Thomas Keating: The Secret\nEmbrace\nPart Two<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An\nInterspiritual Guide<\/strong>\nWednesday, \u202fOctober 28, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Our true nature is stillness,<\/em><em><br>\nThe Source from which we come.<br>\n. . . .<br>\nThe deep listening of pure\ncontemplation<br>\nIs the path to stillness.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>All words disappear into It,<\/em><em><br>\nAnd all creation awakens to the\ndelight of<br>\nJust Being.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> \n \n \n\u2014Thomas Keating, \u201cStillness\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>From Richard: In\nthe title of my book <\/em>Dancing Standing Still<em>, I was trying to capture the harmonious balance between\naction and contemplation. If we try to move without being attuned to the music\nof God and our True Self, what we do will not be beautiful, helpful, or\npossibly even worth doing. And, of course, we cannot follow the \u201ctune\u201d of\neither of those sources without aligning ourselves with them through committed\npractice. Cynthia Bourgeault interprets this poem by Thomas Keating in that light,\nthough she says it much more eloquently than I.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This\npoem seems to meet people wherever they are, from beginning meditators to folks\nwho\u2019ve been on the path for decades. Thomas returns once again to his earlier\nassertion that silence is not simply an absence. On the contrary, it is\npersonal, intimate, filled with aliveness and subtle relationality. Most of us,\nI imagine, still use the words \u201csilence\u201d and \u201cstillness\u201d pretty much\ninterchangeably, both designating an absence of external noise and a state of\ninner emptiness. For Thomas, the two are subtly different from one another\u2014and\ndistinctly different from our usual perception of emptiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For\nThomas, stillness is not even remotely a void. We tend to think of it as\nmotionlessness, but in a quantum universe whose nature is to be in constant\nmotion it really comes closer to dynamic equilibrium. It is T. S. Eliot\u2019s\n\u201cstill point in a turning world,\u201d [1] the Sufi dervish\u2019s fierce inner repose as\nthe outer world goes flying by, the Buddhist\u2019s \u201ceffortless action.\u201d It does not\nimply lack of motion, but the harmonious balance of opposites. You are neither\nimposing nor resisting, but simply present, flowing in oneness with whatever\nis. You are the dancer at one with the dance. You are still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\nhave been trained to think that the purpose of stillness is to lead us to \u201cpure\ncontemplation,\u201d long regarded in mystical theology as a highly exalted state.\nBut here Thomas turns the table on traditional theology; in a dynamically\ninteractive universe the purpose of contemplation is to lead us beyond all\nstages, states, and roadmaps\u2014beyond empty silence and stillness\u2014into that\ngreat, flowing oneness which is our own true nature and the true nature of all\nthat is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thomas\nhimself specifically comments on this point:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\ncontemplative state is established when contemplative prayer moves from being\nan experience or series of experiences to an abiding state of consciousness.\nThe contemplative state enables one to rest and act at the same time because\none is rooted in the source of both rest and action. [2]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Flowing oneness again. Flowing out from the Sacred Embrace, \u201cThe Source from which we come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"blob:http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/cb0b7f18-eb34-491c-a774-cb68ec02f422\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"328\" src=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-10.25.27-AM-1-500x328.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-10.25.27-AM-1-500x328.png 500w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-10.25.27-AM-1-300x197.png 300w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-10.25.27-AM-1-768x504.png 768w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-10.25.27-AM-1.png 1928w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace Part Two An Interspiritual Guide Wednesday, \u202fOctober 28, 2020 Our true nature is stillness, The Source from which we come. . . . . The deep listening of pure contemplation Is the path to stillness. All words disappear into It, And all creation awakens to the delight of Just Being. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19439"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19439"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19446,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19439\/revisions\/19446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Our true nature is stillness,<\/em><em><br>\nThe Source from which we come.<br>\n. . . .<br>\nThe deep listening of pure\ncontemplation<br>\nIs the path to stillness.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>All words disappear into It,<\/em><em><br>\nAnd all creation awakens to the\ndelight of<br>\nJust Being.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> \n \n \n\u2014Thomas Keating, \u201cStillness\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>From Richard: In\nthe title of my book <\/em>Dancing Standing Still<em>, I was trying to capture the harmonious balance between\naction and contemplation. If we try to move without being attuned to the music\nof God and our True Self, what we do will not be beautiful, helpful, or\npossibly even worth doing. And, of course, we cannot follow the \u201ctune\u201d of\neither of those sources without aligning ourselves with them through committed\npractice. Cynthia Bourgeault interprets this poem by Thomas Keating in that light,\nthough she says it much more eloquently than I.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This\npoem seems to meet people wherever they are, from beginning meditators to folks\nwho\u2019ve been on the path for decades. Thomas returns once again to his earlier\nassertion that silence is not simply an absence. On the contrary, it is\npersonal, intimate, filled with aliveness and subtle relationality. Most of us,\nI imagine, still use the words \u201csilence\u201d and \u201cstillness\u201d pretty much\ninterchangeably, both designating an absence of external noise and a state of\ninner emptiness. For Thomas, the two are subtly different from one another\u2014and\ndistinctly different from our usual perception of emptiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For\nThomas, stillness is not even remotely a void. We tend to think of it as\nmotionlessness, but in a quantum universe whose nature is to be in constant\nmotion it really comes closer to dynamic equilibrium. It is T. S. Eliot\u2019s\n\u201cstill point in a turning world,\u201d [1] the Sufi dervish\u2019s fierce inner repose as\nthe outer world goes flying by, the Buddhist\u2019s \u201ceffortless action.\u201d It does not\nimply lack of motion, but the harmonious balance of opposites. You are neither\nimposing nor resisting, but simply present, flowing in oneness with whatever\nis. You are the dancer at one with the dance. You are still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\nhave been trained to think that the purpose of stillness is to lead us to \u201cpure\ncontemplation,\u201d long regarded in mystical theology as a highly exalted state.\nBut here Thomas turns the table on traditional theology; in a dynamically\ninteractive universe the purpose of contemplation is to lead us beyond all\nstages, states, and roadmaps\u2014beyond empty silence and stillness\u2014into that\ngreat, flowing oneness which is our own true nature and the true nature of all\nthat is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thomas\nhimself specifically comments on this point:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\ncontemplative state is established when contemplative prayer moves from being\nan experience or series of experiences to an abiding state of consciousness.\nThe contemplative state enables one to rest and act at the same time because\none is rooted in the source of both rest and action. [2]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Flowing oneness again. Flowing out from the Sacred Embrace, \u201cThe Source from which we come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"blob:http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/cb0b7f18-eb34-491c-a774-cb68ec02f422\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"328\" src=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-10.25.27-AM-1-500x328.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-10.25.27-AM-1-500x328.png 500w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-10.25.27-AM-1-300x197.png 300w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-10.25.27-AM-1-768x504.png 768w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-28-at-10.25.27-AM-1.png 1928w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace Part Two An Interspiritual Guide Wednesday, \u202fOctober 28, 2020 Our true nature is stillness, The Source from which we come. . . . . The deep listening of pure contemplation Is the path to stillness. All words disappear into It, And all creation awakens to the delight of Just Being. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19439"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19439"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19446,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19439\/revisions\/19446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}