Comment by Kirby Urner on 2nd mo. 3, 2017 at 7:16pm

Sounds like a great head-space. I find myself wondering if an airline pilot could hold the day job and still have these outward thoughts. If so, why not?

Comment by Keith Saylor on 2nd mo. 4, 2017 at 8:36am

"Sounds like a great head-space. I find myself wondering if an airline pilot could hold the day job and still have these outward thoughts. If so, why not?"

Hello Kirby,

I appreciate your observations and question; and your giving me the opportunity, by way of your taking the time to share them by posting, to interact. I welcome and embrace being pushed (in a positive way) to ex-plain better the nature of what some early and founding Quakers called the "Pure Mind;" which is the direct and unmediated experience of a conscious anchored in and a conscience informed by inshining Light itself in itself. I am compelled by what seems to me the practical implications built into your observation and question. I just love it, because it brings into full relief for me the wonder, mystery, freedom, and grace, of the visitation of the inshining Light onto the conscious and conscience.

If I understand you correctly, you are wondering how it is a person can go about the activity of flying an airplane while, at the same time abiding in his or her Watch. Your suggestion that thinking about abiding in his Watch would get in the way of his performing the task (thinking about) of flying an airplane is valid. As if to ask: wouldn't thinking about abiding in his Watch be distracting from the task at hand?

The answer is yes, if his were a striving to abide in his Watch by thinking about (filling his "head-space") or reflecting upon it, it could certainly be a distraction or get in the way of attending to the actively of responsible piloting.

This brings us to the different way. There is a different way of abiding in our Watch that is not of the nature of reflective or mirrored thought or a conscious anchored in and a conscience informed within "head-space;" or being that is conditioned by outward or reflective thought.

The testimony of the witness (experience rather than thinking about) of this different way is often confused as being of the same nature as reflective thought; especially by those whose measure of the direct experience of the visitation of the inshining Light itself in itself shining upon their conscious and conscience is shadowed over by outward formations or notions that make up and inform their head-space. For many people, it is difficult to break out of a dependency upon a conscious anchored in and a conscience informed by the outward forms that make up their head-space ... that is, there just is not another experience strong enough to support a different way of being that is not a that nature of reflective or mirrored consciousness or a way of being that is fashioned in head-space.

The mystery and wonder and salvation of the direct experience (not a thinking about) of inshining Light itself in itself shining upon the conscious and conscience (a Pure Mind) is that is does not get in the way of going about the doing of daily tasks like piloting a plane. In this Mystery, a space is opened (the heart is opened or tendered and not of the nature of head-space) wherein, in a Pure Mind, a person experiences directly (without the mediation of thinking about outward forms or referencing reflective head-space) a different way of being that is no longer anchored in and informed by outward forms. Practically speaking, a person does not need to reflect upon outward forms to abide in their Watch, they experience it directly (not thinking about it) so that, in every thing they do, the inshining Light is ever present and does not get in the way of or distract from daily tasks because that eternal inshining Light is not of the nature of outward thought or head-space; it makes itself known innately and without reflection. What a wonderful gift. The pilot lives freely in the habitation of this glorious Mystery while going about attending to flying the place because he is not thinking about abiding in his habitation, he is living it directly and therefore is not distracted from the task of going about piloting the plane.

I testify to you of the witness that yes, through the power and experience of the visitation of the inshining Light itself in itself upon his conscious and conscience, it is discovered to a pilot (or anyone else) a different way of being wherein immanent Presence is known and experienced in every thing he or she does; so that, because it is not of the nature of reflective thought but exists in the new space (Pure mind), it does not distract from the tasks of daily life like flying a plane.

In this different way, there is a freedom from the need to reflect upon abiding or taking up habitation in the Watch. In this different way, we take up habitation in the Watch in every thing we do and it does not get in our way. We no longer have to set aside times and places and special holy days to reflect upon the inshining Light, we take upon habitation in it in everything we do. There is no need for Meeting House, Church buildings, ecclesiastical form and practice so that we may come close to the Mystery. We know the Mystery even while piloting a plane and it does not distract because the Mystery is not of the nature of reflection through the mirrors of outward constructs. It is ever presence in the eternal space of direct experience in all things and tasks without distraction from those tasks. What Grace is such a Mystery ... the New Covenant that discovers to us a new space that frees us from a dependency upon head-space and the outward forms it depends upon.

Please feel free to push me further. I appreaciate and welcome the opportunity to give witness to the testimony of the mystery of a conscious anchored in and conscience informed by inshining Light itself it itself

Comment by Kirby Urner on 2nd mo. 4, 2017 at 7:21pm

[ repost, fixing typos ]

Right.  What you're doing when you unfurl your testimony in writing here on QuakerQuaker, is like keeping a journal, which historically Friends have been expected to do as a way of exercising their ability to communicate in fluent and literate fashion.

These were business people with outward lives. I'm thinking of the 1790s especially, when Quakers had insurance, banking, not to mention steel and railroads under their belts. Ship design.

One of the first US navy ship designers was a Quaker, and yes that seems oxymoronic to some. Quakerism as a practice was forged in such outward practices, as a means of anchoring in what is not outward. It's designed to carry on with business, whatever that be, in a way that testifies to our beliefs (ethical code) and yes, I'd say loyalties, even if that means only to the memory of our spiritual ancestors (especially the early Friends we like to read and write about, the pioneers).

Flying an airplane, lots of people on board, is an outward practice. My question was to whether one's practice of journal-keeping might, as you put it, serve as a distraction, resulting in dangerous levels of spacing out. You replied to the effect that resting in the Watch or the Work, or whatever one calls it, does not necessarily take up all one's band-width, thought-wise, and so my term "head-space" was a little bit off target.  I grant you that.

What I'm wanting to establish is that for all your wise counsel that we not look to outward forms for any ultimate solution, we're not necessarily at war with our outward environment either. You're free to do upholstery stuff. We both like a cold beer.

In an alternative world, we might not need to clarify that point, but the literature is so full of interpretations of the Biblical "hate the world" phrase as handed down to us through multiple translations.

Of course we're not commanded to "hate the world" in the sense of swearing off flying airplanes, drinking beer, climbing mountains, running factories. We'll still have time to keep our journals,  sharing about our spiritual practices.

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