A new Quality May Enter the Moment

The search for a path through life: The activation of conscience, part III

Photo: Railing pillar medallion with veneration of the Dharma-wheel (dharmacakra) Bharhut Great Stupa, Madhya Pradesh Shunga, ca. 150-100 BCE. Sandstone; Indian Museum, Kolkata. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit, "Tree and Serpent.”

One of the things that disturbs me in conversations I participate in about conscience is that it too often sounds theoretical, as though we could figure it out by quoting Gurdjieff and de Salzmann— by reading books.

Obviously, I have nothing against reading; I am, after all, a writer. But abstracting the question of conscience into thought and history and leaving it in the hands of stern but benevolent elders isn’t enough. Conscience needs to make an appearance now; and for as long as we continue to discuss it as an elephant which is not in the room – and, mind you, it is always be in the room, and we should notice it with wonder, awe, and apprehension – we outsource it to some philosophical or intellectual landscape, where we can go back to sleep, continue our discussion, and sound intelligent about it.