T!M FREKE — Philosopher, Writer, and Speaker Extraordinaire.
by John Smallman
Here’s a man who has a lot to offer us as we tread our spiritual paths, enjoy.
John.
WOW! From The Mystery Experience by Tim Freke.
I saw Tim interviewed on Buddha at the Gas Pump in October 2017, and was very taken with his ideas. I bought a couple of his books (he has written more than 30), and today I am reading his The Mystery Experience, which he wrote and published in 2012.
I’ve only just begun and right at the beginning – the book is about the awakening experience into the mystery that is life as a human – and his book is talking about the spontaneous awakening experience. Because, at age 12, he had his first awakening experience, he became enthralled by the mystery that is life as a human and so he went on to become a philosopher, writer, and public speaker who gives retreats to assist people to have an awakening experience.
He says that when it happens for someone for the first time the instant response from nearly everyone is almost always WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here is an excerpt from the 3rd chapter that really moved me:
“Last year my father died of a stroke. For the previous eight months he could move only one arm and he would lie in his bed plaintively muttering ‘help me, help me.’ It broke my heart because I love him. Being deep awake didn’t stop me suffering and I didn’t want it to. I wanted to suffer with my dad. I wanted to be right with him in the awfulness of the situation.
For me, awakening isn’t about transcending suffering, as some spiritual traditions teach. Rather, awakening allows me to suffer willingly because of love. And then my heartbreak becomes poignant … meaningful… even beautiful. When I suffered with my dying dad there were precious moments of deep connection. The bitterness was also sweet. The deep pain plunged me down to the depths of life. It broke my heart and what poured out was a deeper love.
When I listen closely I hear the WOW of life expressing itself in many different tones of voice. There is the ecstatic WOW of joy and the subdued WOW of sadness. The intoxicating WOW of hope and the sobering WOW of disappointment. The warm WOW of intimacy and the piercing WOW of loss. The great song of life passes between the major and and the minor modes … and I am stirred by both.
HAVE YOU BEEN WOWED?
Perhaps there have been moments in your life when you tasted the WOW in some of the ways I’ve been describing? Most of us, at some time or other, have found ourselves suddenly seeing through the superficialities of life and diving into the mysterious depths. This can happen when we embrace a newborn child … or listen to beautiful music … or enjoy a deep conversation. It can happen when we confront death … or feel defeated by failure … or wrestle with a mental breakdown. It can happen at any time. It can happen now.”
And his web site: http://timfreke.com/
John Smallman | 11/20/2017 at 6:22 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: https://wp.me/pwoMa-HD