Kindling the Fire
The last days there had been several encounters and exchanges – at the office, via e-mail, at home – where the topic was something about the spiritual path and spirituality in life. Reflecting on them gave an image how varied the individuals shape their paths.
Some gave the feeling of groping their way through a foggy cloud of aspirations, being attracted by various themes and teachings, but only hazily committing themselves to a routine and a task. There is something like a diffuse light, which has not yet taken shape.
Others seemed to be focused on a path – it was practising and teaching yoga exercises – but somehow with a mental conception learnt from a teacher and a tradition. There seemed to be a rigidity – trying to maintain a purity, which at the same time seemed to lack suppleness and inner connectedness. Their light was like being crystallized.
Again others were taking to commitment and an active search to shape their path. Though still not all-round chiselled, contours could be seen and an inner fire felt. Their path seemed to be in a process of clearing and the inner light to be ready to shine forth with the development ahead.
My wife said that the last days she often had the image of a circle with a point before her inner eye, when she was dealing with people. The point – the inner core, the I Am, or the soul – is like the focus of a lens. It has to become centred in order to gain strength. The fire has to be kindled. This can be done with the help of different means like dedication to a task, the support from a spiritual teacher, a meditational discipline … – or a combination of these.
The purpose remains the same – strengthening the fire, the radiance, the magnetism. In the image of the circle with the point, you go from the circumference to the centre, and then again from centre to circumference.
Photo of a sunspot seen from the side, from the Japanese satellite Hinode, by Nasa Astronomy Picture of the Day, April 2nd, 2007
