Questions for Cynthia

Spiritual Growth with Fr. Keating

My question is: is the story Thomas tells – or image he offers – on pp 12-13 of Invitation to Love, a veiled description of himself (and perhaps Thomas Merton – a composite story) from his early years and ascetical phase at St. Joseph’s in Spencer?

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Slipping Into Dualism

How might I more fully incorporate these heart-mind openings from the (uncommonly seen) aperspectival into meditations and daily layperson life?

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Eternal Hell

Spurred by your endorsement of Ladislaus Boros’ work, do you also believe in the possibility eternal hell—or some version of eternal separation from God—for some beings?

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Mary as Perfect

I enjoyed reading your book on Mary, and the fifth way rings true for me. However, I would like to go one step further with what Mary did at the anointing. In the anointing at Bethany, Jesus is the perfect human, fully aware of his impending death, and Mary is the perfect human, fully aware of her beloveds impending death. She anoints him with the tradition of anointing those who are about to die. The realization that she is about to lose her beloved, fills her with unspeakable grief. BUT SHE DOES NOT SPEAK OUT TO STOP HIM. With this, Jesus acknowledges that what she has done for him, is a beautiful thing. Repeat – she realized what was going to happen and she DID NOT stop him, even though it filled her with heart stopping grief. For me, the fullness of truth of what she did for him needs to be told in memory of her. Anything less is missing the mark.

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Interior Life as a Celibate

How can I feel safe in this world, and how can I get on my feet to actually be of service? What guidance would you give someone trying to live a balance interior life as a celibate? I have become an acupuncturist, and find great fulfillment in that, but my personal life is full of angst and unanswerable questions. Thank you for your time. K.

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Aspiring to Higher Realms

There’s question that ‘bothers’ me for some time now. It is about the Worlds, us being ‘normally’ in World 48 and there being Worlds on a ‘higher’ or way more subtle level and Worlds on a ‘lower’ level, like world 96. As human beings, we aspire to the higher Worlds, At least I hear this in a lot of the teachings. And I, as almost everyone, aspire to give to the higher World. I feel moved by the goodness of the higher World or goodness moves me, because it gets me in touch with the higher world. And it is the Higher world that I long to serve.

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Concentrate Yourself

I have been working with the Gurdjieff exercises for the last year or so. Recently I’ve begun to experience a hazy sleepiness. Any ideas with what might be going on and how to work with this?

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