Josh

Josh (66 years old, USA).

The essence of Source Temple and its founding Teacher, Josh, remind me of the teachings of the Tao. In the Tao, the teachings and the teacher itself cannot be grasped by intellect, and no perfect combination of words exist to describe and explain the extent of their meaning. The teacher is everywhere and nowhere at the same time, in everything and in nothing. The paradoxes hint at our inability to perceive reality as it is, so that we may go beyond our perception and have a glimpse of limitless space and time.

The same is true for Josh, Source Temple and its residents. In giving himself and everything to the community, the light essence of “Josh” is alive in every heart, piece of art, leaf, firefly and star. Source Temple and him are the safe space and context in which an alternative to life as we know it can be birthed.

“My entire human adventure has been an enactment of that possibility [a context]”

Josh remembers vividly how the human condition was unbearable for him as a child. He would throw himself to the ground before the incomprehension, feeling that it wasn’t right to be bound in body identification. In his twenties he moved into the pattern laid before him by tradition, which fell apart quickly and by grace. When he found A Course in Miracles and his teacher, he finally saw it was the answer.

Fifteen years into the practice, a full-body awakening set the course for the creation of a context. One day, as he was watching the “Ice Age” movie, he heard “this is a good time to sit and meditate”. He responded to the call, and felt the activation of his body, recognizing it immediately and surrendering. Time stood still as he experienced the transcendence of his body, the world and the cosmic domain. At the end, he saw that “I am here because I love myself”. This event came with the acceptance of the assignment given by his teacher to go to Spain. There he started the Source Temple project with Grace and others, which was eventually taken to Brazil.

Josh gave the keys to everything that was given to him, handing his memories and teachings over to Source Temple. This allows the community to BE the teachings, as each person sees fit. Returning to the idea of the Tao, it’s about giving life to a possibility, an impulse which takes us to our core.

If you try to capture its essence, it escapes you. If you surrender to it, it finds you in your heart.

Texte: Yasmin

Photos: Nadir

Additional note by Josh:

"One small (but significant) clarification: the Realisation at the moment of the Event was:

I RETURN (to memory) because I love myself. The Idea that I was here or anywhere in particular hadn’t become necessary or useful yet, as I was expecting to be wholly Received DIRECTLY, without the need for a spacial context".