Spiritual Development with Amadis Cammell in London, UK

Heart of Being Courses

Heart of Being 'CYCLE OF LIFE' - FIRE

Fire relates to the Golden Light of the Heaven. Our heart is our very own sun that emanates the Qi/Energy of spirit which like sunlight is also golden. Connecting to the golden essence of our heart fills us with love and en-lightened conscious perception. As we go further and further into this golden state our heart will open to embrace and embody more and more of spirit's love and awareness.

In the Oriental tradition the heart is described as the Sovereign and Master. These are the principal qualities of Shen/Spirit, which is seen as the supreme presence and influence within. Amongst the five phases of the Cycle of Life, Fire represents the ruler of our being and of the other four phases. This is primarily because the spirit is itself connected to and guided by Tien/Heaven which created the Earth and Humankind.

Heaven is the reality and expression of absolute pure Yang (as in Yin-Yang) and Spirit is its expression. Yang means 'The Creative' which implies that the generative and creative properties of life are of Heaven. Spirit is in touch with Heaven and accessed through the heart centre. By opening our heart we connect to spirit and through it to the energies and attributes of the Creative principle. If we surrender to the Spirit it becomes the Lord and Master of our personal self. Then all that is true, all that was conceived and created by Heaven becomes realised in us, within the core of our heart.

The Xin/Heart is said to be the actual organ for conscious perception and all mental cognitive faculties. Hence the notion of the Empty Heart is at the heart of Buddhist and Daoist spiritual traditions. This is a state where the thinking mind (Yi) has been emptied of all mental distress, turmoil and preoccupation. This is brought about by having a deep inner connection to our Shen.

Shen in Chinese means spirit, consciousness or mind, denoting they are synonymous. Essentially spirit is heavenly consciousness. Whenever we fully merge with the pure consciousness of Shen our mind translates this experience as enlightened awareness or Buddha-mind. From its usual ruminating, worried and restless state of thinking our mind is transformed into tranquil, clear awareness.

Our heart is also our Core; hence the French word 'coeur', meaning heart, has the same source as core. Our Coeur/Core is the gateway to the heavenly reality of the 'Beloved'. This is the feeling of a divine presence within our heart which often is experienced as sublime, unconditional, absolute love. This is because Heaven is the source of the unitive principle we know and feel as love. "God is Love" and that love is accessed by and felt in our Sacred Heart, the very heart of our core.

A fundamental spiritual quality that the heart-spirit connects us to is Ling which translates as grace, blessing or more precisely heavenly benevolent influences. Ling is bestowed to us from above like 'heavenly rain' which we are meant to receive with open hearts so it can enter us deep inside. When absorbed, this golden essence flows throughout our being including our body, and is experienced as a very real and deeply nurturing presence in our heart and soul. Only by becoming truly receptive to and trusting of the Heavenly Spirit, can it annoint us with its pure consciousness and grace.

Another attribute of Fire is joy. This joy ranges from a gentle sense of well-being all the way to infinite bliss. Spiritual blissful joy feels sacred with a deep contentment which melts our defences like a golden fire. Hence it revives us and even make us want to 'dance with joy' in celebration of life. We all long for this state but don't know where to find it. Like with all profound realities, to access it is simple yet not easy. What we need is to open our heart and psyche to the origin of joy and love, the Beloved and to the love that is within our own core.

The overall purpose of Spirit is to unify our independent personal consciousness with universal transpersonal connected consciousness. The growing union between them progressively transforms our egoic identity into a spiritual one. It is an evolutionary leap, from being predominantly driven and controlled by animal and ego impulses to being motivated and inspired by soul and spirit guidance. Instead of relying exclusively upon our individual traits, we rely upon our interrelationship and intimate connection with the heavenly being within.

One can see why Fire is so important and central to our being as it represents all that we come to understand as being transcendent and spiritual. Heaven/Tien is simply another way to allude to the same great mystery as do the terms such as: The Divine, The Beloved, The Creator, The Dao, Great Spirit, Supreme Being, Heavenly Being, Higher Self, Yuan, Nirvana, God and so on. The heart/coeur/core is the part of us that can commune with all that the description 'Heaven' intimates, conveys and evokes.

The summer is the season of Fire, so a good time to focus on its spiritual dynamics and touch into its psychological aspects. Due to Fire's predominant spiritual nature the usual delineation between spirituality, as explored in Enosis Resources, and Psyche therapy, as examined in Core Integration, is not necessary and these two approaches can be unified into one module. This afterall is fitting with the nature of Fire which connects, integrates and unifies; with our heart through love and merging, with our spirit through consciousness and revelation and with our core-being through presence and guidance. In the Fire workshop and other modules related to Fire, such as The Golden Being Course, we work to open ourselves to the blessings of the Heavenly Being, thus become more familiar with the reality of Heaven, as well as more intimate with our heart, spirit and core.