Reflecting on Spirit and Life

I deeply appreciated reading this great article by Glen Burrows; https://www.newfoundationfarms.com/read/we-are-made-from-borrowed-air

It took me back to the profound teaching of Lama Govinda and inspired me to greater depth in developing our Holistic Systems Practice (HSP) training program.?

1. HSP is not so much about strategies and protocols, it's more about a change in perception, awareness, response, and ultimately, 'identity’.?

2. That changed identity relates to what we associate with - and those complex integrative life processes illustrated in Burrows' article invite reflection on the depth of who we are.?

3. With the holistic perspective the physical needs of this embodied self are respected and addressed, but the psycho-spiritual needs shift from the need for significance/advantage/ power to synthesis/collaboration/mutuality. This is surely the beginning of self-transcendence.?

4. The spiritual teacher, Lama Govinda, declared;

"To the fully enlightened man whose consciousness embraces the universe, the universe becomes his body, whilst his body becomes an instrument of universal mind."

From a metaphysical perspective, one that sees spacetime as an integrated phenomenon, we are on the 'edge of the universe' - its deep history is enfolded in us. Hence that abstract notion of 'becoming an instrument of universal mind' becomes localised in our immediate 'here and now' context.

5. What life presents for us to respond to, is thus the gift of our being/becoming, that is when we embrace the holistic perspective in a transformed sense of self-identification. Life is thus the diamond cutter that polishes us to reveal our intrinsic beauty.?

6. As stressed so well in Glen Burrows' article, we are thus so much more than just this present physical body; who we are is not limited to the phenomenal world; it not only embraces the invisible unifying dynamics, but the very intelligent memory through the aeons of holistic creative evolution.

Enabling this perspective to transform our response to life is then about self-transcendence. In aligning the satisfaction of our physical needs, to be great processes of on-going cosmic evolution, whether at the micro level of bacteria, or its phenomenal macro-systemic manifestation, is ultimately about spiritual practice.?

7. At this time of burgeoning smart technology, it behoves us to relocate our identity in the vast intelligence of the cosmic creative process, as manifesting in life and consciousness in our living context. The tragic alternative will be that our concept of who we are becomes determined by the products of our technological vanity.

Against this challenge we might rather join the chorus of those who hold the highest vision of the potential of human becoming.

8. There are many wonderful initiatives advancing transformed conscious and ethical response emerging around the world, even as the prevailing political and economic institutions seem to be vying destructively for control of human and planetary resources.

Life is surely on the side of life - as we join the chorus we as a species can reclaim our spiritual birthright and help it prevail - as Govinda suggests "... becoming an instrument of universal mind".

And then, in the face of a growing tendency towards materialist-driven autocracy in the world, our Western hubris, imagining that we represent the highest values, can be humbled. Carl Jung put it well: