The fishing net is used to catch fish; let us have the fish and forget the net. The snare is used to catch rabits; let us have the rabbit and forget the snare. Words are used to convey ideas; let us have the ideas and forget the words
Chuang Tzu
Works of Chuang Tzu
Note: Chuang Tzu was a Taoist Chinese philosopher who lived about 300 B.C.
There is a catch in the creative process. Things don’t always happen as planned. An unanticipated challenge almost invariable trips you up, and you feel as if you’ve either temporarily lost sight of your goal or even fallen into a bottomless pit. Sometimes the situation may seem hopeless.
However, this very challenge is a catalyst for your true creativity, because it forces you to find an alternative approach and discover your talents and strengths, which wait in reserve for emergency use. This is the creative process. Do not make the mistake of giving up on your aspiration if you encounter this impass.
Lorna Catford, Ph.D. & Michael Ray, Ph. D.
The Path of the Everyday Hero
Joseph Campbell
The Flight of the Wild Gander
Like all great spiritual Masters, Jesus taught one thing only: presence. Ultimate reality, the luminous, compassionate intelligence of the universe, is not somewhere else, in some heaven light years away. It didn’t manifest itself any more fully to Abraham or Moses than to us, nor will it be any more present to some Messiah at the far end of time. it is always right here, right now. That is what the Bible means when it says that God’s True name is I am. …
When Jesus talks about the kingdom of God, he was not prophesying about some easy, danger-free perfection that will someday appear. He was talking about a state of being, a way of living at ease among the joys and sorrows of our world. It is possible, he said, to be as simple and beautiful as the birds of the sky or the lilies of the field, who are always within the eternal Now. This state of being is not something alien or mystical. We don’t need to learn it. It is already ours. Most of us lose it as we grow up and become self-conscious, but it doesn’t disappear forever; it is always there to be reclaimed, though we have to search hard in order to find it. The rich especially have a hard time reentering this state of being; they are so possessed by their possessions, so entrenched in their social power, that it is almost impossible for them to let go. Not that it is easy for any of us. But if we need reminding, we can always sit at the feet of our young children. They, because they haven’t yet developed a firm sense of past and future, accept the infinite abundance of the present with all their hearts, in complete trust. Entering the kingdom of God means feeling, as if we were floating in the womb of the universe, that we are being taken care of, always, at every moment.
Stephen Mitchell
The Gospel According to Jesus
Comment ©
by Reg Harris
The Hero's Journey: A resource for educators, teachers, and students
The fishing net is used to catch fish; let us have the fish and forget the net. The snare is used to catch rabits; let us have the rabbit and forget the snare. Words are used to convey ideas; let us have the ideas and forget the words
Chuang Tzu
Works of Chuang Tzu
Note: Chuang Tzu was a Taoist Chinese philosopher who lived about 300 B.C.
There is a catch in the creative process. Things don’t always happen as planned. An unanticipated challenge almost invariable trips you up, and you feel as if you’ve either temporarily lost sight of your goal or even fallen into a bottomless pit. Sometimes the situation may seem hopeless.
However, this very challenge is a catalyst for your true creativity, because it forces you to find an alternative approach and discover your talents and strengths, which wait in reserve for emergency use. This is the creative process. Do not make the mistake of giving up on your aspiration if you encounter this impass.
Lorna Catford, Ph.D. & Michael Ray, Ph. D.
The Path of the Everyday Hero
Joseph Campbell
The Flight of the Wild Gander
Like all great spiritual Masters, Jesus taught one thing only: presence. Ultimate reality, the luminous, compassionate intelligence of the universe, is not somewhere else, in some heaven light years away. It didn’t manifest itself any more fully to Abraham or Moses than to us, nor will it be any more present to some Messiah at the far end of time. it is always right here, right now. That is what the Bible means when it says that God’s True name is I am. …
When Jesus talks about the kingdom of God, he was not prophesying about some easy, danger-free perfection that will someday appear. He was talking about a state of being, a way of living at ease among the joys and sorrows of our world. It is possible, he said, to be as simple and beautiful as the birds of the sky or the lilies of the field, who are always within the eternal Now. This state of being is not something alien or mystical. We don’t need to learn it. It is already ours. Most of us lose it as we grow up and become self-conscious, but it doesn’t disappear forever; it is always there to be reclaimed, though we have to search hard in order to find it. The rich especially have a hard time reentering this state of being; they are so possessed by their possessions, so entrenched in their social power, that it is almost impossible for them to let go. Not that it is easy for any of us. But if we need reminding, we can always sit at the feet of our young children. They, because they haven’t yet developed a firm sense of past and future, accept the infinite abundance of the present with all their hearts, in complete trust. Entering the kingdom of God means feeling, as if we were floating in the womb of the universe, that we are being taken care of, always, at every moment.
Stephen Mitchell
The Gospel According to Jesus
Comment ©
by Reg Harris