Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee shares few simple words for mystics and lovers stressing the importance of the inner journey at this time of outer turbulence.
TRANSCRIPT:
Over the last few months the outer landscape of our lives has changed with the coronavirus pandemic, economic distress and lengthening food lines, and demonstrations for racial injustice. Meanwhile, now seemingly in the background, is the constant drumbeat of the climate crisis, a long-term devastation with unforeseen consequences. And yet the inner journey continues as before, its light even more needed. The soul continues to cry for a return to the Source, for the lover to return to the arms of their Beloved. We carry in the depths of our heart a longing to throw aside the illusion of separation and step into the oneness that is the true reality of life and love. And now, as the world goes through these upheavals, there is a vital need to stay true to this inner calling, this love story that underlies all of life.
With our prayers and our practices, with the remembrance of the heart and the song of a soul going home, we carry the mystical light of the world, we live this essential truth. In the words of the Christian mystic:
Each creature God made
Must live its own true nature;
How can I resist my nature,
That lives for oneness with God?
The work of those who are drawn back to God by the thread of divine love is simple: to live this calling in the midst of life, as the world turns we stay true to this essential axis of love that runs through every day, through all of creation. Without this journey being lived, without this song of the soul being heard, a color woven into the fabric of life would be lost, a note no longer heard. We belong to life and we belong to the Divine, and as we live this belonging with our prayers and devotions, with the breath of our body and passion of our heart, we keep alive the consciousness of divine love, the spark in the heart of the world. I cannot stress too much the value, the significance of living, breathing, this simple truth, especially at this time of outer turbulence.
The journey continues, the journey always continues. And since the very beginning there have been souls, men and women of all races, called on this journey, drawn by love back to love, called to rediscover the essential oneness of lover and Beloved, the union of divine love. They have been called by many different names in different places and times, they are servants of God, lovers of God, mystics, fools of divine love. But these are just words for a mystery that takes place first deep within the heart, and then spreads to every cell of the body, to our thoughts and feelings, to our dreams, to the way we place our feet on the ground.
Do not forget, do not ever forget, this mystery of divine love, this cry of the heart, this longing of the soul. We are engaged in outer life, as Rumi says “I am the pain of the sick,” we help where we can, always in service to life, in service to love, in service to our Beloved. And always we stay true to this calling of the soul, this thread of love that draws us Home. While the world lives many passions, we live this one passion, the tears, the heartache, and the bliss of divine love. While the world has many desires, we have this single desire, to be with our Beloved. Whether we are marching against injustice, tending the sick, caring for our family, cooking a meal, or sitting in silent prayer, our heart is turned towards our Beloved, our Beloved’s name is on our lips, love’s remembrance is our duty and joy.
Waking and sleeping, in silence or amidst life’s noise, we are a place of prayer, a place where the worlds come together, where oneness is known. Our tears are love’s tears, our joy life’s joy. We are here for the sake of our Beloved, it is our true nature. As the seasons change, as spring turns to summer, and then fall waiting for winter, we live a truth that does not change, a thread that connects together all seasons, sunshine and snow. We are the heartbeat that keeps love aligned, this mystery breathing—a place for love.
If you are called into the arena of love, live this simple truth, this longing, for love’s sake. It is the Beloved’s gift to you and your greatest gift back to life.