The series of photographs accompanying these posts on secrecy are all a night blooming Cereus plant which graces our household with its blossoms on an annual basis. These photographs are from the recent flowering of Aug 11-12.
The question of inner secrets must above all be approached from the point of view of understanding the inner.
We have a deep, sacred and hidden part which must become awakened in order for us to grow from within. Generally speaking this part in man is
not awakened and does not
grow. It is a latent possibility, sensed and intuited in the general flow of life, but rarely active enough for an individual to organically sense its presence and action.
It is, in every sense of the word, a manifestation of the divine, and can thus act in any number of ways within Being—its action cannot be restricted by our concepts of it, although there are common elements to much of its work.
Without an awakening of this divine spark, which fundamentally transforms perception and sensation, placing one's efforts in an entirely new context, the only influences that direct the flow of life are external ones. These can be powerful and laudable, but by themselves they can never carry the power of inner transformation, which is always a secret and intimate one—never,
never an outward and material one.
In point of fact an outer poverty is more likely to result, since the impulse of inner development is always
away from the material. The spiritual draws one towards a value of
life, not things; and in the case of inner development, what appears to be deprivation or sacrifice from the point of view of outer life is in fact a movement into a richness of inner experience which far surpasses any wealth of objects in and of themselves.
The direction of life according to
influences—the inward flow of divine energy—is a sublime event which gradually and inexorably draws a man or woman away from self-interest and selfishness and towards a spirit of generosity which permeates every cell of the body. This generosity becomes a generosity of spirit in which love predominates in every personal transaction.
Because it's entirely possible to emulate the awakening of inner consciousness, and conscience, with outer parts that perfectly imitate the language, appearances, and even perhaps attitudes of the inner, one gets an endless series of supposed "masters" who masterfully pretend to qualities they have not, in fact, ever developed. One can see these things quite clearly if one knows the difference— as Jesus said, "beware of false prophets." (
Matthew 7:15-20.) And this is precisely what Jesus meant.
In seeking a person who is more human, in the inner sense of the word, look to the spirit of an inner generosity, and a humility: a gentleness. Where these things are found, there is an inner action taking place; and these are always born of secret things, things that would become corrupted if they were touched by the outside world. Kindness, patience, understanding: these are worthy qualities. Only to the extent that they are present are
we present. And they are only ever present to the extent that we keep a covenant with the inner kernel of divinity that lights the way through life.
To be more human is to be more divine, because humanity is made—in the inner sense— in the image of the Lord. The issue with us is that we are
not human; we need to rediscover our humanity.
May your soul be filled with light.