the desire of the soul

The Desire of The Soul Awakened

Posted on by Harold Boulette

The Desire of the Soul When Awakened

“The Soul’s Desire sent Forth to Seek the Beloved One.
Thus spake the soul to her desire—
‘Speed forth afar and see Where may my Belovèd be,
And say to Him, “His love I crave.”’
Then fled the swift desire afar,
And rose beyond sun, moon, and star,
And called before the heavenly door,
‘Lord, open unto me!’
Then spake the Host—
‘What need hast thou,
That thou dost thus implore?’
‘O Lord, I come with the prayer of one
Who weepeth upon the earth alone—
The fish on the sand must pine.’
‘Go back! no door is unbarred to thee
Till thou bring the sorrowful soul to Me,
For the need is Mine.’
Then sped the messenger swiftly home, and said—
‘The Master calleth Come! Arise and shine!’
Then she as on summer winds doth rise
In joyful flight through the starry skies,
And there meet her angels twain;
For God hath sent two angels fleet,
The well-belovèd soul to meet.

“And they ask—
‘What seekest thou thus afar?
With the dark earth art thou clad.’
The soul said—
‘Greet me better than so,
For to Him who loveth me well I go,
And I am no more sad.
Lo! dimmed as ye near the earth below,
Is the sweet light of your eyes;
And with light of God do I shine and glow
As aloft I rise.’
Then with an angel on either hand,
The soul sped through the skies,
And when she came to the angel land,
To the country of Paradise,
She was a stranger guest no more,
For to her was opened the heavenly door,
She saw the Beloved Face.
Forth flowed her heart in weeping blest,
She said, ‘My Lord, I have found my rest
In the glory of Thy grace.
I needs must praise Thee and adore,
For evermore, for evermore.
Whence came I here?
I am lost in Thee;
I can think no more of the earth below,
Nor of the sorrow and weeping there.
I had thought to tell Thee my grief and woe,
But, Lord, I have seen Thee, and nought I know,
But that Thou art fair.’” ~Matilda of Magdeburg

The Desire of the Soul

The awakened Soul actually has two desires, though they are so closely related, they can be considered one. The first desire is to return home. That is, to return to the worlds of spirit where the spirit and soul originates. Home to the soul is not a place in the physical world, nor is it the physical body of the person it is in. The second desire is to return to God, the Beloved One, the Originator of all Souls. Since God is found in that highest of spiritual dimensions that most of us call Heaven, this seeking to rejoin with the creator is also part of the desire to return home to the realms of spirit. Continue reading “The Desire of The Soul Awakened” →

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we choose death

We Choose Death by Seeking Pleasure

Posted on by Harold Boulette

“Beguiled from our original state by the deceitfulness of sensual pleasure, we choose death rather than true life. Let us then gladly endure the bodily hardship which puts such pleasure to death. In this way the death of pleasure will destroy the death which came about through pleasure, and we shall receive back, purchased with but slight bodily hardship, the life which we sold for the sake of sensual pleasure.

“If when the flesh has an easy life the force of sin tends to grow stronger, it is clear that when the flesh suffers affliction the force of virtue will also increase. So let us bravely endure the affliction of the flesh, which cleanses the soul’s stains and brings us future glory. For the suffering of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us.

“When physicians are treating the body they do not administer the same remedy in all cases. Neither does God, when treating the illnesses of the soul, regard a single kind of therapy as suitable for it and effects its cure. So let us give thanks while we are being created, however great our suffering, for the result is blessed.” ~the Philokalia

Beguiled by Pleasure

Pleasure is a great thing, but also a deceptive one. It can feel good but is often keeping you away from something better. It is like stopping to pick up a dollar bill on the sidewalk and missing out on the pot of gold up ahead. So it is deceitful because it gives you the idea that it is helping you, but it is really stopping you from moving forward and claiming the real treasure of life.

Bodily Hardship

If you have ever watched documentaries of real treasure hunters at work, you know that the hunters don’t just casually ride up to a suspected location in a luxury yacht, dive down into calm and pleasant waters, and come back up clutching bags of gold and jewels. They are on some old boat with tiny, uncomfortable cabins, they face storms, breakdowns, sharks, and other perils before they realize there is no treasure their and move on to another spot. They go through similar experiences in that location and the next. After several stops, they finally find the treasure, having earned it through hard work and strain. That is the way it is with seeking the real treasure, the treasure of eternal spiritual life. Continue reading “We Choose Death by Seeking Pleasure” →

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lower thought

Lower Thought Prevents Spiritual Growth

Posted on by Harold Boulette

“Too much association with anyone of lower thought may lessen your natural power to attract. You may carry a part of their selfish, cynical, gloomy, or other evil thought with you wherever you go. You put it out with your own. It is felt as a disagreeable alloy with your own.

“Your value and charm for others, as a companion, depends far more on what you think, than on what you say. If your thought is all pure, clean, bright, confident, and courageous, you are a value, and an increasing value wherever you go.

“People will always be glad to see you. When you bring yourself (your thought), you bring an actual pleasure to people. You bring also a power and strength to them. Your thought helps to strengthen their bodies. They feel better for seeing you. You are a fountain of health and pleasure wherever you go. You can disarm the sourest temper, and the person most opposed to you. When you can say in mind, ‘I refuse to look upon any person as my enemy,’ you will have no enemies. When we talk of ‘having enemies,’ and keep on, in thought, looking on certain people as enemies, we are making them enemies.” ~Prentice Mulford

Anyone of Lower Thought

Mulford has an interesting idea of what constitutes “lower thought”. I’m sure we can all agree that thought of murder, rape, theft, and other forms of violence are lower thought, but Mulford goes beyond those obvious kinds of lower thought. He adds to that list selfish, cynical, and gloomy thoughts. I think we can say that he would consider the rampant greed, me-first attitude, and lack of consideration for others among certain groups today to also be lower thought. I agree with him, those are all types of lower thought. And he wisely advises those of us seeking spiritual growth to avoid those of lower thought as much as possible. Obviously, that also means we should try to avoid having such thoughts ourselves. Continue reading “Lower Thought Prevents Spiritual Growth” →

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heavenly treasure

Heavenly Treasure is Better than Earthly Treasure

Posted on by Harold Boulette

Heavenly Treasure from God

“If a man is very rich in this world, and possesses a hidden treasure, out of that treasure and wealth that he has he purchases whatever he has a mind to purchase. Whatever rare articles in the world he fancies, he readily amasses them, relying upon the treasure, because by means of it he easily procures any piece of property he fancies. In like manner those who seek at God’s hand, and have found, and have the Heavenly Treasure of the Spirit, which is the Lord Himself shining in their hearts, accomplish every righteousness of virtues, and every acquisition of goodness commanded by the Lord, out of the treasure of Christ in them, and by means of it they amass a yet more abundant heavenly wealth. By means of that heavenly treasure they effect every virtue of righteousness, relying upon the multitude of the spiritual riches within them, and easily work every righteousness and commandment of the Lord by means of the invisible wealth of grace that is in them. The apostle says, Having this treasure in earthen vessels, that is, the treasure which it was granted to them in this life to possess within themselves, the sanctifying power of the Spirit; and again, who was made to us Wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctifications, and redemption.” ~St. Macarius the Egyptian

Worldly Treasure

Having wealth isn’t necessarily an evil thing, but having worldly wealth, a wealth of material possessions often develops into a desire for more and more material wealth, and at any cost. That is how it becomes evil. It is why the Essene leaders, including Jesus, required members of their community to donate all their material wealth to the community as a whole and do not claim ownership of anything. That is why the Essenes were often called “the poor,” and this is what Jesus meant when he told the wealthy man who wanted to join his community that he would have to give all his wealth to the poor. He meant to the Essene community of which he was the Rabbi, not some random poor people found in the streets. Continue reading “Heavenly Treasure is Better than Earthly Treasure” →

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