We can greet the sun in a new way – when we truly awaken.
… as soon as the world has slept off the stupor of its cup filled with poisons and intoxicants, and merrily and joyfully, with, open heart, bare head, and unshod feet, steps forth early in the morning to meet the rising sun [1].
Every sunrise is an experience, but only rarely do we consciously realise this experience: weather, everyday business, and everything else often make us overlook and miss these special moments.
I try, as far as possible, to experience the sunrise consciously, especially when the sun rises brightly on a clear summer day, chasing away the night and the twilight. The warmth slowly embraces the limbs comfortably, awakening them to a new day. In a light breeze, the leaves of the trees and grasses play, and birds twitter. Nature seems to stand still for moments, waiting expectantly for the sun. These moments open my heart, and I can feel the unity with nature. Is it only the visible sun that puts me in this sublime mood? I feel it is more; it is the call of the spiritual sun that draws me, that calls me to discard and overcome the limitations of our lives. Have I slept off the intoxication from the poisoned, numbing cup? This call wants to open my heart to a higher dimension, to spiritual influences, not of this world. This touch opens a new world.
However, with the passing of the magical moments of the reawakening of life in nature, come back the daily thoughts, and the many problems and difficulties that fill and dominate our everyday life. Some words by Karl von Eckhartshausen come to my mind:
The waters of grace, the tears of repentance, are brought to purification by the ray of love from above until, at last, the sun has taken complete possession of the earth and has produced the most perfect product: the Regenerated Earth. Thus, perfection is also in man that state where God, through taking possession of the heart, has become the reason and the driving force of all our actions.[2].
How can I come to this perfection of the heart that God can take possession of? The great ones of the spirit over the centuries have given us many hints and pointed out ways to achieve this goal.[3] Jan van Rijckenborgh and Catharose de Petri devoted ample space to opening the heart in their explanations of transfiguration in modern times. In the introduction to their commentaries on Lao Tse’s Tao Te Ching, they write:
From Tao, from the Gnosis, there arises a source, a fount, from which not-being and being arise. An eternal, irresistible power, in the midst of which the Immovable Kingdom stands like a rock. And the heart that has entered the stillness experiences the pulsation of Tao’s spiritual essence. Such a heart forms the mystery of the “gate unto life”[4].
Tao’s spiritual essence is very close to me during the moments of sunrise. What happens to it under the influence of the busyness of the day? Does it recede into the background, or is it forgotten? We are absorbed into this everyday life. Absorbed? No, captured, imprisoned! But we can overcome the captivity of this world, thus keeping alive in our hearts and consciousness the promises transmitted to us over the centuries and the experiences of the twofold sunrise – on the outside and on the inside.
The open, the still heart is the key, and a magnificent sunrise is a call to use that key. In contemplating nature, we can intuitively experience that our heart opens to other influences that are not of this world. If we then let all the motions of our life in the world come to a standstill, we keep the heart still. A great calmness, with which the world’s gears are viewed as if from the outside, can then fill us. In this calmness, a sense of connectedness and love with the world and humanity arises. This feeling opens up new, unearthly dimensions that we can hold in our consciousness even as we turn to our daily necessities. We then live in the world, but at the same time – inside our heart – we are in another dimension, in a state that has been described with the words “in the world, but no longer of the world”.
With a new consciousness, with new eyes, we then see and experience the world. The often lightning-intuitive touch and experience change us, strike our innermost being, and awakens a seeking, longing, and urging that the Rosicrucians call the “healing desire”. It is the beginning of the opening of the heart, “the open heart”. Now begins a process of change, of transformation of our whole being. It leads us to what the ancient Rosicrucians transmitted to us in the Confessio Fraternitatis:
… merrily and joyfully, with, open heart, bare head, and unshod feet, steps forth early in the morning to meet the rising sun.
These words indicate a process of purification, of opening, even of the rebirth of the heart, of the head, and of a new deed. It then becomes possible to hear and understand the voice of the spiritual sun, which is not of this world. The Confessio Fraternitatis shows us the way to this by pointing to the new and growing power of the planet Uranus, which can be experienced as a fire:
It is the eternal fire, which no longer contains any passion, any emotion, but is sent out in a directed way to those who wander in darkness. It is the fire of love, which never creates conflict but is only capable of making everything clean and delightful[5].
The sun has now risen and is approaching the noon hour. However, in my soul, the natural sunrise and the wonder of the new day continue to resonate, as does the intuitive touch of the spiritual sun. I live in two worlds, and while I carry out my worldly duties and activities, the inner connection with the spiritual sun remains in the background of my consciousness. As a result, I perceive everything in a new way and feel connected to the world and humanity in love. I do not always remain in this double consciousness. Often the day’s events overwhelm me, and I fall back into my “normal” state of consciousness, losing the direct connection with the spiritual sun. It is a struggle between two worlds that still accompanies me. But the inner experience of the double sunrise brings me back to the new state of consciousness.
So it becomes evening, and I remember the Song of Praise of Hermes:
Thus, with all my soul and with all my strength, I address this hymn of praise to God the Father:
Holy is God, the Father of the Universals.
Holy is God, whose will is accomplished by His own powers.
Holy is God, who wants to be known and is known by those who belong to Him.Holy art Thou, who called everything into existence through the Word.
Holy art Thou, after whose image the All-Nature has become.
Holy art Thou, whom nature has by no means created.
Holy art Thou, mightier than all powers.
Holy art Thou, more excellent than all that is.
Holy art Thou, exalted above all praise [6].
[1] Jan van Rijckenborgh: The Confession of the Brotherhood of the Rosycross. Esoteric analysis of the Confessio Fraternitatis R.C. , Rozekruis-Pers, Haarlem 1989, p. XXI
[2] Karl von Eckartshausen: Über die wichtigsten Mysterien der Religion, Rozekruis Pers, Haarlem, 1995, p.154
[3]See for example: Burkhard Lewe: The heart becomes light and free and creative. A journey through the five chambers of the heart. In this edition of LOGON
[4] Jan van Rijckenborgh and Catharose de Petri: The Chinese Gnosis, Rozekruis-Pers, Haarlem, 1996, p. 27/28
[5] Jan van Rijckenborgh: The confession of the Brotherhood of the Rosycruz, a.a.O., p. 16
[6] Jan van Rijckenborgh, The Egyptian Arch-Gnosis, Part One, Rozekruis-Pers, Haarlem, 1982, p. 39
