Paul Beidler
Northeon Forest
January 2, 1986

Responses To Questions Often Raised

"Holy-Affirming + Holy-Denying = Holy-Reconciling" > "Transubstantiate in me for my Being."

This is a prayer given to us. In it I have found what I call the Holy Equation which provides us with a basic pattern for most of our work. Holy Denying equals our inherited mechanical "myself" manifested by our habits, traits, thoughts, feelings and actions in sleep. Holy Affirming is our conscious effort to accept, endure and to meet with objectivity all our Holy Denyings. Holy Reconciling is the resultant of them both leading automatically to a Transubstantiation. By self-observation we learn to recognize accurately our Holy Denyings to which we then eventually apply our Holy Affirming.

We are "harmonized" when our three centers are coordinated in unison rather than "in chaos" when each center acts independantly of the others (our usual, normal, mechanical condition). We approach harmony when the three centers are each relaxed because then they are comfortably related to one another. In meditation we try to be as physically relaxed or loose as possible, to which is added a neutral emotional condition, to which is added a quiet mind (no thought). A goal is to do everything with the three centers harmoniously related.

Conscious Labor includes the performance of all recommended exercises requiring conscious effort, gradually leading to Holy Affirming in our daily activities.

Intentional Suffering is the intentional acceptance of all suffering which is a part of all existence. To prepare us for this type of Holy Affirmation in our daily lives we are assigned special exercises including seeking out or welcoming suffering in all its forms, especially those forms which are overlooked or moved into different categories, such as "anxiety", "fear" or "depression". It is sometimes useful as a preparation to induce self-imposed suffering but this is to be abandoned when we learn how to meet the normal lot of humanity's suffering.

We must work toward a constant state of self-observation where we become more and more connected with the observer who is objectively observing "it" (the observed). Self-observing requires conscious effort; the observer is the rememberer, who becomes the doer, who becomes.

The Sarmoun Monastery is now underground in what is now Russia. Their existence is threatened and must be protected from exposure. Along with other isolated (secret) monasteries of the 3rd way, they are already being replaced by the 4th and 5th ways. While we are grateful for the discoveries made in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd ways, we must recognize that in the course of evolutionary change the burdens of development have been passed onto the shoulders of seekers in the course of ordinary daily life.

We understand the ordinary pursuits of our lives responding to desires to be educated, well thought of, useful, admired, superior, wealthy or spiritual, as examples of Holy Denyings. We try to meet these denyings with our conscious efforts in our search which we call Holy Affirming. Both are of equal substance and importance.