November 28, 2007
I’ve just discovered the website of psychotherapist, writer and poet Robert Augustus Masters. His system seems partially based on the work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. I don’t agree with everything he says, of course, but I am stunned by the quality of his writing — what eloquence! It just reminds me of what a long way I have to go before learning to write with such elegance, beauty, and simplicity. Here is a sampling of his poetry:
When Truth came
Did you crucify it in a field of facts?
When you condemned the executioner
Did you see in your hands the bloody axe?
Such a deep art it is
To learn our lessons by heart
While we roam in dreamland
Hungry for Home
Since I often have a lot of neuroses related to guilt, I really enjoyed Robert’s essay, The Anatomy of Guilt. Here are some wise words from this essay:
Put another way, guilt means that we get to again do whatever it is that seemingly generates our guilt — we permit ourselves to do it over and over again, even as “we” simultaneously punish ourselves for such transgression. We may decry (and even publicize) the abuse we are suffering from our own hand and self-incrimination, but that very punishment, if it is sufficiently severe and well-broadcast, significantly lessens the probability of “outside” punishment, while ensuring — and perhaps even, at least to some degree, legitimizing — our continued participation (as “victims,” of course!) in what we “shouldn’t” be doing.
Guilt thus allows us to remain selfish. And irresponsible.
And here is another great quote from the same essay, showing that guilt is a turning inward against oneself:
Guilt is a suppression of Being, a withdrawal from real feeling, a flight from integrity, the very epitome of “divided we fall.” The guilt-ridden are easy to control and exploit, for their power is consumed by their internal warfare.
A very insightful essay, and definitely worth a read! It reminds me of all the times I’ve guilt-tripped myself and beaten myself up over mistakes, hoping I could “force” myself to change . . . only to find to my surprise that I didn’t change as a result! And as Robert points out, guilt is a way to avoid the real transformation that happens when you enter into a relationship with the One who accepts you even in your greatest follies. Guilt only obstructs the work of the Divine Grace in our lives. When we experience guilt, the best thing to do would be to detach and observe, cutting through those layers of guilt and going straight to the feelings and atavisms behind them. And to then surrender it all with love to the Divine in the knowing trust that he himself will deliver us from our egos. How we long to return to our primordial innocence!
Posted by ned.
Filed under Contemplations, Art, Inspiration.
I’ve just discovered the website of psychotherapist, writer and poet Robert Augustus Masters. His system seems partially based on the work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. I don’t agree with everything he says, of course, but I am stunned by the quality of his writing — what eloquence! It just reminds me of what a long way I have to go before learning to write with such elegance, beauty, and simplicity. Here is a sampling of his poetry:
When Truth came
Did you crucify it in a field of facts?
When you condemned the executioner
Did you see in your hands the bloody axe?
Such a deep art it is
To learn our lessons by heart
While we roam in dreamland
Hungry for Home
Since I often have a lot of neuroses related to guilt, I really enjoyed Robert’s essay, The Anatomy of Guilt. Here are some wise words from this essay:
Put another way, guilt means that we get to again do whatever it is that seemingly generates our guilt — we permit ourselves to do it over and over again, even as “we” simultaneously punish ourselves for such transgression. We may decry (and even publicize) the abuse we are suffering from our own hand and self-incrimination, but that very punishment, if it is sufficiently severe and well-broadcast, significantly lessens the probability of “outside” punishment, while ensuring — and perhaps even, at least to some degree, legitimizing — our continued participation (as “victims,” of course!) in what we “shouldn’t” be doing.
Guilt thus allows us to remain selfish. And irresponsible.
And here is another great quote from the same essay, showing that guilt is a turning inward against oneself:
Guilt is a suppression of Being, a withdrawal from real feeling, a flight from integrity, the very epitome of “divided we fall.” The guilt-ridden are easy to control and exploit, for their power is consumed by their internal warfare.
A very insightful essay, and definitely worth a read! It reminds me of all the times I’ve guilt-tripped myself and beaten myself up over mistakes, hoping I could “force” myself to change . . . only to find to my surprise that I didn’t change as a result! And as Robert points out, guilt is a way to avoid the real transformation that happens when you enter into a relationship with the One who accepts you even in your greatest follies. Guilt only obstructs the work of the Divine Grace in our lives. When we experience guilt, the best thing to do would be to detach and observe, cutting through those layers of guilt and going straight to the feelings and atavisms behind them. And to then surrender it all with love to the Divine in the knowing trust that he himself will deliver us from our egos. How we long to return to our primordial innocence!
Posted by ned.
Filed under Contemplations, Art, Inspiration.
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