THE KEYS

As living beings, it is our nature, both in our minds and in our bodies, to learn, grow and protect our identity: who and what we believe we are.  We are bonded to the idea we are something particular and separate from the world around us.  This addiction prevents us from exploring and knowing who we truly are, beyond our believed limitations.

The following statements, or Keys, are intended to release these bonds.  They will help us rise above the idea that we have separate identities, and the challenge this idea presents to our ultimate happiness.

Central to the keys is the relationship between the mortal mind and the Divine.  The keys help us realise that, without the Divine, the mortal has no existence.  At the same time, the keys give insight into the sacred union between the Divine and the mortal mind.  This exploration leads to greater peace of mind, and – ultimately – to transcendent transformation.

  1. The stillness within everything.

The Divine Self, the absolute stillness within, is not subject to time and space.  Motion is a mortal perception, seen only when relative to something else.  It’s like images on a screen that only appear in motion when relative to another, whilst the screen remains divinely still.  From the point of view of the Divine there is nothing else to be relative to.  It is mortal consciousness that manifests the illusion of form, a projection which in turn generates a sense of identity, separation, duality, and action.

Images and motion in the mortal mind appear as a play, possibly interesting in its own terms but having no impact on the screen or Divine Self.  There may be images of floods or fire, yet the screen is neither wetted nor burnt.  Life events – exams, jobs, marriages, children, death – have a profound effect on the mortal mind, but none on the Divine Self.  They are just fleeting images captured in an eternal, timeless flow.

The Divine Self embraces everything, yet remains still, like the centre of a wheel in motion.  It is everywhere and in everything.  The Divine Self in each mortal being is one and the same; just as the sun shining on pots of water appears as though it is many suns, yet all are just reflections of the one single sun.  My soul and your soul are very old friends – Rumi.  In reality they were never apart.

The meditation – Reflect on this:

There is something about me that has never changed, an eternal presence, the ‘I’ that I am.  So, who or what is this ‘I’ that I have always known?

  1. There is no separation between objects or events in time and space.

The world of advaita (non-duality) is referred to here as the Divine world or Self.  This Divine world contains no boundaries: notions of time and space are meaningless.  There is no such thing as direction: no here, no there, no anywhere.

Time is contained in an eternal moment: there is no past, no future and no particular reality. To an enlightened being, mortal life appears as a dream: to the mortal dreamer that action might last hours, in a number of different locations, but to the enlightened observer only moments have past, in no particular place and no particular form.

In the mortal world, objects appear to be separated in time and space.  It is in the nature of mortal consciousness to manifest this sense of duality, so that we may get to know ourselves in this world we perceive and experience.

Albert Einstein wrote that the past, present, and future are just persistent illusions.  His theories of relativity show that under certain conditions space, time and gravity can warp and change. Quantum physics, too, challenges our notions of reality: entangled particles have no independent existence.

The meditation – Reflect on this:

If there is no separation in time and space, what does this say about the world we inhabit?  And what do our ideas of an independent existence mean?

  1. Natural physics (Divine law) of the universe is the fundamental constant upon which mortal reason and predictability depend.

The rules of physics, like the rules of chess, are absolute and constant (Divine), without which this mortal universe, always changing like the game, could not function in any predictable way.  We depend on both Divine constancy and mortal change for our existence and growth.

 The meditation – Reflect on this:

 If we could not rely on the laws by which change occurs, how then could life as we know it exist for us?

  1. Space and time is holographic

Every fragment of our world, our universe, as it ‘appears’ to us is no more than a projection, a holographic image which contains the whole universe. In the same way every cause contains all its effects, and every effect contains all its causes. ‘I am not a drop in the ocean but the entire ocean in a drop’.

Everything is timelessly everywhere.  As the fundamental laws of the universe are constant, they ensure that the mortal world is, to us, coherent in form, space, and time.

The meditation – Reflect on this:

Take an infinite straight line, in space or time…  ‘Where is its centre when past and future, ahead and behind are always quite the same, no matter where you place the centre?’  So where is the ‘I’ that I am right now, or at any other time or place?

  1. We have no independent free will but are subject to universal will.

In this mortal sphere we are addicted to the belief that we have ‘independent’ free will.  As we are one with everything, ‘independent’ action is an illusion. We are subject to, and are part of, one single universal will or Divine force.  By natural law all things, and their consequences, spring from it, like ripples in a stream.

However, although the idea of independent free will is an illusion, we are always subject to the consequences of choices and actions taken.

The meditation – Reflect on this:

With no independent free will, who or what is responsible for our actions?

  1. All action is consequential, not determined in a linear sense.

Even though we may think of causal reality as linear, consequences do not just arise as a result of the past, as if predetermined, but they are affected by events happening   all around us, in the past, present and future. It is as if we are at the centre of a sphere of cause and effect.  We react according to the qualities of our mortal nature at the precise moment of cause.  Our mortal nature changes as we become conscious of the result of our actions.

The meditation – Reflect on this:

As we are inseparable from the world around us, in time and space, what then is the root cause of all our actions?

  1. Universal Will – life force – flows through all in our natural, mortal world. All life and action depend on it.

The Divine force of nature, forever constant, flows through everything and all beings. When a mortal form is in its path this force is made manifest, as light is only visible when there is something in its path.  It is the cause of all action in our world.  It is only by a combination of this force and the qualities of our mortal nature, that we act.

The meditation – Reflect on this:

If mortal action results from an encounter with the universal life force, what does it say about the relationship between the mortal world and the Divine?

  1. All mortal form, in name and substance, is one with Divine origin.

The Divine Self is the origin of everything. It is beyond name, form, or time, and is infinite in potentiality. In the mortal realm, it is the parent of all that is born, grows, decays, and returns.

Before an artist casts the first stroke, …  there is an infinity of possibilities s/he may embrace.  A flash of Divine inspiration springs out of Divine will … : a name and an image is born.

See the world as it really is, and all appears as just stories forming on pages blank, images on a screen.  Step back and watch as they form, grow and fade in the mists of time.

The meditation – Reflect on this:

If all mortal form is one with its origin, what does it say about my own form and the nature of my relationship with the Divine?

  1. Meditation, the act of being present.

In meditation we learn to bring greater presence of mind, body, and action.  Thought and perception change; the false dissolves, absolute reality comes into view, and our nature rises through the mists of ignorance to meet it.  As we learn to know ourselves, we will discover wonders beyond our mortal presence.  All we need is already within us.  As was carved over the entrance to the Delphic Oracle:  Know Thyself.

As we meditate, our sense of identity goes beyond all words, concepts, and ideas into pure, choiceless awareness. The awareness can be reached only by focusing our attention in the present.  As we peer through the mists of ignorance, the divine comes into view.  We rise above the clouds of mortal attachments into the eternal sky of the Divine.

Ultimately all is known directly: just as every drop of the ocean carries the taste of the sea, so does every moment carry the taste of eternity, the immortal now.

The meditation – Reflect on this:

The truth will set you free.