WMS HOME PAGE  |  LIBRARY TABLE OF CONTENTS THE  TRUE  NATURE  OF  INTELLIGENCE                  The first step taken by the true intellectual toward personal enlightenment, is to understand that there exists something worthwhile to learn.  For them the learning process begins in the study of the opinions of others, an activity they ultimately reject for the sake of first hand perception.  Direct perception lends itself first to the study of facts, as they are self-perceived.  The opinions of others, no matter how historically noteworthy they may be considered, then pales in comparison to the depth of personal experience.  Through the faculties of direct experience we possess, the ability to gain knowledge directly from observation begins to overshadow the academic process.  Then as we learn from our own experiences about what is important in life, the lesson of relevance is learned.  Relevant fact is determined as, "that which relates to reality and the real needs of existence".  It is a study which readily replaces a fascination with trivia.  The study of relevant fact through direct perception, then leads one to embrace the subject of subjects, the epitome of the relevant and therefore useful; Truth Itself.  As Truth Itself is ascertained it becomes inspiration, as the most expedient fuel for the fire of spiritual advancement.  When spiritual advancement occurs, it does so at the behest of a 3 step, universal process.   The first of these is REALIZATION, wherein Truth Itself is perceived unmistakably as fact(s) most profound.  The second stage occurs when the realized Truth is noted for its invariable relation to the self within the grand scope and design of universal purposes.  This stage is known as INSPIRATION, which lends itself the most noble of causes, to a life dedicated to spiritual ideals.  The third stage of spiritual advancement is the EMBODIEMENT of that which is first directly perceived, or REALIZED.                It is the intentional act of the self realized explorer of TRUTH, to seek out facts of the highest relevance.  By the time the EMBODIMENT of Truth becomes the daily practice of the seeker, it is exactly then that the intellectual is graduated to the higher phase of being that is the mystic, or spiritual practitioner.  A fixation upon the products and process of mind, no matter how subtle or finely tuned these may be,  becomes a constant receptivity to TRUTH ITSELF, as a superior source of understanding.  The intellect is like the sharpest blade, best used to cut away that which is not desired.  Intellects' utility for discernment does not adequately extend itself however to the process of building a higher self, just as the sword does not make an effective shovel, hammer or brick layer.  There comes a time when the keenest mind must spend more focus in the attentiveness of absorption, than to the products of thought and the modes of intellectualism.  The keen mind which fails to recognize this, is doomed to a self-indulgent arrogance over the products of a trained focus.  Training and method are only tools which facilitate specific modes of action, and as such, are by definition limited.  Formal education which cannot reach beyond itself thereby, becomes self-deception and delusion.             It is to Truth itself we must constantly aspire, because it alone is the repository for all potential action.  Only from this unlimited reservoir can we draw sustenance without fear of shortage or imbalance.  The mind we must develop, yet part of that development rests in the realization that intellect alone does not suffice.  To apprehend Truth, direct perception must also be added, which is a faculty also known as intuition.  The root of the word "intuition" is "tuition" or in other words a state of learning, with the prefix "in" referring to that which is inward or within.  Intuition therefore means to learn from within, or to put this more exactly, it refers to the ability of the consciousness we possess, to gain knowledge directly from the Universe rather than from books.             For intuition to function fully it must first be unobstructed by thought, or the products of intellect.  The mind must get out of the way of the higher faculties of the self.  These higher attributes are those possessed by that which transcends thought, mind and ideas, with which we were born.  In the East this is referred to as CONSCIOUSNESS, in the West as SOUL.  The student of Truth, taking a comprehensive view of both of these, must conclude that they are synonymous terms.  Soul is consciousness and consciousness is soul.  Regardless of the name applied, Soul is this essential foundation that is the truth of the self.  Meditation reveals that this is so, for when thought ceases so too does any identification of self that is defined by thought.  The true intellectual then realizes that they are neither thought nor any other product of mind, but instead the maker of thought, feelings, images and societies.  This "maker" is soul, or the eternal watcher behind a screen of self-made thoughts.             When the truth of consciousness as self is realized, the spiritual practitioner rises up from the ashes of intellectualism.  Self as soul/consciousness becomes a conscious, intentional focus for the practitioner.  Identification of self as soul also gives way to the understanding that all other people are souls, one which ultimately necessitates a personal stance for the universal good of all humanity.  We come to regard each other in this way as brothers and sisters of like kind, and of the same essential need.  That need is one of self-realization.  Self as soul is implicitly infinite, especially as contrasted to self as thought/intellect.   The properties of the soul are vast just as nature is vast, and equally deserving of detailed exploration and adventure.  The universal recognition of this fact among the peoples of the Earth would cause the construction of a new era.  Such a realization inspires the practitioner to embody the practice of spiritual ministry.  This is in essence, nothing other than the dissemination of Truth to the world, so as to improve its condition.             The realization of all people as souls, (not unlike the self) lends itself also to the recognition that nature is similarly founded upon consciousness.  The essences or composition of the soul/consciousness is of three parts; namely; INTENT, AWARENESS and ENERGY, in that order of causality.  These three elements of consciousness are also found in the  manifestations of nature.  They are found in all life, making all living forms the kindred blood of a Creative Universe.  All life possesses Intent, Awareness and Energy, just as do all souls.  Meditation allows direct perception of this fact, once it is realized by the practitioner that these components are integral to their own being.             That which is called God is also composed of Intent, Awareness and Energy.  Thus, as souls we are not merely the product of God, or the extensions of God.  We are in fact the members of God, as component elements within a greater whole.  Just as neurons compose a brain, we as individual souls make up a greater intelligence, a collective consciousness whose acts are far greater than the mere sum of its parts.  We are therefore not merely embedded in the greater presence of God, nor outgrowths of an externally guiding force only.  Instead we are the functioning elements of a collective that stretches into the infinities of space and time.  We are all of similar substance, belonging to a body without end and which can never end.  The meditator may also ascertain the above facts for themselves, just as surely as they can isolate the true meaning of self between the manifestations of one thought to the next.              It must be concluded that since the true self is consciousness, and that a true understanding of nature includes viewing it as a collective consciousness, (God) that no other daily life focus is truly worthy of our attention.  To understand Truth fully we must live it out, since anything else is mere speculation, and speculation the comparatively primitive product of mind.  The living of such a life is the only concrete demonstration of true intelligence.  Truth is not altered by speculation, for if it were our own musings would have annihilated us long ago.  It alone stands untarnished in this primitive age of humanity.  To Truth alone we must apply in order to shed the light of self that is both SOUL and GOD. Matthew Webb visionquest@eoni.com  The World Mind Society http://www.eoni.com/~visionquest    BACK TO LIBRARY