Being Vs. Doing
Do we have a paradox here?
To "do", or to "be". That is the question.
S.E. says Do!
N.J. says Be!
Frank Sinatra says Do be do be do! :-)
Am I the mover or the moved?
Am I the groover or the grooved?
Am I the fooler or the fiddle, or the fiddler being fooled?
Am I the doer or the diddle, or the ditty being sung?
Or am I just a fleshpot climbing up a heap of dung?
Whatever lies behind the mask, for now, I cannot see,
alI I know is that to DO, I also gotta BE.
JC
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Z.
I wonder, though, if there aren't times when we must face a situation and use our vehicles in order to overcome what is?
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Z, this is a question that I have worked at answering for a long time and in a number of circumstances: When do I face a situation and accept it as what is, and when do I use my vehicle, the tools and methods I have learned, and do what I can to overcome it? How do I tell the difference, and how long do I try? Having tried and not succeeded, do I try harder, or do I say "It's time to accept"? I would love to see a discussion of these questions. I feel sure that advanced students must wrestle with this. Shalom M.
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This reminds me of the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
God grant me the serenity(2,12)
to accept the things I cannot change(10,13),
the courage(1-8-15) to change the things I can
and the wisdom(7,11,14) to know the difference(6).
What are the "Things" being referred to? Problems!
Remember the Tarot square for Key 15 (The Devil):
11 12 13
14 15 16
17 18 19
The sum of the magic square for Key 15 reveals the secret of why we have problems. The magic square sums to 45 telling us that it is the Adversary who brings us to the awareness of the One Identity (9, which equals 4 + 5) as the result of intuition (5) operating through reason (4).
In other words, our problems force us to use our reason and intuition and thus bring about the realization of the unity of life. By fighting the "Other", we realize the "One". Our problems force us to grow, force us to use our gifts, force us to become an instrument capable of realizing the unity behind all things. Then we can see the beautiful truth that lies behind our problems, and become renewed.
JC
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It's like people who say, "Let go and let God" or "Go with the flow." We must ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE in this world, otherwise we wouldn't be in this world. Awareness of the flow while in it is important. The ability to see the dangerous rocks ahead in the left fork allows you to simply DIRECT YOUR SELF IN THE FLOW to "go with the flow" to the comfortable lagoon in the right fork! It doesn't mean actively fighting the flow, but actively participating in it for the GOOD OF ALL. The forks are presented to us so that we may Act.
In L.V.X.
Chuck
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I agree pretty much with what you are saying, but your comments bring to mind a paradox that I often notice in metaphysical discussion. It's a version of the divine paradox.
Basically, when we talk about the state of Unity and Oneness there is no longer a personal self, yet in order to get to that point I do need my personality. My personality is my vehicle that gets me there. It's good to talk about the ultimate state of being, but talking about this final state, where our tools are no longer need, does not help us to appreciate and use those tools so that we can make progress towards it.
Now one could say that my desire to use my tools of consciousness to achieve some goal is merely another example of the personal self reacting to ingrained patterns, etc..., but instead I would suggest that it may be a case of an intuition from our higher self (The Hierophant) which then grows within us until we have an idea and a desire that we only "think" came from our personal self.
For me personally, I get very little from sitting and thinking One, One, One, OOOMMMmmmm, etc... Maybe I'm just not that evolved yet, although contemplating Oneness does seem to be an excellent way for me to rapidly fall asleep. For me I've experienced the most growth from becoming more aware of how I am using my tools of consciousness in everyday problems and desires.
My Tarot studies have made me much more aware of these aspects of consciousness, so that in many cases, I now can see what I'm doing WHEN I'M DOING IT. And with time and effort (personal effort? - paradoxical I know) I'm refining my desires. Am I reacting from the personal self? I think not. Instead I prefer to think that perhaps my higher self is "doing me" like in Key 14. My Holy Guardian Angel is pouring water on fire (my animal soul) and pouring fire on water (my procreative nature). And I don't have a problem with that. In fact I kinda like it.
And as for the Devil of Key 15, I kinda like him too. Why? Because he's helping me to grow too. If I start getting lazy and sit down and start going "all is one, all is well, Ommm, etc...", he gets my attention by kicking my ass. Once again this is the paradox of "relative evil".
Does it seem like personal effort is involved to learn and grow towards unity? It sure do seem that way. Do I know better? Yes I do. That is why one of my mottos in life is "Embrace Paradox".
My own personal relationship to the One Will and my personality is brought into sharp focus by a recurring dream theme that I keep having (for over 2years now). In my recurring dream I am always being chased by one or more tornadoes. I'm always fleeing from the tornado(es) in either my small red sports car, or I'm taking shelter in some flimsy building or other inadequate structure. To me this dream is telling me that I'm not pursuing the Self so much as the Self is pursuing ME! And right now my personality (vehicle/house) is a kinda flimsy and inadequate vehicle for that kind of power and force.
But that's ok since I'm still enjoying the ride!
JC