Day path - Night path

 

 

 

Psalm 42: “Send Your light and Your truth to lead me forth, to guide me up Your holy mountain and into Your tabernacles.”

 

 

 

 “The goal of the former [the ‘day path’] was ascent, the elevation of the spirit to behold the world in the divine light, so that it would appear as a revelation of God. The goal of the latter [ the ‘night path’] was descent into the depths of the human being, where it encounters the Being of God directly and where the Being of God and the being of the human mutually permeate one another. Seeing the world as a revelation in the light of God is the condition of the soul upon the “holy mountain,” and the intimate, inner experience of God indwelling the soul is the condition of being in the “tabernacle of God.” These two conditions are the light of God and the truth of God, as they are designated in the forty-second Psalm.” (Lazarus, Come Forth by Valentin Tomberg, 170.)

   We need two initiations, macrocosmic and microcosmic, one alone will not suffice. We need the wisdom that illuminates the world and the strength and patience to stand in that light. It is a deeper understanding and connection to the world that we seek, the light of the world. Yet we will not reach this light if we do not transform our inner life to be able to put aside preconceived prejudice, distracting desire, and lack of will. We need the world of moral forces that is found in nature. We need to transform our inner life to reflect the goodness that is the heart of nature, the truth. The light of wisdom shines in from the cosmic heights and can unite with the will of nature, in the transformed human inner life. The development of the inner senses gives us wisdom (macrocosmic). The overcoming of our unnatural side gives us the moral truth (microcosmic).

   The light of wisdom is there in John 1:4 “In him was life, and the life was the light of human beings.” This is the old sun mystery where the macrocosmic wisdom shines in and becomes strength in us. The moral truth that has been won through the dark night of the soul, in inner freedom, becomes wisdom in us. Where the old moon mystery is that of the purified astral: “Whoever unites himself in faith with the Son of God finds the testimony of God in his own inner being.” (1 John 5:10) Uniting in faith means in John the Baptist terms metanoia, change heart and mind. We need to transform jealousy, criticism, sloth, anger, frustration, impatience, inattention, irreverence, etc. They need to be sacrificed so that good soul qualities can take their place. This is the faith that leads to truth.