Theo. – Could we return to the flow experience and take this approach further? I feel it allows access to one of the most spiritual states of being and, above all, to a way of life perfectly balanced between the material and the spiritual. The Buddhists think it requires being completely intent in whatever we are doing. I never managed to understand how such a strict life could provide so childlike a joy and so much serenity as what the Dalai Lama continuously emanates.
The Elder – When heart, mind and will are in tune, there is no controversial way of thinking. Thought remains peaceful and regarding projects to be carried out, we have a clear notion of what must be done. It is all within us. Nobody needs telling you, and never mind whoever does not agree. The problem is theirs, not yours. Within yourself, everything is aligned, and you know exactly what is right for you.
Theo. – And the heart is what will integrate all these elements, isn’t it?
The Elder – It is, and it is what creates unity within your self. What is to be done becomes obvious. Any controversial thoughts or plans are put aside.
I know you have to make positive life decisions, you have to finish school and embrace a profession, and I also know that many other opportunities will arise.
Theo. – What do you recommend?
The Elder – Wait and see, and above all, let things happen.
Theo. – Easier said than done; for you, it’s all clear and obvious. It’s your age!
The Elder – Don’t be fooled. Impatient, that’s what I am. Chariji told me once that I should apply my impatience to the quest of the Ultimate. He would call it ‘restlessness’, as contrasted with the impatience specific to the ego.
Theo. – You’ve already explained how to subdue and guide the ego, but I remain restless. I want to understand everything, I want to live an intense life, I want to excel in life.
The Elder – It’s normal and right. Nature has given you the energy of youth so that you may do all these things and even more. Go ahead! But go with the wave flow. You don’t make the wave. The ocean does it, together with the wind, the moon and many other elements.
Theo. – To wait for the right wave, as long as I can, and then pounce on it and let myself be carried along by it. Is that your suggestion?
The Elder – Exactly! When the flow is there, we do know about our whereabouts. Everything becomes clear and suitable and you can have an intensive way of life.
Theo. – Is this why you have so often given advice on how to live?
The Elder – Yes, it is, but what use is good advice if the right wave is missing? Each person has a heart in which one’s destiny is written. So I’d rather teach how to use the heart than provide solutions.
Theo. – Here I can recognize the old Chinese saying: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
The Elder (smiling)
– Though it is good to have a little fish, from time to time, isn’t it?
Theo. – I thought you were vegetarian!
The Elder – One more good reason. I feed on metaphors.
Theo. – So, the optimal experience is a permanent invitation to excel oneself.
The Elder – That’s life!
Theo. – Therefore, it can be applied to a full scope of practice, in the work, leisure or social field.
The Elder – I have applied optimal care and attention to the spiritual field; then, everything else fell into place.
Theo. – Another point has still to be clarified, concerning knowledge and skills acquisition.
The Elder – They are a must. Through working and studying, you can acquire the know–how required for progressing. Laziness and idleness leads to indifference and apathy, which have a detrimental effect on human beings.
Theo. – As I understand, your suggestion is that I should be totally involved in whatever I do if I want to experience the flow in my relationships, my job and my spirituality.
The Elder – That’s right. But you must also keep still, well centered inside yourself and connected with your heart if you want to be in connection with the issue and feel which is the proper direction to take and act consequently – without acting, though.
His malicious glance got brighter.
Theo. – And if it doesn’t come, I must wait, which is far more difficult.
The Elder – Did anyone ever say that meditating was not acting? You can wait in a variety of ways: enjoying yourself, walking, meeting friends, having family meetings, or giving away some of your time and energy.
Theo. – Same as the wheel, a loving wheel, that keeps still at the centre and lets the edge work.
The Elder – The fact of being in one’s centre is what generates inspiration and, above all, love – a love the periphery will allow you to live and share all around.
Theo. – In that perspective, I’m ready to wait forever.
The Elder – That is the Divine working within us: an invitation to be like Him.
Theo. – Being mystical again, are you? That’s your chronic disease, and you can’t help referring to it in each and every moment, whatever the circumstances.
The Elder (mockingly)
– I won’t even try to be cured. I look at everything through the soul, and what I see is beautiful. But I certainly have got rid of a masochistic ego. And here I am coming back to the topic of positive psychology: “Getting used to being competent in whatever with have to do, with focused attention, even in routine tasks.”
Theo. – Another proverb from Zen Buddhism.
The Elder – Not at all! It’s a quote from Mihaly Csikszenmihalyi.
Theo. – In your ‘Advanced Practice’ series, you encouraged quiescence and restfulness, and now you recommend having an optimal experience thanks to optimal efforts. That’s just another one of your favorite oxymora. I got used to ‘dark light’, and now …
The Elder – What matters most, the Elder interrupted, is to be deconditioned. Human consciousness is limitless and our possibilities are infinite. Some fundamental rules must be acquired, which we shall have to exceed, transcend or even forget later on. Nowadays, with Quantum Physics, some significant advances have been made in people’s consciences. They will now accept the idea that space can be folded, which will allow moving instantly light years away. Similarly, the observer effect is now admitted: the act of observation can change the phenomenon being observed. Currently, the butterfly effect is commonly referred to, explaining what would have been called a miracle not so long ago. Actually, magic is a science, and humankind begins to understand it, since it is not as primitive as it used to be.
Theo. – Yes, but it still concerns the outside physical field only.
The Elder –It does indeed. There are he four recognized fundamental forces (Strong force, Electromagnetic Force, Gravity and Weak Force). But the force of love, the ‘forceless force’, is yet to be discovered by scientists. It does not prevent it from being already at work. It is even more essential than oxygen.
Theophile the Elder
An excerpt from Dialogs with Theophile the Elder
Theophile the Younger’s initiation