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Help for the soul in daily livingMarch 2012Dear readers,We are already at the third issue of the newsletter for this year. Of course, time isneeded to assimilate that which has led us to the current dimensions, which wereinaccessible to us in the past. Simultaneously, however, we take care to remain close tothe ebb and flow of daily living, so that you can apply what you have gained fromthese contributions in your daily life and in the relationships that matter to you.In this sense you will find the contemplations particularly helpful that relatedirectly to your day-to-day issues and to their resolutions.Sophie and I hope that the March newsletter reaches you in this way.Yours,Bert and Sophie Hellinger1

OverviewAnother way of seeingOpen eyes 3Steps 4The path 4We 5Our daily lifeHelpful letters 7Treats 10The cycle 10Life and death 10Circulation and love 11Circulation and death 12Obstacles 12The creative perception 13Example 13Exercise: The good perception 14ExtrasThe spiritual family constellations 14The spiritual consciousness 14Whose consciousness? 15Unison with the spirit 16Peace 17Peace, what does this mean? 17What does peace achieve? 17Peace begins in one’s own soul 18Peace continues in one’s own family 182

Peace faces conflicts 19Peace is never completed 19Peace is primarily threatened by groups 19Letters that touch the heart 21Seeing and hearing 21Experience and thinking 21Another way of seeingOpen eyesSome think they are collected more deeply when they close their eyes. Yet amongBuddhists it is a common practice to keep one’s eyes slightly open. This producesanother way of recollection than with closed eyes.We can test the difference in ourselves. With fully closed eyes we run the risk ofbeing flooded by our own inner images, so that in the end we are scattered rather thancollected.With our eyes half open we remain connected to outer surroundings, and yet wedo not get lost in them. We remain collected, towards inside and towards outside,without focussing on anything. Everything is just there, together with everything else,and this includes us.This is how you can read many contributions in this issue. You have them beforeyou, without looking at them too closely. At the same time you remain collected inside,here too, without losing yourselves in anything particular – not even in an emptiness.In this contemplation our vision is without focus, neither towards inside noroutside.Sometimes we see people with their eyes open, and yet they don’t see. Then wesay: “You are sleeping with open eyes!” But, in truth, they are neither sleeping nordreaming, they are present somewhere else, completely there.What I am describing here we can also experience in our daily life. Are we lessthen, or are we more?So, let’s try it out, being there and not being there, at the same time.3

What do we experience then? We experience another fullness, a wakefulfullness, without focussing on anything. We are precise in an imprecise way. We aremany things at once, in accord with one thing as well as with another. We areembedded and in motion, fully there with everything.StepsAs a rule, steps lead upwards. They begin below. Often they are still wide at thebeginning. The higher we climb, the narrower they become, until in the end there isonly room for one person. Right at the top we stand alone.Of which steps did I speak? Of the steps of insight. They begin on the groundand there they have a lot of room for many. The higher they lead, the fewer climbersthey can accommodate, until high up we only walk with a few others, and finally weare alone. Alone to the right and alone to the left, but wide open for greater heights andeverything that lies ahead.Arrived at the top, we no longer walk ourselves. We leave our body behind. Acreative power is taking us along into another height and into another space … into atimeless space, into an eternal now.I described this path of insight a long time ago, in a poem.The pathA son went home to see his old fatherand asked of him:“Father bless me, before you leave!”The father said: “My blessing shall be,I’ll walk with you a little whilealong the path of knowledge .”The next morning they stepped out into the open,and from their narrow valleythey climbed up high onto a mountain.4

The day was already getting oldas they reached the height,but now, as far as the horizon,the land lay in its last light.The sun sank,And with it, all its splendor:Night fell.But in the darkness,The stars began to shine.Is this path ended in this night? Or was it just a preparation? In this night of the spirit,does something hitherto inaccessible come towards us? Does it take hold of us mostdeeply? Are even the stars just a step on the ladder, a foreground for something ultimatebehind all existence, for an infinite consciousness?Before this ultimate we become still, infinitely still, infinitely there and not there,timelessly there, eternally there.Does this consciousness have content? Or is it empty? In this consciousness, arewe empty too?The question is: Do we also return from it? Do we have to return?When we find our way back from there, are we still the same? Do we still want thesame? Or have we become devoid of will, taken in by another will, by anotherconsciousness? Do we go back to the lowest step? Or do we stay up high?We remain on all steps at once, but inconspicuously so. We are at home ineverything, held in everything, for we are elsewhere.How? Open, endlessly open.WeWhen we say We, we want to express: We belong together. We, man and woman saythis of themselves, when they have become a couple: We belong together. We belongtogether until death parts us.5

In an even deeper way parents and children belong together. In the childrentheir parents became inseparable as one flesh.In the same way everything in nature appears to belong together. Everythingappears to be mutually interrelated, similar to us in our relationships as humans and ina community of fate.Here I pause, for I wonder: What about parasites, for instance, such as atapeworm?Is the worm and its host a We like described above? Does the tapeworm harm itshost? Does it endanger the host’s health and even his or her life, without serving thehost? Do the bloodsuckers live on their own life, or do they live on the blood of othercreatures, without considering them at all, not being able or allowed to consider them,for such concern would be the end of their own life?So the We is two-faced. It has the face of a loving connection and also the faceof ruthless aggressors, who only care about their own life.When another life approaches us in this way, be it in nature, be it in humanrelationships, as an exploiter, for instance, we ask, how can we protect ourselves?Often we only realize quite late, at times too late, who has been attacking or infestingus, who is threatening our health or even our life.The question is: How do we deal with these vampires? How do we saveourselves from them? How can we protect ourselves? Shall we do battle with them?Shall we behave like vampires ourselves, just with the difference that we only want toget rid of them, not feed of them?Well, I got myself caught in contradictions now. Is there a good solution for bothsides on the level of me and you? Does one have to go so that the other can stay? Arenot many wars fought following exactly this pattern, with the will to annihilate on bothsides?Where did I end up in this? Was I also a vampire, only thinking of my ownadvantage? Am I at all different?Thinking of this is painful. Is there a solution in our world? Where can and mustwe turn to eschew such a fate, no matter the side we take?6

We keep vampirism at bay in ourselves. How? We set limits to it, and we onlygo as far as taking what we need to survive. We do this in agriculture, for instance, orin raising animals, and anywhere else where we exploit nature and the earth in adestructive way, with no thought of her and our survival.How do we find a way back to a full Us? How do we find a way into harmonywith the movement that wants both sides at once, that is equally at work in both?Within our present consciousness it is hardly conceivable for us. Within ourpresent consciousness, we are far too strongly exposed to the oppositions of better orworse, of high and low, of innocence and guilt.The other We-consciousness does away with these oppositions, and with themany so-called knowledge of good and bad.When this distinction is done away with we return to the innocence of paradise,to the innocence where no I existed, but only We.Earlier on, humans did not know the distinction between man and woman. Onlyupon their so-called knowing did they experience themselves as naked and feltashamed.These are images, but behind them a deep truth shows up -- about our originand also about the path of the all-embracing consciousness that awaits us. It is anotherconsciousness of “We.” In this We two circles become congruent.Our daily lifeHelpful letters6.3.07It is quite a lot what you expect of me in a few sentences. But I have a suggestion foryou. Instead of expecting it from me, expect it from your mother.10.3.07It took some time for me to be able to reply to your letter. Please accept my apologiesfor the delay. I watched your constellation once more so that I could respond to you indetail. As you saw in the constellation, I rely on the movements of the representatives7

in practically everything. They bring something to light that wants to be looked at bythe family. What a constellation shows is one thing. What I say about it, is another.What I say about it one can clearly question, as you do. From my side, my commentsare rather suggestions to look in a certain direction, not more. Therefore I will notdefend such comments. From what you tell me, it becomes clear that some of mypresumptions do not apply. Therefore I take them back. But I will return to theconstellation once more, to point out the following matters.1. To begin with, I placed three people: representatives for the business, for your olderbrother, and for you. The representative for your older brother stood with his backturned to your representative. Between him and the business one could see a friendlyand trusted relationship. Both felt good about each other. And your representative, too,replied to my question as to how he was feeling with: “I feel good.”2. When a representative for your father was added, he stood with his back to thebusiness, opposite his two sons.He stood there like someone who feels big and strong. But it showed that the businessdid not like him. The representative of the business looked elsewhere, and aggressively,that is, he clenched his fist. This led to the question: Which person who has rights hereis excluded? The representative of the father said: “Something should be moving here,but nothing is moving.” When I placed the father’s representative opposite the business,both looked to the ground. Then the father’s representative took the business by thehand, but the business resisted.3. The question came up whether some money from a woman had gone towards thebusiness. Therefore I placed female representative without defining whom sherepresented. The representative of the business became weak in her presence, and heleaned, even threw himself, on her, and she held him like a child. My conclusion was:The business is hers, the business wants to be with her, because it belongs to her. Thewoman reached her hand out as if there was someone else who should also beincluded. Then I chose a man as a representative and I placed him in front of the8

woman and the business. The woman led the business to this man who had his armswide open for the business to come, and then the woman stood behind the man. Whenthe representative of the father wanted to step in between, in front of the business, thisman pushed him aside. Then the father shook his head as if to say he was unable to doanything here. When I asked you, you interpreted the situation as the woman being thefather’s mother, and the other man the father’s younger brother. But this was notconclusive from the constellation. For me it remained open. My only conclusion wasthat the money had been acquired wrongfully; where it came from remained open forme. Here I said that something like this could have something to do with Jews. In theend the business laid down on the floor. The other man was still standing there withopen arms and clenched fists. When I asked your representative how he felt he said: “Ifeel good. I am exonerated, this has nothing to do with me.” Your older brother said: “Iam drawn to the father.” There I discontinued the constellation.I said to you: “I have clarified something for you.” When you said: “It is not quite clearto me yet.” I said: “There is a secret that you don’t know. I set something in motion inyour soul. You have seen something that you did not think of. The behavior of yourrepresentative is quite clear, he felt quite relieved that this came to light.” Then Iturned your representative away and I asked him how he felts about that. He said: “Itfeels right.”This was the solution as it showed up in the constellation. When you asked me at theend of the day what you should do, it was, of course, clear to me that you can’t just getout. The responsibility you have for the business and for the employees is far too greatfor that. Therefore, I gave you a sentence to take home, a sentence with severalmeanings, that relates to what was shown in the constellation and also to your presentsituation and your responsibility: “I will do it well.”In this sense, I wish for you and your business that everything can be turnedaround for the better, for all involved.3.4.089

Agree to the farewell, the way it has become unavoidable for you. You succeed in thisagreeing when you take all the beauty from your shared time along with you, into yourfuture. Then re-orientate yourself anew.TreatsEnough is for now.The new surprises.Unprepared we remain spontaneous.What is there, never comes too late.It will always continue on. The question is: What?The cycle(From the course in Rome, January 2009)I will say something about something harmless. I’ll say something about the cycle.Everything that moves, moves in a circle. Everything that moves is in a cyclicmovement. Moving in this circle, it takes others into this cycle as well. So, one cyclegives rise to another.Take our blood circulation, for instance. We are alive because we move througha circulation of blood. Where blood does not flow any more, life cannot flow either.The blood circulation presupposes another circulation, that of inhaling andexhaling. Without this circulation life ends immediately, including the bloodcirculation, as it depends on the circulation of breathing in and out.Life and deathThe same goes for our life. Our life in the light of day began with our birth, with ourfirst breath, and it ends with our last breath.At least, so it appears. For perhaps our death is the beginning of anothercirculation that is hidden from us.Can you still listen? Is this not theoretical, all of this?After confirmation from the group: Just wait a little longer. Now I will get to the point.10

Circulation and loveA relationship is a circulation. When I enter into contact with someone, I sendsomething to this person. I breathe something out towards the other. What I breatheout, the other breathes in, and it affects something in the other.Now the other breathes it out again in a changed form, and I breathe it in. Sothis is the cycle of breathing in and out.What matters above all for our breathing in the usual sense, when we arebreathing in air? The freshness of the air matters, the richness in oxygen. This alonekeeps our circulation going.What is the freshness in a relationship? The good thoughts. This is the fresh airfor any relationship.Now I have arrived at what I want to bring to your attention. The fresh air in arelationship is love, the thoughts of love. When I have good thoughts in the love for theother person and I breathe them out in this person’s direction, then the other breathesmy good thoughts in, and they effect something in the other. His or her life circulationchanges. Through my good thoughts the other becomes rich and alive.The love I breathed out and the other breathed in, becomes more in the other. Itbecomes richer. Then the other breathes it out to me, I breathe it in, and I becomehappy. This love makes me happy. I feel alive. Love becomes richer in me, and Ibreathe it out again. It turns into a continuous circulation of giving and taking love.It turns into a living relationship in which both enrich each other. Both becomemore alive, both are more connected with themselves and with the other.Circulation and deathAre you still with me? For I must only speak for seven minutes. After seven minutesnobody is listening to me any more. Can you still listen for a few more minutes?Confirmation from the group11

What happens when I breathe in bad air, for instance, when I harbor bad thoughtsabout the other? Eventually I breathe them out. Breathing in my bad thoughts, the othernotices it instantly. What effect does this have on the other? Does he still get enoughair? Can he stay alive? But he gives it back to me. He gives it back to me a bit worsestill. I breathe it in. The thoughts get worse in me. I breathe them out again. What is theresult? A movement towards death.All conflicts and all illnesses begin with bad thoughts. These thoughts above alloppose life. For living is loving. More love is more life.Now it is important that we learn to have good thoughts and to perceive theother well in relationship to ourselves, to perceive the other as good.ObstaclesWhat hinders the good perception? The images we form of the other. Here we learn,step by step, to let go of the images that we form about others, our images of ourmother, for instance. Have we ever perceived her? Or about our father, or about ourchildren? Have we ever perceived them? And about our partner? Have we alreadyperceived our partner?The creative perceptionI will say something about this perception. When we speak of perception, we usuallythink and say, we have perceived something. This means, we have perceivedsomething that exists.What we perceive with our good perception is not yet in existence. It is acreative perception. It comes from a movement of the spirit. What does it mean, insightof the spirit? What does spirit cognize? It cognizes something that is still to come, thatdoes not exist as yet. When I perceive another well, I perceive what will become of thisperson. This is a creative perception. It brings something about that is not yet inexistence. This perception always comes from a movement of love, of love for what itstill is in the process of becoming.12

ExampleI will give you an example. As I was sitting here, I had time. I practiced goodperception inside myself, and doing so, I thought about the conflict between the Israelisand the Palestinians.I perceived the Israelis well, and I perceived the Palestinians well. A sentence forthe Israelis came to me that creatively guided everything towards a good outcome, andanother sentence came for the Palestinians that turns everything around for the betterfor them. These sentences come from movements of the spirit. They have an effect forall, for the Israelis and for the Palestinians.Shall I tell you the two sentences?Confirmation from the groupThe Israelis say to the Palestinians: We are leaving. The Palestinians say to the Israelis:We wait.Can you sense the creative power in these two short sentences? When we practiceour skills in this kind of perception miracles happen all of a sudden.Exercise: The good perceptionNow just close your eyes. Let us practice this inside, practicing the good thoughts, andseeing immediately what effect they have.We look at our partner. What inner images do we have of him or of her? Whateffect do these images have on us? What do they do to our relationship?Now we let these images pass in front of us, as if it were a movie, but in fastforward, faster and faster. When the film is finished, we rewind it, and we also do thisfaster and faster. What remains of theses images?Now we put the film aside, we put it away forever, and we look into our partner’seyes, with love. When we feel connected in a new way, we wait for a word and asentence from the depth of our soul to reach our heart. This word and sentence that13

will make our partner happy, most deeply happy, when he or she hears it. We wait alittle longer, and then we say it to him or her, and we are happy about the effect.ExtrasThe spiritual family constellationsWhat does it mean, spiritual family constellations? In recent years my wife Sophie and Ihave gathered more and more experiences in this kind of work, and it becomes clearerand clearer to us, that we are dealing with a sphere of its own, beyond what we canoffer as learning in the usual sense. Here we are dealing with inner growth that goesbeyond what we can usually learn. The spiritual family constellations constitute thehigh school of family constellations.The spiritual consciousnessIn our body we experience ourselves in a physical way. But everything that goes on inour body is directed by a consciousness. Otherwise they could not all work together insuch an amazing way. The question is: Whose consciousness is at work in our body? Isit our consciousness? Can it be ours? Most processes have already happened before webecome aware of them and of ourselves. Something takes place here that is consciousand directs us consciously: A greater consciousness.When we think this through further: How is it possible that we know our past,that we can know anything at all about our past? Is this physical? Can it be physical?Or is there something else at work, another consciousness in which we participate? Is itsomething spiritual that is at work here?Furthermore, how is it possible that we can look into the future? How can weplan something for the future and prepare ourselves for it? We can only do this throughparticipation in something spiritual, in a greater consciousness.14

And one more observation. How can we be in contact with the farthest galaxiesthrough our own consciousness? Can an animal do that? How is it that we can do this?Because we participate in something spiritual.The next question is: Can this spiritual be dependent on us, on ourconsciousness? Or was this spiritual here before us, and can it still be here after us?Being connected to something spiritual, we are connected with a greater consciousnessthat transcends our by far.How is it possible, for instance, that we can be in immediate contact with otherpeople through time and space, so that we know how they are? Can this be physical?We constantly see in family constellations that representatives can suddenly be incontact with something about which they didn’t know anything. Does this not showthat a greater consciousness is at work here?Whose consciousness?This consciousness must belong to someone. There can’t just be a free-floatingconsciousness, as little as there can be a knowing field. A field cannot know anything.This consciousness is alive. It is something in motion that has this consciousness.The great philosophers, Aristotle above all, have thought about this: What is thespirit? What is our spirit? How is it that our spirit can cognize something? Is thereanother spirit behind everything that is, another consciousness that sets everything thereis in motion? Nothing can move out of its own accord. All movement comes from apower that is outside of it. This power moves everything. In this connection Aristotlespoke of a first mover.But let us imagine this. Is something there first that is given movementafterwards? This is not conceivable. Everything that moves must be brought intoexistence by something, so that it does move. So how does it come into existence andreceive its motion? How can the first mover move it? By thinking it. We can reflectabout this ultimate authority, that is, this spirit. This mind -- called “nous” in Greek --thinks. Everything comes into being because this spirit thinks it, and everything that15

comes into being moves. This spirit moves everything by thinking it. This is thephilosophical background that we need to consider here.Unison with the spiritThe question is, to what extent can we come into unison with the movements of thisspirit? We already are in unison with it because we exist. Through our existence weare already moved by this spirit. Thus, the question becomes, can we come into unisonwith this spirit in a way that we can consciously move along with its movements?If we take this seriously, many philosophical prejudices fall away. When wethink this through very carefully and remain within a reasonable mode of thinking,which means remaining exactly with what we can experience and observe, then thereis no beginning. How can this spirit begin to think? It is always thinking. And for thisspirit there cannot be a difference between good and bad, or between right and wrong.It thinks everything as it is, and it moves everything as it shall be. Thus this spirit isequally turned to everything as it is.So how can we come into contact with these movements of the spirit? When weresonate with a movement that agrees to everything as it is. This is the condition -- andthis is the conclusion. We agree to everything as it is, to every person, as he or she is, toevery fate as it is.For this spirit there is no terrible fate and no good fate either. Nobody is better,or worse. Nobody can offend this spirit, through sinning, for instance. Every sin ismoved by it, of course. Sin does not exist. No one is better and is rewarded for it. Whatshould someone be rewarded for? It is a movement of the spirit, after all, that createswhat this person deems good, what makes him feel he is good.This also applies to the opposite. Each so-called bad person is equally moved bythis spirit. All the distinctions that have become a deep habit for us, including thereligious ones, fall away before this thinking.16

PeacePeace, what does it mean?Peace means:- what opposed each other, finds a way to come together;- what excluded each other, mutually acknowledges each other;- what fought and injured each other, what waged war against the other or evenwanted to annihilate the other, now mourns the victims of both sides together, and thepain they have inflicted on each other.What does peace achieve?Those who rose above the others, deeming them to be inferior or adversaries, nowacknowledge the others as equals. They mutually affirm what is special about theother, and they take from each other and give to each other.The peace between them expands their personal boundaries, allows them thediversity and their specific uniqueness within these new boundaries, and it gives roomfor shared action.Peace begins in one’s own soulWhat we previously rejected, repressed, and regretted in ourselves, may now take anequal place alongside what we had already approved of before. It will now beacknowledged and even loved, in its significance, in its consequences, and in itscontribution to our growth.This requires that we bid farewell to the ideal of innocence that neither demandsnor imposes, that suffers rather than acts, that prefers to remain a child than to grow up.Peace continues in one’s own familyMany families want to remain innocent and are, for instance, overly concerned withwhat others think of them, and they hide, repress, and even eliminate what might17

endanger their ideal of innocence. Thus they bring on their own guilt in order to remaininnocent. They exclude certain family members and are ashamed of them. They pushaway any thought of them because their painful lot raises anxiety and painfulmemories. This family atrophies and isolates itself.Peace in the family is not what is simple and comfortable. Those desiring peaceand serving peace must confront difficulties, pain, and guilt. They must find a place intheir soul for each and every member of the family even if they are different from howothers want them to be or prefer to see them. They accept the challenge and theconflict that finally leads to acknowledgment and even love of what is different and ofthose who are different.How can we contribute to peace in other areas as well?First, maybe only within a small circle, between neighbors and at work, perhaps,and then later on also in places where we have more responsibility, for instance, inorganizations or politics.We can only bring peace where we respect the dignity of all involved, theiruniqueness, who they are, what they accomplished, and what they have contributed tothe whole. This also demands of us that we respect their guilt, and that we do notrelieve them of their responsibility for the consequences of their guilt – for this guilt isalso a part of their dignity.Peace faces conflictsIn any conflicts the parties make clear what is important to them and where they feelthreatened. In conflict, people take a stand for what they want for themselves, what isto their best advantage, until they have to accept the limitations set by other parties.Only then does a balanced exchange between them become possible. This allowseveryone to grow and be enriched by what is unique in the others. In this senseconflict is a prerequisite and a preparation for peace.18

Peace is never completedThe eternal peace that many dream of would be stagnation. Nevertheless, peace doesbring something to a close. What previously exhausted the energy in conflict, now pullsback peacefully. But we must also allow conflict to recede, or else it will be revivedafter having been resolved. And what reactivates conflict? Memories! Therefore, what isover must also be allowed to be over.Peace is primarily threatened by groupsWhen we no longer meet one another as individual to individual, and when we aremostly a part of our group and see others only as a part of their group, we becomeblind to the individuals. As a part of a group we easily become alienated from ourselves-- mindless as it were, even unconscious, dissolving our individuality and losingourselves in the collective.Now the question is: How can we bring about peace between groups, after all,against the powers of the collective, individuals are largely helpless, even if theyremain composed? What then is a viable approach? They must wait for the right time,until the destructive powers have exhausted themselves. But individuals can alreadyprepare the paths to peace in smaller, more restricted circles. In the meantime, thisdemands enduring the conflict, even consenting to it as unavoidable.In my book, Peace Begins in the Soul, I have documented what prepares the peace inthe souls.These examples are concerned with peace between peoples, for instance,between the Greeks and the Germans in the context of the Second World War, thepeace between Armenians and Turks following the Turkish massacres, the peacebetween Russia and Germany, between Japan and the USA, and between Israel and itsneighbors.But this book is also about the reconciliation between religions, betweenChristendom and Islam, for instance, about the reconciliation between the conquerors19

and the subjugated in South America, the reconciliation in the civil war in Columbia,the reconciliation between masters and slaves in Brazil and the USA.Often these conflicts happened in a distant past, but they have continuing effectsin the souls of the descendents. With the help of family constellations, we can allowthe original opponents to face each other through the use of representatives. Then theylook into each other’s eyes, perhaps for the first time, and they see each other as peoplewho are their equals, with equal rights and equal dignity. They may begin tocomprehend what they have done to others, and what the others suffered throughthem. Then they can begin to mourn what was lost, finally reconcile and find peace.Only then can their descendents reconcile as well, honoring the victims, andmaking restitution in memory of earlier injustices, wherever possible. The past canfinally be laid to rest in favor of constructive action in the present.In family constellations the work of reconciliation begins in the individual souland in the family. When reconciliation is achieved there, it can spread to larger groups.Therefore, in family constellations we remain modest, and we are aware of ourlimitations. A deep and lasting peace eschews our intention. Where it occurs, weexperience it as a gift.Letters that touch the heartTo complete this newsletter …I would like to show you a difference.Seeing and hearing11.10.881. A child wants to belong, and he/she perceives the world through the eyes of thepeople he/she depends on and loves. As soon as the child sees what is important andholy to the others, the child agrees to it with all of its consequences. When the systemopens up to new ways, the child also takes the new path, and does so gladly, for this20

child loves. Even though guided and directed, the child may rely on what he/she seesand understands, even if only intuitively.2. When a child is preached to, having morals drummed into him/her, the seeing withhis/her own eyes changes into hearing. Then the child is not supposed to think for himorherself, or to follow what has been understood with his/her heart. Now the childmust listen and “obey” (= listen closely to an authority) and instead of seeing thingswith the child’s own eyes and drawing conclusions, the child is now supposed tosubmit.Experience and thinking20.12.90Your deliberations have inspired me to follow the opposition between experience andinsight on the one hand, and what is merely thought on the other hand, and to alsoconsider the consequences.Only processes can become experiences. A shared experience, if communicatedexperientially, leads also to an experience. Therefore, it is futile to prove experiences,for their proof is in the process that becomes an experience.Thoughts, on the other hand, I can follow without an experienced reality havingto correspond to them. They can be beautiful and interesting, without having to be true.The danger is that I measure my experiences against my thoughts, instead of trusting myexperiences. This process contains the danger of alienation. When one lets go of suchthoughts in favor of an experience, this leads to recollection, and even though one letsgo of something, this leads to an experience of fullness and of gain. In contrast to this,when I let go of an experience that follows from a process I was involved in and froman insight, just because I have a different thought, I experience this as fleeing my centerand as a loss.An insight is the spiritual part of an experience, and it always leads torecollection, and when it is shared, it leads to a recollecting process. A thought, even ifit is a thought about experience, has a lessening effect in comparison to an insight.21

Compared to an insight that is full and simple, a thought comes across as pale andcomplicated.14.5.92A truth of the soul that shows itself as real in its effect -- this is what counts in the end,and it is always a stepping out of the familiar, into venture. Thus the truth reveals itselfin everyone as something new, and yet it is always the same. Then neither questioningit nor raising objections to it will help. But what does help is the exchange ofexperience that was daring and serious.22