The Brown Book Commentaries

Image 212 (Page 87b - top) … This picture is a not-so-close-up of an etching done by
Heleana – reminding me of the truth that the greatest Beauty, like the greatest talent,
is often hidden from the view of the masses … Every person we encounter has
miraculous gifts –look for them to See them. Every enemy we endure harbors a
Loving child of God within – treat them accordingly …
“He is God not of the dead, but of the living.” ~ Jesus (Matthew 22:32)
This verse harmonizes with Jesus‘ view of God as an internal Here&Now essence (John 14:20)
and also Jesus‘ view of Heaven as an internal Here&Now experience (Luke 17:20-21) … Indeed,
this particular verse comes in a section of the Scriptures where Jesus is being asked by the
Sadducees about the nature of resurrection and whether or not one may marry again in Heaven
after death. Importantly, not only does Jesus state quite plainly that neither flesh bound love (i.e.
desirous lust) nor flesh-bound relationships (i.e. marriage) exist in his heavenly Kingdom, but also
that the focus on a post-mortem existence is false in and of itself – that his Kingdom of Heaven is
already within all sentient beings in this lifetime (see Matthew 3:2, Matthew 10:7, Mark 1:15,
Luke 10:9-11 et al), and that his heavenly Father ―is God of the living, not of the dead.‖
―You have an incredible Spirit that soars;
immense and strong.‖ ~ Rebecca Jean Pittman
This statement is oh so True of us all – and yet only
so in those moments we act accordingly
Image 213 (Page 87b - lower right) … This picture is of part of a card sent me by
Rebecca Jean. It's ―left wing‖ symbolizes the Truth that we can only fly if both our
True Self‘s ―wings‖ are operative; especially the frequently experienced reality that
if we only ―flap‖ the left wing of taking & getting, we will never get off the ground
– and indeed will inevitably plummet to our doom …
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―To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.‖ ~ Lao Tsu (Tao Te Ching #33)
At first, this verse seems to make no sense – alone for the fact that it is impossible for cogently comprehend
what it means to be ―eternally present‖ … Aside from the possibility that this is nothing more than a slip in
translation (indeed, Waley writes this verse as ―When one dies one is not lost; there is no other longevity‖ …
Lau believes it to say ―he who lives out his days has had a long life‖ … and Wilhelm – much to my personal
liking – translates verse 33 as ―Whomever does not perish in death, lives‖; i.e. whomever willingly sacrifices
himself before dying lives a full life), a deeper Truth remains to here to be rediscovered – namely, that the
Here&Now is the only place where true Love ever resides, and thus the more selfless the Love, the more
deeply one immerses his or herself into the present moment, and the more time ―stretches‖ for them while
experiencing the same … As such, perfect manifestations of perfect Love become so rich & full that time for
their enlivener slows down and thickens to the point where those moments feel like ―eternity‖ … Of course,
sentient beings all have functioning reptilian brains – and as such cannot ever hope to perfectly effectuate Love
to such a degree (except in the rare instances when called to the Honor of Martyrdom – and only in that final
moment of complete & glorious self-sacrifice, of course) … In Truth, as Wilhelm seems to note, the only way
we can ―die without perishing‖ is to die to the ego – and the only way we can ―die to the ego‖ is to sacrifice
personal gain or comfort solely for the
benefit of another …This is what it means to
―die but not perish‖, and this is what it
means to therein be ―eternally present.‖