Luminous Life

Jacob Liberman spoke at our Mystics and Scientists conference on light in 1992 – this is his latest articulation of his life's work with light, beginning with his career as an optometrist. His most important concept is presence, as we understand how light guides our lives. In a technical sense, Jacob explains that it is not about thinking or trying to be here now, but 'a naturally occurring state that arises when our eyes and mind, triggered by light, focus on the same place at the same time…. in an intricate dance of aiming, focusing, tracking and teaming' - note the congruence here of eyes and mind. He writes that the intelligence of life is constantly directing us towards presence and indicating our responsibility in terms of what catches our eye as the next logical thing to do, and, importantly, to complete, as we understand the connection between light, vision and consciousness.

The chapters describe different aspects of Jacob's work, with some fascinating case histories and healing stories. On one occasion he feels a sharp pain in his heart while taking a shower and immediately knows that his mentor Elliot has died, so he rings through straight away to find out that this has indeed just occurred. Besides the sun and outer light, Jacob also discusses the inner life of dreams and consciousness as pure awareness, reflecting that in an important sense we do not live life, life lives us and we feel in alignment, in a state of flow, in the zone. This is due to the fact that 'the navigational system within us is inseparable from that which animates everything in the universe' (p. 87). Jacob gives some useful practical exercises involving breath and visualisation, which I have already tried out. He suggests that we can learn from how the roots of trees deal with obstacles by inserting and embracing them, thus ultimately strengthening their foundation. At the end, he returns to the practice of presence – attending to whatever enters our awareness and taking care of things as soon as we can: 'do what you love, love what you do and the world will come to you (p. 175). We can acquire a sense of knowing that is also a surrender to not knowing 'which allows true wisdom to reveal itself', as readers of this fine and literally illuminating book will discover for themselves.