Light - page 252
More than a Glow in the Sky
Click the box 👇
Below is a reading from my book THE OTHER ROAD AHEAD followed by a comment inspired by the selection.👇
Long before it is officially Fall I begin thinking about the seasons. There are subtle changes in the foliage starting in August in the northern areas even though it is still hot. These changes accelerate as the days shorten and if we look closely we can observe internal alterations in our attitude brought on by ambient conditions; shorter days, cooler temperatures, different social activities. Ultimately these are indications of our travel through the universe on this planet as it circumnavigates the Sun.
That is the planetary explanation of light as it is radiated from the Sun but what is the nature of this “thing” we call light? “God is light” (1John1:5) is an often quoted comment which in general terms gives us an answer but opens up an enormous inquiry.
As an immediate example, God is not light in a purely physical sense. So there must be human terms that can fit our understanding more centrally. There seem are two types of light in our discussion, physical light which is the energy that allow us to see reflections and spiritual light which illuminates the world beyond our senses.
Ancient writers say that light is an absences of darkness and it is darkness that is the dominate feature with light being a rare and precious phenomena. Some have said that light and dark are the same thing only seen from different perspectives.
Douglas Keene (Quest, Fall 2023, pp10-11) writes that, “…light can also be used metaphorically when describing cognitive insight, increased awareness, emotional tranquility…” He continues, “The analogy of the human being as a mirror reflecting the light of divinity is often used to elucidate the concept of higher vibrations. We may be able to reflect that divinity only imperfectly.” Quoting Mabel Collins from Light on the Path, “…light illumines the path but is also the divine presence in each individual.”
Keene explains, “Here light appears to represent the divine, the unity of consciousness which we seek to experience. It cannot be quantified, for it is continuous, expanding in all dimensions… (Yet) We think of space as darkness, with the exception of an occasional celestial body that reflects the sun or some other light-giving orb. But if we place a new object in the vastness of space, it may become visible, depending on its reflective properties. Therefore, the space cannot be empty or inert, but contains radiation and light, undetected to our eye, unless there is an object on which it can fall.”
We can understand Light in a number of ways depending on how we want to appreciate the situation. As the angle of the Sun changes how we view light as the Earth travels through space in the precession of the seasons. We can grasp that this cosmic wonder can have different effects on us when we know that as our planet circumnavigates the Sun causing light to change our attitude. It is more than just a glow in the sky.
Dave, I just do not know what to say. You quote Mable Collins …
I pull down my weathered copy Of Light on the Path. A friend over the years. I look at Yogi Ramacharaka’s Yogi Philosophy, considered by me to be an exposition on Light on the Path.
From there there is Alcylone’s (Krishnamurti) At The Feet of the Master. An innocuous enough work of some 65 pages that pretty much operationalizes, at least for me, all of the above. My marching orders, if you wish.