From secret to sacred: keeping the line clear
Recording 10 of 12
What concerns two belongs to two
The talk opens in living nature and moves straight to freedom: accept yourself without action or reaction, and the energy for real change appears. From there, it exposes everyday lying, clarifies the sacred versus the merely secret, and sets a radical order for relationship and service. It closes by confronting the false gods of food and money, and by urging surrender beyond competition into simple doing of one’s best.
LENGTH: 29 MINUTES
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
YEAR RECORDED: 1988
PLACE RECORDED: TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN, AUSTRALIA
MAIN TOPICS
Freedom and liberation, Lying when not necessary, Responsibility for life, The sacred, Secrets and shame, Self centeredness, Being true to the situation, Surrendering to what is, God and existence, False gods, Food, Money, Competitiveness
SUMMARY
The setting is the garden, with wind and birds welcomed as part of the teaching. Freedom begins by facing the fact of oneself—no movement to improve, no reaction, only intelligent reception. A story about a child's lie breaks the ideal of purity: everyone lies; the task is to stop lying when it is not necessary and to be responsible. The sacred is introduced as what concerns only the two involved; breaking that directness breeds secrets, dependency and disorder. Barry describes the centre and its 'concentrics': each helper relates by a clear radial to the centre, with no side-relationships. Mixed relationships—mother with father, lovers with lovers, child with partner—create emotional knots. Confession that burdens another betrays the sacred; confess instead to the impersonal God that does not react. A letter of surrender shows how life can swiftly strip away possessions and yet reveal relief, even heaven. Finally, the false gods of food and money must be faced and dethroned; ambition and competition lose their glamour, and living becomes doing one's best, naturally.
Outline – Where does freedom begin? Lying when not necessary, Sacred and secret, Relationships, Concentrics, What does not concern you , Unwitting betrayal of the sacred, Being true to yourself/life, Surrender , Our second God , Competitiveness
09 - Ready to say goodbye, ready to die
