Dear Michael,
I have been looking at these scratches several times
since yesterday. I was trying to understand something mental or spiritual in
them. Well, I am not a psychologist, so by this “trying” I don’t mean I aimed
to understand your mental state. I was trying to understand how changes in
personality or mental state relate to one’s spiritual state.
I know it is said that, for example, if you exercise,
it is good for both your physical and mental condition. And at a deeper level,
spiritual masters suggest that physical and mental health, which can lead to
spiritual improvement, form a two-way equation. This was an introduction to
what I am going to say.
The merging of three aspects inspired me to write this:
seeing these scratches, the words in the “One Word for the Future” forum, and
another awareness that came to me during Silence Time yesterday.
I decided to draw a diagram to better demonstrate my
thoughts and questions.

*The LOVE in the center represents the true LOVE, which
is equivalent to THE LIGHT—not the love that human beings experience on Earth
as a symptom and mistake for LOVE (although it may be their soul’s way of
reaching true LOVE).
**I won’t put bliss as a sub-group or derivative of
LOVE. Because I think it carries the same meaning as LOVE and LIGHT.
It is said that the aim of creation of this world is for human
beings to find LOVE.
It is said that this world is a school for human souls, and that we
must learn before graduating. (Another awareness I had during Silence
Time. I might have heard similar ideas before, but I could never truly
feel or understand their meaning in daily life.)
Every word around “LOVE” (= LIGHT) in the diagram is derived from
LOVE and is a result of it.
Take “peace” as an example. When we are filled with LOVE—or better said, when we become LOVE—we experience infinite “peace”. But we must make an effort to cultivate peace. We cannot create peace for ourselves or others without effort. The same applies to “safe”. When we are only LOVE, and nothing else, we are absolutely safe in the hands of LOVE. In this state, even if you are physically hurt, you are not truly “hurt”. It is needless to say that when the world becomes LOVE, there will be no war or cruelty. This concept also applies to “acceptance”, which I implied with the word “stoicism”. We can easily accept all so-called good or bad events in life when we are filled with LOVE, because LOVE is everything; LOVE is complete and self-sufficient. And so on… all other words and concepts are components of LOVE. True love, identical to self-awareness, has been granted to only a
few people on Earth, effortlessly (mystics and Sufis). They are blessed
with this LOVE, the highest level of enlightenment. There are many others
who seek it but can never find it, because it is not something that can be
achieved through “trying”.
It is said that you can BE LOVE by maintaining a Silence practice.
The awareness that came to me yesterday was this: the path from LOVE
to the other concepts mentioned above is a two-way path.

So, if this is true, we should not be discouraged by the thought that we are not among the blessed ones who receive THE LIGHT effortlessly. This raises the following questions:
a. Is Silence Time enough to become or reach THE LIGHT?
b. If the answer to (a) is no, should we try to cultivate all of the
above-mentioned concepts to reach LOVE (=LIGHT)? For example, when I live the
life that I truly want in a normal day, I feel so happy that I can be kind to
others and willing to engage in spiritual practice. If I can attain all of
these concepts, does that mean I can become THE LIGHT (=LOVE)?
c. Is it possible to attain all of them in daily life?
Sorry,
I wrote too much. I just wanted to share my concerns.
Thank you for this opportunity, Michael...