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Oneness may often sound, when spoken of, as an arid state, a blank state at the end of a series of denials, as something that will set us apart from the world, making us too holy to be with others, as like others. Oneness is not a state of mind, a state of heart, certainly not a consequence of rejecting any of the manifoldness of Life, what we call the world. Life is pure Affirmation, a cosmic "Amen!". Surrender to Grace is the affirmation of Life, Life appears as the world, as all its forms. To try to get to Heaven, as a denial of this manifoldness, is a denial of Heaven. The passive posture of pure Prayer, as example, is the activity of an affirmative appreciation of and gratitude to the ever-fecundity of Life. Any escape from the world is seen in religious life or spiritual journey, then, as an in-scape, any move from, a move into. Denial is only of that which arises from the treatment of Life in opposition to the nature of Life. The world we move from is not Life, is not Life appearing. The world we turn from is not a world, at all. Finally, one sees, in Life there is no denial, for Life cannot deny Itelf ~ only "Yes". Life is "Yes!". This "Yes" celebrates the world, enjoys intimacy with the world.
the Sacred Marriage
is the Union of Opposites ~
opposites are only in appearance, not essence
in Reality all apparent opposites
share the like Nature in diverse manifestation
compare a face
which manifests as faces corresponding to emotional states ~
face itself is stateless
timeless peace is received
in the embrace of the appearance of duality in time ~
what we call 'the world'
these opposites are not a problem in themselves
opposition to the opposites becomes a cause of suffering, un-peace
oft, spiritual practice begins
as a repression of life, a "no" to the world, seeing it impure, to blame
one wants to get to heaven, be fit for it, nirvana, a better rebirth
~ mental projections ~ by denying the world
here, 'heaven' represents the desirable, pleasurable, self-gratifying
this has rightly been called 'spiritual materialism'
the projection of a heaven, as a physical place, into the future
is an image of this subjective 'heaven' ~
the two heavens, one, are a single attempt at escape ~ one outward, one inward
in the absolute positivity of Life
there is only "Yes," affirmation, so no escape
the true paradise, or peace, is an in-scape
a within to the heaven already here
this heaven is not here in a conventional sense, as in, here not there,
but present within the experience of here
trying to get to heaven by denial
is the denial of heaven ~ 'hell' is this refusal to affirm Life
the entrance into inside the Veil happens
the moment of no resistance to Life, now
in fully accepting, gracefully by Grace
the world, with all of its opposites, the Veil opens
the Union of opposites, ironically, is, at the same time,
the marriage of the entirety of Life as heaven
with this embrace ~ Love ~ the opposites lose opposition
in the wholly Communion, so peace
the Contemplative, then, proceeds by in-scape
to within the Veil, within-to-within, grace-upon-grace ~
to know no inside or outside the Veil
for within the Contemplative, resistance is resolved
in a relaxation, a final affirmation
then, one can love the world
in pure Affirmation and pure Affection
this Union of Opposites into "Yes"
has to be enacted within the sense of self ~
affirming the self by the self
this affirming the self by the self becomes selfless
Love present to Love amid the myriad things
ever-present-change known through the stability of Oneness,
so heaven remains
*(C) Copyright 2018. Brian K. Wilcox. Photography by Brian K. Wilcox. Move cursor over photos for more details.
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