Atelier Master’s Message

LIVING IN THE MOMENT

Greetings, fellow Martinists!

One of the advantages that I feel I have is the ability to forecast and plan my life, usually using the mystical principles which I have practiced for many years. It allows me to live somewhat of an ordered existence, but still allow plenty of room for whatever changes may occur. However, there are also occasions in which I find my planning gets a little out of hand. After all, I have a five-year financial plan (with four various tracking spreadsheets), a quilting plan for all in-process and dreamed-of quilts, a ten-year reading plan for the classics, an exercise plan, an eating plan, a meditation plan – well, you get the idea.

When the planning gets out of hand, I have a tendency to shut down, that is, I retreat into myself and end up doing nothing except watching lots of old science fiction television shows. I realize that this is not necessarily a mentally healthy thing to do, so I try to do at least one useful thing per day until I re-establish my focus. In addition, the act of true meditation is essential to re-establishing the inner harmony. I say true meditation, because so many people talk about meditation in a vague unfocused sense. (My husband used to say he was meditating when I found him dozing in his chair!) I find that many times the act of meditation is misunderstood, so I thought I would provide some clarity to the definition. To do that, I need to tell a story.

In the movie, Star Trek – Insurrection, the Star Trek Next Generation crew discover a group of people on a planet in a strange area of space who have lived many of our lifetimes but who haven’t aged. During the course of their interactions, Captain Picard gets to know one of the women, who explains to him how living so long teaches them how to “live in the moment,” essentially, how to slow time so that the time factor for living ceases to become important. She demonstrates this concept with the slowing of a hummingbird’s wings as it is drinking pollen, so that the beat of the wings is barely noticeable. Later in the movie, when the woman is badly injured during a cave-in, Picard is able to do save her life by doing the same slowing of time.

I have always been struck by this “living in the moment” in that movie. I think about it frequently, and use it to move myself out of time and space. I do this in the form of meditation. As I slow my breathing and gradually empty my mind of extraneous thoughts, I allow mental imagery to take their place. The mental imagery may be the slow beat of the hummingbird wings, or the slowly falling dust particles in the cave, or merely the gradual blooming of a golden rose. As the mental imagery stills my mind, I gradually leave the imagery behind and truly move into the moment, into a complete stillness that has no purpose, no shape, no image, just a purity and clarity of existence.

We as human beings spend so much of our lives immersed in planning and scheduling our lives, charting out our and others’ time and space. It’s easy to do, and those who are not mystically inclined may not even be aware that we can exist outside of these physical parameters. There is nothing wrong with living within these physical parameters, but we don’t have to limit ourselves to existing there completely. By “living in the moment,” we move ourselves outside of the concepts of time and space. This allows us to experience so much more of the inner life, to connect with the other planes of existence that are described in our TMO studies, where the time factor of existence ceases to be important. I will always make schedules and plans, because I enjoy doing so, but I also know that to really progress spiritually in order to experience the life for which I was born, I also will move into the moment, which is what cosmic attunement is all about.

Judith Stewart, S.I.

Master, Rocky Mountain Atelier

Traditional Martinist Order

Summer 2016

Provincial Master’s Message

My Brothers and Sisters, Fraters and Sorores;

Inspiration! Insight! Illumination! These are the things we strive for as Mystics. We search for paths to lead us to these treasures and we discover our Orders, we discover ancient writings, we discover the wisdom of the sages, all of which bring us to a place of understanding and unity with the Divine. Ah, it is so beautiful and fulfilling to be part of this process. We know why we are here! Our mystical philosophies teach us that our life purpose is to learn, to experience, to be inspired by God’s gift of this world – to discover and remember our true nature and to use that knowledge to reintegrate with the Divine. But do we maintain this wonderful direction? Why is it so easy to not only forget this purpose, but to actually hinder its practice?

It has been my experience that the challenges and distractions of life tend to divert us from this central purpose. Not only do things pop up that require our focused attention, thinks like work, needed repair around the house, health issues, and the like, but our world seems to be filled with relentless distractions. It is a lot easier to sit down in front of a television or movie screen and watch someone else’s life experiences than to pursue your own!

What are our sources of spirituality that can help us deflect these mundane tendencies? We have our studies, we have our inspirational books, we have our places we go to seek further knowledge – but these are not the only sources of spiritual growth. In fact, the Divine has created this world, and everything in it, as a source of knowledge about ourselves and about the Divine plan. Everywhere you go the universe is “talking” to you and guiding you to further knowledge. The wealth of information about the way a blade of grass grows and processes is phenomenal! The study of the forces at work in a drop of water would fill many books! We have but to listen and to watch and to study our environment and have a glimpse of the Divine plan.

The first step in beginning to learn in this way is to become open – to break out of the shell we build for ourselves. We need to set aside, if only for a little while, the worries, the tasks, the distractions that keep us focused on the here and now. We need to move from being “self” centered, with our attention directed to problem solving, getting the job done, completing our assigned tasks, to having our attention become open to what’s going on around you. Expand your awareness of your environment. Now, the sources of enlightenment are not limited to the world of nature. Part of being a walking question mark is to become open to the inspirations provided by other people. We must put ourselves in a state of mind that leaves us open to the unexpected words of others. The Divine frequently puts us in the presence of a person who has just the right words to inspire us to another level of understanding of the Universe. This person may not know they are imparting such words of wisdom, but the Cosmic has planted these words in his mind just for your benefit!

The bottom line here is that our path to enlightenment is not limited to our formal mystical studies through AMORC and TMO . God talks to us and instructs us through every aspect of life and we MUST leave ourselves open for this inspiration! Don’t continually bury yourselves in mundane concerns and diversions, but expand your awareness of the gifts of knowledge and enlightenment by always being expectant of the unexpected!

Don’t run from, impede, or divert those experiences that bring us closer to the spiritual. Make yourself available to the inspirations that God puts in our path each and every day. Open up your heart and embrace the wisdom and truth that the bubbling stream, chirping bird, or the friend or stranger imparts to your soul.

May you ever dwell in the Eternal Light of Divine Wisdom!

David Schloegel, F.R.C.

Provincial Master

Traditional Martinist Order