THE MYTH OF THE DIVINE SOPHIA by Stephen Kobecky In the Gnostic myth of how the world works, Sophia, the feminine personification of wisdom, lives happily with spirits of light (especially her twin brother), in the unified limitless potential of her Father’s radiance, created by the twin powers of Depth and Silence. She’s so dizzy with love for the Creative Source that when she sees a brilliant shimmering light below, she flings herself down into the darkness, mistakenly following what she believes to be her Father’s radiance, fooled by a mere reflection. There, in the abysmal unrealized potential of the … [read more]
Blog
Listening: My Parental Dilemma
Learning to bear, listening, inner vigilance. These are themes I found myself grappling with this week as a result of a difficult interaction with my daughter. I had asked her to correct a certain behavior, thinking nothing of it. I justified my behavior in my mind and apologized, but I couldn’t see how hurt she was. I really thought it wasn’t a big deal, but the air remained “thick” and the exchanges were curt, defensive with no resolution in sight. My apology did not feel sincere and by the next day, we were dealing with a build up. Without getting … [read more]
When Winning is Everything: A Personal Battle
Post election 2020 Seeing parallels… The day I kicked my narcissistic husband of nearly a year and a half out of my house, I felt a gargantuan victory like never before. At the time, I cried tears of relief for hours and wondered why it took so much effort to finally put appropriate boundaries up. I only then understood the stress I had been enduring. Those boundaries would prove to be the meager beginning of a very long struggle with knowing how to hold up against these types of forces. To kick him out took an immense build up of … [read more]
As the Geese Fly: A Contemplation on Life Tempo
My experience with the geese this weekend has inspired me to think about the tempo of life and how resonance with nature is the way forward. The geese know exactly when it is time to fly. I recognize that I too must be in sync with the resonance and tempo of nature. This occurrence came about as a result of my growing relationship with the subtlety of nature over time, with our land, the movement of birds, insects, animals, trees, sun, light, shadow, wind and the concert that is created from all of these things. I can know very much … [read more]
Four Stages of Spiritual Work
As the Awareness School year progresses with many groups in session, I am struck by a clearer understanding of various stages of this great Spiritual Work. Whether that be gathered from one on one meetings or the women’s group or the various classes within the introductory Practical Awareness Course or from our studies of vigilance in the Tuesday night group, we span a spectrum of experience that seeks freedom. Across the board, something has become more solidified for me regarding sign posts of these stages, and so I offer a brief overview. My intention is to elucidate certain aspects of … [read more]
The Elusive Center
Our theme of vigilance is revealing something about the elusive feeling center. Last Tuesday many tried to describe what emerged when in this type of vigilance meditation as we rested in curiosity and stillness without expectation. We can come to know the sensation of the body on a profound level with the use of this practice. It is the foundation by which greater openings can occur. It takes us out of our heads and grounds us in an energy required for presence. If we do this practice not only in our meditation but out and about in life, it yields … [read more]