[Arktwo] Who.

[Bruce Beach]

For the last several weeks
before sending out a newsletter
I had always tried to wait
for some notable news
that appeared it might suddenly
change the course of world events.

Of late -
the that kind of news
has been in short supply.
There may be such events happening
below the surface
but they aren't getting reported.

The weather window closed
in the Middle East.
Political confrontations became permanent.
(Bush versus Congress,
Blair's departure,
Olmert's remaining,
Iraqi parliament's recessing).

Rebel confrontations
(in Iraq,
Pakistan,
between Hamas and Fatah),
have become customary in their trend
of intensifying).

Troop and military surges
have ceased to be seen as surges
but just as continuous patterns
of increased armaments.

Economic and monetary events
seem to be rumbling beneath the surface
with continued stratospheric deficits
and heights of the stock market,
but nothing has occurred to cause
any economies to collapse.

The UN continues to mumble and fumble
as Iran continues to
increase its nuclear capabilities,
at an ever faster pace.

Everything seems to be just
"the same ole - the same ole".
I suppose we should be grateful.
Still there remains a foreboding.
Something could happen anytime.
But, maybe not.

This leaves us all
with the matter of getting on
with our lives.
Some will be saying -
"Well, perhaps we can at least
enjoy summer."

Live life!
Enjoy life!
Well, that too.
But for the introspective mind
there remains the questions of
what, why, how.

Really those questions
are summarized in -
"Who".
Each of us can
paraphrase the third question
of psychiatrists as:
"Who am I doing what?"

>From the outset
our 'who' is defined by our mothers.
"You-um is the most cutest,
adorable, sweetest, little baby",
(I hope)
to when later we find
some qualifications on that.
We begin to question
(or we should)
as to who we really are.

For many -
their 'whoness' is defined
by the external world.
You are -
a student -
a teen -
a boy -
a girl -
a scout -
a soldier -
an employee -
a consumer -
a part of a mass audience -
one of your surrounding culture -
a member of your church -
a criminal -
or whatever -
society says that you are.

The maturing or mature mind
(Yes, I read -
H.A. Overstreet - The Mature Mind -
when I was fifteen -
and it is still a classic)
looks in the mirror and asks -
who - or what - am I?
This question
should particularly occupy the individual
during adolescence and into young adulthood.

Many never find the answer.
Many never really ask the question -
or rather never really ask it deeply enough.
To find the answer -
the lantern of search must be lit -
and turmoil will toss the soul.

The answer of course is -
a creation of God.
One of the largest categories
of emails that I receive -
is of the -
"How can you know there is a God",
or
"There is no god",
variety.

When we speak of knowing God -
we are speaking more of
'experiencing' God.
Do you believe in love?
How can you believe in love
when you see so much
hatred
wars
terrorism
murder
divorce
fighting
abuse.

Yes,
there is also evidence of love.
But to know love -
one must experience love.
Not so much as being loved -
as being loving.

Love, beauty, justice, God,
are experienced from within the soul.
The soul has the unique capacity
to love
and to recognize God.

Just as
the eye can see -
and the ear can hear -
the heart / soul
can love and know God.

Although the eye can see -
it takes training
for it to learn to read.

It takes training
for the brain / mind
to learn to think.

It takes training
for the voice
to learn to sing.

Not every
mind
soul
voice
is equal.

Many a person may say that they sing.
Many a person may say that they pray.
Many a person may say that they think.
But great is the difference
in initial capabilities -
and in the degree
to which they have been developed
in different people.

Some people excel in sports -
or in taking care of their body.
Fewer excel in training their minds -
and fewer still in developing their souls.

To develop the body
and not the brain -
is like buying a car -
and carefully waxing and polishing it
but never learning to drive it.

The purpose of the body
is to carry around the brain,
and the brain is the vehicle of the soul.

A car or body will go
wherever a brain tells it to.
Go faster -
go slower -
turn left -
turn right.
Haul this garbage -
go on this mission of mercy.
Whatever.

A brain will do
whatever a soul directs it to do.
Learn these skills -
learn this garbage.
Park -
idle -
do nothing important.
Whatever.

Some never start
the journey of the soul
to find God.
They just park the brain
in the garage
or in front of the TV or computer -
and leave the motor idling.

The purpose of life is
to know God and to worship Him.
By knowing God we meaning loving Him -
and by worshipping Him -
we mean serving Him -
which is done by serving humanity
in the way that He has directed.

O SON OF BEING!
Love Me, that I may love thee.
If thou lovest Me not,
My love can in no wise reach thee.
Know this, O servant.

	(Baha'u'llah,
	The Arabic Hidden Words)

Man has been given free will -
to find or reject God.
God does not force Himself upon man -
because then man would be
but an automaton.

Those who find God
are called 'believers'
rather than 'knowers' -
because it is always a matter
of faith.

7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
7:8 For every one that asketh receiveth;
and he that seeketh findeth;
and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

	(Jesus,
	King James Bible,
	Matthew)

This most great,
this fathomless and surging Ocean is near,
astonishingly near, unto you.
Behold it is closer to you than your life-vein!
Swift as the twinkling of an eye ye can,
if ye but wish it,
reach and partake of this imperishable favor,
this God-given grace,
this incorruptible gift,
this most potent and unspeakably glorious bounty.

	(Baha'u'llah,
	Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah,
	 p. 326)

All of the Prophets
of all the religions
have always come
to  lead man to God -
and to teach him
to love his fellowman.

Those who find God -
are called the children of God.
One never hears reference
to the grandchildren of God.

One has to make the spiritual journey
themselves.
They cannot rely upon
what their ancestors chose for them.

One must not short-circuit
the journey to God.
They must see with their own eyes
and hear with their own ears.

...that is to say,
no man should blindly follow his ancestors
and forefathers.
Nay, each must see with his own eyes,
hear with his own ears
and investigate the truth himself
in order that he may follow the truth
instead of blind acquiescence
and imitation of ancestral beliefs.

	(Abdu'l-Baha,
	Baha'i World Faith p. 246)

People get involved with the world -
and it prevents them from finding
the purpose of life
and who they are.

Consider, moreover,
how frequently doth man become forgetful
of his own self,
whilst God remaineth,
through His all-encompassing knowledge,
aware of His creature,
and continueth to shed upon him
the manifest radiance of His glory.
It is evident, therefore,
that, in such circumstances,
He is closer to him than his own self.
He will, indeed, so remain for ever,
for, whereas the one true God
knoweth all things,
perceiveth all things,
and comprehendeth all things,
mortal man is prone to err,
and is ignorant of the mysteries
that lie enfolded within him.... 

	(Baha'u'llah,
	Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah,
	p. 186)


Some think that faith is not real.
But faith is the situation of man.
We can know nothing -
within the limitations of
time, space and matter
that has been imposed upon us
by our Creator.

For those who are interested in
The Four Paths to Truth
I have written about them at:

http://www.webpal.org/c_renewal/four_paths.htm

All human paths are limited -
but it does not prevent us
from having faith in them.
The engineer takes his training
in each of the paths
and eventually applies it
so that he walks across his bridge.

Each of us
can similarly
create a bridge to Truth / God
in which we will have confidence.
We eventually come to have more confidence
in the existence and nature of God
than we can have in our own selves.

Some people
become put out
that I talk about these subjects
in these pages.
However,
one should know the purpose of survival -
before they set out on that journey.

We are approaching a time
of which it is often said that
"the living will envy the dead."

Those who truly know God
know the reason for surviving.
It is to serve God
and their fellowman.

This is why one needs to know
where
when
who
they are.

Where you are is on
one small planet in the universe.

When you are is
is when the planet is about to go through
the transition from
the anarchy of sovereign states
the battles between the races
and
the infighting between its historical religions -
to that which God has planned for it.

Who you are is
a soul created by God
that is capable of knowing God
and that has the choice
of serving His Cause
and Divine Plan
in organizing the planet
such that it will enhance
the spiritual growth
of all His creatures here.

If you do NOT know
when, where, who
you are
then you a part of the scenery
that is being changed
in the play of life -

And if you DO know
when, where, who
you are
then you a part of the actors
in the play of life.

Just as I am about
to send out the newsletter -
I check the news
one last time -
and just now I notice
that Jerry Falwell has passed on.

He and I had at least one thing in common.
We were born in the same year.
Someday, each of us makes that transition.
God will judge -
how we served Him.
None of us have the wisdom
to make that judgement about another.

Peace and love,
Bruce
DawnSayer@webpal.org