Opening / Aurora
A beginning, a dawning. A time of expectation. The memories are still foggy, the limbs numb. We are waking up. It is not yet clear what it is we are waking up to. We are like an orchestra coming to terms with a new composition. The instruments are the same, so are the musicians. Some of us are virtuosos, but at initial approach, we are all at a loss. What shall become of us in this great body of the Universe? What about right here in our local enclave of Creation—Earth? Can it be we can write our own script as we go along, that our awakening is an entrance into adulthood, to the extent we are ready for it?
Our awakening is the slow and gradual abandonment of all concepts of isolation—from Life, from Earth, from one another, from God. It is our sense of isolation from God that is the precipitant of all our other isolations. Mystics from the world over have always gone to this heart of the matter. A mystic is simply someone who has charted the movement of recovery toward the place where we can live our lives in conscious union with God. Though they have not always spoken with a common voice concerning how to do this, mystics have been in overwhelming agreement that union with God is the intended goal, that such union is as thoroughgoing as we can dare to imagine. Nothing is left out. Our whole beings are involved in the quest for God and in the resultant processes that ensue from it. Our minds, our souls, our spirits, our bodies, our emotions, our hopes—all become modes of our entrainment by the inescapable orbit of God.
Is it our turn—the turn of planet Earth—to be caught and entrained by the inescapable orbit of God? Many are saying yes and are sharing their hope and giving witness of their reorientation toward this desired outcome. It is in this view that I offer these thoughts on my own reorientation, but primarily, with the intent of helping others who may be inclined to take the same approach I have. I do so with the clear awareness that there is no definitive pathway to God. I do not claim that the approaches I offer represent the only path to uncovering the mystery of God’s presence within and among things. I only give witness as someone who has been helped (and troubled) by the testimony of others concerning the nature of our unfoldment into God.
If there is any sense of being troubled by what is presented in this book, please take it as a sign that what is being offered may not be the path for you to follow, or at the least, not at this juncture. There are a myriad reasons why this may be. Whatever the reasons, it is important to remember that nothing should be forced in our approach to God. This is my own sense of things and my own valued system of guidance. Things unfold more naturally in our lives when they are in harmony with the rest of our beings. We therefore need to listen, not only with the ears of the body, but also with the ears of the spirit.
The reflections in this book are written as communications between an explorer of the mystical path (Jarcq) and another who may represent a novice as well as the larger world (Maria). They offer perspectives on the nature of the mystical path from a fellow traveller who has completed a leg of the journey, made discoveries on it, and now wants to leave guideposts before turning to the next phase of what seems to be, an ever-widening and narrowing path. More centrally, the reflections describe an integrative form of mystical prayer designed to bring disparate parts of the spiritual quest into a harmony and focus, and in so doing, concretize one’s search and realization of union with God. I offer the letters and the poems that follow them with the cherished hope that they will become a light and illumination for those who will read them. No more than this can I do.
My name in these essays is a construction that resonates with my spiritual identity and approximates what I would call my spiritual name. There is no intent to be misleading, only the desire to allow the words to speak for themselves.
For those who might have the thought cross their minds, the essays in this book are not channelled, nor do they offer any extraneous information from other sources. They are written by a human being with very real human challenges, joys, insights, and hopes, from following the mystical path. I have, however, sought to bring the sense of my entire being to bear upon the reflections and poems, and therefore I may appear to be speaking from multiple centres. We are all much more than we appear and perceive ourselves to be. This is a truth we all uncover on the journey of soul. I trust my words will resonate with you and your larger being, and with who we all are as children of God.
A child of God and Earth.
Jarcq Terra
