How blessed we are to have this mystic in our world. Thank you Llewellyn… for this and knowing you since 2002. Let that light shine!!
— Marilyn Dunn on June 14, 2011
Llewellyn, you wrote:
“In the West since the ‘Age of Enlightenment,’ rationalism and the pursuit of science continued to reinforce the wall of separation… And when consumerism triumphed and the glitter of its toys captured our complete attention, no one seemed to notice that the divine was not present. We had lived with the wall for so long there was nothing in our collective memory to remind us of what we had abandoned, of what is so close on the other side of its bricks.”
Your essay reminds me that there’s a correlation between having ‘forgotten that we’ve forgotten,’ spiritually speaking, and the ecological concept that fisheries researcher Daniel Pauly calls “shifting baseline syndrome,” where the level of ecological impoverishment you are born into is considered “normal” and the system, its former glory forgotten, continues to degrade generation after generation.
The purposeful extinction of buffalo & passenger pigeons in the 19th century continues with the decimation of tigers, bears and other charismatic fauna, not to mention the creatures we don’t often see, from salmon to tree frogs to fruit flies. Ecologically we’ve all been born into, as writer James MacKinnon puts it, a “ten percent world.”
This is the ecological recognition, but what clicked as I read your essay is that the spiritual correlate is just as striking and alarming. In terms of our connection to the Reality or Light behind and within creation, we are also living in a ten percent world, or a one percent world, where few if any of us are in relationship to the sacred quality of all things. Is this why creation is dying? Is this the upstream cause of our ecological crisis? I don’t know, but there needs be a greater awareness of the fact that our “inner ecology” has been bisected by an unnatural and resilient brick wall. No flow back and forth: in a natural system this leads to stagnancy and toxicity.
If ecological restoration depends on remembering what we’ve lost and working to create new norms—eg getting over the idea that someone else, whether a government or NGO, is going to take care of your rivers and forests for you, and serving those sacred places by showing up and advocating for them as a citizen— I’m not sure what spiritual restoration depends on. Maybe if enough of us sit by that wall, and start talking about its existence, and bring it into awareness, that act of attention itself will help to activate some kind of Grace.
— Tyee Bridge on June 14, 2011
Great essay. Thanks Llewellyn.
One more comment:
I think self-interest is the bricks, or the mortar, of this Wall. I confess I’ve never believed in a golden age of all humanity, but it seems undeniable that there have been cultures—and are cultures now—that held or hold the sacredness of creation as a core organizing principle. This means they acted accordingly in their norms and social codes, and checked the blind pursuit of self-interest at the expense of the whole, because they felt, they knew—a knowing of the soul, distinct to the post-Enlightenment intellect revered by our civilization of mechanics—the sacred nature of life. And they revered the land, forests, mountains animals and homes where they lived as part of that, as infused with that. So anyone who would have tried to fence in all the buffalo for himself and set up a butcher shop would have been seen for what he was: a greed-head, and a threat to the natural order.
This doesn’t mean capitalism is evil, necessarily, only the bizarre neocon/neoliberal greed that currently underpins it. Self-interest, living only for personal desire w/o regard for consequences or the suffering it causes for others or for ecosystems, and without gratitude, is the current spirit of capitalism, and our age of corporate power. Living only for one’s own success puts up a wall between oneself and feeling the Oneness or light in creation. I’m not sure how or why, but this seems to be true.
My hunch is a new era of restoration will only come if we see that and shift away from it. If we are at an End, it is the end of self-interest. Perhaps we will be motivated to make new choices if we see, clearly and drastically, that as a society, we have to leave off the insane and adolescent idea (beloved by corporations and their political representatives) that pursuing individual gratification is a legitimate basis for life, and thus a legitimate organizing principle for a culture. And we can’t wait for others to do it, or for it to become fashionable. We have to do it, now, and pay the price, which might mean a smaller home, or a reduced salary or no more vacations. “You have to look to the edges to see where the centre is going,” Stewart Brand once wrote. All depends on the acts of individuals, and as each of us chooses to be successful by working for the whole instead of at the expense of the whole, things will change; the wall will weaken.
— Tyee Bridge on June 14, 2011
May I offer a perspective on some of the questions posed on this beautiful article? What if…the light is integrated easily within the gentle folk of Earth who have been praying for this Light. What if, there is an entire population of women on this plane who would not seek to rebel or fight this light, or drive it away, because we have been calling it in for eons? what if we were capable of embracing it? Is this possible? That WE can stand up WITH God? What if…..as this light illuminates us all, we begin to finally stand up, stand tall with it, the shadows fall away back into nothingness, and the light strengthens us instead of hurting? GOD created those who can withstand and withhold Light and I believe women are those…though too many know it not.
— Lady of the Woods on June 14, 2011
I sometimes wonder if I can handle what I ask for from the Light. I wonder, like you say, do I even know what I’m asking for and how to surrender to It. As I walk through this world I feel all I can do is try to be the best human I can be and I know I fall horrendously short. I pray that Mercy and Compassion will be paramount in It’s manifestation to us.
Thank you for this article Llewellyn.
— Tom Jacobsen on June 14, 2011
Extremely personal and brave account infused with a real calling to remember. It touches beneath ones skin and tugs on ones inside. Makes me think differently and is asking to inquire deeper about the nature of light and our nature. Thank you .
— Anabell Blue on June 14, 2011
Thank you Llewellyn. I feel so much gratitude for these insight. This also enables me to hold the world in my prayers better.
— Rajan Arulganesan on June 14, 2011
Thank you Llewellyn for being with us in the inner and outer world and giving a voice to the reality of the times we live in. I pray enough souls will hear the call and honor this gift and push the wall down with all the love we have to offer.
— Caroline on June 14, 2011
Dear Lady of the Woods, THANK YOU for writing this: “What if, there is an entire population of women on this plane who would not seek to rebel or fight this light, or drive it away, because we have been calling it in for eons? ... ” I too believe there are many, many women calling in and anchoring the light on this plane ... May many, many more awaken and join in this labor of great love.
— Lynda Terry on June 15, 2011
“But how will humanity bear the light when it knows only shadows? How could our consciousness cope with a world of light?”
I am reminded of how I felt when I first read the allegory of Plato’s Cave. Once you become aware of the reality of the Source, how can you not strive for a life beyond the darkness and shadows? And yet, in the allegory, those who shown the Light are not immediately convinced that it is more real than the world of shadows they are accustomed to.
[Socrates] And now look again, and see what will naturally follow if the prisoners are released and disabused of their error. At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows; and then conceive some one saying to him, that what he saw before was an illusion, but that now, when he is approaching nearer to being and his eye is turned towards more real existence, he has a clearer vision, -what will be his reply? And you may further imagine that his instructor is pointing to the objects as they pass and requiring him to name them, -will he not be perplexed? Will he not fancy that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer than the objects which are now shown to him?
(Benjamin Jowett translation (Vintage, 1991))
God grant us the grace to remember You in the midst of all this darkness, to move towards what is Real.
— Hannah M. on June 15, 2011
Pir Zia wrote in the article he posted today about “the integrity of one’s life actions.” There is some truth here for me that is growing more meaningful day by day. Having put greater attention into my daily relationships, I notice something shifting.
— Michelle M. on June 15, 2011
love you ,and thank you for presenting so good article , give pepople so many enlightments ,thank you ,great teacher !
— lovevaughan lee on June 15, 2011
a painful message, but true.i too am weary.my soul cries out to HIM daily.by HIS grace , may the wall come down soon.
— chris on June 15, 2011
I, too, have seen a wall in meditation. Mine was much smaller, a dry stone wall like the ones in Yorkshire. It was mine alone, not humanity’s,and it had a small cross-shaped opening carved from my side, but in my vision something from the other side had pushed enough of the stones down so I could scramble across and see the clear path ahead. Thank you so much, Llewellyn.
— L Ball on June 15, 2011
I thank the Beloved for this beloved Human Beeing Llewellyn Vaughan Lee and his Wife Anath and the Golden Sufi Center,love greetings from Dorothea on15.June 2011
— Dorothea B.Nolting on June 15, 2011
This article could not have come at a better time. It provides a beautiful reminder that to be on the Path comes with responsibilities to our committment to Being here now in these times. These words provide support and encouragement to continue the Work and that we are never alone. May Allah’s Baraka of Gratitute be upon you for your contribution to the upliftment of us all.
Peace & Blessings
Rashida
— Rashida on June 15, 2011
Thank you again.I had forgotten how beautiful the light is.
— ebru on June 15, 2011
I believe this article helped me in putting some experiences and conditions in perspective which I had been wrestling with. Thank you very much!
When reflecting about the wall and how to ‘be’ with it I saw myself just sitting with the wall longing and longing for the light ... like the longing would create some kind of vaccuum ...
— Fiona Lefevre on June 15, 2011
Thank you for this amazing article and reminder that we need to go back to remembering God and to obey to His will and command. The way I see is that we are here because we have agreed to be in this life experience, which is very different from what is on other side of the wall. It is all agreed long before we even came to this world of shadows, for us to experience difference from the world of light and is very unique and individual and was not available to us in this world of light.
We can fight against of God’s will but bottom line He will get us to do what He wanted us to do and what was agreed anyway. It is reminder for us to learn how to bow down to God and even we are here in the world of shadow, which we would not be able to experience in the world of light. So to speak God have specific design for each of us. In this life we need to remember how to bow down to God’s will, that we already know, regardless that we are in this world of shadows and once we do remember we would have more light here. Our ego creates illusions in order to distract us from remembering how to bow down to God’s will, but our job is to remember it and to go with it and all changes and light arrives.
— The light on June 15, 2011
Thank you, Llewellyn, for helping us see what stops us - in such a concrete way!
I have been shown that the brick wall surrounds my own heart. When I read your words, I burst forth with these words, from Psalm 82.
Arise! Awaken!
Come into the Light.
Shed darkness like a skin.
Arise! Awaken!
Come into the Light.
A new Dawn dwells within!
Along with Lady of the Woods, I pray that we ALL awaken to the Divine Feminine within our own hearts. Then the wall will tumble and we will be whole once again.
— Juliana Howard on June 15, 2011
Dear Pir Zia wrote in his article posted on the same page as the “The Wall” : “But there is a greater greatness. Its sign is the choice quietly taken, at cost to oneself, for another’s sake.”
What is written in the article “The Wall” eco that very much. The only thing is that now the cost to oneself , although taken quietly is to speak up words others do not dare to say. To call in a way that it is not always comfortable or at time agreeable.It is a real and urgent calling. It makes me think of the call of the Muazzin , the call for prayer. It is loud so all can hear and remember but the voice still holds the mystery.
— Anna Florentine on June 15, 2011
Tyee, thank you for both of your comments. Your analogy of the “shifting baseline syndrome” to the seemingly “normal” state of spiritual degradation that we’re born and raised in, really struck a note. I have felt all manner of bad feelings in regard to the spiritual wasteland I was raised in. I never thought of my homeland as a degraded habitat, but that’s exactly what it was!
The phrase “spiritual restoration” also draws up a feeling for me. Would you agree that the bulk of the work of ecological restoration is done by powers greater than us—Nature, devas, microbes and insects, however you look at it? And we can help it along, can’t we? But how do we participate in spiritual restoration? Can we do more than pray and try to become conscious of what we’ve done, “sitting by the wall” as you say?
And thank you, Llewellyn, for this article. I’ve seen that wall and am chilled to read about it. You bring up important questions:
“Is it our collective destiny to be imprisoned by the wall of separation created by our ancestors and reinforced by our own forgetfulness? Or can we reclaim this dimension of light, the light that will enable us to see the world around us, a world of beauty and wonder that belongs to God, where joy has returned and we no longer pollute our environment with our unsustainable desires?” I often feel the impossibility of making way for the remembrance of God in this world. As one who aspires to remember God as much as possible, I regularly forget to ask the question, “Where in the world is the light that belongs to God?” Why is it so difficult?
I need people around me that remember to help me remember; and we help each other remember. No one from my spiritual community, other than my husband, lives in my city. And since I’ve taken on the habit of using less gasoline, I’ve been relating much more with the folks in my vicinity. I’ve become part of a localization movement here, where I was surprised to find glimmers of light. I’ve felt what I can only describe as the possibility of life’s regeneration—not ecological or spiritual, just life—though this feeling has mostly been fleeting. I’ve participated in many meetings and gatherings where agendas come forward to fill the space; but then I’ll catch a glimpse of something new trying to emerge there, and I’ll decide to stay. I’ve been confused about whether or not I needed to be there. In trying to address this, I discovered that it was mostly taboo to mention anything sacred in these gatherings—“that might discredit the movement.” I’ve only been able to share this “something new” in smaller groups, where space is valued and there are no agendas.
I don’t know why I’m sharing this. Maybe just to tell you, Tyee, that a few more people might come and join you at the foot of that enormous, insurmountable obstruction. I sit there too. I pray a lot. Talking helps sometimes. I’ve begun to wail more than before. Perhaps it will be heard.
— Michelle Moore on June 15, 2011
Are we willing to accept responsibility for this wall of separation and our forgetfulness of the sacred? Are we able to bear witness to the pain we have caused? Perhaps the feminine within each of us that is familiar with the pain of separation, will be able to endure this sorrow and draw down the light.
— Diane on June 15, 2011
I enjoyed your essay and find comfort that mysticism crosses every border of tradition and that all traditions have a mystical venue that gets lost sometimes in the public eye because of the structures of the traditions erected by those trying to ‘do’ the tradition rather than ‘be’ the tradition. Within the last fifteen years I have become a ‘blue collar’
Christian mystic reading a great number of the ancient writings beginning with the Desert Fathers and coming forward to Underhill, Merton, Keating,etc. I have done several retreats, some directed some undirected at various monasteries and seminaries. I have learned that all traditions have merit but that I must follow my own path while welcoming others. The Dala Lama made the remark once to one thinking of adopting Bhuddism that we need to drink from our own well. I note no reference to Christian Mysticism in your essay. Since Constantine Christianity became institutional but the fire in the belly is still the Presence of God. I hope you will include some of that tradition in your writings.
God Bless
— Nolan C. Galloway Jr. aka Gus on June 15, 2011
I am thankful for this article. I have felt this exhaustion of the soul for some time now. I am wondering if and how this Wall is related to LVL’s last two articles about the light going out. Is this a further exploration of that, and a clarification, or is this different? The announcement that the spiritual light (that was a nourishment for humanity’s evolution) seemed to be a report of a recent occurance. This Wall appears to have been built hundreds or thousands of years ago.
I did feel a shift recently, and felt my tenuous hope for a mass awakening pulled out from under me. When I read the articles about the light going out, I thought it was related. I have been re-orienting myself to this view. I am still here in service, but becoming less busy about wanting to achieve some outcome. Having given up on some level, I can finally live. I have been grieving the loss of the light for so long, and fearing the outcomes, that I have been unable to live my life.
How do we tear down the walls that imprison us in darkness? Can we will it? can we create it with our desire? Can we see it as so? Can we hold the knowing of the light, and the truth of that Reality, and value it so completely that nothing else is relevant? Isn’t it true that the the Wall is an illusion too? Can we live that light here where we stand? We must choose it, no matter what else may be happening around us. We must choose it, and others will also remember that there is a choice to be made, a gift available. Can we be both in this world of shadows, and also awake to the Reality of the light? Can we who remember be the rainbow bridge?
— christy ceraso on June 15, 2011
When I read about the light there is so much longing, so much sad joy. As if I was fast asleep in all my activities - until I started reading.
— Elmar on June 15, 2011
Sad and true at the same time. I keep asking myself are there still any true lovers for this planet? I sometimes wish that creation and life itself could experience much more often a passionate love affair. But how can this happen if not by ourselves? We are not here just by any coincidence. Creation is expression of the divine and we are part of it. As long as we keep searching for the light “beyond” whatever and wish we would better be there than here, how can creation remember its own divine light.No one will be here to remember and mirror it. What a chance could that be to have a conscious experience of that light and to return into this world and bring it into life. Light upon light on planet earth is possible. I truely believe in that.
— Sylvia on June 15, 2011
Thank you Llewellyn
— Mark Woods on June 15, 2011
Thank you for your wise Presence
— sue minns on June 16, 2011
May I offer a different viewpoint. The wall is an illusion. Do not stop with this picture. God is as He always was, Omnipresent. “Wherever you turn there is His Face”, as it says in the Qur’an. If we can’t see Him in every face, it is because our hearts are blind. Nothing has existence but Him. ‘la ilaha illa llaah’, as the Muslims say. ‘There is no God but God’. Do not give power to anything else, be it the wall, the human beings, the tempter,the angels, even the light itself. In Sufism, Light, an-Nur, is just one of God’s qualities. Don’t stop with any of His Qualities. Continue the journey. The journey is endless.
— Fatima Martin on June 16, 2011
Michelle, I hear you—“I need people around me that remember to help me remember; and we help each other remember.” I’m fortunate to have a group that helps me remember every couple of weeks, even though I live most days in forgetfulness.
(This is going to be a long reply, so forgive my wordiness ahead of time.)
I’m not sure if “the bulk of the work of ecological restoration is done by powers greater than us—Nature, devas, microbes and insects.” Perhaps so. What I do believe is that humans are not doing their share, and if we, as caretakers and stewards of this Earth don’t pitch in, the work of these restorative powers collapses. Of course many in other cultures are doing far more than their share; but most of us in the shopping-mall culture of the urban West are not. We’ve forgotten that we belong to our places. We have it the other way around.
As when David Abrams talked about the shamans of Bali in his book ‘The Spell of the Sensuous,” we need people in our culture who will mediate between the human ‘village’ and the wider community of nature, with all its species, creatures and spirits, of which we are a part. The fact that we long ago lost that class of human-wild, matter-spirit mediators is, I think, a large part of the reason for our crises, both ecological and spiritual. It is those sorts of fringe dwellers—their authority recognized by the village—who rein in the excesses of self-interest, and remind people of what is sacred. If we’re talking about shifting baselines and spiritual degradation this is one of the fundamental elements of our social ecology that we’ve lost.
I think of the genocidal repression of the Cathars by the political institution that called itself the Catholic church. What world would we live in if they’d been allowed to flourish? Perhaps they would have faded out like the Shakers; but maybe they would have infused into European culture a genuine mystic consciousness.
The good news may be that we are growing it back again, that mediator class, in the form of small circles of local people who care about where they live and work to preserve it—reminding their communities of the web of life, its sacred nature, and their duty to future generations.
The groups you mention, those circles of concerned people, are I think vital parts of the human efforts we need to make for restoration. Joanna Macy has talked much about this. I’ve seen some wonderful things happen when “ordinary” people come together out of love and concern for the Earth, things that may not appear spiritual but that are the basic dishwashing work we’ve mostly externalized in our culture. You can’t run a meditation retreat in a house that is filled with dirty dishes, garbage and unwashed laundry. Spiritual restoration, to my mind, goes hand in hand with the unglamorous and often tedious work of ecological restoration, just as it does in our own homes.
But you’re right… so many people in such groups don’t want to mention Essence, Light, surrender, faith or the presence of the sacred. Myself included, in many situations, because the meaning is misunderstood.
I think those circles of citizens can be altered subtly and in very important ways by people who come to them holding the paradoxes of effort and grace, surrender and power in their hearts—knowing they are powerless, but also, God willing, possibly vessels for an enlivening Essence or spiritual energy. People who can hold the paradoxes in their hearts for God’s sake carry a certain energy that transforms.
I’m too thick to be sensitive or aware of the presence of devas or other beings that can assist us in restoring the world—maybe part of our spiritual impoverishment is people like myself who cannot sense the presence of such things. I don’t doubt that other more subtle beings exist in the cosmos and here on Earth… and if in our degraded and fallen places, whether the inner psyche or the outer world of polluted rivers and radioactive deserts, we are praying for restoration or just being in a state of prayer, that may bring the grace of help from whatever beings or presences exist, unseen.
But we have a critical role to play. Grace may be ninety-percent or ninety-nine percent of any solution, but my belief is that it requires that one to ten percent from us; we are required to act. Not necessarily to succeed, or win any of the battles for rivers and fish and intergenerational justice, but to engage them anyway, to make some small attempt to crack that wall of unenlightened self-interest.
You wrote: “Maybe just to tell you, Tyee, that a few more people might come and join you at the foot of that enormous, insurmountable obstruction. I sit there too. I pray a lot. Talking helps sometimes. I’ve begun to wail more than before. Perhaps it will be heard.”
For me too prayer is often a kind of inner wailing. Longing, if we let it burn from us, through us, has an effect on that Wall. I believe that has real power. There are many people at that Wall, I think, feeling and praying for restoration, but we need more. I should spend more time there.
— Tyee Bridge on June 16, 2011
Fatima, thank you for sharing your wisdom. The journey is endless..
— Wendy Moore on June 17, 2011
Beautiful. The line that haunts me is, “Where in the world is the light that belongs to God?”
— Sherine Adeli on June 17, 2011
Fatima, you found really wonderful words to describe an enlightening truth. A touching example of what is meant by the saying “to remain focused”. Thank you sooo much.
— Sylvia on June 17, 2011
Thankyou.My spiritual work is in a Christian and Western Wisdom framework primarily and I read a great deal of Sufi works. This powerful dream is I think happening to many of us, perhaps with different imagery but the same effect.A dark storm comming…perhaps it all has to run its course.But the Light will get through I believe, I pray.God knows our hearts. Surrender the small self each day,love God, and work for the Light.
— Virginia Crowe on June 17, 2011
Thank you for sharing.In my vision, an endless line of burdened people trudged across the desert in shadows, unaware of anyone but themselves.In my compassion for them, I despaired, until the light appeared,approached and blessed my head with hands of light.
— Lorraine Almeida on June 17, 2011
Thank you Virginia for your words:“This powerful dream is I think happening to many of us, perhaps with different imagery..” I think it is also happen to many who do not know how to articulate it ,even to themselves. This article caries a powerful imagery that seems to penetrate below the surface and involves both the human and the earth. I might help and strike a accord with those of us that feel but not always know how the express it or even recognize what is happening.
But I think so many of us can recognize what is said in this article: “...the light has gone dim. And this is the unspoken tragedy of our world.” It is not about a group of people or individuals who might hold the light dear. This a collective situation calling from every corner of life. It is hurting deeply. Light as I know it always penetrates. This article does the same. It penetrates. We may struggle with what it says, but it still penetrates. Like the light, the knife of a surgeon needs to cut through to get to the wound.
— Anna Florentine on June 17, 2011
Thank you, dear Llewellyn, for sharing so deeply with us. May your vision come true, may the Light decide to have mercy and distroy the manmade wall, its power is omnipotent, may we be given the strength to bear the Light!
With love, Marlis
— Marlis on June 18, 2011
Dear Fatima
Thank you for your perceptive response. Yes, the wall is an illusion. It is not the truth of “Everything perishes except His face.” The Ultimate Reality is all around us, continually revealing Itself through the mystery of “I was a hidden treasure and I longed to be known, so I created the world.” And yet in this world there are many veils, some of which dissolve on the journey back to God. And just as we may discover the veils of our own personal conditioning, the illusions which hide us from our Beloved, so there are the veils of our collective destiny. My sense is that this wall is such a veil, created through our own collective alienation from the sacred—as you suggest, the blindness of our hearts. My purpose in writing this article was not to suggest that this wall has any power except through our forgetfulness of God. Sometimes we need to see and acknowledge the veils of our illusion and forgetfulness, so that we can come to know ourselves better, and pray that through His infinite grace the veil may be dissolved—if it is God’s Will.
Thank you again for your insightful comment.
Llewellyn
— Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee on June 19, 2011
I had a dream in which I was with my Teacher at night in a small courtyard in the center of a house. My Teacher was facing one of the walls of the courtyard and he was standing very straight and upright. I was lying close to his feet looking at the sky and describing the stars to him… he couldn’t see the stars because all his attention was focused on the wall. At one point
the whole night sky suddenly changed and the stars became the color of jewels… some were like rubies, and others like emeralds and sapphires.
— Karen Neary on June 19, 2011
Some years back I had a dream scene of coming to a wall. It was at the end of a highway. Solid line in the middle. I was aware that I could not get to the top nor could I dig under. I saw no end to both sides. I thought maybe to back up but the solid line? It was the end of the line for me.
I’d gone as far as I could. I was alone. With your reminder of the wall and so many also coming to the wall, I don’t want to just sit and talk about it. Maybe we could form a human pyramid and get someone to the top…maybe with a rope. My effort for now is to start sharing rides with others to meetings as the gasoline prices are so high, money is scarce etc. Maybe coming closer together with others of like minded ideas and just being aware of each other’s ‘Light’ and ‘Love’, realizing we all ARE the LIGHT, we’ll all lighten up and just ‘float’ over the top together. We can still hope.
— ginger on June 20, 2011
“The Supreme (love/light/awareness)is the Universal Solvent.It corrodes all containers, it burns through every obstacle. It dissolves you, the person, and thus reasserts your true being”
From “I Am That” by Nisargadatta Maharaj
— Peter Dockley on June 20, 2011
Perhaps that wall is like the wall of the womb that protects and shelters us as we develop the organs and limbs necessary for the next world.
— Jay Bender on June 20, 2011
Thank you for sharing this experience of The Wall. Reading it reminded me of Pink Floyds great work, The Wall. Its all Good.
— Enig Ma on June 20, 2011
Thank-you so much for the very moving article which provides an insight into the depth of the work you do and what you have to go through to provide help to the rest of us…..thank-you for being our Teacher.. thought I would also share this dream which is about a brick wall being dismantled ...it may not mean much but thought maybe others have also had such dreams….I had it last year ......
My husband and I are walking towards our home which is on a cul-de-sac and as we turn into our street, I notice that the whole view within it has changed. All the houses on the left hand side of the street have been removed and what looks like a brick wall has been dismantled, beyond the dismantled wall one can clearly see the ocean (although the ocean is within view, the only way to get to it is by hopping or walking over what looks like independent mounds of packed sand which extend for about a hundred or so feet before one can reach the ocean water). There are many people that have come to see what has happened and I stop to ask someone if they knew what has happened here and about the ocean. I am told that they have heard that the ocean was always there, but because of the brick wall you could not see it, and now a large part of the wall has been dismantled so the ocean has come into view. I look at the ocean in amazement and savor the smell and the breeze coming from the ocean…. I can also see the remains of the dismantled brick wall in places. We then both walk over to the top of the cul-de-sac cross to where our house is … all the other remaining houses in this area appear the same but our house looks different, the number on the house is ours but face has been changed it is now made of stucco and the front has been flattened and is raised high, the windows which were rectangular have been arched, and are displaying numerous bottles of wine which are visible to all passing by…. With these bottles of wine our home on the outside looks more like an Italian restaurant …. my husband gets very agitated when he sees what has happened to our house, but I hold his arm to calm him down and then move towards the house…..we enter the house by simply pushing the door and as we enter we find that the house inside looks like a mosque, there are people everywhere, some actively praying and others sitting or walking in a state of contemplation their faces look radiant and happy…..and we take off our shoes and join them…...
— Nadia Hameed on June 21, 2011
Thank you, Llewellyn, for what you bear for His sake.
— Mary on June 21, 2011
Llewellyn, I was comforted by the beginning of this piece, for it resonated with some of my own experiences, and spoke of the same exhaustion I felt upon my return. It encouraged me to climb right up on that illusory wall, spread my wings and flap off into the light joyfully, knowing that the wall was a conception of my ego, indistinguishable from the collective false ego.
Yet, after reading several of your things, you seem to have this love for high drama, you make extreme statements that posit gloom and doom, instead of what we both know to be true: that it is ALL alright, and each of us is constructing, climbing and deconstructing our own wall, and God somehow keeps up with it all, and IT IS ALL OKAY, despite all appearances to the contrary. Perhaps it garners attention and sells books to “hang crepe” as the old expression would have it, but that too is a falsehood, and belies a full experience of the light of which you speak. Surely there must be some purpose in your tendency to weave warnings of ultimate darkness into your stories of light?
— Amidha on June 22, 2011
Just yesterday the main media gave us the news of impending mass extinction of marine species due to human influenced factors such as carbon absorption and ocean warming. This is the reality of our present predicament, which vitally needs our inner and outer attention. As I have written in previous articles, we have a spiritual as well as physical responsibility at this time of real global crisis. We need to remember the sacredness of creation, how we are all a part of one living interdependent organism. Through our remembrance, our witnessing and prayers, we can make a real contribution of the light our spiritual nature.
— Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee on June 22, 2011
Thank you very much for sharing your experiences and your deep insights.
Yes, these Beings Of Light or their radiance are present, when my spiritual healer is asking them for help. In these moments, there seems to be no wall. Especially the Divine Being, which appears us as Black Madonna is touching my heart so much, that I don’t understand anything ..so much love, mercy and forgiveness. She is opening something in my heart, which was forgotten.
Yes, the most Divine help I need after reading your articles, sitting in a painful drama. 
) Your talks are like old Arab love songs.
And when I ask myself, why did I close my heart all my life, there is a resonance to a beautiful Arab song “Siret al Hob - Talk of Love”: http://www.experiencefestival.com/wp/videos/om-kalthoum—um-kalthoum-sirat-el-hob/4FusV28xVr4the
All my life I’ve been afraid of love, talk of love and the betrayal of love to its friends. I know stories full of pain, tears and cries of agnoy. Lovers had been worn out, but not quit.
All my life I’ve been saying, I’m not up to desire and the nights of desire and my heart is not up to its torture….. http://www.shira.net/music/lyrics/sirt-el-hob.htm
— Sylvia on June 22, 2011
Upon my creation as a spiritual locus of perception, God showed me the earth engulfed in the flames of Industrialized Mankind. He asked if I was willing to go to earth and see what I could do about this situation. I agreed and my adventure began…
Until choosing my parents in Hawaii I had access to perfect knowing, and selected Hawaii as the best cultural interface between western industrial cultural forces and the indigenous/spirit-aware cultural forces that must balance industrialism. The traditional Hawaiian culture, before it was colonized by American cultural pathology, had evolved with a good balance of living simultaneously in both worlds: the material and the spiritual.
The necessity now is to build a regenerative culture that brings awareness of spirit into daily material living. In Hawaii this principle of balance is called “pono” or “right relationship, just, correct and proper, coinciding with the true nature of existence.”
Another Hawaiian concept is “aloha ‘aina”, “love and caring for the firmament that ultimately feeds all of us.” The reality is that if the ‘aina is not properly cared for, famine and widespread suffering will ultimately reign.
The proper role of the ali’i, the “leaders” who administer and manage societal affairs, is to preserve and enhance pono in all human actions and activities. There were “good” ali’i who earned the willing support of those living under their administrations. There were also “bad” ali’i whose egos and greed made it impossible for them to sustain pono.
Building a canoe was a major economic activity in old Hawaii. There is a story of an event where the community went to the mountain to harvest a huge koa tree and bring it down to the seashore to dry out and be made into a canoe. The chief who failed to maintain pono, and whose subjects suffered grievously as a consequence, was persuaded to lead by taking a position at the front of the party heading downhill with the log that weighed many tons (his ego easily convinced him that it was his proper role to be out front; he was unaware, veiled to the knowledge, that his people detested his policies and behaviors that made plain his own disrespect for them). The workers holding the ropes that restrained the log from rolling down the hill “accidentally on purpose” slipped and lost hold of the ropes. The log rolled over the detested chief, killing him.
An opening occurred for a return of the community to the state of pono.
Collective behaviors that have as their goal the establishment of pono in local human affairs can lead to the regeneration of the bases of life that some of us see as the urgent need it is.
Aloha kakou.
— Kaleopono on June 22, 2011
Thank you. Thank you, always.
I am struck that some readers, who can acknowledge the wall, also consider only their own individual liberation. For example, it was written by a reader, “It encouraged me to climb right up on that illusory wall, spread my wings and flap off into the light joyfully, knowing that the wall was a conception of my ego, indistinguishable from the collective false ego. Yet, after reading several of your things, you seem to have this love for high drama, you make extreme statements that posit gloom and doom, instead of what we both know to be true: that it is ALL alright.â€
I strongly believe that those who came into this world with a blessed easiness for going back into the light while being incarnated, that is, climbing over the wall of forgetfulness to say the least, we did not come into this world for our own sake, for our individual liberation, but for being with all of humanity and the earth in our re-connecting with the Light. When I surf beyond “spiritual†websites and I am painfully exposed to websites of alternative news, where I have come to see that humanity has been hijacked by the forces of darkness and has fallen into a Stockholm syndrome (falling in love with your hijacker and even defending it against any rescue operation). As Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee wrote, “The forces of darkness know our weaknesses only too well, and the cracks are quickly mortared over before enough light can come through to make a real difference. Maybe a crack in the wall is not enough.†All Hades is braking lose on earth at this time, as Alex Jones said today at http://www.prisonplanet.tv.
Hopefully through compassion or maybe simply due to my pessimism/realism, I can only see how most of humanity is helpless and cannot turn back on its own toward the light because they are too entrenched into worshipping the forces of darkness through disguised images and toys of triviality. For example, humanity is caught up in worshipping derisive yet powerful governments, self-serving pop stars, corrupted but smiling politicians, arrogant and narrow-minded scientists, desecrated religious institutions, false paradise of drugs smuggled in by our governments to intentionally cut us off from ourselves and the beyond, ongoingly celebrated engagement in debased sexuality, massive intake of processed fake food, fake physical beauty for one’s own sake, etc. The more I look at this wall imprisoning humanity and the earth, the more I see that it has been fomented by the forces of darkness, in collusion with human beings who allowed themselves to become spellbound, who have forsaken the Beloved, willingly or unbeknownst to them. I was helped by my Teacher to extract myself somehow from this worldly reality. May peace be upon him/Him. Looking at this worldly reality, outwardly and inwardly, is painful, very painful. And it seems that most humans, “spiritual†or not, do not bear or cannot bear to do so, possibly because we are too entrenched in it.
As Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee reminded us last January darkness and its humanoid forms take away the light of human beings. I see so much darkness around us all, often disguised in the “goodies†of this world. I try to remember and love the Beloved with all my might and all my helplessness. I am bound to call upon Him, again, and again, and again, because, to me, He is my hope, our only hope. Calling, calling as I see at times commenters on some websites of alternative news write, “GOD, PLEASE HELP!â€
The reality of this world is beyond what most “spiritual seekers†imagine, according to my conversations with few of them. How many know that our skies have been sprayed with chemtrails for the last fifteen years over all major cities of the world, chemtrails containing aluminium and barium, two toxic metals, plus nano bacteria producing the untreatable Morgellons disease, with the intention to make humanity sick and block the sunrays from reaching us? How many know that fluoride is poison and uranium is often added to our municipal waters? How many know that the vast campaigns of vaccination aim at making humans sick, sicker, and to die as quickly as possible because these “vaccins†are infused with poisons and severe pathogenic elements? How many know that the “New World Order†aims at eliminating at least 80% of humans so they can better control and enslave the rest? How many know that the soon-to-be-at-our-door worldwide economic collapse has been designed by the “elite� How many know that they have weapons to bring about destructive weather conditions and they use them? How many know that they have engineered GMO foods to sterilize all of humanity within three generations of their consumption, and that they wage wars against organic and small farmers as well as sellers of natural supplements, supplements which are now forbidden throughout Europe since last month? How many know that the elite is starting WW III to bring about their eugenicist and totalitarian plan to control the world? How many know that they have miles and miles of underground cities throughout the world to live in after they will have started a nuclear meltdown of the earth’s surface? How many know that most movies we watch, most videos we see, most clothes we wear are designed to program our minds to worship forces of darkness and gradually get us used to belong to them, to completely forget our divine essence?
Thankfully, I have heard Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee say once that God, when He wants to destroy something, He puts it in the wrong hands. Maybe our world desecrated civilization needs to be destroyed because it cannot be renewed at this point. Only the Beloved knows.
And, yes, we are co-responsible for the state of this world because we are collaborating with the forces of darkness. Reviewing recently an essay on the seven capital “sins†which were introduced by the Christians of the first century (sins because they cut us away from God), I was struck at how much I engage in them way too often (it is so easy; one just has to think obsessively about food when one is not hungry rather than remember the Beloved, and one is engaging in gluttony!), despite all my desperate efforts at being here for Him. I am also struck by how our world civilization is structured upon these amnesic yet ingrained attitudes.
When I realize all this and more, I see how human beings are lost, terribly lost. I pray, and pray, and pray. So, to me, this article is not an article of doom and gloom, but one of realism and hope, hope for all of humanity as well as the earth. I now believe that the wall can only be brought down from the world of light by the Light. We can’t. It seems that we missed our opportunity. It seems that only the Beloved can destroy this wall, but there is a price, i.e., destruction.
I have had a vision in which I held the world in my heart, along with my Teacher (by whom we have been asked to do so for several years now). Suddenly, humanity and the earth were lifted away from this planet, entered the sun where they were purified, and reappeared in another dimension, where the earth had a body of light and human beings had individual bodies of light. We were Consciousness again. Behind, this planet was left as an empty skeleton covered with ashes, and the forces of darkness and their humanoids had been destroyed. Maybe there will be a resurrection after all.
So, as Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee stated, “If it is the will of God the wall could be destroyed by light, it could dissolve in an instant. But how will humanity bear the light when it knows only shadows? …We need this light in order to see our true nature and the true nature of life.â€
So I pray for Light to come back into this world for the sake of humanity and the earth, for His sake, if it is His will, and may His will do with us what He will because only He knows.
Thanks again, beloved one.
— Louise on June 22, 2011
Thank you for sharing your light.
— Patricia on June 22, 2011
Thank you so much for your life of service. For being willing to put yourself out there for His sake and for speaking the truth even when doing so points to the painful truth of our collective failure but also calls us outside of ourselves and asks that we forget ourselves for Him and his creation before it’s to late.
It takes courage to witness the light and the darkness in the inner and outer world. We know we are all one but to be willing to really, really see the whole picture with the eye of our open heart is bravery and I hear this in your words and see it in the light all around you Llewellyn.
I pray and I do believe we have it in us to fall into remembrance with each sweet breath we
God is Love. Love is the Answer.
Thank you Llewellyn.
— Honor Thy Mother on June 23, 2011
„A mirror (teacher) has many faces.“ The latest articles of L.V.-L. somehow implicate a black and white reflection of a present increasing challenge on which humanity has to find an answer. I believe it is a mistake to reduce the author to this appearent limited perspective. As he has shown in many articles, books and talks and even now in his responses, he is defined by much more facets. Dear Amidha, yes superficially, it may seem as if the play is about “selling more books, presenting more interesting stuffâ€, but it becomes apparent on closer consideration. First of all I think it is good to remain focused with the simple truth that everything is God or as Fatima posted here “There is no God but God†and “Don´t give power to anything else.†And where is the problem? You already regard this fact as a truth and you live it already. Great! For sure he will have a reason to act as he does right now. May be it would be more helpful for everyone to try to get a glimpse of the whole instead of remaining in personal disappointments. May be he reaches via internet much more people than before and may be the articles give some people the chance to identify with it. Is that bad? Isn´t it just another aspect of God to stay in front of an imaginary wall and to live the longing of an unfulfilled love affair? And some identify with the “drama aspectâ€. Why not? May be with this they will start their journey or maybe not. Whatever… The articles have already done their work. In a very short time the content has set some things in motion. There are so many reactions not just as postings here but in talks and reflections around in the world wide web. Something begins to work in the attenders. Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee has set something in motion. Isn´t that, what a teacher usually does? Not more and not less…
(P.S.: Dear editorial office! It would be helpful if you could change the settings for the comments, so that each user name appears only in context with one person and cannot be used later by another person Thank you very muchïŠ)
— Sylvia on June 23, 2011
Louise, thank you very much for your comment. It reminds me of the times, where I struggled so strong with the whole world. In such a situation I decided to have a spiritual life and I began to meditate, connecting my heart with the Beloved. But I did this only once :_), because somebody put something in my chest, which seems to me dark, aggressive and brutal. Only at the end of this process was a little glimpse of love and light. After this experience I thought, that it isn’t such a good idea to have a spiritual life with such a lover. But, maybe something like a spiritual trial doesn’t exist, either there is Yes or No and nothing between these positions?
The point with that energy in my chest is, that I usually get a lot of problems, if I don’t accept and love everything as it is. Now I understand, that I should not justice, if somebody has a spiritual life or not, if somebody has an individual journey or not, if I find a dark roaring reptile or a beautiful singing angle on my journey.
This is really though work and I think I should do another connecting trial with the Beloved, to ask if there isn’t any other open job posting for me.
If this energy is real, than it must be from the Beloved.
Question: Is there really something like an individual journey to God or isn’t this just another illusion?
Sylvia
— Sylvia on June 23, 2011
Dear Sylvia
Your final question: “Is there really something like an individual journey back to God, or is this just another illusion?” goes to the very core of the mystical relationship with God.
What is this love story that unfolds within the heart of the mystic? What is the real nature of a lover’s journey back to God? If everything is One, how can there be any journey? And yet we know from our longing, from our tears and desire for God, the truth of this mystical journey, and how others have walked this path before us. We are already united with our Beloved and yet we have to make this truth known to our self.
Your this question also embraces the essence of this article and some of the responses. There is nothing other than God and all is according to Divine will, and yet we live in a time of global crisis that demands our attention. And just as we are making our own individual journey back to God, so also is the whole world making its journey from separation back to union. Individually and collectively we need to awaken to this oneness that is all around us—the interdependence of all of creation. From the illusion of separation we need to awaken to the reality of oneness—that is an essential part of our journey and the world’s journey.
— Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee on June 23, 2011
Since reading this article, I have been wondering what shift in consciousness occurred when the Berlin wall was brought down. It seemed impossible for this separation to be ended and yet it was. I believe it possible that through our devotions, meditation, true witnessing, there may be a shift in consciousness that brings this wall down that separates us from the sacred and the reality that we are all One.
— Diane on June 23, 2011
Dear Sylvia,
Saying Yes to the Beloved in my heart is the only thing that matters to me now, according to His terms, even though it has been and still is painful, even very painful at times. But everytime pain occurs I try to let it brake my heart more open, as He is this pain, and thus more space is created for Him. Maybe I then become more of a space for Him to be in His world to love it. How much He is in my heart I cannot know. But I know that welcoming Him somehow involves, beyond love and ecstacy, bearing pain and at times a lot of pain. It is both most beautiful and most painful.
Love to you, Sylvia.
— Louise on June 23, 2011
Between the extremes of our forgetfulness on the one hand, and our faux-spiritual denial on the other, it is with a grateful heart that I read the authentic expression offered here by Llewellyn Vaughn-Lee. Thank you deeply. Only by truth can we hope to heal.
The darkness of our forgetfulness has brought us to an undeniable impasse, and I find this collective lack of awareness stupefying in its continuation. But I am often more stupefied when I encounter refusals of responsibility stemming from distorted perceptions of ultimate balance - perceptions wherein we are offered patronizing statements of how the world as it is is all okay.
If we cannot truly own and take responsibility for the damage we have done to this earth - a damage reflective of our own distortions - then how can we presume to know anything whatsoever of the abilities of God to keep up with it all?
— Yvette Le Tourneau on June 23, 2011
I find myself concerned about statements which have periods at the end. “This is this” and “that is that” with no options given tend to bother me. I was speaking with a dear friend tonight, and she reminded me of something our Murshid Shamcher said: “When you make predictions, you’re robbing God of his options.” We can hope to eventually become—as Pir Vilayat would have said—privy to the secrets in the court of the King”.....but those cards are still played pretty close to that Heart… So perhaps we need to be careful to speak only when our vision can encompass both sides of the Wall.
— Amidha on June 24, 2011
Dear Llewellyn, Diane and Louisa,
thank you such much for your responses. I’d like to freak out like the audience, when Oum Kalthoum is singing: “Many times love has called my heart, my heart didn’t respond.â€
This is the beauty with this special kind of singing, called tarab, which is about creating a state of bliss and ecstasy upon the singer, the musicians and the audience through music. There is a feedback mechanism between them, so that they all together become one organism, encouraging each other in expressing, what is arising in their soul. And usually, when there is a resonance, the audience is calling and remembering: “Yes! Ya Allah! Ya Rabb!â€
I don’t understand, from which awareness we can say, the world is okay or the world is not okay. This is a very interesting point. Is it okay or is it not okay, when in the heart of the world is an overwhelming quality of sadness?
When I asked such a question, there is again a wall and I am back to: “Many times love has called my heart, my heart didn’t respond.†But accepting keeps me open. And if the Beloved is asking to respond to love, mercy and forgiveness, then I hope my heart is open in that moment.
— Sylvia on June 24, 2011
Dear Amidha,
Please remember, Sufis speaks to need of the moment, the need of the people and the need of the time. Such is the duty of the moment. No matter how it may appear. And Sufis also do not judge by appearance but try to listen from the depth. At least they try…sadly not so many are able to hear.
— Anna Florentine on June 24, 2011
From reading this article it is clear that the author put himself on the line for the sake of the whole. He is not shy to address the shadows as much as the light. The dark corners we do not want to name or address and show them in their true light. Tell me any one of you who wrote so much against mentioning the darkness here, when was the last time or if at all , when your turn on the kitchen tap on , you said thank you to the water and remember the source?The river? The giver of the water?
Tell me, Amidha, is it not a real serious drama , and is it not doom and gloom that we are given such a news of impending mass extinction of marine species due to human influenced factors such as carbon absorption and ocean warming? If this is not a real drama that concern us all, I do not know what to say. Is that not a sign of our great forgetfulness of the sacred? Of our stewardship? Respect? Honor? Our duty to our nature?
And why on earth mentioning the darkness is to do with divisiveness?If one needs to look at dark corners in ourselves we need the light to shine on them to see. And there are indeed such dark corners in each of us as much as what we are facing now as a whole.
I have been visiting Seven Pillars website for a long while and never seen a response to an article like to this one. Obviously it struck a real note for positive or negative. At least it struck a note! GOOD!
This article has courage!
— anna Florentine on June 25, 2011
The Wall reflects the paradox of Creator and Creation. The paradox is an illusory split. The Higher Self and the Lower Self need to come together. The masculine and the feminine need to pierce the veil and illusory split. Isn’t this what we are talking about when we say there is a Wall. The Awe & Majesty and the Intimacy & Beauty need to be One. The spirit energy of the masculine in the ‘out breath’ needs to freely spark the spirit embedded in the feminine.
The Will of the Creator needs to come into Creation. This cannot happen if the Feminine side of God is unable to forgive and remains embedded in Matter. A latent anger of the feminine keeps the masculine from bringing in a spark that awakens. Likewise, the masculine’s fear of real Feminine power and magic supports the repression. The World remains deplete of feminine Magic and Masculine Wisdom.
Last night I had a ‘guy’ dream in which I was looking at three blackboards with information written upon them about the future (which I took to be akin to the Will of God seeking to come into its World).
I tried to bring this from the Higher Self to the Lower Self but was unable to carry this information into waking Life. I understood the importance from deep within, but I hit a Wall of cognitive dissonance by opening my eyes. The information could not reach Creation.
Mother Earth has joined in the chaos to destroy the eco-system. In one week a volcano can emit more noxious gas and carbon into the atmosphere than the unconscious actions of Mankind in a year.
This reminds me of a story. I would rather throw a quilt made by my Mother down a trash chute that let my Wife mistreat it. By unconsciously sitting on it she was causing the threads to break. I didn’t have a good relationship with my Mother so it wasn’t about that. I honored my Mother because I knew the heartfelt effort she had expended. I would rather throw it down the trash chute than watch it being desecrated.
It is said that we are transitioning from a Patriarchal era to a Matriarchal. We all know how ‘Power & Control’ has repressed and corrupted, so maybe the more Holistic Feminine is what is needed. At least that is the prevailing concept.
I do not think so. There is more to God than the archetypal earth energies. Let’s not forget the Will of God. The World is breaking down from masculine abuse, and the World is breaking down when the feminine response of Creation is more global warming, polluted oceans, volcanoes, and hurricanes.
The quilt is being thrown down the trash chute. Maybe this can change if the recognition of the Divine is made Whole. From both the ‘out breath’ and the ‘in breath’ consciousness exists between the Higher Self and the Lower Self, aka Masculine as Wisdom and Feminine as Magic as an intertwined energetic cohesion.
— Oops (There goes my necklace and jewelry) on June 25, 2011
Always when I am connecting to that virtual place here and our discussion I feel a very strong underlying note, which comes from your article Llewellyn. It causes a very though dissonance inside of me. And sometimes our comments can change this note for a moment. But then again this note is pulling me back to that painful dissonance and is encouraging me to share a shocking dream, which had in summer 2004 after a visit in Jordan.
In the night I was driving a black car (German fabricate) approaching the top of a hill. But half of the way I had to stop and to give this car to some young Arabs. So I continued walking and on the top of the hill I saw some beautiful patterns of polar light. Then I was brought to a tent, where people had a party and I said: “So what? Is there a problem with having a party?†After that question I found myself alone in an American city, it was still night and everybody was sleeping. I walked through the streets and suddenly from above a masculine voice said: “This world will come to an end!†I was very frightened in that moment, because it sounds like a command. But then I was back in balance and I thought: “Oh great!!!! Maybe God is speaking!:-)†I looked in the direction, where that voice came from, expecting a fire in a burning bush or something like that. But unfortunately my expectation was not fulfilled and I saw a very shocking dark nothingness. Screaaaaaaaaaaaaaam!!!! In 2004 I didn’t had so much spiritual or religious teachings and I never heard something about emptiness. Today I’d like to say: “Oh my God, are you completely crazy to do that with me????????â€
So, my question back to the base not is: If this world is really dying, what is our duty in that process?
— Sylvia on June 26, 2011
To Oops and Sylvia,
Oops in his dream last night cannot talk. Can’t move or shift. Is hungry and feels he needs to eat before he does anything. Is running out of time. Can’t get motivated. Has lost the sense of time (and can’t get his watch to re-set to 9:25 P.M. [the correct time where he is at] from 11:25 P.M.)
Oops has to move before the day is out. He has a big truck. But where the moving truck is at is a mystery. Oops knows he can move quickly (when and if he can snap out of his malaise) because most of what he has can be thrown away.
If there is enough time!
Oop’s must move but whereto is not portrayed.
Precious time is being chewed up by the chatter of another guy. And a woman that he does not know, wants to go with him. All of this is keeping Oops insipid.
So how is this going to work out? Must Oops figure this out? He seems disoriented. And Oops is not snapping out of his trance to take responsibility.
.... Maybe this is just Oop’s personal dilemna. Or maybe this is akin to the macrocosmic problem symbolized by the Wall?
— Oops on June 26, 2011
If the world is really dying, what is our duty in this process?
The world has been through many times of transition. There are clear indications that the world’s Sixth Mass Extinction is now underway, and the recent report about the acceleration of the extinction of marine species only supports this. If this outer, physical dying is reflected by an inner, spiritual dying, what is our duty? Firstly we need to acknowledge what is happening and take responsibility for our role in this crisis. We are part of a materialistic culture that has polluted the inner and outer worlds: we are living in a wasteland of our creation. I find it interesting that while we have begun to accept the outer ecological disaster, there seems a taboo against considering that this could be reflected in the inner worlds, that the sacred inner spaces and their spiritual energy could also have become toxic by our values and attitudes. And yet spiritual teachings tell us that the inner and outer worlds reflect each other.
Once we have accepted and taken responsibility for what we have created, then we can learn how to live in this time of transition, because dying is always a time of transition. Without this conscious awareness we can become easily stranded, caught in the images of the past, unable to make any real transition. It may take real courage to fully accept our predicament, but consciousness often needs courage.
There is a wisdom in the earth and a wisdom within our own hearts that can help us, can show us the steps we need to take, the attitude that is required. And we can be open to the grace of God that is our greatest need. Then from this dying something new can be born.
— Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee on June 27, 2011
Dear Llwellyn,
thank you so much for your service.
On Monday I rembered a book, written by Linda Hartley: “Servants of the Sacred Dream - Rebirthing the Deep Feminine Psycho-spiritual Crisis and Healing.” In Chapter Six Linda is writing about the ancient myth Innana-Ereshkigal - the Journey of Decent. Now this myth is providing a holding container for me to “take real courage to fully accept our predicament” and “Then from this dying something new can be born.”
— Sylvia on June 30, 2011
To start, let me quote RUMI here
“Do not fear, there is always wine
if you are thirsty for love.
Do not fear, there is always water
if your lips are parched.
Do not fear your ruin, inside you there is a treasure.
Open your eyes, for this world is only a dream.”
I see the GM foods being inducted in food chain, I also see the people waking up to potential dangers.
I see the devastation of climate change, but I also see the people being aware of their own actions and interconnectedness of the world.
I see huge drug corporates using their drugs on humans as lab animals, but I also see conscience awareness within those organisations and in outside world.
I see the devastation caused by the financial institutions but I also see the people becoming more humane and humbled and being aware of the fact that they have been slave of numbers.
I see the armament industries creating problems and then offering solutions but I also see people becoming aware of these games.
I see the corporates foresaw the internet, a tool to control population but I see how it has become the tool for awakening.
The dark forces don’t understand the workings of Love. They most fear the awakened human beings.
They weave their tricks but don’t realise who is the greatest trickster.
Never, never, never despair and leave hope. A smallest act of compassion, love, mercy can make a huge difference. Above all, attach yourself with God and liberate from all fears and illusions.
Unless your love all encompass
Without reservation
without prejudices
without boundary
You cannot take the first step
For being Human.
— Anwaar Haq on July 1, 2011
Llwellyn,
I forgot to say that my heart feel so much love towards you and the work you do.
Allah bless you!
— Anwaar Haq on July 1, 2011
“Spiritual teachings tell us that the inner and the outer reflect each other.” This seems important.
1) It is also said: ‘that angels quest for a human body’.
2) And that a human being is the ‘microcosm of the macrocosm’.
3) And ‘as above so below’.
4) And ‘that in a grain of sand there is the universe’.
So it seems that Creation is like a blackboard with a role to play.
If Man in his ignorance can cause a Sixth Mass Extinction, this must be part of the divine plan. This event would transmute Existence as we know it into something new, such as Light and unconstellated energy.
Perhaps there is solace in what Einstein postulated: ‘energy is neither created or destroyed, it simply changes form’.
If the World is really dying, then from the hidden depths of the human heart something new is afoot.
— Oops on July 2, 2011
I enjoyed the article, and am always heartened by reports from the beyond written by people I see no reason to distrust. However, I don’t buy the historical declension narrative that’s fuelling all the febrile spiritual handwringing in these comments, and the misandrist self-congratulation of some of the female respondents offends me as a man who’s trying to follow a spiritual path along with many of my male friends. Men and women are fascinatingly different, but I don’t believe they’re unequal in their capacity for evil or for absorbing the light. The kinds of mischief women do in this world may often be more occult than men’s evil, but I see little evidence in my experience that they’re really closer to God. Patriarchy has had its advantages and its pathologies, but what I know about matriarchal cultures does nothing to convince me they’re something we should be nostalgic for. I think humanity is always walking a narrow path between survival and destruction, and that we’re evolving towards the light, but also generating new problems as we go along, The path is getting narrower as we proceed, and we need to keep evolving in order to stay on it. Seers like the writer of this article help me to feel that there’s telos, and also sober me with the realisation that, historically speaking, it’s very, very distant.
— John on July 13, 2011
I have felt called to read this more then once, as well as other articles by this bright light and each time, I am so grateful for a teacher who values the thoughts, feelings and wise hearts of the female in all of us.I hope our love can speak to the wall as we reach outside of our selves and fall back into Him with our whole being.
I pray we do not let any walls silence this sweet gift inside our chests as it has done in the past.
Thank you dear man for staying with us and allowing your light to lead us home.
— A Lady on August 3, 2011
Dear Llwellyn,
Thanks for this article. It helps me feel less alone to hear of your experience after experiencing that light. I have had many brief experiences of this light: first, in the presence of the relics of a saint, and then with numerous drops attacks in which I lost consciousness. After the first experience, I wept for two hours! With the seizures (non-epileptic), I am left always with a deep longing, for that fullness of being loved and loving. And, yes, never wanting to be away from the light again. AND I am here. Still. I have fewer seizures now, but still have days of auras (precursors to seizures) in which I experience unusual thinking where there is no separation between past/present/future time. I struggle to integrate these experiences, understanding now the Christian concept of surrender as something very real—when there is nothing left but the will of God. I am an Eastern Orthodox Christian. I went to seminary in New York for 3 years to go deeper. But the seizures showed me the light and confirmed the light I first experienced with St. John Maximovich as I stood over his relics. Although prayer of the heart is an important part of my work and of this Christian tradition, some part of my heart seems always to be grieving…. Thanks for listening. —jw
— jw on August 16, 2011
John: “The misandrist self-congratulation of some of the female respondents offends me as a man”.
Your statement causes a pause at “The Wall”.
You are indicating a rampant spiritual ignorance.
It appears that the feminine is slanting the path to bolster her self image.
The feminine often preens as ‘complete’. In doing so she is blocking a much needed ‘shift’. This affects the hidden ‘levels’ of existence.
What a sense of humor the divine must have to have given the ‘seed’ of Life to the masculine! Without the ‘seed’ there is no ‘spark’.
Mankind lacks joy/bliss. [A ‘Bliss’ correlated to the in-breath out-breath interval.] Without ‘bliss’ the feminine ‘longing’ dominates. The path is weighed down by suffering.
It has been said: That a person can travel as far as their ‘longing’ can carry them (i.e. a feminine principle and out-breath to in-breath interval experience). This leads to the paradox! As suggested above, nothing can meaningfully ‘shift’ if the blissful flow is unable to stream (from the masculine in-breath out-breath interval into Creation).
— Oops on August 21, 2011
Beautifully written article! I appreciated your insights and the metaphor of the wall. Thanks! Words seem to fall short of how I am feeling.
— crw1212 on August 23, 2011
I saw that brick wall also in my dreams, endless high but limited in width. We made a circle aound it and took us by the hands , to avoid that the upcoming storm lifts us away. The air was so loaded with electricity that the hair in the my neck stood up. But we had the ability to see the flow of the air and could act on that. This article is a wonderful pin point in the dessert.
— Christian on August 24, 2011
Thanks for sharing this beautiful article. As a gay man, I can relate to the metaphor of the wall. Internalized homophobia like a thick wall separates gay people from their true essence. There is no access to Divine Light when one is separated from his or her true essence.
— Payam Ghassemlou on September 27, 2011
Dear Payam,
I was so touched by your pain. I have also struggled with my own sexually and this deep love for God in my heart.
When I was 17 I was in my bed crying out to God with this deep longing and sorrow and wondering if I should love a man or a woman or just give myself to God because of this longing for Him all of my life. And wondering if there was something wrong with me for having these feeling for both sexes.
As I called out to God with my whole being, a tunnel of light opened up in my room and this light came down and filled my whole body. I felt completely loved, no judgment just a feeling of wholeness. A voice as loud as if spoken in words but instead was spoken in my head and heart said, “Love is the answer. God is Love.”
Payam, I wish you all the love your heart can hold.
What grace to have found this soul, this teacher, full of Divine light. A mirror to reflect our own precious light within each of us.
With Love, Caroline
— Caroline on September 30, 2011
“The secrets of the world—seek less,
Wine and Love, seek with heart and soul”
Hafez of Shiraz
— Bolbol on April 29, 2012
no way through; there is no doorway, no ladder, no break in the wall. When I come to the wall I walk along it, and then I have to turn away, back to the narrow streets of this world. Sometimes I have made every effort and, clambering to the top, looked over the wall. Or I have just felt what is there—endless expanses of light, and the beings of light who live there. And yet always I have to come back, back into this world, so constricted and full of shadows: the half-light of our existence.
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