When I first experienced the “spiritual presence” in 1987, I found many new fellow travelers on the path to truth, and a few new teachers, as well. I was primarily attracted to three teachers, Jack Boland, Joel Goldsmith and Jiddhu Krishnamurti. These three teachers came at the experience of truth through differing points of view. Yet, I knew that these teachers, and their message, had ultimate relevance. Joel and Jack both knew of Krishnamurti, I am not so sure that that the links extended beyond that, however.
Jack Boland was a internationally renown motivational speaker, minister, and recovered alcoholic, who had become a master of the 12 Step program of recovery from alcoholism. He came at the truth, predominantly from the perspective that by a continued practice of self inventory, amends making, meditation, prayer, and service to each other, we may experience the fullness of our spiritual heritage. Jack helped to free me from bondage to the Christian narrative. Jack like to say:
“We are divine beings having a human experience. When the pain and suffering gets too great, we have tools to awaken ourselves to our heritage, and live a more fully spiritual life”
Joel initially was a non-practicing Jew, who then became a proponent of Christian Science, until his own unique spiritual experiences guided him to form a mystical healing approach called The Infinite Way. He practiced “via positiva” (The Via Positive (also known as the cataphatic way) is the argument that it is possible to make positive statements about God). Joel did not spend too much time looking at the human mind and our experience of it. He liked to say
“Mortal mind is a term denoting nothingness. All that is human is illusion.”God is the nature of our being.”:.
Joel stressed the need to “practice the presence” by denying the human mind, and affirming that we are already healed through our innate divine heritage. We need to practice seeing that the divine is already in ourselves and others in order to eventually experience its presence within us.
Krishnamurti, on the other hand, primarily promoted the “via negativa” approach (It’s an ancient Latin phrase and it means “by way of negation.” Its origins can be traced to apophatic or negative theology which sought to understand God by negating everything which God was not)., and understood that the only way to truth was to see what is not true within the human mind and experience, and through that seeing, the truth will eventually reveal itself in a stroke of insight.Krishnamurti like to say:
“through the negative we may reach the positive. Only In the total seeing of our issues is freedom from them attained”
By the grace of Spirit, I had found freedom from an almost meaningless lifetime of anxious suffering, loneliness, and poor self-esteem. Yet something continued to haunt me, a sense that my work had not yet been completed, even though, from the period 1987-1993 I lived in a place of total peace, love, and joy. I had a smile on my face that none of the travails of life could erase. yet, I became dissatisfied with a life lived in this so-called world of higher consciousness. I knew that there was something holding me back, and a meditation in 1987 showed me the two tricksters that I had to deal with, lest the grace that I was experiencing would leave. And, ultimately, that grace did appear to leave me, until I became willing to face the darkest recesses of my own life mind, and life experience.
Peter Levine Dick Schwarz, Gabor
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