heading 1b

Inner Alchemy

Inner Alchemy

by José Luis Kutscherauer, Spiritual Director of Cafh1

En Español 

Though the address below was delivered to an assembly of members of Cafh in Olmué, Chile, in May 2015, Seeds believes that everyone who is dedicated to spiritual unfolding for their own good and the good of all human beings will find it inspiring and helpful. For information about the teachings and fundamental ideas of Cafh, go to www.cafh.org.

 

To download audio file:

  • Firefox and Internet Explorer: right-click on the player above and click "Save audio as ..."
  • Chrome: click here while holding down the "Alt" key on your keyboard

There is no doubt that, over time, society has made progress in many ways. Yet it seems that our ability to live together in peace and harmony has not developed at the same pace as society’s scientific and technical progress.

Waves of irrationality are spreading through the world, reviving feelings, emotions and actions that we thought humanity had overcome. Thus questions arise that most of the time we hope will resolve themselves miraculously without any effort on our part: How can we occupy one place in the world and not two, coexist in harmony, and embrace diversity in our turbulent society? How can we generate waves with that same strength but this time full of consciousness, love for the sake of loving, respect and reverence for life?

The call of our vocation of renouncement asks us not to delay our response. But in order for that response to be effective, we need to be centered in what that vocation means. All our energy is required to change a selfish attitude of aggression and competition into an inclusive and participatory one. Our history as human beings reveals a succession of wars and killings that have not yet stopped. These are habits that have been nourished for centuries. In our hearts we harbor the bold dream of reversing these habits and replacing them with new and different ones. New, because they are rooted in new attitudes. Different, because new attitudes lead us to appeal to the voice of our vocation. This vocation whispers that the heart of every human being has the power to perform the inner alchemy that transforms fear, revenge, and possessive desires into trust, inclusion and participation through love. This is possible because we firmly believe that the responses stemming from reactions and defensiveness can be replaced by understanding, solidarity, and selfless assistance.

When we draw back the veils that cover our discernment, it’s not hard to see that “The Two Roads”2 are before us at every moment, giving us the ability to generate these new centers of strength within. Everything calls us to stop being distracted by continually looking outside of ourselves for what we already have within, and instead to concentrate our energy on bringing out the full potential of goodness that we harbor in our hearts. With serene conviction let's focus on giving and giving again, unconditionally.

Let's base our actions on this inner reality, which we have come to understand as we walk our path of consciousness and demonstrate our willingness to unfold. Let's give life, on a daily basis, to those truths that are struggling to emerge from within, without big scenes that will distract us from our purpose. To be able to do this we need the daring of someone who conceives an idea and is ready to carry it out.

Let's dare, therefore, to take the step that will lead us not only to strengthen intellectually what we have already learned, but to go further. Let's exercise our willingness to unfold in order to transcend the mental structures we have built over time and thus open ourselves to other realities, going beyond what our rational minds label as mere possibilities.

If we have understood that loving others means progress for humanity, let’s not veil this discovery out of fear that our consciousness will require us to be consistent with what we have learned.

If we have understood that our vocation is to renounce and we have confirmed this with our vows, let’s not cover our eyes to avoid seeing those times when we are not honoring our commitment of offering.

If we have understood that loving ourselves is as essential as learning to love others, let's not disregard this piece of knowledge as one more forgotten understanding gathering dust in our minds. Let's love ourselves with the conviction that the more love we generate in our hearts, the more we will be able to respond to those in need.

If we have understood that participation with cosmic consciousness is our destiny, let’s begin the journey by participating in the joy and pain of others, rather than entrenching ourselves behind the boundaries of our own narrow interests.

If we have understood that presence doesn’t mean escaping from reality but embracing it, let’s not miss this glimpse of universal consciousness that is struggling to make itself felt in our lives, and let’s keep it present before the suffering of others. Let's face the reality of our inner world and the world we live in. Let’s not abandon, even for an instant, our place in the Mystical Body of Cafh, because it is our responsibility to enrich with our own experience the experience of all the Sons and Daughters.

If we have understood that reversibility is fundamental to our spirituality, let’s be flexible with our thoughts and make it a practice to free our minds from trite, rigid and predetermined ways of thinking.

If we have understood that love is a road that always leads to a good end, let’s not tire of loving, of exercising our capacity to give ourselves, to love for the sake of loving, to imbue our hearts with an energy that gives life instead of taking it.

If we have understood that discernment is essential to a healthy work of spiritual unfolding, let's not shield ourselves with ignorance so that we won’t hear what our discernment is telling us.

If we have understood that violent confrontation only produces an escalation of violence, let’s avoid that painful path.

It seems simple to fulfill our vocation, but the constancy of our offering is proven with the passage of time. Every day that we live our lives in identifying with the Integrity of the Great Work3 and contributing our energy to the Great Current4 is meaningful even in the slightest detail, because everything is included in it.

This doesn´t mean we try to escape from the turmoil of life but instead we act in such a way that focuses our life force with a purpose that helps us channel everything we do into a collaboration for souls to unfold and the Divine Plan5 to be fulfilled on Earth.

Let's take a first step by intensifying the work of reserving our energies and avoiding dispersion of our inner resources.

Let's take a second step by strengthening our spirit of recollection. Let’s strive more diligently to stop the race of life that is driven by possessive desires that lead us blindly to our destruction.

Let's take a third step by increasing our spirit of prayer, which channels our lives toward the transcendent values that guide us to keep our eyes continually on the Divine Mother.

The path of Cafh gives us all the means to activate our potential and fulfill the Work that has been entrusted to us.

Let’s put so much love into fulfilling its Method that we will be able to make the ideal a reality, and what we believed impossible a possibility: creating together a world where peace reigns. 

© 2015 Cafh
All rights reserved

 

Notes

Cafh: The word Cafh has ancient roots; for the members of Cafh it symbolizes the effort of the soul to attain union with God. At the same time it represents the presence of the divine in each soul.

The Two Roads, a meditation theme in Cafh on our capacity to make discerning changes, which may involve changing our direction.

Integrity of the Great Work refers to divine ideas humanly concretized in the world.

Great Current refers to the conjunction of the force of the Initiates, who project the Mother Idea over humanity, and the force of intention, thought, and feeling we human beings generate to achieve our purposes. The Mother Idea at this stage of human unfolding is to harmonize the values that promote our own personal progress with universal values.

Divine Plan refers to the Plan of Universal Evolution propelled by the Initiates.