Written by Rex Ambler
Review by John Cowan
Rex Ambler has written a terrific book! He went to the well of dusty documents and came up with the answer to the question: “What makes a Quaker or Quakers mystics?” I say that as a certified mystic student who, while incapable of magic, can recognize mysticism when he sees it. Half of the pamphlet is spent explicating one quote from Fox. The rest of it other quotes, mostly from George. So we begin:
Ye all have one eye, which is the light, one fire, which consumes all which the light discovers to be evil, and one spirit, which baptizes all into one body, where there is no confusion, but pureness and oneness.
This is the content of our “meditating” in meeting for worship. A content by the way easily relatable with one exception, to the content of the other great mystical traditions that I have some schooling in, the advaita, zen, vipassana. Be aware of what is going on particularly inside you. The awareness removes in time the unwelcome that you find. Simple. Lots of us do that with varying degrees of intensity.
The one exception from other traditions is that Rex sees us gathered, one body, as other meditative traditions, to my knowledge do not. The Christian tradition sees us gathered as one body but not in mystical union. Evangelical and singing churches, e.g. Black churches, create one body but do not talk mystical language, although I would credit many of them with being mystics. (Song seems to have at least some of the same effects as silence.) Vipassana may put us in the same room for ten days but not to become one body. Zen I don’t know that good.
All they that are in the light are in unity, for the light is but one…And this is a word of reconciliation, that reconcileth together to God, and gathers the hearts of his together, to live in love and unity with one with another, and lets them see how they have been strangers and aliens from the life of God…Abiding inwardly in the light, it will let you see one another and the unity one with another.
Here is the unique Quaker insight: we are not just sitting together for the heck of it, sharing the heating costs, this being together also is part of the change experience. We unwrap ourselves and our companions to share core to core who we are and be lifted up by the process. Do you think we do that? Does this describe your meeting?
Then Rex moves to our connection to the world: (I use a more familiar quote than Rex uses.) Then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone.
There is no command to love everybody. If you do the up-front process of being aware generally, focusing on your flaws until they disappear, your vision will clear and you will see God in all you meet and reflexively you will love them. Or to put it simply, please do not love me because Jesus told you to. I’d rather be loved for what you see in me
Can you imagine the happiness of this life with this people, in that day? I think it the clearest reason for accepting suffering for the sake of Quakerism. Quakerism to them was not an abstraction. It is these friends that I am bonded with in a mutual search to be better, in God’s hands.
Back in the day, you should imagine this group that intends to change the world as fairly stinky. Did George ever change his leather outfit? Lots of sickness. Children died with regularity. Ignorance. Rough work. Danger. Sorrow. Prison. Confusion of Church and State. But unlike other mysticisms this group does not withdraw from the confusion to a mountain chapel but sets up camp in the middle of the violent mess intending to make mystics of the whole world. For a while it looked like they would, but then they, for the most part, stopped being mystics in a move to order and safety.
I note with no embarrassment that shortly after Quakerism begins some Quakers had a corner on the candy market. Banking was big too. Shop keeping. Quakers did not leave the world. The Whaler pursuing or being pursued by Moby Dick was owned by Quakers. Some Quakers were poor and some rich. Some gentility, and some louts. All were mystics. Or at least in there trying.. For a while.
In support of the validity of this phenomenon Rex points out that when Evelyn Underhill, a modern well known Christian mystic, asks the learner to sink down, it is not to sink down into God, but to sink down into reality. As does the Advaita. For that matter, if I heard him correctly, so does Isaac Pennington. Do not worry, God is definitely in the mix we call “reality.” So is the state of the bank you own. Or the junk truck you drive.
I know from personal experience, as an attendee at human relation laboratories, that the experience of being awake and bold and committed, and in love with the world as the early Quakers described can be experienced even without having belief in God in the equation. What cannot happen is a lasting experience without belonging to a group that has gone through the experience with you. I came out of my experience greatly changed as did the members of my group. But we scattered back to our normal lives, and once again became nearly normal. Except now we knew this was not happiness and began clawing our way back. I’m not done yet and at eighty-five the odds of finishing are poor.
In the group you let them know your deepest self, and while you may have received advice and feedback, not all positive, you felt safe to speak even more deeply the longer the experience lasted. And sink into an even deeper experience. When you enter this same group of deep revealers later it takes little time to be reassured that they are still open to you as you are to them. And on you go, deeper and deeper and happier and happier. Until the group dissolves and then: Plunk!
This is the knowledge that leads me to think few Quakers will follow this path on their own without Friends on the same path. This last comes from personal experience not from Rex. Yes, people can be shaken into the truth directly by the divine. But that is almost accidental, at least from the human view. A planned process will have to rely on the spark between the humans to ignite and maintain the spark called Spirit of God, or the Christ within. (There are exceptions.)
What is our situation. Do we have a common cause? Do we accept the need to change? Do we believe change possible. Are we willing to risk openness? Do we trust the kindness and sensitivity of others in our meeting? Or maybe we are already mystics and just are not telling each other?
You need this pamphlet. I will ask the Forum committee if we can use a Forum or two to discuss such matters. But with or without the Forums. You need this pamphlet. Rex has tapped into the real thing.
Perhaps you are in a position of leadership and would like to guide this cause? Have at it.
I just gave you a lot of the pamphlet in about 1,000 words. It takes Rex 32 pamphlet pages. And if you like referring to references add 11 pages. C’mon you of the internet bits. You can do it. (Pendle Hill Pamphlets apologizes for it being too lengthy.) (Not for sale on Amazon of course.)
Where to purchase it:
Pendle Hill Pamphlet 463
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