Notes from the Conversation Week January 2014

Clearing the Space

Since early October, the residents at Chisholme have been working together on various projects to clear and clean the physical spaces of the main house, outbuildings and estate, and in particular to give attention to areas often overlooked or hidden away.

Needless to say, the real clearing needs to happen in our interior. One of the inspirations for the conversation week came from the wish ‘…to leave all the space to God’. What does this mean, and how can we work towards making this real - in our interior facing and in our life?


A mixed group of 20+, some quite new to Beshara, some students since more than 40 years, joined together in the Meadhall at Chisholme for a conversation course. No matter what our previous experience, here we were all equal in facing the challenge of this course; there was no agenda, and none of us knew where this week might take us. The requirement was simply to be present to the present moment; to listen with real attention to each other and to ourselves, and to speak directly from our heart, giving words to those intimate matters of the soul.
Well, this anyway, was the intention.
In practice we often fell short, found it hard to say the right words, or find the courage to say anything, and so it became a profound learning process for us all. Much of real beauty was revealed. The notes below can't possibly summarise a whole week of very concentrated conversation, but maybe you will find something of interest, to take away for yourself.
Frances Ryan Feb 2014
 

Notes from the Conversation

We started the week by asking: What does ‘Clearing the space’ mean, and what is it for? What is our task here?

Quote from Rumi: ‘The Task? To work with all the passion of your being to acquire an inner light, so you escape and are safe from the fires of madness, illusion, and confusion that are, and always will be, the world. When you have acquired this light, then every kind of power, all rank, status, and every conceivable reward the world could offer you, will pass like a flash of lightning when they shine on your heart…’

What are the tools to acquire this light?

Someone mentioned the five things (given to Ibn ‘Arabi’s wife in a dream, as the helpers to guide her on the Way)  were mentioned: Trust, Patience, Certainty, Resolution and Veracity

…and the four ‘pills’, which Bulent spoke about in an interview in the early seventies (you can listen to it on the Beshara website, in the Audio section of ‘Resources’: http://www.beshara.org/principles/sound-recordings.html

Bulent says:  ‘Everything is of one thing. There is no other thing except that one thing.

There is no possibility of communing or communicating or going back to that one thing through nothing. You have to build into something, and then reach.

This is the simplest way you can think about it.

And there are four pills that go with it, four pills you have to take: One is that you are sure that there is One absolute. Secondly, you must keep everything clean; thirdly is that you mustn’t harm anybody, the fourth thing is you must be helpful to everything. After those four things it is up to you to find your way to get there.’

Someone asks: Can you say more about cleanliness, because we get dirty all the time?  

Bulent: ‘Don’t worry, because you can wash fortunately. Wash inside, outside, morally, mentally, physically, even financially one can wash one’s self.’

This advice from Bulent seemed extremely helpful. We felt that these things will help bring us to a place from where, as Bulent says, ‘I need to reach, reach out to Him’.  This place is more than just a place of dependence. Reaching here means addressing Him directly, because He has promised and agreed to respond to those who ask.  Not reaching from the place of ‘another’, but reaching from the Essence. ‘Give me’, and He is obliged to give, because He has imposed this upon Himself. To stand in this, requires real servanthood. It turns what we usually think of as ‘servanthood’ to a new place.

The story of the Master and the three servants from the bible, was discussed.

The master divided some of his fortune between his three servants to look after while he went away. Two of the servants had the courage to try and do something with their share of the fortune. They did their best, according to their abilities. When the master came back, he praised them both equally. The third servant was afraid he would lose what had been given to him, so he buried it in the ground. The master was furious with this third servant, for he had wasted the opportunity offered to him.

Also, Ibn ‘Arabi’s ‘The Kernel of the Kernel’ was mentioned in this context:… of man being a divine workhouse.

Ibn ‘Arabi, in his prayer cycle called ‘Seven Days of the Heart’, often uses the imperative when addressing God. What does it mean to use the imperative?

There are two ways of making a demand: I can make a demand with a clenched fist, or, the other way, I simply say: ‘Give me’, because He said He would. If I could rise to a place where I could say: ‘Change me’ – this would be totally, totally different from tackling this from my self, trying to ‘change myself’.

The language of love: When I love someone with all my heart, and I know the love is returned, do I say: ‘Please, would you be so kind and kiss me?’, and when I get a kiss, do I say: ‘Thank you very much’?

Or do I say: ‘Kiss me!’?

If I come to Him on my knees, I approach Him as another. Here, we are talking about a different level, which we need to reach up to, and which is according to Union – the complete image. This, all of this, is from surrender and listening, which is what Bulent means when he says: ‘…this reaching has to be built into a strong foundation’.

Somebody asked about what the nature of the ‘reaching’ is, and the conditions of meeting it?

The ground we stand on is servanthood. Reaching is a practical thing. Bulent says: ‘Everything is of one thing. There is no other thing except that one thing.’

So, I am building into ‘being’. Meditation, mindfulness, teaches me how to be in this: I am here, now. I can’t reach without being present. Being present with my being is servanthood.

Rumi: ‘When I sit in my place of patience, what I need flows to me, without pain.’ ‘Sitting in my place’ is the same as ‘running to God.’ Running after things is running away. Staying for Him – we need to learn this – to run to God with total facing.

Someone read out a quote from Abu Yazid al Bastami, saying to his father, Musa: ‘Oh father, Musa, when these people have been inspired by you to become believers through your words, tell the people of this Way that you invite Him because He necessarily responds to invitation’.

Someone else asked: ‘I would like to be clearer about the work that needs to be done.’ (everyone in the room laughs, and agrees)

Maybe the word ‘work’ needs to be ‘cleansed’. Work can be understood as a form of prayer. It does not need to be anything other than devotion, bearing Him in mind. He carries this, and it is light – it becomes God’s work; it does itself.  To live one’s life like that, that is the level. Ask Him to do this work – say ‘I would like to see how You would do that’. To work from that point of view, there is no constriction of ‘I cannot do that’.

A story was told, of when Irene was asked to be a supervisor on a course, many years ago. After a few days on the job, she went to Bulent and said: ‘Bulent, I can’t do this!’. Bulent answered: ‘Irene, we know very well you can’t do it – that’s why we have asked you.’

Friday afternoon (last session)

What this week was about is to understand better what ‘clearing the space’ means, for Him.

Koranic Quote: ‘Oh thou, peaceful soul: come back to thy Lord, content, accepted; enter amongst My servants, and enter into My paradise.’

Don’t reject Him, not in any way at all. ‘Ask Me, and I will answer you’. That command is from the accepting soul – you can’t go back to union without agreement. Being in agreement is with all of it. What and how we are right now, and what is happening.

From this there is the possibility for cultivating this intimate relationship, but not without it. All our work with Mindfulness over the last three years is in preparation of this. Quite simply, we practice being present, and there, in this place of presence, the request to be brought closer arises. 

For a write-up of the December Conversation see here....

Feedback from people participating in the week of conversation.

At the end of the week, we were asked what for for each of us was the most important, the most valuable thing we had learned?

Here is some of our answers:

Two aspects of clearing the space were threads that emerged. Both as action: the one an active acceptance of our inability and dependency and returning action to God. The other setting an orientation towards a single reality that informs action. I heard this also spoken of in terms of the particular gift of education we have been given and passing on the legacy of the School as a place and as an education. The obligation to pass on appeared as inherent in the education itself and its process of un-foldment. Passing on and returning all action to God appeared close.

I was very struck by a quote mentioned, from Muhaymina, before she died: ‘We were ordinary folk who were given a glimpse of our potential.’ This lovely sentiment was beautifully put and I shall treasure it.

…I was so pleased to hear that there is to be a gathering this year. That was mentioned in a conversation that had focused on asking for help and demanding of God as the One who necessarily responds to the request at the level of agreement. The possibility of a Gathering, where participants are aware of the demand to ask, and willingness to comply, seems tremendous and somehow different, more overt and explicit than previous years. It is very welcome and brings optimism for the future.

My learning from the week was about the importance of ‘reaching’ and that what in the past was considered a passive act of asking for help could and should include a stronger request or demand. I also felt the benefit of being in a group to appreciate the power and energy that is apparent in a shared experience. Whilst I thought I understood what ‘Clearing the Space’ could be, the impact of this time spent with others in a discussion and work had the effect of making it more tangible and ‘alive’ in me.

The one thing I can take from this week:  ‘Your task’? To work with all the passion of your being to acquire an inner light….’Rumi.

The reaching for this inner light is the request I demand from the spirit and because of the intimacy, He necessarily responds.

The strong practical reminder that ‘God will without doubt respond to our request.’ That we can ‘demand’ of God. This demanding is of an intimate nature of lover and beloved and according to the terms of servanthood.

The conversation turned to ‘work’ and ‘abluting’ the word ‘work’. You may say to God ‘You do it’, I’ll watch how you do it’ – a very intimate situation. It dissolves the boundaries between ‘interior work’ and ‘exterior work’. The intimate situation of request and response follows after a real agreement and acceptance.  

What emerged strongest for me was the possibility of reaching to God through a very direct, imperative request.  Most of our prayers tend to be quite polite, using the word ‘please’, but this seems to imply a certain distance – we are removing ourselves from intimacy.

Instead, there is the very real possibility of being bold and demanding: ‘Make me suitable for your purpose’, for instance,  as in the prayer ‘Lord, increase me knowledge-wise’. This comes from confidence, the confidence that one is no other – there is no room for otherness here – and from the knowledge that there will be a response. In fact we have been ordered to do this: ‘Invite Me and I will respond to you!’, ‘Remember Me and I will remember you’.

Just as in the mindfulness exercise where one reaches up with one hand to pick a fruit which is just out of reach, one can reach into closeness with an intimate request, and with the knowledge that there will be a response. There is a feeling of repose and satisfaction in this, which comes from putting servanthood into practice – servanthood requires this bold imperative because of where the request really comes from – this is the movement of Love. So this is a very useful reminder to ask, and not to be afraid to ask, indeed there can be pleasure in the asking.

…gathering or being gathered and the level of the reality of the two – also of asking for help.

I understood the theme to mean clearing the space in order to leave all the space to God. The understanding of this did become clearer and deeper. First it was about seeing what was there with acceptance. Then it became about reaching and demanding and I saw that what I want beyond ego is the same as His desire/wish, and true servanthood includes the request from us, to be according to the deepest longing.