Bianka

Without reflection, the soul obeys hidden forces while believing it acts freely. Most people never observe themselves. They only experience themselves. A thought appears → they think it. An emotion rises → they become it. An impulse emerges → they act from it. The entire inner life flows outward into thoughts, sensations, desires, and reactions. Spiritual development begins when this direction reverses. The soul learns to bend back upon itself. You stop merely thinking and begin noticing the activity of thinking. You stop merely feeling anger, fear, or desire and begin perceiving these forces as they arise. You stop immediately obeying impulses and begin seeing them before identifying with them. A distance opens between the I and the contents of the soul. We normally say: “I am angry.” “I am afraid.” “I want this.” But reflection reveals something deeper: There is the anger. There is the fear. There is the desire. And there is that within you which can observe them. The I begins to stand over against its own inner life. Reflection is not passive introspection. It is an act of freedom. Without it, much of what we call “myself” is simply inherited tendencies, habitual judgments, emotional reactions, and borrowed opinions. Experiencing a force within yourself does not mean you consciously created it. Reflection creates an inner mirror. Through that mirror you begin to perceive the machinery normally hidden behind consciousness: The judgment forming before it becomes an opinion. The emotion coloring the thought. The desire hiding inside the argument. Thinking ceases to be a stream passing through you and becomes an activity you can consciously direct. Higher perception begins with extraordinary wakefulness toward your own consciousness. Otherwise how could you distinguish spiritual perception from fantasy? Or an objective imagination from something projected by your own soul? The person who cannot observe the movements of his own inner life cannot know what he himself is adding to an experience. This is why the purification of consciousness matters. Concentration directs consciousness. Reflection illuminates consciousness. Together they prepare the soul for Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition. Reflection also transforms morality. Someone insults you. Anger arises. Ordinarily: insult → anger → reaction. Reflection introduces awareness. You see the anger. You see the wounded pride beneath it. You see the desire to retaliate. And because you can see these forces, you are no longer identical with them. A new action becomes possible — one consciously grasped by the I. That small space between impulse and action is where freedom begins. You become more conscious when that which normally looks through your eyes finally learns to turn around and observe itself.

Twenty-six years ago positing the idea that Johannesburg would not have water or electricity, working street lights and robots, and drivable road infrastructure would get you laughed out of the room. Not many people laughing now.

White farmer has his ears hacked off during horrific torture in South African farm robbery: 'The motive clearly isn't just to steal' trib.al/SSGB4eE

South African farmer was shot, stabbed and had ears hacked off by barbaric robbers who planned to castrate him trib.al/Wh5nk2S