A great desire to live and a great dissatisfaction with living
Every so often there is some communication failure between an event organiser and a speaker (called in new-speak a ‘disconnect’). In checking how my talk tomorrow in Glastonbury is being advertised I read to my surprise that:
…author of the stunning new book Sacred Places, Philip will be looking at how a return to ancient folklore and a renewed knowledge of sacred plants and their spiritual benefits could help balance the effects of the current world crisis.
I’ve had it up on my site for months as: ‘Beyond Belief’ – a talk at the Glastonbury Symposium at 3.40pm. In this talk Philip addresses the fact that many people now don’t want to be restricted by an allegiance to one religion, and yet are still searching for a meaningful and spiritual life. If we are inspired by the words of the Buddha and the Sufi mystics, and yet are also drawn to the beauty of Celtic spirituality, for example, are we just New Age dilettantes who are not disciplined enough to follow one path, or are we responding to a new call: towards a deeper Way that transcends the artificial divisions of creed and dogma and that frees the spirit – beyond belief?
Oh well, as Heraclitus said: ‘A wonderful harmony is created when we join together the seemingly unconnected.’ He also said, I have just discovered: ‘The world is nothing but a great desire to live and a great dissatisfaction with living’. He was apparently known as Heraclitus the Obscure. Well that seems pretty clear and recognisable to me!
3 Responses to “A great desire to live and a great dissatisfaction with living”
Hello, Philip, tip toed back to face Face Book and discovered this beautiful course description which I guess has been modified to include plants and sacred places and alien conspiracies. In any case, I wanted to add my two cents worth of astrological comment concerning what you had planned to speak about. Over the last few months, Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron have been traveling as a very close conjunction despite the disparity in their speeds. This will continue on for a bit as well. It is all taking place on the point of the American Moon which makes things very interesting here, but of course, it is being felt all over the world. It takes place in the sign of Aquarius which indeed is the dream of new social structures in general, humanitarian and scientific, and this would include new spiritual or religious structures as well. It is very connected to the crisis in planetary existence and whether humans care enough about ourselves and the earth to live here in new ways.
The three planets most involved in our connection to spirit are standing together. Jupiter is perhaps the ‘recognizable’ established religions, e.g. Christianity, Buddhism, or even an established pagan definition–‘I am a Druid.’ Neptune is about mystical experiences that may or may not be identifiable with any particular religious stream. And Chiron says there is a wound here which must be addressed even though it may never be ‘healed.’ Are we ready to look at the wound of separation we feel from spirit and from each other and from the earth? Since there is no ‘world’ chart as far as I know, I must simply look at how this manifests around me. I am hearing a great many clients say they are ‘spiritual’, but not ‘religious.’ But that doesn’t seem to satisfy them. I don’t think we are on the verge of creating a new religion. But I think what you say ‘are we responding to a new call: towards a deeper Way that transcends the artificial divisions of creed and dogma and that frees the spirit – beyond belief?’ speaks to this trio of planets in a perfect way. how I wish I could be there to hear all of it , and of course, give you a hug as well, love, Sarah Boston
Hello Sarah,
How very interesting. Thank you for these astrological observations.They filmed the talk and I think it’ll end up on Youtube in a while…
Blessings, Philip
Yes, I think we are responding to a new way; we are going, as you say, beyond belief. Besides, who makes the rules? Who says we can’t blend various traditions together? All religions do this anyway, although it typically happens so slowly that they don’t know it and end up spouting off about their precious “traditions.” And then they use those “traditions” to beat the rest of us over the head. Bah! Who are they to lecture us!? Truth is everywhere and in everything. Discipline in a specific faith tradition is fine and well, but I don’t believe there is any one way. Those who think otherwise are caught up in their own illusion. I’ve been there and I don’t want to return!
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