Beloved Son: Letters Concerning the Search for Meaning

By Michael Kressy

When his son began to lose his bearings on the other side of the continent, author Michael Kressy began putting together a series of letters outlining in clear and easy-to-follow terms a foundational belief system, together with suggested techniques for achieving peace and equilibrium. Beginning with his opening letter, where he states, Im not suggesting I have all the answers, but I know after some twenty-five years of meditation practice where they can be found and the discipline and dedication required to find them, Kressy helps the reader build confidence in his or her own ability to access inner wisdom by offering a convincing series of arguments pointing to mind as the only reality there is.

The letters that follow describe the obstacles that confront us (the ego, guilt, fear, and the split mind) and suggest how we can overcome them by developing healthy relationships instead of debilitating ones; learning to recognize authentic love; and going beyond thought and language in order to experience real peace. In the final letter, Kressy off ers practical suggestions for developing a meditative practice that emphasizes relaxation, developing the ability for sustained focus, learning how to become a disinterested witness to our own thoughts and, finally, experiencing liberation by entering into pure awareness itself. Accompanying his discussion of finding spiritual fulfillment are illuminating experiences drawn from his own life, including the lessons he has learned from them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Apr 3, 2012
• ISBN: 9781452548746

Michael Kressy

A retired philosophy and writing instructor, Michael Kressy has written feature articles, poems, essays, and a popular book on vegetable gardening. He is currently a tai chi chi kung instructor and a facilitator for two study groups focusing on A Course in Miracles and related teachings.

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CONTENTS

To The Reader

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Notes

To The Reader

A number of years ago, when a beloved family member appeared to be losing his bearings on the other side of the continent, I put together a handful of letters, partly out of a sense of helplessness at the distance separating us but mostly to share with him some of the conclusions I have arrived at after a half-century of searching for a coherent meaning to my own life.

Since then, I have occasionally revisited the correspondence because of a lingering feeling that it might be of some use to others facing a similar crisis. None of the ideas contained herein are new but the juxtaposition of concepts can be of some help since they gently move from currently accepted notions to ideas that are mildly thought provoking, if not downright unsettling. Because A Course in Miracles has been a major focus of my life for the last 20 years, it is understandable that many of the ideas have evolved from my study of that remarkable book.

I would like to believe that this impulse to share reflects who and what we are as loving extensions of the Source of All That Is as the Course so eloquently teaches. And so I offer them in the same spirit as I offered them to my son with the hope that in some small measure they might ease the burden of others.

As with most accomplishments, this brief attempt at formulating a foundation for belief would not have materialized without the involvement of others. The family crisis, at first unsettling, compelled me to put my evolving thoughts on paper and thus bring them into greater clarity. Naturally, I am grateful to my son whose courageous searching triggered this series of letters and, most importantly, for his willingness to share the ideas contained in them. Secondly, the abiding support of the members of two ACIM study groups eased me through the initial discomfort while their patient listening allowed me to grope my way toward a clearer understanding of my own emerging spiritual values. And then there is the Master Teacher, variously known as Jesus, Raj or Jeshua, who lovingly and eternally envelops us in the gentle mantle of Truth.

Michael Kressy

Ashburnham, MA

March, 2012

1

Beloved Son,

For a number of months I have been tossing around the idea of putting together a series of letters dealing with things philosophical (and spiritual) which reflect a half century of asking the big questions—Who am I? What is my purpose? Is there a rational design to the universe or is the whole thing simply an accident? Is there an intelligent force behind Creation?

For me, the onslaught of questions began 50 years ago when I was approaching liberation from high school and had to announce what my occupational plans were. I hadn’t the foggiest notion what occupation I was headed for let alone how to go about choosing one. And then there were all those aptitude tests that reduced my talents (what talents there were) to numbers and bar graphs. Later, I could never understand how my best friend arrived at the certain knowledge that he wanted to be an electrical engineer and had chosen the particular college to attend. And that is exactly what he did. Little did I know then that I would stumble through a variety of career possibilities—music teacher, pre-theology student, philosopher, journalist, poet, writing and philosophy instructor and finally to tai chi instructor and spiritual helper. It might seem an exhausting and bumpy journey but it is one I would not change whatsoever because of what I learned about the world, the Big Questions and, perhaps most importantly, what I learned about myself.

I’m not suggesting I have all the answers but I know after some twenty-five years of meditation practice where they can best be found and the discipline and dedication required to find them. This is what I want to share with you and perhaps in the process pass along something that might be of use to you and at the same time clarify some issues for myself. If this becomes insufferable to you, just trash the letters or, better yet, tuck them away somewhere so that you can give them a second reading at a later time.

Now all this will represent yet another viewpoint coming at you from yet another direction. The world never tires of providing advice, counsel and theories of human existence which, more often than not, become confusing when they begin to conflict with and contradict one another. So how is one to negotiate among the voices which mean well but wind up adding to the confusion. So at the outset, we need to be clear on a simple, important truth: there is something inside of you, indeed all of us, which calls the truth to it. It’s not a matter of absorbing truth from an outside source like pouring a serum into an empty container. When you read or hear something that sticks with you it is because you recognize the truth in it. You may not know why a thought or concept appeals to you but it is important to keep in mind that you don’t receive the truth—you recognize it. The reason this is so important is that it reminds us of the truth of who and what we are (more on this later). It is, in fact, empowering. When we succumb to an authority we give our power away.

This, then, gives you an idea of how we can make sense of the myriad voices out there all clamoring for our attention not to mention our loyalty. Which seems to ring true? Which sets up a resonance within you? Which sparks a deep recollection in you of a deeper meaning, a deeper truth? Now this is not an intellectual process although applying the test of reason can be a useful first step. Ultimately, it becomes a matter of developing an abiding sensitivity to what is going on inside of you. By now, perhaps, you have guessed what comes next—the question, how does one access the deepest regions of our being in order to actually feel this resonance, this recollection we have been talking about?

In a word, this resonance comes through stillness, meditation, quiet, relaxation—whatever you want to call it. Basically, we want to work at temporarily and willingly suspending our attachment to the clamor of the outer world so that we can hear the promptings of the inner world. No easy task since the body with its five senses is designed primarily to relay to us what is going on around us, not within us. To become still and listen to the voice within (not literally a voice although for some famous transmitters of spiritual teachings akin to a voice but not spoken as such) requires a good deal of patience and perseverance since in the beginning it’s not always crystal clear what the source is—your ego self or your greater truth-connected Self. With time and practice, it gets easier to distinguish between the two. The well-known transpersonal psychiatrist, Roberto Assagioli, says it well in his book, Act of Will:

During periods of silence and meditation, in the careful examination of our motives, in moments of thoughtful deliberation and decision, a voice, small but distinct, will sometimes make itself heard, urging us to a specific course of action, a prompting which is different from that of our ordinary motives and impulses. We feel that it comes from the central core of our being.

At the risk of getting ahead of myself, let me mention one clue that can help in sorting out the inner responses you will experience. If a thought or urging produces a sense of anxiety or dread (often a physical sensation in the area of the solar plexus), you can be reasonably sure that it is coming from the frightened, insecure ego self. When you connect with the truth-connected Self, you will feel a sense of well being,