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Dear Shawn,
Thank you so much for these words. Now I could understand what was behind your words. You were perfect in your explanation to me. I could not only have the knowledge you were trying (successfully) to transmit but what is more effective to me, I could realize their real meaning (in my body) through an impression without words.
Please, continue sharing your knowledge with me. I do need it.
Thank you once more.
Gabriela
PS. It makes all the difference to read the English version or the German one. Could you please send me the references of this passage of the Symposium? Now I could find also French and a Portuguese version to compare them.
Dear Shawn,
First of all I need to thank you for your interest in helping. I think God put us together to help each other not to be lost in our paths. We do have an important role to each other’s path and life.
I need to meditate your words. As I couldn’t understand some passages I would like to ask if you can explain what you meant with:
1.. “This is the path that both Socrates and Eryximachus forge for us: how to uncover the true character of the god in question. Can you explain it better? There is great fame and wealth to be earned on Earth from service of the latter gods, but this is also not what you want. It seems that Kingsley has gone in this direction.”
2.. “Inspiration and guidance from the gods is a very difficult subject.
Plato and others help us to understand what is required to receive guidance and inspiration from Olympia. This is connected with spiritual sacrifice and high character. The gods of Hades are more than willing to inspire Who were the inspired people? and guide those who can be good tools for them and who are willing to pay their price. What do they want? This is one reason why the church ended up killing all the inspired people in the middle ages, because they had lost the ability to determine from where this inspiration came”. Are you justifying inquisition?I hope you understand my questions to you and forgive me if I am inconvenient anyway.
Thank you very much to be at my side.
Love Gabriela
Dear Shawn,
Now I have a lot of things to think about. From this perspective every thing changes. I hope I will be able and be “strong enough to stand up for the Love of Wisdom today”. I know it is a big responsibility but if I am supposed to do it I will have all the help I need.
Thank you for being beside me and helping me in my path (or our path).
Love Gabriela
Dear Shawn,
I am so grateful to God who put you in my path. I do not know how to thank you for these words. I have so much to learn from you.
I would like to receive your teachings more frequently. I do need to learn how to see philosophy “with your eyes”. I hope you understand me. I think I have the same sight but I need to learn things you had learned before me.
I am sure I will read the Symposium in a totally new way.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me.
Love Gabriela
Dear Shawn,
You are talking about light. I do not have words to say if it is light or what is it. I just feel His Presence and when I realize it I became afraid. Afraid is not a good word. In Portuguese we have a word to express the fear of God. I will try to explain. It is “temor” which is different from “medo” = fear. Do you know a word to express this fear of God? Even in Portuguese I do not agree when people say that we should have fear of God. I can say in Portuguese something like “God’s fear” and this is totally different from having fear of God. Can you understand what I am trying to say?
For me when we discover God’s fear, of course God has no fear at all, we are so near Him that His Presence inspire this kind of fear, God’s fear. I am trying to say that I am not afraid about the world, what I felt last weed was God’s fear. And I know it because I have experienced that love is born after we discover God’s fear.
I hope you understand what I am talking about. I know people usually can not understand what I am trying to say. They think love comes first. God loves us but we don not have His capacity to love, we can not love as He loves us. I am not trying to say that we can not love, of course we do it. But we do it before we realize God’s fear.
When I felt God’s fear for the first time this was the strongest experience I have ever had. And then I realized immediately that love comes after it. Sometime later I had another strong experience, the experience of God’s love. That was the experience I had last time on the monastery.
I hope you understand me… but this does not matter. Probably I have to tell you even if you can not understand it.
Thank you for your words today. They nourished me. I know “we are connected in His light and through you I am connected to a spiritual community of people throughout the world, who are trying to help fulfill the promise of Jesus by bringing His Words back to life”. Plotinus would say that we are One with the One.
Love Gabriela
Dear Shawn,
I hope you are not upset with me. Today I went to see Amadeu, my soul’s doctor, because I felt my body was also changing. I think that I am the only person who goes to the doctor when every thing is getting better.
I understood one important thing. That’s what I wanted to tell you but had no words. This is my silence. It comes from my heart’s profundity.
I would like to hear from you…
Love Gabriela
Dear Shawn,
Since our last converstion I want to say something to you but I do not know what is it. Then I will be silent until I realize it.
Have a good week!
Love Gabriela
Dear Shawn,
Today I could not talk to you as I wanted to. What I told was not really important. I have told only the facts but I couln’t talk about my feelings and this bother me. I hope you understand how difficult is for me to say that I am affraid about changes in my life.
I can say that it is not me. Do you understand? I have no choice and this is good. I have faith and I know God is guidind me. The problem ( or the solution) is that it is not not up to me anymore.
If you ask me what I want to do I do not know. What I have to do I am doing and I am happy, but I am also affraid about this new way of living. And this brings freedom… not freedom from outside, but freedom to receive what God sends to us and His will. It is so difficult for me to receive.
I hope you understand me…
Love Gabriela
Dear Shawn,
I am happy your grils are at home again.
You will never disturb me. You can call me whenever you want or you realize you shoul do it. I think it will be nice to talk with you over the weekend. So tomorrow or saturday I will tell when I shall be at home.
As I said things are changing quickly. I do not know exactly what is changing inside and outside me. I know I am only doing what I am supose to do. ( do you undestand what I mean?)
I think something has changed also with Thiago today. He was happy and confident.
Love Gabriela
Dear Shawn,
I am sorry I coul not answer your email before. I have many things to tell you… but not now because I will have an important meeting these morning and I hope everything will be Ok. Please, pray for me and specially for Thiago because today is his birthday. I can’t belive, now he is 21 years old.
Love Gabriela
Dear Shawn,
Last night reading Origenes I understood one thing I’d like to tell you and I hope you will understand it. I was wondering that the difficulty about participating on the discussion is not only about the ” english’ but specially because my approach to Plotinus and Origenes is different from yours. Of course it is possible to talk like you do and this is good and better then nothing. I think if I enter on this discussion I could not be so different that I am. I am trying to say that not even my aproach is different because first I have feel on myself what I am reading until I can say it is mine, but it is also different because I am woman and woman usually looks everything in a different way. Do you understand?
If you think I have something to add to your discussion I will do it according with my comprehension and my time. I usually watch not only a single part but the totality and what is behind the words. I know you do the same, that’s what I understood from your few words on your last e-mail.
I wanted to tell this even before you write me this morning. I will wait for your answer to decide what to say to our colegues. I think it will be interesting to talk with Andrew because I also work people who have neurological disease. Perhaps he will feel more confortable with me. I work with people and their bodies. I touch them every day with my hands and my words.
Thank you for helping me…
Love Gabriela
Dear Shawn,
I could be feed by our conversation last Sunday all the week. Origenes is also teaching me with his word. I have to tell you…
I decided to read Origenes before my evening’s prayers. It is so strong for me!!! You can’t imagine… I read it with my heart and this opens it in a way I have never felt before. I usually read only a small piece of it because I feel it in a strong way and then I have to stop and pray.
I tried to read your conversation. It is really interesting. I hope one day I will not only read it but contribute to the discussion. For the moment I can’t do it, not even because I am afraid about my English, but because I want to read a bit more of Origenes. Of course I have many things to say, do you think I can introduce my self explaining this limitation and tell them that I am still a silent participant? Perhaps you can help me…
I felt your presence and absence these days.
Love Gabriela
Dear Shawn,
I could be feed by our conversation last sunday all the week. Origenes is also teaching me with his word. I have to tell you…
I decided to read Origenes before my evening’s prayers. It is so strong for me!!! You can’t imagine… I read it with my heart and this opens it in a way I have never felt before. I usually read only a small piece of it because I feel it in a strong way and then I have to stop and pray.
I tried to read your conversation. It is really interesting. I hope one day I will not only read it but contribute to the discussion. For the moment I can’t do it, not even because I am afraid about my english, but because I want to read a bit more of Origenes. Of course I have many things to say, do you think I can introduce my self explaining this limitation and tell them that I am still a silent participant? Pehaps you can help me…
I felt your presence and absence these days.
Love Gabriela
Shawn,
Where are you????
Are you okay?
Perhaps you did not receive my last email…I am happy because I have received your present when I arrived home this evening. I really did not have time to read it yet, but tomorrow morning I will do it. I think it is my present for this new beginning… I hope we will be together in this path.
Tomorrow is the last day for USP (University of São Paulo) PhD’s inscription and I have just finished my project. I am tired now but happy because I could finish these works and I loved writing it and the result.
Thanks, I could feel your presence near me. I am sure I will feel your presence reading Origenes.
Love Gabriela
