3) The intuition of harmony
As with Principle 1), the interest of
one does not stand out as being above the interests of all. Harmony
develops out of the wish of each person to find the common ground that
unites, rather than the separate will that divides. It also comes out of
the belief that harmony is possible, given the fact that all are one,
for without this belief there would be nothing to strive for.
The perception of harmony comes out of an understanding that all of life
is held within a common vibration of love, beauty, and holiness, and that
within this unity each individual lifestream makes its own contribution to
the whole. Harmony is achieved when each lifestream is most truly itself,
and so the work of achieving it has to do with penetrating whatever layers
of falseness or untruth may stand in the way of correct perception. The
layers of falseness are accumulations of the ego that believes the self to
be and needs the self to be something that it really is not. Dismantling
the false perception of the self and, subsequently, dismantling the false
perception of others, is the most direct path toward the achievement of
harmony. For harmony exists eternally in the joining of the essential
nature of all beings. It only needs to be rediscovered.
Emotional factors limiting the expression of harmony include:
- Protection of self-interest; need for power and
dominance; need to be in control; absence of trust in others; absence
of trust in life.
- Unhealed aspects of rage toward others causing a
feeling of being unjustly treated by the world, by others, or by life.
- Rejection of love and of harmony due to fear of
opening the heart more.
The possibility for experiencing more love or more oneness with others
gives rise to the fear of wounding or rejection due to past
experiences of this kind.
- An overinvestment in the 'will aspect' of life rather
than the 'heart' aspect.
This relates to Principle 1) but describes it more on a spiritual
level. Here, power is sought for one's own purposes rather than God's
purposes, with an unwillingness to surrender to God's purposes for
oneself.
Resolution within the experience of love:
The development of a capacity for harmony, especially when
there are factors present that cause inner resistance, can only take
place through the increased experience of love. This experience comes
not through personal relationship but through spiritual awakening that
causes a fuller knowing of God's love. Harmony is based on the
unfoldment of spiritual truth to the awakening consciousness. It is
enhanced through all spiritual practices that help one awaken.
The experience of harmony is a corollary of the experience of love and
unity which seeks to give to others what each needs and what each
rejoices in. It comes into being when there is no longer a need to
defend one's own self-interest, but rather when the interests of all are
seen as intimately connected with the interests of the self. The absence
of the need to defend comes from the revelation of the truer, deeper
identity of each self as a Divine creation of God. From this place of
identification, defensiveness is no longer needed.