Sunday, May 28, 2006

Mantra

Progress report:

After a few weeks living with this there is a noticeable difference in my ordinary disposition, demeanour, and general everyday attitude and conduct.

It works! you can change yourself with this procedure. See I Thess 5:17. That I have never achieved, and I'd be amazed if I ever did. But people do. Some of the most creative people of our age have done it and still do it (don't ask for examples).

Living with a mantra like this has a complex result:

1. It seems to deaden the mind. Admittedly I use it every night at bedtime, and it has wonderfully improved my sleep habits. Wake up? Resume, and blotto.

2. It sensitizes your mind; you see more, feel more, do more. It goes by the title of 'the new man'. (The unknown author (below) refers to it as being 'oned with God'.)

Result 2 is like a knife edge between self centered thoughts and sleepiness. But it happens, consistently.

Re self-centered: if this is not a problem to you, you're wasting your time reading this. I venture to suppose that it's a problem to a great many of us. (It often descends entirely into pure blood selfishness; not a problem? God bless you; you're very rare.)

If you're interested in this subject you might try The Cloud of Unknowing.

9 comments:

anonymous julie said...

I'm glad for you, Larry.

Larry Clayton said...

And I feel very much the same re you, Julie

anonymous julie said...

:), dear heart.

What do you mean by "self centered thoughts"? By "sleepiness"?

Larry Clayton said...

Well.....:
self centered thoughts or this.

Re sleepiness, you might try lethargy, lassitude, torpor, torpidity, stupor, languor.

Ah teaching is wonderful.

Today after the Gainesville Friends Meeting Ellie and I led a group of 15 bright and beautiful Quakers in a study of 2nd Corinthians. What a joy. I've always been a frustrated teacher, and love nothing better than answering people's questions --- of all sorts.

God bless.

Lorcan said...

Oh dear Larry... thee has jinxed me!!! The mention of being a fustrated teacher and bed time... I have several school nightmares...
1. I am back in Kindergardin, and still not doing very well...
2. It is exam week, I go into a exam room and realize I forgot to take the course
C. I am before a law school class and realize I not only have not prepaired the sylibus ... I don't know what course I am teaching, so I begin to question the class about general concepts of law, to discover what course I am teaching...

Well those are the big three, there are varients of them... but... all this talk of sleep and teaching... oh my oh my oh my...

might try a mantra...

or maybe a sleepless night of blogging!

Thine dearly in the light fFriend
Pleasent dreams
lor

Lorcan said...

Well, Romany rights is one of the courses I wonder if I am teaching in my dreams, Xianchic!

Prayer is in deed a good thing... as to personage of God... I have been reading a wonderful little book by Leszek Kolakowshi, Religion, much shorter than his two volumes on Marxism... I have been mulling over a post about some reflexions on some of the things he touches on, about icons and images of God...

Mantras for me, don't get me where I am going, though I can see it as a way... as a young Friend being taught to center, we would work on learning to empty the mind of notions, as if breathing them out with every breath. I can see a mantra doing that... though I ( personally) don't see that as the way to that still small voice in me, repitition, something early Quakers stood apart from. But, I do think that we don't have to look back in our past to rule what we do presently. I know that many Friends encorporate other beliefs into their Quaker practice, even having spiritual masters, which I find really foriegn to out traditions.
But, the proof IS in the pudding, and Larry is well happy, and a good bloke, so all is well.

As a matter of fact, I did NOT have school anxiety dreams the other night, for which I am much relieved!!!

Sending all a big hug

lor

Larry Clayton said...

"School anxiety dreams", Lorcan? Law school? Did I tell you about my youngest son: went to W&M Law, passed the bar, had a one week career in law, although it no doubt facilitated his appointment to work in the White House for Mr. Gore (briefly).

I tried my best to keep him out of law, but to no avail. Anyway it was a good experience (very few grads actually become lawyers).

Best way I know to avoid anxiety dreams is to fill your mind with something else, just before sleepy time, like God. (Of course for some people I suppose God is the subject of axiety; Praise God, not me!!!)

Blessings to you, old friend, and to the rest of you as well.

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