Mr. Bennett’s words were ringing in me as I woke up this morning.
“Everyone must understand that this is the greatest opportunity that has existed for many thousands of years in the Work. Because not for thousands of years has there been such a need for people who could work.”
For instance, look at this period of history that we are in. We could be facing the end of society as we know it, the end of the planet even. Between politics and climate upheavals, the future doesn’t look good. Politics only seems to address climate change as it suits political agendas. And political agendas are more and more fractured and ego centric. Who is in control of anything anymore?
Fifty years ago, changing our lifestyle and culture to choose less rather than grasping for more, was something Mr. Bennett exhorted us to do. But it seems it’s the ones who lose what they have due to external catastrophe, who have done this. And not by choice. I haven’t changed my lifestyle nor disavowed the culture that has provided for me.
Mr. Bennett’s call for a paradigm shift, where the structure of society itself is built on the desire for service, rather than that of satisfying personal desires, seems far from attainable. And yet.
The Work
There is the Work. It’s the friction of going against the grain that is work. Because I know how selfish I am, I have an opportunity. When I want to say No, I can set myself to say Yes.
Having studied myself over the years, I recognize the taste of self-will, its vocal resonance. I can point an internal finger at my own ego when I see it wanting to eat my efforts. I’m still selfish and ego driven but making those parts of myself go away is not the Work. It’s taken me most of my life to realize this. The Work is in how often I can use those insights for my work. This is how I take another step along the path. Transformation isn’t something we do, it’s something that happens along the way.
But I can only give from what I have. And what I consider most valuable, is what I understand from my own efforts with this work. Which is tricky, because my ego wants to feed on it, and my self-will wants to control how I spend my time. What a great opportunity for Work!
Never has there been a moment in my lifetime offering a greater platform for inner change. Never has there been a diversity of spiritual practices that collectively recognize the urgency of the times we are in.
What Mr. Bennett foresaw fifty years ago, was that this is the richest opportunity to Work that has come in thousands of years because of the need for those who can work.
Paraphrasing Mr. Bennett’s words from his grace—
May we nourish one another, resolving by our Work to pay the Debt of our Existence.
There is a strong echo of this idea in Chapter 8 of Book 1 in The Pearl Trilogy. That whole closing of Chapter 8 is really based upon a very rich correspondence that I had with the late Manfred Blum. I miss the man. I hope he likes the way I’ve chosen to remember him.
I’ll likely be up to Chapter 8 of Book 1 in my livestream experiment which all of your readers are welcome to attend.
There are 2 more sessions set up for this offering.
Dec. 7 and Dec 14 from 6-8 pm — UK Time. I’ll post all relevant links on my FB Wall.
Storytelling with the Author of The Memory Tapes of John I. Pearl.