─ Chapter Eleven ─ Principals

Sarah moved out into her secluded patio, turned around to greet the early sun and admired the new thatching on her cottage roof at Castlethorpe. On her lap lay a book that Oliver suggest she read.
Her freshly made coffee rested on an antique wrought iron table. She settled herself and was confident in Oliver’s recommendation. She heard Eleanor say “Read it slowly, it will help you.”

       It was her seventh year as Principal and the word “dogmatic” had been very much on her mind. She had met many dogmatic people and, generally speaking, they weren’t much fun to be with. She was trying to understand what influences the closing of the mind to other perspectives, points of view and potentialities. Where does the need to be right originate and how can people change? The different ways that ancient and revered religious texts are interpreted has caused schisms, wars and the slaughter of millions of people throughout Earth’s history. “I am right and you are wrong”, “Our religion is right and yours is wrong”, “Our spiritual path is the best one.” Sarah had spent a few hours in Castlethorpe’s library the week before perusing large volumes about dogmatic theology and spirituality. She had done so with an open mind but found the tone to be arrogant and narrow-minded.

       One stubborn problem was occupying her analytical mind the most - the inevitable tension between truth and error. How do we speak the truth without coming over as arrogant or conceited? A further, even more pressing issue that was gnawing into her soul was that several people at Castlethorpe, brilliant scholars of ancient texts and esoteric writings, were at risk of becoming dogmatic about certain interpretations. They had become an influential group and several less experienced students trusted every new interpretation they came up with – almost without question. She knew it was not healthy and was mulling over how she would address the issue. This was part of the role of the Principal that Eleanor had explained was very important. “You don’t want to suppress people’s dogmatic interpretive views but you must protect the integrity of enquiry and learning within the College. Their interpretation may be correct but being correct is only one element of interpretation. It’s not only what you write or say, its the way you write or say it. That may be cliché but it’s true.”

       As Sarah was leaving the library she had a chat with Oliver. He was holding a book by Margaret Wheatley, Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future.

‘That looks like an interesting title,’ remarked Sarah.

‘Yes, it was a most refreshing read. It’s a great antidote to dogmatism!’ he said with a familiar smile that meant more than the smile – something he knew Sarah would notice.

‘Okay, so you want me to read it because you sense I have been thinking about dogmatism, right?’

‘Of course, I suggest you read the section “Willing to Be Disturbed”.’

       ‘Thank you Oliver, as always, you are an intuitive, literary star!’

*

Sarah sipped her coffee and turned to the section with a receptive heart and open mind.

“As we work together to restore hope to the future, we need to include a new and strange ally - our willingness to be disturbed. Our willingness to have our beliefs and ideas challenged by what others think. No one person or perspective can give us the answers we need to the problems of today.

          Paradoxically, we can only find those answers by admitting we don’t know. We have to be willing to let go of our certainty and expect ourselves to be confused for a time. We weren’t trained to admit we don’t know. Most of us were taught to sound certain and confident, to state our opinion as if it were true. We haven’t been rewarded for being confused. Or for asking more questions rather than giving quick answers. We’ve also spent many years listening to others mainly to determine whether we agree with them or not. We don’t have time or interest to sit and listen to those who think differently than we do.

          But the world now is quite perplexing. We no longer live in those sweet, slow days when life felt predictable, when we actually knew what to do next. We live in a complex world, we often don’t know what’s going on, and we won’t be able to understand its complexity unless we spend more time in not knowing.

          It is very difficult to give up our certainties - our positions, our beliefs, our explanations. These help define us; they lie at the heart of our personal identity. Yet I believe we will succeed in changing this world only if we can think and work together in new ways. Curiosity is what we need. We don’t have to let go of what we believe, but we do need to be curious about what someone else believes. We do need to acknowledge that their way of interpreting the world might be essential to our survival. We live in a dense and tangled global system. Because we live in different parts of this complexity, and because no two people are physically identical, we each experience life differently. It’s impossible for any two people to ever see things exactly the same. You can test this out for yourself. Take any event that you’ve shared with others (a speech, a movie, a current event, a major problem) and ask your colleagues and friends to describe their interpretation of that event. I think you’ll be amazed at how many different explanations you’ll hear. Once you get a sense of diversity, try asking even more colleagues. You’ll end up with a rich tapestry of interpretations that are much more interesting than any single one.

          To be curious about how someone else interprets things, we have to be willing to admit that we’re not capable of figuring things out alone. If our solutions don’t work as well as we want them to, if our explanations of why something happened don’t feel sufficient, it’s time to begin asking others about what they see and think. When so many interpretations are available, I can’t understand why we would be satisfied with superficial conversations where we pretend to agree with one another.

          There are many ways to sit and listen for the differences. Lately, I’ve been listening for what surprises me. What did I just hear that startled me? This isn’t easy - I’m accustomed to sitting there nodding my head to those saying things I agree with. But when I notice what surprises me I’m able to see my own views more dearly, including my beliefs and assumptions.

          Noticing what surprises and disturbs me has been a very useful way to see invisible beliefs. If what you say surprises me, I must have been assuming something else was true. If what you say disturbs me, I must believe something contrary to you. My shock at your position exposes my own position. When I hear myself saying, “How could anyone believe something like that?” a light comes on for me to see my own beliefs. These moments are great gifts. If I can see my beliefs and assumptions, I can decide whether I still value them.

          I hope you’ll begin a conversation, listening for what’s new. Listen as best you can for what’s different, for what surprises you. See if this practice helps you learn something new. Notice whether you develop a better relationship with the person you’re talking with. If you try this with several people, you might find yourself laughing in delight as you realize how many unique ways there are to be human.

          We have the opportunity many times a day, every day, to be the one who listens to others, curious rather than certain. But the greatest benefit of all is that listening moves us closer. When we listen with less judgment, we always develop better relationships with each other. It’s not differences that divide us. It’s our judgments about each other that do. Curiosity and good listening bring us back together.

          Sometimes we hesitate to listen for differences because we don’t want to change. We’re comfortable with our lives, and if we listened to anyone who raised questions, we’d have to get engaged in changing things. If we don’t listen, things can stay as they are and we won’t have to expend any energy. But most of us do see things in our life or in the world that we would like to be different. If that’s true, we have to listen more, not less. And we have to be willing to move into the very uncomfortable place of uncertainty. We can’t be creative if we refuse to be confused. Change always starts with confusion; cherished interpretations must dissolve to make way for the new.

          Of course it’s scary to give up what we know, but the abyss is where newness lives. Great ideas and inventions miraculously appear in the space of not knowing. If we can move through the fear and enter the abyss, we are rewarded greatly. We rediscover we’re creative.

          As the world grows more strange and puzzling and difficult, I don’t believe most of us want to keep struggling through it alone, I can’t know what to do from my own narrow perspective. I know I need a better understanding of what’s going on. I want to sit down with you and talk about all the frightening and hopeful things I observe and listen to what frightens you and gives you hope. I need new ideas and solutions for the problems I care about. I know I need to talk to you to discover those. I need to learn to value your perspective, and I want you to value mine. I expect to be disturbed by what I hear from you. I know we don’t have to agree with each other in order to think well together. There is no need for us to be joined at the head. We are joined by our human hearts.”

       Sarah had drunk two cups of coffee as she read and re-read the section several times. ‘What a wise piece of writing,’ she said aloud to herself. She was looking forward to lunch with Eleanor and decided to do some shooting practice for the next couple of hours. A quick call to Jorge and a target was set up in a protected area of the grounds. He had set it at 70 yards as requested she Sarah. About eighteen months ago Sarah had visited her favourite long bow maker, Alice, near Tunbridge Wells. Alice would look at an archer and, before they spoke, could sense the ideal materials and weight of the bow that would suit them. She had known Sarah for more than twenty five years and had stood by her through all her physical and emotional ups and downs as an accomplished archer. Sarah wheeled herself into Alice’s extraordinary workshop, Alice stopped immediately what she was doing and gave Sarah a long hug.

       ‘Great to see you. You want to take up a bow again don’t you? Let me guess, this time it has to be a long bow.’

       They smiled at each other with fond mutual admiration.

       ‘You have an amazing talent Sarah and I’m totally thrilled that you are on the path to finding that gold again. So what about your legs, by the look of you your upper body strength is pretty good so we can create a perfect bow for you that will suit your style and the new way you will need to learn to shoot using a long bow from that chair.’

       ‘Alice, you are the Mistress of Long Bow Makers, a high priestess of the wooden arrow - a true artist with heart. What woods do you suggest?’

       Alice brushed off some shavings from her apron and went to a draw from which she took out a drawing.

       ‘Osage Orange and bamboo, light and very strong with hidden spring and awesome power. Here is a drawing I did two years ago of the bow I knew I would make for you one day. I knew you would come and here you are.’

       Tears rolled down Sarah’s face as she stared and gently touched the drawing that had been lovingly produced on a piece of cream parchment.

       ‘Alice, this is beautiful. I don’t know what to say.’

       ‘We need to check the dimensions so I’ll need to run some tests with you now if that’s okay. The challenge, of course, will be to make sure that the length is right so that you can draw with maximum efficiency and consistency without any strain in your chair.’

       They spent the next two hours experimenting with all kinds of long bow lengths and agreed how long Sarah’s bow should be, it’s weight and draw power required. It would take over sixteen months to make and finish. Sarah knew it would be worth it. They had lunch together and talked for several hours about Castlethorpe and the world of archery and Zen.

*

This was the fourth time that Sarah had used her new bow and she was keen to see how today’s session would go. For those who may not be familiar with long bow archery it is described by archers as the purest and most natural form of archery there is. There are no sights, no balancing rods and no clickers (a small device that clicks when you have reached the correct draw length to release the arrow). Because of this the chances of even hitting a target with a long bow are significantly reduced and hitting the centre gold is extremely difficult.

       ‘My goodness Sarah, that’s an exceptionally high score for someone returning to shooting after such a long break.’

       ‘Eleanor, how lovely to see you.’

       ‘Sorry I’m a bit early but Jorge mentioned that you were practicing and I just had to come and see.’

       The two principals (they say “Once a principal, always a principal”) embraced and then headed to Sarah’s cottage for lunch.

       Sarah took out several platters of cold food from the fridge and laid them on the prepared table along with several different fruit juices.

       ‘Castlethorpe is in very good hands Sarah. I knew it would be. The Board knew it would be.’

       ‘The most challenging thing Eleanor is knowing when and when not to intervene. The place purrs along like a finely tuned engine. I have made some small changes to communication processes.’

       ‘They have made a huge difference Sarah, I could tell within a few months of leaving.’

       ‘Thanks, the key thing for me is to support everyone to fulfil their role with joy – even in those tasks they may find not one hundred percent to their liking.’

       ‘Castlethorpe is a unique living organism Sarah. It does not need the harsh routines of a Buddhist monastery or the laidbackness of a 1960s commune.’

       ‘That was the thing that impressed me the most when I arrived here. I have said many times that is the only place in the UK where I can access every part of the grounds without requiring assistance. If something breaks down there are alternatives I can easily use. What totally amazed me was the profound acceptance and celebration of difference. Equal opportunities are all the rage at the moment yet much of it creates an atmosphere of tolerance rather than acknowledging, being curious about and embracing difference in all its forms. Political correctness is taking root and provoking an unsurprising reaction from bigots who mock it for all its apparently nonsensical rules and regulations. There is a growing backlash and an increasing danger of us losing ground on the road to true equality.’

       ‘I agree Sarah, I rarely had any sleepless nights but when I did it was always about whether justice, fairness, truth and love were evident to everyone at or connected with Castlethorpe.’

       ‘And the esoteric thread that runs through all major religions provides the ideal ground for dogmatism to grow?’

       ‘Yes, that is the continuing challenge of paradoxes! The Principal’s Talk you gave a few months ago about this has, and continues to have, a lasting and positive impact on protecting everything that Castlethorpe stands for. Many organisations seek to create a distinctive kind of culture by employing people that are likely to fit in. This usually fails because people are diverse, creative and often overtly or covertly rebellious. Organisations respond by writing down values, standards, rules and policies in an attempt to preserve the culture that was intended and to satisfy funders and public bodies. This usually fails to achieve the outcomes sought. Your latest inspection results were outstanding in every area, as they always have been. There have been times when a few determined individuals had attempted to undermine what we do but even they change their minds when they visit Castlethorpe and interact with people. We tick all the boxes yet the written policies are very minimalist to say the least.’

       ‘The letter kills – the Spirit gives life!’

       ‘Indeed Sarah. So, is esotericism a threat? I don’t think so; things that absorb people can draw them in and there is a risk of forgetting the source and focussing on the interpretation and meaning of ancient manuscripts. The fact is that there is nothing really new under the sun. ‘New meaning’ is essentially a rediscovery of what an author sought to conceal from those people who may misuse the knowledge their writings contained. We must counter elitism here. The Gnostics were humble people. They never claimed “Only we have the true knowledge that has been deliberately hidden from you”. Casual seekers of truth will rarely find precious gems. You have to dig to discover. This is a central part of the journey that Castlethorpe people take. It keeps them focussed, balanced and open-minded.’

       ‘Eleanor, you are being refreshingly forthright. Is one the main reasons for meeting today to talk about how a member of a soul group can become involved with another soul group?’

       ‘I knew you would ask that. Yes.’

       ‘This is about the experience I had two weeks ago with Merindah who took human form over two hundred years ago as a native Australian woman leader.’

       ‘Yes, she is in the soul group I am part of though soul groups are just one way of communicating and drawing energies together for specific purposes on earth.’

       ‘I’m beginning to discover this is the case.’

       ‘How wonderful the spiritual journey is. How odd our human existence is. How essential it is. How extraordinary that humans are just one manifestation of the Oneness of the universe with all beings.’

       ‘This soul group is all female, it has a specific role and we are keeping a beady eye on Patrick as he delves into the lives of women mystics.’

       ‘Are our soul groups merging?’

       ‘That’s what I sense Sarah and the others agree though we know so little about soul groups. Perhaps this may always be the case. They just are. Not an end in themselves but part of the unfolding of oneness when they will fade away.’

       ‘It’s odd that people used to think that soul groups were composed of only dead people. Val did a beautiful piece of work on the history of spiritualism across the world and unravelled several consistent threads about the central principles. In her conclusion she wrote that “Death became an obsession to human beings across the world. Messages from loved ones who had passed over to the other side to console or caution were treated with reverence. Mediums were the channel. Meetings were the setting for these messages to come through. Spiritualism struggled to be or not to be a religion. It still does. Some became a recognised “legal” religion. Some chose not to.” It seems that time is the factor that gets people into a right old pickle. Death is a fact but it is not that important and not every human, as we know, experiences it. It does explain, of course, human resistance to our physical decay and demise. So if the Alpha and the Omega factor is outside of time dead and living people can coexist in soul groups.’

       Sarah, pulled out a piece of paper with the seven principles developed by the National Spiritualists’ Union (SNU), a religious charity that supports Spiritualist Churches across the United Kingdom, including the training of spiritual healers, spirit mediums, public speakers and teachers. The Seven Principles form the basis of SNU Spiritualism and help Spiritualists to navigate and combine their spiritual and human journeys. They were communicated through the mediumship of Emma Hardinge Britten, and adopted by those who choose Spiritualism as their religion.

1. The Fatherhood of God.

2. The Brotherhood of Man.

3. The Communion of Spirits and the Ministry of Angels.

4. The Continuous Existence of the Human Soul.

5. Personal Responsibility.

6. Compensation and Retribution Hereafter for all the Good & Evil Deeds done on Earth.

7. Eternal Progress Open to every Human Soul.

       ‘The more I think about the antiquated words,’ said Sarah, ‘the less I like them. It’s not the words as such - though patriarchy dominates for some obscure reason – it’s the spirit behind them that makes it hard to see the truth they contain. Val agrees. Religion encourages the formulation of principles in creeds, statements of belief and religious dogma, the very thing we seek to avoid at Castlethorpe!

*

       The two principals left Sarah’s cottage and ventured out into the glorious Castlethorpe grounds that are lovingly maintained by the staff.

       ‘The building refurb is top-notch Sarah.’

       ‘I’ve forgotten you had not been here for a while.’

       ‘Thanks for making sure my little home over there was looked after in my absence.’

       ‘Jorge, as always, made sure it was done. Do you know Eleanor, its lovely spending time with you. When I became Principal you were amazing. You were slightly worried about continuing to live at Castlethorpe but I knew it was the right thing for you. One board member was against it but then he had gone through a bad experience in the mystery school he ran in Dublin. Our relationship is different and I value you as my teacher, confidant and dear friend.’

       They stopped near the Labyrinth and said nothing for fifteen minutes. It was a natural, meaningful pause – the sort they encouraged in students and experienced themselves frequently.

       ‘The other reason for meeting with you Sarah was to talk about an area of study that I am embarking on and what led up to it. As you know one of my favourite books is Who Moved the Stone, written by Frank Morrison in 1930. One reviewer said this about it:

     ‘Who Moved the Stone by Frank Morison is an ultimate example of an individual's dedication to delving into a subject and discovering its truth, or as much of its truth as possible. Morison not only provided the information he uncovered he explained throughout the work the meticulous process he undertook in his research. He also explained his logic and reasoning for the conclusions he formulated. Of course, the subject matter in this case is quite a complex one and made more complicated by the years that have passed since the actual events occurred. The subtitle of Morison's book is ‘A Sceptic Looks at the Death and Resurrection of Christ,’ which indicates that Morison had a personal impetus in writing this book. He was apparently personally intrigued by the mysteries surrounding the events of the four days between Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday and compelled to try to determine exactly what took place.

     Morison takes a long look into why there was a three-hour lapse between the time Judas slipped away and the time he returned, leading a troop of Jewish guards to Jesus. Morison readily admits that with the passage of some 2,000 years that there was only a limited number of resources which he could use in his research. Of course, he relied heavily upon the Four Gospels as well as the Gospel of Peter and a religious relic from antiquity called the Emmaus document and some other literary fragments that had survived the ages. From these sources, he speculated that Caiaphas and the other priests were not prepared for the arrest. They wanted to take advantage of the situation and scrambled to make some important decisions. Caiaphas rushed to Pilate to make sure he would be prepared to take the case of Jesus the next morning. Pilate was not eager to take on the punishment phase of the trial but was forced into a corner by the high priests.

     After the arrest of Jesus, some of the disciples fled fearing they would be arrested while Peter and John apparently slipped into town behind the guards and their prisoner. Jesus was interrogated by the Sanhedrin Council in the middle of the night and was treated unfairly by the questioners, the chief among them being Caiaphas. Morison concluded that Jesus was convicted by the Council by virtue of his own words.

     The next morning, Jesus was taken to the Roman Court where the typically harsh and merciless Pilate seemed to have had a change of disposition. Morison speculated that Pilate's wife, Claudia, was sympathetic to Jesus and had a dream about him that made her fearful for her husband to be involved in his crucifixion. She apparently influenced him which made him tentative and resistant in taking the case. He tried to pass it off to Herod and attempted to exchange Jesus' fate with that of a serial murderer named Barabbas but to no avail. The case was his and he was tied to Jesus' destiny for all time.

     After Jesus was sentenced to death and crucified, he was buried in a tomb arranged by Joseph of Arimathea. The story of Jesus seemed to be over however when Mary Magdalene and other women in Jesus' close circle came to pay a final homage to him at his tomb on Sunday, they discovered that the tomb was empty. The large stone had been moved from the front of the cave that was serving as his tomb. They saw a man inside the tomb who was holding what appeared to be Jesus' burial garments.

     Morison, as said before, connects a lot of dots and speculates about what happened and why. He provides some scenarios as to who that man was and how that large stone was moved. However, the events of those four days will be open to speculation forever and will largely remain a mystery since there is no definitive way to prove what really happened.’

     Eleanor took out a copy of the book from her bag and showed Sarah the forward from an American edition that provided more information about the author.

     ‘I find the notion of scepticism really fascinating. This man dug deep, really deep, into ancient texts and the deeper he probed, with the intention of disproving the resurrection, the more he became convinced it was true. Not all the evidence he gathered was inspiring but it was fascinating to follow his painstaking research and how he reached his conclusions was very convincing. I discovered something in my latest re-reading that is compelling me to look deeper into relationships that people have with their teachers, Jesus in this case, and with one another. The Biblical texts are silent about so much yet, for me, their silence screams and has a great deal to teach us, if that is, we are patient, open-minded and willing to listen to Spirit as we walk with these people who incarnated 2,000 of our years ago. The chapters that stood out for me with glorious luminescence were the evidence chapters towards the end of the book: Chapter 10: The evidence of the principal fisherman, Chapter 11: The evidence of the prisoner’s brother and Chapter: The evidence of the man from Tarsus. I re-read these chapters several times and was struck by new things every time. My mission is to explore the context of relationships that Jesus had with his male and female disciples and the relationships they had with each other and others in the wider world they inhabited. There are profound psychological, practical and spiritual lessons to be learned that I believe will keep us sane, balanced and radiating the love of The Source of All Life without us getting side-tracked by esoteric arguments and various excesses. After all, whatever secrets are hidden in ancient texts and whatever the correct interpretation maybe it is how we live our lives as spiritual human beings that counts.’

     ‘Your face glowed with love as you were speaking.’

     ‘I was feeling warm’, replied Eleanor with her cheeky familiar smile. ‘I’m going to dive into the gospels and ask Spirit to fill in gaps I feel drawn to know about. Do you know what is going to be even more special about this journey, that you are welcome to join me with Sarah?’

     Sarah became even more attentive, sensing a special moment.

     ‘We will come to know about things that have not been known before. The barrier to not knowing is because most human beings are stuck in time. We understand the power of now and the importance of living in the present. In pure consciousness and oneness we are not bound by time and place. Everyone in our soul groups has experienced this to varying degrees. We can become witness of conversations that took place between Jesus and all the people he encountered. I have already overheard a conversation between Nicodemus, Pontius Pilate, Mary Magdalene and Jesus that overwhelmed me. This work will overwhelm us but Spirit will care for us so that we don’t get squashed or get sick.’

     ‘This is amazing. How could I say no. Castlethorpe runs itself and I’ll do all I need to do, trusting others to do what they do so brilliantly well.’

     ‘Thank you Sarah, I was hoping you would say yes. We will travel physically, astrally and through time. We will be physically based here at Castlethorpe for much of our work. I sense we are to form new soul groups to assist us in this mission and meet new beings who will illuminate our mystical path of discovery. The missions of the Seven revealed to each of you at your reunion – oh yes, Leonard is as active in other realms as he was in his physical form – are also starting to merge. Although I have been led to explore Jesus Christ and the people around him I know others will travel in time to witness conversations and events across all the known and unknown religious and spiritual movements. We are not being asked to re-write history but I sense we will learn the truth about how women played a much more equal role in events than the histories - written by men - have led us to believe. We will share this with Castlethorpe students. We have been taught that the gift of imagination creates fiction. I am convinced that this gift actually leads us into factual reality where truth and love reveal new perspectives that have been staring at us in the face for eons and shouting to us across time but we have not listened. ‘She has a vivid imagination or special gift’ is actually a most beautiful compliment we can pay to another person; instead that statement is often said in a patronising or even threatening way. Remember the witch hunts!’

     Jorge approached the two principals with a tray of tea and cake.

     ‘You know the way to our hearts Jorge.’

     ‘I do indeed. This time next year you will witness a labyrinthical spectacle that you’ll never forget. We are almost there with the electronics and computation. You two look like you have been cooking something up. I can’t wait to hear about it.’