The Three Stages of Seeing

By the Druid Finn

Finn the Druid spoke to his circle of students at dawn, as the mists lifted from the oak grove.

“Children, I will tell you how man learns to see.

First, as an infant, man sees the world split in two: here I am, there is the great power.
The power commands, and man obeys.
Like a child with its parent, this is good — for without the parent’s rule the child would perish.
This is the age of Two: God above, man below.

Then, as a youth, man feels the power stir within his breast.
No longer only beyond, it whispers in conscience, it flickers in the heart.
The voice of the parent becomes his own inner voice.
He learns to walk on his own, yet still glances back for guidance.
This is the age of Not-Two: God within man.

At last, as a grown one, man discovers there is no separation at all.
The power is not above, nor within — it is what he is.
The river need not search for water, nor the flame for fire.
So man ceases to bow and ceases to seek; he simply is.
This is the age of One: man is God, God is man.

But beware, my children. Each sight has its season.
To give the infant the sight of the One is to starve him of milk.
To chain the grown man to the law of Two is to bind him in childishness.
And to leave the youth without the inner whisper is to leave him lost.

So let each stage serve its time.
Two for the infant, Not-Two for the youth, One for the grown.
Thus the grove of life ripens in order,
and every being learns the truth that cannot be taught:
the truth that each of us is the living rhythm of the Universal Procedure,
the dance that makes worlds appear and fade.

That, children, is what it means to grow.”

Home