September 1972
We talked together the last time we met concerning the moving river, the river of life. And we talked of the living water, and of the crystal clearness, and of the feeling of plenty, and that we must all be prepared to move and to change, and to go on, and to become one with all life. We cannot afford to stay in one place, allowing the Spiritual grass to grow under our feet and to come and to climb around us, so that we cannot even see that which is before us. No, if we have the faith and if we can drag ourselves from the murky pond, away from the stagnant and from the unbecoming, and from that which is alien to change, that which will not change, but insists on remaining in its own state.
We, who wish to discover for ourselves, the truth and the depth of the Spirit, must be prepared to move and to move away from all that is dark, and all that is dragging on the Spirit. And as you move and gaze into the clear, running river of life, and you comprehend in the clear, crystal waters, the living thing, and you get into, or onto this level, this state of mind, you begin to see that around you is a life giving energy, and you feel refreshed and able to move on, taking an interest in things before you and around you. And you may say, "But I must sit. How can I see and feel, how can I understand what is going on around me in the world?" But we say unto you, that light which is within you, will shine for you right into the dark recesses of your own mind, and these you will find so many interesting, strange, and wonderful things, that you will be able to understand through these things which your own inner light will bring to your vision from your own mind, that you will understand why there is darkness in the world, and you will know and understand why there is light in the world. And you will add through the power of your thoughts, to this light, and you will bring light into the dark places of the world, through the discovery of those things which are in your own mind, in your own self.
You can stoop at the river because you are walking at its side, any time and drink of the living water. But those who do not understand, those who are burdened down with materialistic things, with the things of the world, and the so-called treasures of the world. Who must keep this, keep that, collect this, collect that, possess this, or possess that, to keep these things as they would have them, they must walk, for their refreshment, into the dark places, and then they find, because the Spirit is not developed, because the truth is not known, the tiny wells, the tiny wells that are hidden in the dark woods of the world, and they must content themselves by lowering the bucket and drawing up from the well, and carrying, and using sparingly, and this is why they are tired and depressed, and miserable, and yet they are surrounded with material things which they think they need, which they crave for,. They will never know that the water at the bottom of the well comes from the nearby stream of life, and if they would walk in the other direction into that green and pleasant place, if they would lift their thoughts and minds onto this level, they will find themselves at the stream, always at the side of the river, no need for the work, for the worry, for the using up of their mental energy, and the delving into the dark depths for the little drops of the life-giving water. And they do not understand that they draw also from the river when they make contact with one who has found the right place, who has developed the power of the Spirit within himself. These people also are like unto wells which those others draw from, take from, and yet they only get again the little drops, they use, as it were, the bucket of the ladle to refresh themselves, and they know not what it is that they have partaken of from the other.
But it is the living water which these humble and beautiful souls partake of hour by hour, the way they think and their way of life. But occasionally, these very same ones must feel drained, because of the many, who, because they will not think, and because they are controlled by ignorance and fear, will not take the trouble, will not seek within themselves, will not use up that energy and faith which is needed to find the river and to walk by it, Therefore at times, the stupidities, and the childishness of other people, will be a drain on you, because they are lowering the bucket, and using the ladle, when at times, you feel yourself you are not so near to the side of the river. When you cannot think clearly, when you are physically tired, when you are burdened with the thoughts, and the trials, and the tribulations of your everyday life. But, nevertheless, you know the path to the river. You have trodden it so many times. You can sit and carry yourself into the higher realms of your mind….
This transcript continues directly from the stagnant pool teaching, and turns its instruction into an active discipline: don't merely leave the pool once, but keep moving — "we cannot afford to stay in one place, allowing the Spiritual grass to grow under our feet." Stillness by the river, rightly understood, isn't passivity; it's what makes seeing and understanding the wider world actually possible, since the inner light, once found, "will shine right into the dark recesses of your own mind" and illuminate what's happening around a person more clearly than active worry ever could.
Its central and most striking image is the well versus the river. Those still burdened by material craving, unaware of the river's existence, must draw their refreshment laboriously from small, hidden wells — using a bucket, rationing what they get, tired and depressed despite being "surrounded with material things which they think they need." What they don't realise is that the well's water comes from the very same river they could walk to freely, without labour, if they only turned in the right direction — the effortful, grudging spirituality of the unaware drawing, unknowingly, from the same source the developed person enjoys without struggle.
Its most personal admission is that this second group also draws, without realising it, directly from people who have found the river themselves — "these people also are like unto wells which those others draw from" — and that being drawn upon this way is genuinely draining, especially when one's own strength is low. The transcript doesn't pretend this cost away; it names plainly that "the stupidities, and the childishness of other people, will be a drain on you," particularly at moments furthest from the river oneself — but closes with quiet confidence that the path back is always known, "trodden... so many times," never lost even when temporarily hard to reach.