The Pagan Path

Those who wonder are not lost; they are trying to awaken! 'The Sleeper must awaken!'

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

The Center of Knowledge; A Contemplation

Knowledge; 'It is what It is'! The question on the mind of this blogger is, 'What IS It?' Can Knowledge be simply be defined, like Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary does, as 'the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association', or is It, like us, More than what we 'see' on the surface? What if I told you that True Knowledge is gained, not by doing, but by BEing?! In that sense though, one might rightly note that True Knowledge is not gained, but, if you will, 'realized through revelation'. The difference, then, between 'simple' knowledge & True Knowledge is that one is grasped/gotten by the intellect & the other is understood by the Unconscious Mind, or Higher Self.

Humanly speaking, education IS of utmost importance! Without it, people would not get very far, if anywhere in this life. Or, is that simply what we've been taught for so long that we've accepted it 'lock, stock & barrel'? As proof of the 'fallen nature' of humanity, many or most Christians use the example that, 'a child does not have to be taught how to lie, how to act selfishly, etc', when, in actuality, they do! Education, or being taught, as we can all attest to, does not come through verbal means alone. Most often, we adopt the behaviors ( or not; it's ALWAYS a choice ) of those around us. Take, for instance, the proverbial selfishness of children; 'that's MY toy, YOU can't have it!' Does the child innately know that it is her or his toy, simply because she or he has it? Or was the child told, when presented with it, that it was hers or his, that it belonged to THEM?! Not that there is anything inherently wrong with 'ownership' ( ? ). Again, then, did the child selfishly wrest their toy away from the other ( child ) simply out of selfishness ( 'fallen nature' ), or because they observed the behavior of others, children & adults, with THEIR things? Fast-forward as the child matures & falls into the trap of lying ( or not ). If the child is surrounded by liars, he or she will the more easily pick up that pattern. Then again, if they think for themselves, she or he might decide that they don't want to be ensnared in that trap & choose the Truth, even if it hurts, which It most often does!

So we come to the 'Center'. What is meant by 'the Center of Knowledge'? It would only make sense that this refers to the origin of knowledge. In the mind of this blogger, though, that brings us back to the question, 'what IS knowledge?' Maybe that's the crux of the issue though; in our mind, we think we must accrue knowledge, While this is true on this material plane, 'as above, so below', is
'knowledge' simply a learned behavior, an acquired taste, if you will, or is there More to it?! Then again, is True Knowledge acquired, or is it realized? The Gap between the purely mental plane & the spiritual can only be bridged by quieting the mind, through meditation. Getting back to the 'Center', speaking of 'meditation'; centering oneself is well-spoken of as a meditational technique. To 'Center' oneself means just that; in terms of quieting the Mind, it means returning to, remembering where one comes from & who one is; that they are More than simply a human ( intellectual ) being, that, at the heart of it all, at the very core, they are a spiritual being having a physical experience!

At the Center of it all is US! In that sense, then, though what we call 'knowledge' on this physical plane most often comes to us from without, through experiential & environmental means, True Knowledge comes from Within, through our link with the Divine, of which WE are an integral part.  Although, one might well note, we are not Knowledge Itself, it is only through that link with the Divine that True Knowledge comes! It is at this point then, that we must ask ourselves the haunting question, which I've already intimated; 'if our 'knowledge' does not come from the Divine, is It True Knowledge?' In other words, 'can we truly say we 'know' something if it doesn't come from the very Center of our Being?' Put simply, human knowledge, or 'knowledge' as defined by most, if not all dictionaries, comes largely through through the experience of others, not through one's own experience, or link with the Divine. This is not to say that one cannot 'see' Truth through the experience of others, but if one would truly KNOW a thing, one must experience it themselves, through what is called 'the Third Eye' & the spiritual 'Center' of our Being.

As 'spiritual beings having a physical experience', then, though we must needs use our intellectual capacity to operate on this physical or 'material' plane, but when we fail to maintain, or acknowledge our link with the Divine, we are consigned to trusting the experience, or 'knowledge' of others. This is not to say, of course, that we cannot trust the experience of others ( ? ), in particular, on this physical plane, for how are we to say that their knowledge does not come from their own link with the Divine? On the other hand, simply trusting another's 'knowledge' falls into the category of 'blind faith': I'm pretty sure I don't need to tell my readers where THAT can lead!

The Truth often hurts, though not as much as the pain of believing a lie! While learning the Truth for ourselves, after being taught to believe the lie for so long, or simply leaning on someone else's experience, may indeed be itself a painful experience, in the 'end' it will bring us comfort, because we will not simply have acquired 'knowledge'; we will KNOW for certain, in the very Core, or Center of our Being, that a thing is so! It is said, humanly speaking, that 'Knowledge is Power'. True enough, one might note, but if it is not True ( Knowledge ), is it then truly Power, or is it simply Manipulation? 'As above, so below'; if One does not  acquire ( realize ) True Knowledge through their OWN link with Divinity, that one is relegated to believing, with 'blind faith' in whatever 'truth' another person may choose to 'reveal' to them. This is nothing but Manipulation!

The Truth, like Knowledge, like Divinity, for that matter, 'is what It is'; it does not change! Though, again, 'humanly speaking', we may each acquire our own individual truths, or 'knowledge', when that 'truth' or 'knowledge' comes through any other means than through our own experience, or link with Divinity, even & especially through 'blind faith', it must therefore be suspect. By 'suspect', I do not necessarily mean that it is not true, for again, 'It is what It is'!

We ARE 'the Center of Knowledge'! True Knowledge, 'as above, so below', is NOT gained or acquired, It is 'realized by revelation'. Through our link with Divinity, our Higher Self, if you will, we 'see' this Truth, this Knowledge, for what It is & thus claim it for ourselves, not as Power to Manipulate, but as Power to BE!

Namaste' & Blessed Be!
Charles Haddon ( Joy ) Shank

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