The Circa Teaching of the Parent

1. And the people came to me, holding their scriptures. One said, "Master, the law calls the One 'Father,' our Guide and Savior." Another said, "But the poets and the sutras call the One 'Mother,' the Fount of Compassion and Nurturer."

2. And they argued, making a distinction.

3. I said to them, "The Great Way is not difficult, but you make it so with your preferences. You have drawn two circles. You say 'Father' and cling to it. You say 'Mother' and cling to it. In this, you are as far from the One as heaven is from earth."

4. "You seek a fixed point, an exact name, a word to build your house upon. But I say to you, all these words are 'circa.' They are not the truth; they are the path around the truth. They are the soft focus, the humble acceptance that you are near the mystery, but you have not captured it.

5. To hold only to 'Father' is to lose the Nurturer. To hold only to 'Mother' is to lose the Guide. This is the disease of the mind.

6. Blessed are those who live in the 'circa,' for they are not trapped by the sharp edges of doctrine. They are a work in progress, living in the 'in-between.'

7. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures of words, where 'like' and 'dislike' corrupt and where arguments break in and steal.

8. The Inner Kingdom is not found in naming the One. The Kingdom is found when you become the compassion of the Mother and the wisdom of the Father.

9. Let go of the need to be exact. Let go of preference. Merge the two circles. Live gently, circa this sacred mystery. The Way is beyond language."