Bianka

Without reflection, the soul obeys hidden forces while believing it acts freely. Most people never observe themselves. They only experience themselves. A thought appears → they think it. An emotion rises → they become it. An impulse emerges → they act from it. The entire inner life flows outward into thoughts, sensations, desires, and reactions. Spiritual development begins when this direction reverses. The soul learns to bend back upon itself. You stop merely thinking and begin noticing the activity of thinking. You stop merely feeling anger, fear, or desire and begin perceiving these forces as they arise. You stop immediately obeying impulses and begin seeing them before identifying with them. A distance opens between the I and the contents of the soul. We normally say: “I am angry.” “I am afraid.” “I want this.” But reflection reveals something deeper: There is the anger. There is the fear. There is the desire. And there is that within you which can observe them. The I begins to stand over against its own inner life. Reflection is not passive introspection. It is an act of freedom. Without it, much of what we call “myself” is simply inherited tendencies, habitual judgments, emotional reactions, and borrowed opinions. Experiencing a force within yourself does not mean you consciously created it. Reflection creates an inner mirror. Through that mirror you begin to perceive the machinery normally hidden behind consciousness: The judgment forming before it becomes an opinion. The emotion coloring the thought. The desire hiding inside the argument. Thinking ceases to be a stream passing through you and becomes an activity you can consciously direct. Higher perception begins with extraordinary wakefulness toward your own consciousness. Otherwise how could you distinguish spiritual perception from fantasy? Or an objective imagination from something projected by your own soul? The person who cannot observe the movements of his own inner life cannot know what he himself is adding to an experience. This is why the purification of consciousness matters. Concentration directs consciousness. Reflection illuminates consciousness. Together they prepare the soul for Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition. Reflection also transforms morality. Someone insults you. Anger arises. Ordinarily: insult → anger → reaction. Reflection introduces awareness. You see the anger. You see the wounded pride beneath it. You see the desire to retaliate. And because you can see these forces, you are no longer identical with them. A new action becomes possible — one consciously grasped by the I. That small space between impulse and action is where freedom begins. You become more conscious when that which normally looks through your eyes finally learns to turn around and observe itself.

FARM ATTACK: Another South African farmer attacked and brutally tortured on his farm this week. Cattle farmer, Donovan Marx, from the North West province, had his ears cut off on Wednesday morning during a farm attack. He was also shot in the shoulder and stabbed (with a sharp object) in the leg. And, for the umpteenth time, as far as I can determine, not a single article on any English media platform about it. This gross coverage disparity between the Afrikaans and English media when it comes to farm murders is what makes it possible for so many politicians and commentators to get away with their disgusting farm murder denialism. You know what's even more infuriating? History and research shows, if the victim was black and the torturers were white, we would see this story on every front page and news channel for weeks. Debates, panel discussions, political party statements - the works! The president would even come out and condemn the attack. Again, I refuse to accept the twisted, psychopathic standard that dismisses a farmer having his ears cut off as "just normal crime."