Unless our "productivity" in life serves to increase our soul's receptivity to the Living Light -- then all that we make for ourselves is an emptiness that passing time never fails to reveal.

Only the heart, stripped of its armor by conscious suffering, understands that its emptiness -- even its sorrow -- is a part of its native wholeness, of its natural and effortless capacity for compassionate love.

Our lives, as they are, are less than half of what they are intended to be. We can recognize that something is clearly missing. Often, even though we come up with: "It's him," "It's her," "It's this," or "It's that" which is clearly missing, it turns out that we may even get these things, and things still seem to be missing in our lives...

In this short talk, Guy Finley talks about how the seeming "absence" of the divine is actually an invitation for us to draw inwardly nearer to that which never stops calling us.

With one hand He gives, with the other He takes Filling and emptying the soul, Carving out receptivity to His Name With each deft blow of His soul-sculpturing hands. I am never full, nor ever bereft. Neither am I, But all is He. I am His form. No other form have I And it is to the shelter of His Name He guides me Regardless of how He shapes me. God wants me to want only Him;...

With one hand He gives, with the other He takes Filling and emptying the soul, Carving out receptivity to His Name With each deft blow of His soul-sculpturing hands. I am never full, nor ever bereft; neither am I, But all is He. I am His form. No other form have I And it is to the shelter of His Name He guides me Regardless of how He shapes me. God wants me to want only Him; To have no place...

Without something to oppose it, what is any painful negative reaction...other than a temporary wind looking for a sail, a conflict passing through an unconscious mind that – if left alone – has no choice but to blow itself out, and return to its native emptiness.

Exercise: When you feel a contraction -- of worry, fear, emptiness, desire, excitement, etc. -- ask yourself am I connected to what's alive or what's dead. Then bring yourself back into the living now and die to the past instead of being drawn into revisiting your life.

In a world where everything's upside-down, where what seems to be "good" really isn't, you must learn to discern what's true from what's false. The more you try to keep everything in place, the more it falls apart, and you ending up running right past your own life.

Topics covered: We have trouble being attentive to others because it's too uncomfortable to be a direct reflection of another human being; The deeper a relationship you're able to have with another person, the deeper a relationship you'll be able to have with God; Most of what we call emotion is sensation; Self-knowledge must turn into action; Fear is the word we use to describe the mechanical...

Like a flower that emerges from rocky soil Only on a fully moonlit night, Truth appears And its fragrance enriches whoever waits near. Then suddenly, just as it appears On no appointed schedule, it disappears again... Only silence marks the empty spot from out of which it sprang. Some try to dig it out, but manage to extract only Bits and pieces of petals, stem, and occasional r...

Classroom Talk: 9/18/2024 - There is no emptiness; there is no fullness. There is only their dance, in an endless turning. Open your eyes! See how they reel 'round and 'round, becoming the other without losing a step. Join the gathering. Everyone's invited, and it's free.