A Geography of Consciousness (1974) was apparently William Arkle's first publication.
It is a book that is very dense and difficult to read - by far the most demanding of Arkle's writings - because it treats consciousness in a series of very strict and abstract, physics-like metaphors, presumably drawn from Arkle's training as a engineer.
(He later wrote a similarly uncompromising mini-book or pamphlet called The Hologram and Mind - self-published in about 1990.)
Although A Geography of Consciousness (GoC) was the first (and for thirty years the only) book of Arkle's that I encountered, I found it impossible to read - and indeed it was the last of his works I properly tackled since my re-discovery of Arkle a couple of years ago. Yet it is a vital book for me - with an unsurpassed concentration of insights and illuminations.
I now see that the reason I did not get much nourishment from GoC before, was that it demands (and, I now know, rewards) total attention - and it cannot be taken more than a page or two at a time - then stopping to make notes, think and absorb. It took me months to read when I finally got through it.
Although Arkle turned-out to have a lot more to say on several matters, it is clear that he was trying to get 'everything' into GoC - and also to depict the way that he had arrived at his conclusions. Therefore, a special aspect of this book to an Arkle-ite is to see his mind 'in action' - to see how he used strict engineering metaphors to think about the highest and deepest spiritual matters.
(Note: What follows is based on the internal, textual evidence of GoC, and I have no direct knowledge about this matter.)
In the lead-up to GoC being published, or perhaps as a condition of its publication; it must have been obvious to Arkle's publisher and supporters - and especially his friend the successful author Colin Wilson - that the main text of the book was simply too difficult.
The happy solution arrived at was firstly for Colin Wilson to contribute an Introduction - describing Arkle and his life, explaining the main ideas, and setting them into a broader context.
In addition, I am almost-sure that Colin Wilson 'ghosted' or substantially re-wrote the first chapter of the book called Foreword - because this is done in a style that is identical with Wilson's own, and quite different not just from the rest of the book but different from anything else that Arkle ever published.
The Foreword, fusing as it does Arkle's ideas and Wilson's clarity, is a wonderful little piece. Even when I found the rest of the book impenetrable - I would often return to re-read it.
This part I especially like:
Imagine that you open your eyes in a dark bedroom. You know it is morning outside, because you can see the cracks of light at the edge of the heavy curtains; it looks like a cold, grey light, and you suspect it is raining. You think of the things you have to do when you get up, and they all seem dreary.
Finally you yawn, cross to the window, and draw the curtains.
Sunlight streams in, marvellously warm!
You open the window, and the air smells warm and fresh. The feeling of dreariness vanishes. It is replaced by an eager desire to get your breakfast and get outside.
A moment before, your consciousness has been 'hanging back', like a dog that doesn't want to go outside on a cold day. Now it is straining at the lead, pulling you forward.
Then, I believe; on Wilson's advice Arkle went through the whole book and wrote a 'Summary' for each chapter - each of which has the appearance of having been done more as an interpretation and re-explanation, than as a 'summary' in the strict sense. Then a detailed Contents was provided, with sub-headings (these are not present in the main body of the text - but this type of analytic contents was a favourite device of Wilson's).
The 'Conclusion' - although clearly done by Arkle, and in his style; also has a rather different style from the main text - more personal and direct, and includes reference to ideas from Letter from a Father which had been composed between finishing GoC and its publication, and to which Wilson refers in his Introduction. I suspect that this section was added at Wilson's suggestion.
In sum, it very much looks as if Colin Wilson had a hand in preparing the final text of Geography of Consciousness, and had made several suggestions on how it could most clearly be presented to the reader - as well as providing the Introduction and (I infer) the Foreword.
Colin Wilson was therefore a friend indeed! - And such generosity in helping a novice author whose ideas he believed deserved a hearing was entirely typical of the man: he did this many times for many other people.
Note added 2 Feb 2016. I had not previously noticed that the self-published pamphlet of Letter from a Father is marked 1973, which is one year before the publication of Geography of Consciousness. Since the Letter was (according to Wilson's Introduction) written after GoC, then this chronology seems to confirm my above inference that there was a prolonged period (of more than a year) during which Arkle was working on how best to present GoC - apparently in consultation with Wilson. This period included evaluating whether or not to include the(already self-published, although this was not mentioned by Wilson) Letter as an Appendix to GoC. Wilson tells us the decision was taken not to include the Letter, as being in an altogether different style. The Letter eventually appeared three years later as part of The Great Gift, which was issued by the same publisher.
Saturday, 30 January 2016
Tuesday, 26 January 2016
Why do we not get divine help whenever we ask for it?
William Arkle, transcribed and edited from the question time following a lecture by William Arkle given on March 16th 1992 to a group in Yeovil
From just after 1:16 hours at:
http://www.wessexresearchgroup.org/digital_08.html
God is working to make friends and not carbon copies of himself.
The angels want you to get the full experience of being a mortal incarnate person. They know that your view of the experience of what is going-on is very limited.
The angels therefore know that there are times when it is correct for you to ask for help and guidance - and they also know that there are times when it is incorrect for you to ask for help and guidance; and then they are going to leave you to muddle through on your own. Often for reasons that we cannot see, from our perspective of mortal life.
If you want help you need to realize that angels are always present around us in God's system, and God too is always present in his own system: so you have a lot of helpers, and their numbers are always increasing.
They will help you if you ask and your need is real and timely; but if you need is not real and timely then they will not help.
Sometimes you need to be shown the way, but there many other times when - because of your uniqueness - 'help' would amount to interference is something which is absolutely sacred to God's purpose: which is you making your own decision concerning your essential uniqueness.
When we understand the importance of God's purpose in 'making friends' of us, we recognize that it is the uniqueness of the friend which matters. It would be no good having lots of friends if they are all the same - then each individual friend does not signify anything.
So, there are times when you are in the process of making your own uniqueness when you will not get any help - and there are times when you are not essentially making your uniqueness when you can get help.
Because, unless the process of mortal life is experienced as really difficult, then you are not going to get any significant benefit from it. And every time somebody tries to make things easier for you, they are not really being your friend.
There is help, and there is not-help. There is one sort of help which destroys the person, and another sort of help which really helps them - and to know the difference between them requires a lot of wisdom (wisdom which, here and now, we do not always possess).
You are made such that what you learn the hard way matters far more to you - and therefore becomes more significant to you, and more real to you - than anything you might get the easy way.
Note: When Arkle refers to 'making friends' he means that God's main purpose in creation is to raise Men (some Men, those who wish for this, and make the long and arduous journal of divinization) to become his friends - at God's own level (as already happened with his Son Jesus Christ); and part of the plan to populate Heaven is that these friends must be independent souls and each unique. Therefore, much of our mortal incarnate life on earth is about undergoing real, tough experiences which we are supposed to deal with ourselves - to as great an extent as possible.
From just after 1:16 hours at:
http://www.wessexresearchgroup.org/digital_08.html
God is working to make friends and not carbon copies of himself.
The angels want you to get the full experience of being a mortal incarnate person. They know that your view of the experience of what is going-on is very limited.
The angels therefore know that there are times when it is correct for you to ask for help and guidance - and they also know that there are times when it is incorrect for you to ask for help and guidance; and then they are going to leave you to muddle through on your own. Often for reasons that we cannot see, from our perspective of mortal life.
If you want help you need to realize that angels are always present around us in God's system, and God too is always present in his own system: so you have a lot of helpers, and their numbers are always increasing.
They will help you if you ask and your need is real and timely; but if you need is not real and timely then they will not help.
Sometimes you need to be shown the way, but there many other times when - because of your uniqueness - 'help' would amount to interference is something which is absolutely sacred to God's purpose: which is you making your own decision concerning your essential uniqueness.
When we understand the importance of God's purpose in 'making friends' of us, we recognize that it is the uniqueness of the friend which matters. It would be no good having lots of friends if they are all the same - then each individual friend does not signify anything.
So, there are times when you are in the process of making your own uniqueness when you will not get any help - and there are times when you are not essentially making your uniqueness when you can get help.
Because, unless the process of mortal life is experienced as really difficult, then you are not going to get any significant benefit from it. And every time somebody tries to make things easier for you, they are not really being your friend.
There is help, and there is not-help. There is one sort of help which destroys the person, and another sort of help which really helps them - and to know the difference between them requires a lot of wisdom (wisdom which, here and now, we do not always possess).
You are made such that what you learn the hard way matters far more to you - and therefore becomes more significant to you, and more real to you - than anything you might get the easy way.
Note: When Arkle refers to 'making friends' he means that God's main purpose in creation is to raise Men (some Men, those who wish for this, and make the long and arduous journal of divinization) to become his friends - at God's own level (as already happened with his Son Jesus Christ); and part of the plan to populate Heaven is that these friends must be independent souls and each unique. Therefore, much of our mortal incarnate life on earth is about undergoing real, tough experiences which we are supposed to deal with ourselves - to as great an extent as possible.
Thursday, 14 January 2016
Letter from a Mother in Heaven
The following was inspired by William Arkle's Letter from a Father - but is within the frame of Mormon theology.
My Dear Child,
I feel a need to write this letter because I am grieved at the misery and despair of so many of my children in their earthly lives - your loneliness and isolation. My hope is that knowing a little more about me, and learning of the love I always have for you, will help you through the adolescent trials of mortality, and inspire you to make the choice to return as adults to dwell again in Heaven.
It may be helpful for you to know something of the history of the long and loving relationship between us, on the one hand; and, on the other hand, to know the reason why you hear so little about me during your mortal existence - why we encourage you to speak directly with your God your Father, and to think much on your Brother Christ, but not - as a rule - to focus your attention on me.
Your Heavenly Father and I are the original co-creators and rulers of creation - but we have different areas of responsibility. Briefly, your Father is more concerned with 'creation' and I with 'generation'.
Your Father made the universe, and - with him - your Brother Jesus made the earth and then gave you the possibility of resurrection to eternal life. You may wonder what I was doing all this time? The simplest answer is that my special responsibility was with you spirit children, during the long ages of your pre-mortal sojourn in Heaven.
As you know, I am your spiritual mother - it was through my divine parturition that you transformed from being merely unaware primorial 'intelligences' to persons; but at first you were 'spiritual babies' and only gradually became more mature as pre-mortal spirits.
Somewhat like an earthly mother, it was my particular job to nurture and care for you during pre-mortal life, when you were developing and growing as spirit children.
Clearly some of you have hazy memories of the blissfulness of that time, the era when you were new-born or young and dependent child spirits - when you were barely self-aware, knew little of the past or future, but lived in a an eternal joyous present, a surrounding atmosphere of sustaining love.
You and I may never again experience the un-self-conscious bliss of that time of early spiritual childhood - and that is bittersweet for me, as it is for you.
But it is our plan and hope that you will grow beyond that to develop towards becoming like your Brother Jesus Christ - who lives and works with your Father and I; in other words, that you will become independent, self-aware god-children who will - from your achieved freedom, power and autonomy - choose to return and dwell with us as divine friends, participating in the great and endless work of loving creation.
And ultimately, that you may eventually have spirit children of your own - so that we all may dwell together as a loving extended and ever-growing family.
So, as pre-mortal spirits you lived constantly in my presence for man ages; but you grew, and developed, and eventually you decided to venture into mortal life and join the plan of salvation: of mortality and resurrection.
Then you made the brave step: you voluntarily left behind the reality of that atmosphere of sustaining love, and your left behind your continuous awareness of me. This was necessary in order for you to experience and develop your own independent selves, something which was not possible in the conditions of pre-mortal life.
My deepest hope is that you will pass through the painful isolation of spiritual adolescence during your mortal life on earth; and be resurrected to spiritual adulthood. That is my wish - that you will separate from me, in order to return - but to return
But I know that mortal life is not always as anticipated, and some of you - having tasted the isolation of autonomy - want nothing more than to return to the un-self-conscious bliss of our pre-mortal child life together. Since I cannot, and would not wish to, coerce you - but only to move forward step-by-step with your full consent and willingness - and it is your choice, you can return to your former state and remain in that situation until such a time as you are ready and willing to move on.
Otherwise, it may assist your time of learning by experience to know that although we are currently separated; I am lovingly concerned with you every moment and every step of the way. In a thousand invisible ways that you can scarcely imagine, I help you - nearly always without drawing your attention to the fact. I am aware of, and consoled by, your prayers and meditations to the Father and Son.
Be assured: I rejoice in your happiness and spiritual progress, I feel your sufferings, and I am most deeply worried by your hostility and rejection and the resulting despair.
And I yearn for nothing more than your safe return as mature, grown-up sons and daughters.
With all my love,
Your Mother in Heaven
I feel a need to write this letter because I am grieved at the misery and despair of so many of my children in their earthly lives - your loneliness and isolation. My hope is that knowing a little more about me, and learning of the love I always have for you, will help you through the adolescent trials of mortality, and inspire you to make the choice to return as adults to dwell again in Heaven.
It may be helpful for you to know something of the history of the long and loving relationship between us, on the one hand; and, on the other hand, to know the reason why you hear so little about me during your mortal existence - why we encourage you to speak directly with your God your Father, and to think much on your Brother Christ, but not - as a rule - to focus your attention on me.
Your Heavenly Father and I are the original co-creators and rulers of creation - but we have different areas of responsibility. Briefly, your Father is more concerned with 'creation' and I with 'generation'.
Your Father made the universe, and - with him - your Brother Jesus made the earth and then gave you the possibility of resurrection to eternal life. You may wonder what I was doing all this time? The simplest answer is that my special responsibility was with you spirit children, during the long ages of your pre-mortal sojourn in Heaven.
As you know, I am your spiritual mother - it was through my divine parturition that you transformed from being merely unaware primorial 'intelligences' to persons; but at first you were 'spiritual babies' and only gradually became more mature as pre-mortal spirits.
Somewhat like an earthly mother, it was my particular job to nurture and care for you during pre-mortal life, when you were developing and growing as spirit children.
Clearly some of you have hazy memories of the blissfulness of that time, the era when you were new-born or young and dependent child spirits - when you were barely self-aware, knew little of the past or future, but lived in a an eternal joyous present, a surrounding atmosphere of sustaining love.
You and I may never again experience the un-self-conscious bliss of that time of early spiritual childhood - and that is bittersweet for me, as it is for you.
But it is our plan and hope that you will grow beyond that to develop towards becoming like your Brother Jesus Christ - who lives and works with your Father and I; in other words, that you will become independent, self-aware god-children who will - from your achieved freedom, power and autonomy - choose to return and dwell with us as divine friends, participating in the great and endless work of loving creation.
And ultimately, that you may eventually have spirit children of your own - so that we all may dwell together as a loving extended and ever-growing family.
So, as pre-mortal spirits you lived constantly in my presence for man ages; but you grew, and developed, and eventually you decided to venture into mortal life and join the plan of salvation: of mortality and resurrection.
Then you made the brave step: you voluntarily left behind the reality of that atmosphere of sustaining love, and your left behind your continuous awareness of me. This was necessary in order for you to experience and develop your own independent selves, something which was not possible in the conditions of pre-mortal life.
My deepest hope is that you will pass through the painful isolation of spiritual adolescence during your mortal life on earth; and be resurrected to spiritual adulthood. That is my wish - that you will separate from me, in order to return - but to return
But I know that mortal life is not always as anticipated, and some of you - having tasted the isolation of autonomy - want nothing more than to return to the un-self-conscious bliss of our pre-mortal child life together. Since I cannot, and would not wish to, coerce you - but only to move forward step-by-step with your full consent and willingness - and it is your choice, you can return to your former state and remain in that situation until such a time as you are ready and willing to move on.
Otherwise, it may assist your time of learning by experience to know that although we are currently separated; I am lovingly concerned with you every moment and every step of the way. In a thousand invisible ways that you can scarcely imagine, I help you - nearly always without drawing your attention to the fact. I am aware of, and consoled by, your prayers and meditations to the Father and Son.
Be assured: I rejoice in your happiness and spiritual progress, I feel your sufferings, and I am most deeply worried by your hostility and rejection and the resulting despair.
And I yearn for nothing more than your safe return as mature, grown-up sons and daughters.
With all my love,
Your Mother in Heaven
Monday, 21 December 2015
Being prepared for understanding William Arkle
I have derived tremendous spiritual nourishment from the writings of William Arkle. Indeed, over the past couple of years I have studied his available work with perhaps more detailed attention than I have ever given to anything.
http://williamarkle.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/william-arkle.html
Since there were multiple examples of synchronicity pointing me at Arkle dating from 1977, how did it take me so long to engage with his work? And would it have been better (better for me) if I had taken one of these opportunities and got to know Arkle personally before he died in 2000?
It is quite possible that in failing to get to know the man I have stunted my spiritual development irrevocably. But on the other hand, by Arkle's own scheme of understanding, this may have been an example of progress by trial and error, and learning from mistakes; such that eventually my understanding will be deeper than if I had known the man, and had absorbed his teaching more directly and easily.
In particular, it seems probable that I would not have been prepared for Arkle until very recently - and that I simply could not have understood his work at any time before I actually did.
Most obviously, I was not a Christian until 2008 and would have lacked that necessary context. But even more exactly, it was not until late in 2012 that I had clarified my Christian faith to the point of realizing that I believed Mormon Christianity specifically and fully.
Once that background was in place, I was ready to receive Arkle's teachings within that framework; so that I could benefit from his many detailed clarifications, but without becoming entangled by his 'errors'. For example, Arkle's proposals of multiple reincarnations as normal and necessary for Men, or of Angels being a separate creation from Man.
(I now interpret these as being Arkle's misinterpretations of genuine revelations that were actually related to pre-mortal spirit life, the voluntary status of incarnate mortal life, and the doctrine of multiple levels of post-mortal salvation.)
I hope the above interpretation is not just Pollyanna-ish, everything-is-always-for-the-best, wishful thinking - but that in this specific instance perhaps things really did work-out as-well-as (realistically, and given my own deficiencies) they could have done.
http://williamarkle.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/william-arkle.html
Since there were multiple examples of synchronicity pointing me at Arkle dating from 1977, how did it take me so long to engage with his work? And would it have been better (better for me) if I had taken one of these opportunities and got to know Arkle personally before he died in 2000?
It is quite possible that in failing to get to know the man I have stunted my spiritual development irrevocably. But on the other hand, by Arkle's own scheme of understanding, this may have been an example of progress by trial and error, and learning from mistakes; such that eventually my understanding will be deeper than if I had known the man, and had absorbed his teaching more directly and easily.
In particular, it seems probable that I would not have been prepared for Arkle until very recently - and that I simply could not have understood his work at any time before I actually did.
Most obviously, I was not a Christian until 2008 and would have lacked that necessary context. But even more exactly, it was not until late in 2012 that I had clarified my Christian faith to the point of realizing that I believed Mormon Christianity specifically and fully.
Once that background was in place, I was ready to receive Arkle's teachings within that framework; so that I could benefit from his many detailed clarifications, but without becoming entangled by his 'errors'. For example, Arkle's proposals of multiple reincarnations as normal and necessary for Men, or of Angels being a separate creation from Man.
(I now interpret these as being Arkle's misinterpretations of genuine revelations that were actually related to pre-mortal spirit life, the voluntary status of incarnate mortal life, and the doctrine of multiple levels of post-mortal salvation.)
I hope the above interpretation is not just Pollyanna-ish, everything-is-always-for-the-best, wishful thinking - but that in this specific instance perhaps things really did work-out as-well-as (realistically, and given my own deficiencies) they could have done.
Friday, 11 December 2015
The psycho-spiritual groups we need, and which are provided, for raising our level of consciousness
Hope and courage may be sapped when an individual has worked-out what is going on in this world, has recognised God's plan for our salvation and progression towards divinity and begun to work toward it... and then finds himself (apparently) alone, isolated, without any visible means of support.
Yet, the difficulties of raising our level of consciousness, the obstacles in ourselves and from the world about us, are so great that the task is impossible to achieve alone. So, the seeker and striver cries in his heart: where is my Fellowship of the Ring? The answer is that although we are seldom part of any recognisable physical group of any significant size, strength and cohesion; we are indeed part of groups, indeed hierarchies of groups, at a spiritual and psychological level - can we but become aware of them.
Because help and guidance are necessary, they are provided; but (as always) they can only be given if they are accepted, and they will only be given on condition of our own voluntary efforts - otherwise help and guidance would prevent, rather than assist, our education and growth. Thus, we will be put in touch with the most suitable group for our needs and our situation; and we will be shown the next step - and enabled to take it.
This help on condition of acceptance and effort can be termed Passive Help - and it is the main way that we are helped. Active Help is rare since it is only truly helpful when we lack responsibility or are unprepared and unable. We are never alone, never without supervision, never without fellowship - however, we are not prevented from making mistakes (from 'burning our fingers'), nor from experiencing their consequences; especially with respect to pride.
Pride is the major problem, so pride must recurrently be humbled - pride must again and again be brought to self-awareness with the possibility of repentance. Only when we get past the false interpretations of pride can we see through to our real selves in our true relation to God.
How may we recognise the main group to which we belong? Not by a common vocation nor by proximity or frequency of meeting; but by a particular Quality of Attitude - it is by this that we stimulate and inform each other by indirect, even roundabout, means - often through what may seem to be coincidences but are in fact communications. This we mutually recognise.
It is not easy it is not meant to be easy - but the potential to discover and work in these psycho-spiritual groups is always possible and unobviously pervasive.
Paraphrased from the chapter The Problems - in A Geography of Consciousness by William Arkle (1974)
Yet, the difficulties of raising our level of consciousness, the obstacles in ourselves and from the world about us, are so great that the task is impossible to achieve alone. So, the seeker and striver cries in his heart: where is my Fellowship of the Ring? The answer is that although we are seldom part of any recognisable physical group of any significant size, strength and cohesion; we are indeed part of groups, indeed hierarchies of groups, at a spiritual and psychological level - can we but become aware of them.
Because help and guidance are necessary, they are provided; but (as always) they can only be given if they are accepted, and they will only be given on condition of our own voluntary efforts - otherwise help and guidance would prevent, rather than assist, our education and growth. Thus, we will be put in touch with the most suitable group for our needs and our situation; and we will be shown the next step - and enabled to take it.
This help on condition of acceptance and effort can be termed Passive Help - and it is the main way that we are helped. Active Help is rare since it is only truly helpful when we lack responsibility or are unprepared and unable. We are never alone, never without supervision, never without fellowship - however, we are not prevented from making mistakes (from 'burning our fingers'), nor from experiencing their consequences; especially with respect to pride.
Pride is the major problem, so pride must recurrently be humbled - pride must again and again be brought to self-awareness with the possibility of repentance. Only when we get past the false interpretations of pride can we see through to our real selves in our true relation to God.
How may we recognise the main group to which we belong? Not by a common vocation nor by proximity or frequency of meeting; but by a particular Quality of Attitude - it is by this that we stimulate and inform each other by indirect, even roundabout, means - often through what may seem to be coincidences but are in fact communications. This we mutually recognise.
It is not easy it is not meant to be easy - but the potential to discover and work in these psycho-spiritual groups is always possible and unobviously pervasive.
Paraphrased from the chapter The Problems - in A Geography of Consciousness by William Arkle (1974)
Thursday, 3 December 2015
You simply cannot do everything all of the time. Experiment and waste go together and lead to discovery
&ME
"My cup runneth over" and I am concerned to catch the valuable life experience and not allow it to go to waste doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. There are so many possibilities to choose from in my creative play.
GOD You simply cannot do everything all of the time. Experiment and waste go together and lead to discovery, so don't become anxious about results. Try to enjoy the process itself which allows for lateral thinking and lateral diversions.
The new things are not found where you expect them to be. We can't live "new beginnings" without letting go of the "old beginnings" and allowing them to slip away. All that is really valuable will come back to you when it is needed. This is part of The Game of life which requires forgetting and letting go with good grace and a sense of non-importance of ones valuable Self.
Do not fear to waste your time and energy, you will never run out of them and the "Crisis" in the World is only solved by those who follow the best instincts of their Spiritual Nature. As these work out all together, so each one of you finds yourself holding and demonstrating a bit of the necessary jig-saw puzzle of life...
By William Arkle - written in the last few weeks of his life.
http://www.billarkle.co.uk/prose/enjoytheprocess.html
For as long back as I remember I have had frequent periods - usually in the afternoons, when I worried about wasting time worrying instead of getting on with ... something important.
I neither seem to enjoy the freedom of this time, nor yet actually 'do something useful' with it (such as what I ought to do, or might help other people) but witter and fritter.
There have been vast changes in my life across the decades - yet this characteristic endures.
So, the words of William Arkle, the final distillation of a lifetime of spiritual enquiry and insight, are something I find reassuring and inspiring. In particular, they encourage me not to make matters worse by adding futile and ineffectual worry to the situation.
It is even a genuine possibility that (up to a point) the waste of time is not - but some kind of deep preparation, or even growth - and that the busy efficient productive spells have been the real waste.
GOD You simply cannot do everything all of the time. Experiment and waste go together and lead to discovery, so don't become anxious about results. Try to enjoy the process itself which allows for lateral thinking and lateral diversions.
The new things are not found where you expect them to be. We can't live "new beginnings" without letting go of the "old beginnings" and allowing them to slip away. All that is really valuable will come back to you when it is needed. This is part of The Game of life which requires forgetting and letting go with good grace and a sense of non-importance of ones valuable Self.
Do not fear to waste your time and energy, you will never run out of them and the "Crisis" in the World is only solved by those who follow the best instincts of their Spiritual Nature. As these work out all together, so each one of you finds yourself holding and demonstrating a bit of the necessary jig-saw puzzle of life...
By William Arkle - written in the last few weeks of his life.
http://www.billarkle.co.uk/prose/enjoytheprocess.html
For as long back as I remember I have had frequent periods - usually in the afternoons, when I worried about wasting time worrying instead of getting on with ... something important.
I neither seem to enjoy the freedom of this time, nor yet actually 'do something useful' with it (such as what I ought to do, or might help other people) but witter and fritter.
There have been vast changes in my life across the decades - yet this characteristic endures.
So, the words of William Arkle, the final distillation of a lifetime of spiritual enquiry and insight, are something I find reassuring and inspiring. In particular, they encourage me not to make matters worse by adding futile and ineffectual worry to the situation.
It is even a genuine possibility that (up to a point) the waste of time is not - but some kind of deep preparation, or even growth - and that the busy efficient productive spells have been the real waste.
Tuesday, 24 November 2015
What is being communicated in William Arkle's paintings? Sunny optimism in the long-term
I recently posted four paintings done by William Arkle in (probably) the 1950s -
http://williamarkle.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/some-1950s-watercolours.html
These are strikingly simple, child-like and 'naïve' in style - apparently rather superficially and idealistically happy images in luminous colours... Many other, somewhat similar, examples can be found here:
http://www.billarkle.co.uk/greatgift/pictureseq/thumbs.html
http://shepton.org/page/the-paintings-of-william-arkle
So, what was Arkle getting-at by painting in this way?
First, we must acknowledge that what he did was deliberate - it was not because he couldn't paint in any other way. An engagement with his work, and knowledge of his biography, makes clear that he was an extremely tough thinker, and a practical man. He had the typical inner strength of a genius - and the confidence of a seer.
Plus - his vision of life was deep and profoundly true (in essence and outline).
So where is the horror and corruption of life? Why did he paint to exclude this - apparently as if he was a sunny optimist who was unaware of anything else?
The answer would seem to be that sunny optimism is the true-est and deepest attitude to life - to any life... in the long-term.
We ought to be simple optimists - but over a large timescale.
And we must not - as Arkle never did in his work - lose sight of the tiny and vital aspects of life. Arkle's paintings combine overall happy optimism in the long term - as often depicted by tranquil cosmic figures hovering over landscapes, or light emerging from things, places people - with little scenes of ordinary human life: people (sometimes tiny people) standing and sitting, holding hands, at work, walking, playing, on holiday, boating, eating and drinking...
Why no horror, pain, corruption? Because in the end is does not matter very much to those who choose to become divine friends of our Heavenly Parents. Sooner or later - but probably later - it is not negated but swallowed-up and put into perspective in the fulfilment and creativity of love. Suffering is subordinated to delight - this is what the pictures show.
What about 'other people'? The universe is set-up such that they are given what they want. But how if they want not to be with us? Well, would we prefer that they were forced?
Yes, but how if those we love are fooled, duped, misled into self-damnation. This is indeed tragedy - but in a universe presided over by a wholly Good creator, we know that this tragedy is expressed mostly in term of delay - not exclusion.
Arkle's paintings tell us that the powers of evil are simply wrong. They are mistaken about teir own power. They have much less power than they suppose - and that mainly to delay, confuse etc. but not to damn.
Their triumphs are fragile - even their own evil self-will is in constant peril of repentance...
http://williamarkle.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/some-1950s-watercolours.html
These are strikingly simple, child-like and 'naïve' in style - apparently rather superficially and idealistically happy images in luminous colours... Many other, somewhat similar, examples can be found here:
http://www.billarkle.co.uk/greatgift/pictureseq/thumbs.html
http://shepton.org/page/the-paintings-of-william-arkle
So, what was Arkle getting-at by painting in this way?
First, we must acknowledge that what he did was deliberate - it was not because he couldn't paint in any other way. An engagement with his work, and knowledge of his biography, makes clear that he was an extremely tough thinker, and a practical man. He had the typical inner strength of a genius - and the confidence of a seer.
Plus - his vision of life was deep and profoundly true (in essence and outline).
So where is the horror and corruption of life? Why did he paint to exclude this - apparently as if he was a sunny optimist who was unaware of anything else?
The answer would seem to be that sunny optimism is the true-est and deepest attitude to life - to any life... in the long-term.
We ought to be simple optimists - but over a large timescale.
And we must not - as Arkle never did in his work - lose sight of the tiny and vital aspects of life. Arkle's paintings combine overall happy optimism in the long term - as often depicted by tranquil cosmic figures hovering over landscapes, or light emerging from things, places people - with little scenes of ordinary human life: people (sometimes tiny people) standing and sitting, holding hands, at work, walking, playing, on holiday, boating, eating and drinking...
Why no horror, pain, corruption? Because in the end is does not matter very much to those who choose to become divine friends of our Heavenly Parents. Sooner or later - but probably later - it is not negated but swallowed-up and put into perspective in the fulfilment and creativity of love. Suffering is subordinated to delight - this is what the pictures show.
What about 'other people'? The universe is set-up such that they are given what they want. But how if they want not to be with us? Well, would we prefer that they were forced?
Yes, but how if those we love are fooled, duped, misled into self-damnation. This is indeed tragedy - but in a universe presided over by a wholly Good creator, we know that this tragedy is expressed mostly in term of delay - not exclusion.
Arkle's paintings tell us that the powers of evil are simply wrong. They are mistaken about teir own power. They have much less power than they suppose - and that mainly to delay, confuse etc. but not to damn.
Their triumphs are fragile - even their own evil self-will is in constant peril of repentance...
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