or maybe somebody who is more naive or more innocent or more unprotected. Maybe even somebody who is more sin- and guilt-laden than themselves: excellent conscience-proof material for self-justifying. It's clear why they so enjoy their self-made 600 dollars remarks and think them so worthy and witty.
Yes, the falcon wants to work through them too and they must have 'prey', will they or not. They imagine themselves 'co-workers', and they cooperate according to the level of their understanding (which can be much lower than they imagine), and then they inevitably learn from their mistakes. For a cow, for example, laziness is something associated with Instinctive or Moving centre, perhaps with Emotional centre, while real laziness that really brings about a disaster is intellectual. That is the direction where the effort lies regarding cows, according to St. Paul. That is the direction in which the effort lies regarding everybody, according to O. Surprisingly enough, cows know about it.
Now observe what many a cow does with what she repeatedly hears about. (Animals, by the way, especially evolved species, resemble humans, but I use "cow" for human-like beings that resemble animals. And 'cow's bottom' is used to paint beings who do not - yet - resemble anything that we know in the living world.) It's interesting. She says to herself something like: "Mine is the way of the heart. I know my 'head' is evil, that's why I will follow immediate intuitive stirrings of my heart." This would be the new-age type: good, now she can bypass clearing her mental pigsty. (And following immediate stirrings is convenient for turning around as soon as the situation changes.) There is another type - let's name it dr. Spock type - who reacts to the same teaching this way: "I know my 'head' is evil. That's why I must educate my head first." Then she reads the newest research nonsense and bases on it either her household or raising of the children or partnership (lots of latest research bestseller nonsense about managing your clit or managing your partner available out there these days) or business. Good, now she can bypass everything: the book tells her what to do.
You have probably met with these humans resembling trained animals, let's name them cows for the sake of brevity, in one office or another. Yes, of course it's logical, of course it's right, of course it can be done immediately, of course it would enormously simplify matters, of course it could save time, money, human life even, but... this computer program says I may not do it. My boss forbids it. There are rules, you know, rules # 1245 and # 764 and amendments #0564 with severe threats to certain percentages of my salary and I may lose my job even (and I'm the boss after all as far as customers are concerned and have right to my own 'discernment' in the situation).
There are several pages that could be written on the subject and even they could only make up a feeble intro. Yet I have no intention to enlarge upon that: my prey is not the cow. Besides, they have their own butchers.
Only, this is serious matter, for the lows and the heights of our society is ruled by cows, and cow's outcome is always derangement, in one form or another. I myself am product of the cow; yea am myself a cow, infected by the cow, conditioned by the cow. That's why I must come under another influence. My prey is understanding, better, Understanding, the most powerful force that can be created. My prey is development, or better Development. And for this particular post, my prey is second line. That would mean you, the reader. Namely I feel for some time that if poor devils & damned souls like us should meet, our chances to get hold of it would be greatly increased. Is it known to the reader what are the three lines? Did learn to know Self-Justifying or imaginary self-pictures from Self-Observation? Did he try to think in octaves or construct some of them himself? Has assimilated some works that are now available as B-influences? Has some Nicoll, Gurdjieff or Ouspensky under her belt? (That would mean we have learned some words of the common language and therefore have a starting point at least.) Is not confused when he hears Flamel, Tauler, Lewis, Steiner, Blavatsky, dugpa, samsara, arupa, Pol Pot, Sweden? And, first and foremost, is the terror-of-the-situation intensely experienced and cannot be gotten rid of? Got some inkling where is that 'way out'? Can read about that falcon without being dominated by thought, c'mon, this is not practical? (For it is practical, otherwise some high authorities wouldn't be so very, very, very angry when they read 'em posts here.) Does the reader bear the marks of some 'backlashes' on his own body and his own what-not? Has been f...ed and trampled upon by various organizational and non-organizational bottoms of the above sorry you-have-no-idea-how-strong-WE-are type? We-will-chase-you-away type?
Later, maybe, you'll want to read entire libraries but those beginnings should suffice, unless we want to wait for a very long time to come before may begin.
The Great Power knows where the sore spot is. Pure, original Christianity is the expression of this Power, - it is among many other things a practical teaching that irrevocably locates and heals those sore spots in human society - while the Work can bring about enough understanding for the worker to not walk the wide and luxurious road of many possibilities that lead to destruction i.e. to not repeat one of the many mistakes of which one example is given above. The Work brings people together.
Speaking generally, there are many ideas that we have only superficially touched and so we fail to strengthen them in us and live with them and by them day by day. There must be other human types for which this is not so - they have already placed them in the middle or are them as it were and are probably subjectively on levels we can only dream of.
The whole initiative set forth here is in fact resting on one very remarkable fact, namely that it is always possible to work. To some extent, of course. By "always" I do not mean 24 hours in a day, because this is exactly what is not (yet) possible. But there is one thing that is sure, and that is: if I should die tommorow due to some 'accident', amidst my last gasps my mind would be turned towards highest and purest essential central ideas of everything that I would have tried, while living in the body that I inhabit now, to get some grasp of under these awkward - oh, how awkward! - appelations of the Way and the Work. Something that perhaps more vividly is given by Paul's immortal "whether we die or live, we are the Work's". Beg your pardon, Lord's.
That is, by "always" is meant that you can 'do' (' ', for it is in many respects not more than certain inner 'looking' into certain 'direction', sort of 'willingness', valuation - etc., I posted on it elsewhere - ) it, no matter who you are, how you are and in what situation you are. (Though I admit I myself often believe that I cannot. "F..k, now the situation is really screwed up totally.") And one single instance of really 'doing' it convinces you of what J. Livingstone the Seagull or how was that book called says: it works. As you know.
Let's look at it from the point of view of reccurrence. Even if nobody responds - for this is what would ordinarily trouble me personally - would I want to talk with people over the internet or not in my next recurrence? Definately, this settles it. I may be not afraid of life or death or God or the devil, but to think that in this reccurence I had a chance of opening this focus and didn't even try-- Where is my weakness? Where is thy sting? Who cares for results? My weakness. Signed My weakness.
About the terror-of-the-situation. The fact is that we have been almost totally deserted, by relatives, by teachers, by leaders, by the state and the the church (churches in fact - we are too small to fit in their mutual war for power) and by our everyday co-fellows and their 600$ remarks and their 'misterious' I-know-it-all smiles. The fact is that the vast majority is preparing for the holidays and vacations and the pleasant sun that will so pleasantly warm their asses and sharping their minds for one must be able to talk about the effect of this pleasant sun on their ass-life in a smart and cool and up-to-fashion way over a bottle of coffee or beer after an ample bouton a la coupon de cuisine Napoli spaghetti&pesce. The 'serious' and 'responsible' minority is perhaps thinking where to get money for all that. And, oh, of course, you must also have a nicely shaped face&body to attract enough planets around your center-of-gravity. As to the food for thought, one might read if the red bikini is ok or perhaps the silver one is more in. And where to get good food supplements and how to stay fit to be able to bear this whole load. Stay informed too, read about the cleverest politicians and the strongest gorillas on the first page and in the middle you can get the details about lesser criminals. -Take all these things seriously, sweat for them - go to the point of nervous breakdown if needs be - and you will fit in. And if you fit in - which is a great thing in itself - you get -10% bonus and many many other bonus. Everything is good enough if it can make you forget that you sit in a prison cell, waiting for death.
If you cannot forget it even if you try, then we have a problem... If you ask me one can bet with 100% certainty that in that case you're going to stumble on the Work in some form sooner or later. But you know all that.
About things that scare you, falcon. I waited a little, partly to increase the possibility that you figure out certain things yourself, now let me speak them out. Are you really afraid of that monkey that dresses himself in the same jacket as you and gooblezdoozles close before your nose as if by accident? "Did you see me?" (Yes, I've seen you well, conscious. Have you come to tell me about second line of the Work?) "I know about you. I know everything about you. I know which jacket you wear WHEN I AM NOT AROUND. How about that? Huh?!" C'mon, falcon, all these people conscious? some of them, yes, but... the Work brings people together, and by their fruits you shall know them. Depth of consciousnes is about fact that one can be conscious of many different things.
Perspective, falcon. With time, after a while, you will only smile (kindly, not bitterly or cinically) over cow's five-minute triumph over the weaker hardly won after years of repression. You won't even notice the army of gooblezdoozles monkeys with their 500$ dictionaries and their 600$ jackets even if everyone of them should pull your sleeve - please do notice me. Gradually, a whole century will mean nothing to you. You will become like Sphynx - gazing at the horizon, guarding the entrance to what is behind you, always ready to greet the traveller. Such are the gifts of the - I hate this awkward word - better, such are the gifts of knowing about other-than-Personality, or shortly: gifts of Separation.
I heard about "where two or three are in my name, I'm in the midst of them" and I wonder if this is to be taken literally. In any case it has something to do with the Work that brings people together and with the fruits by which you shall know them. (Geometrical implications are also intriguing - look at the standing triangle from above... from the side...hey, what about static triad...) I'll now put down exactly what I want and what I don't want. First and foremost, I want 'em timid falcons/falconesses to speak up and enjoy themselves here. It's to their advantage that W.H. is nothing/nobody. In fact, it is our advantage. We are too small to be taken seriously by any power-competition. Next: I know very well that those more powerful spirits are also casting their eyes from the heights and that they are of many kinds. Everybody is welcome and in fact we need 'em powerfuls. But behave, i.e. contribute & build XOR buzz off from here. Next: scientists welcome. (Spectrum-knowers welcome, you have no idea how useful you can be here.) Work source knowers welcome. Religious welcome. Musicians, artists, experts welcome. Those of you who believe that you are "more on the doing side" welcome though I think there's no warrant that your self-picture will survive. Report broken links then. Those who are angry because of some post welcome. Those who angry because of the whole blog no chance. However-you-name-hemselves welcome. The only condition is that you want to be aligned with what you understand as the spirit of the Work and that you sense the need (beyond usual personal need) for working along the second line. Security measures against watering down & against usual crow that seeks to instigate funerals: (1) if it begins to stink too much around for too long I'll just close the blog again without warning, you are warned NOW and that suffices. Those who need to have understood, to be sure; others: this does NOT mean that you have to worry lest you should say something 'inapropriate'. (2) there may be response and there may be none. We try and what will be will be. There's no contradiction. Next: I'm not doing this because I want to measure how many people is hanging around here. I simply don't care about that. Next: I don't personally need input because I lacked ideas or excitement or because I would be bored or because I have nothing better to do. (Though I dream that somebody COULD come along and drop me a link to a nicest spectrum one can imagine with right ticks on right colors and all that.) Next: I have to link to at least some of my sources beyond O., G. and N. This site seems to me one of the good choices as a guideline that is 'universal' enough regarding the first line and keeps you on the straight and narrow. (The term "first line" I translate for myself as "that part of it all which is nobody's business really" or "that which is between you and God only" and instruction from the Sermon "When you pray, go into closed chamber..." or something like that seems to talk precisely about this one. Everything depends on it. But then, this very post is written under impression that without second line we're still to remain damned no matter what. There is always enough of second line present, that is true. But I don't have only external considering on my mind right now. What I have in mind is that if the fruits prove that the neutralizing force of life has intervened and not the Work's then something went seriously wrong. This is somewhat delicate matter, for I'm usually the first to rant against Mr. Group's power abuses, whether they be fashioned in "we'll 'educate' you as as we ourselves were 'educated': by degrading provocations and consequent invalidating punishment" manner or more simple "conform or we'll break your spine" way, not to mention "we don't like you, so we throw you out" practice. But then Mr. Group has certain right to say, don't like it? - well, don't criticize until you tried to build your own. And that's precisely what we can - as poor devils & damned souls - attempt to start forming here, by way of blog comments. Our work has to be intensified.
Thus one can say "everything depends on the first line" but no less can one say "everything depends on whether second line functions or not". It would be equally true if one should muse thusly: "everything, really everything depends on the third line in fact". For so it is.
(Posts to do: on three kinds of effort, Bunyan, octaves anyway, on 'theory' and 'practice')
"Tune the string and pluck it, Jones, don't worry about higher harmonics, they sound by themselves."