A reading from Meister Eckhart, Sermon 3 A question arises about this birth of which we have spoken. Does it happen continuously, or at intervals when a man applies himself to it and exerts himself with all his might to forget all things and be conscious in this alone? Now note the explanation. Man has an active intellect, a passive intellect, and a potential intellect. The active intellect is ever ready to act, whether it be in God or in creatures, for it exerts itself rationally in creatures in the way of ordering the creatures and bringing them back to their source or in raising itself, to the honor and glory of God. All that is in its power and its domain and hence its name active. But when God undertakes the work, the mind must remain passive. But potential intellect pays regard to both to the activity of God and the passivity of the soul so that this may be achieved as far as possible. In the one case there is activity, where the mind does the work itself; in the other case there is passivity, when God undertakes the work and then the mind should, nay, must, remain still and let God act. Now before this is begun by the mind and completed by God, the mind has a pre-vision of it, a potential knowledge that it can come to be thus. This is the meaning of 'potential intellect,' though often it is neglected and never comes to fruition. But when the mind strives with all its might and with real sincerity, then God takes charge of the mind and its work and then the mind sees and experiences God. But since this enduring and vision of God places an intolerable strain on the mind while in this body, God accordingly withdraws at times from the mind, and that is why he said "a little while you shall see me and again a little while you shall not see me." (citation from John 16:16.) [The reading ends here.] This is a complex passage. The concept itself is difficult; and yet it reminds us of the idea found in the Gurdjieff work, as expounded by Jeanne de Salzmann, that we must become more passive in order for real work, for connection with God, to take place. And Eckhart is discussing exactly this issue when he says "when God undertakes the work the mind must remain passive." Risking an effort at further interpretation, we might say that the active intellect is the intellect of real intelligence: the part that is actually able to think more consciously rather than all of the mechanical creatures that pretend to thinking inside of us; and the passive mind is the intelligence of sensation, which is an intellect of its own, of a very different kind than the thinking intellect. It cannot be so mechanical, for it is always passively awaiting the arrival of energy so that it can absorb it and deposit it and work with it to make all of the energy its own, so that it is a prepared substrate into which the Godhead can flow. And as to the third intellect, the potential intellect: it seems clear enough, if one studies this passage at greater depth, that that potential intellect is where wish arises, for it sees a vision of the future. This is indicated by the word 'potential.' And it engenders a wish to go there. So the wish to form a relationship with God through a more passive receiving of God's glory is the potential intellect. And in this way we see that it refers to feeling. O Lord, We have come to the end of the year, and also, as is ever true, to the eternal beginning of your great glory and your endless goodness. Help us now, as we stand poised to move into the year to come, to put our hand into yours. For as it is said, it is better than a light and safer than the known way. Lord, help us to become more passive within ourselves that we may in this new year receive the great gifts of your goodness and your glory at all times and in all places and develop the deepest and most profound respect for those great forces and drink deep of them and bring them back into life on your behalf throughout the year in every moment that we can remember. Amen
