Thanksgiving: a toast to F.M.

Conscious guidance and control in relation to human evolution in civilization: Still pioneering this work after nearly 30 years – what has kept me at it? From time to time (more often than I would like to admit) I have wanted to quit - throw it all up – give up on people and withdraw into a life of a recluse; do something where I could avoid people because they made me so sad and mad but something in me couldn’t. Each time I met this moment it was triggered by people who seemed so crippled inside and yet seemed so polished and sophisticated on the outside – perfectly socially constructed - identities thin and hollow with starvation on the inside – perfect magazine lookalikes. Each time I glimpsed a fleeting peep into these people’s empty cruel eyes and saw their utter cold disdain projected outward at those of us who refused to conform to this social construction it cut deep into my soul – my soul literally teetered on a knife edge. I would go to Alexander’s book Man’s Supreme Inheritance and read the following quote by Herbert Spencer:

“Whoever hesitates to utter that which he thinks the highest truth, lest it should be too much in advance of the time, may reassure himself by looking at his acts from an impersonal point of view….It is not for nothing that he has in him these sympathies with some principles and repugnance to others. He with all his capacities, and aspirations, and beliefs, is not an accident, but a product of the time. He must remember that while he is a descendant of the past he is a parent of the future; and that his thoughts are as children born to him, which he may not carelessly let die”.

I need to read it today even more as I now live in Canada or North America which is as close as one can get to the capital of Capitalism or the culture of gluttony. All this materialism, be it materialism of matter or spirit, is overwhelming at times – everything has a price. People here know the price of everything but do they know the value of anything? So, having bumped into many socially constructed perfect personalities whilst out shopping for groceries for Thanksgiving and feeling the old “why bother” feelings coming over me I sat down to read an old fashioned book which is the best chicken soup for the soul. And happily I made a new insight on the matter of why do I keep at it? This time the revelation was made whilst reading another book. I can’t remember the title of the book, but I wrote the quote into my note book it goes like this:

“When we encounter the rare individual whose conduct is inspired by a moral ideal, we cannot help noticing his aspect. Moral beauty is an exceptional and striking phenomenon – one never forgets it. This form of beauty is far more impressive than the beauty of nature. It gives to those who possess its divine gifts a strange and inexplicable power. It increases the strength of the intellect, much more than science, art and religious rites, moral beauty is the basis of civilization.” - Alexis Carrel

I finally understood why I keep at it: Alexander’s work is the only system that gives me the necessary tool for the development of moral beauty. It is the hardest challenge for us all to face and get on with. We are all trying to pretend and cover up our ugliness inside but the key to our deliverance lies within. We need to meet our darkness and to transform it into the light of conscious constructive guidance and control in the use of ourselves in living a healthier and happier life. There is so much work to do on ourselves and time is of the essence. I continue on this most difficult journey of my own choosing even more enlightened and uplifted than before.