Tag: spiritual evolution

The Great Spiral of Spiritual Evolution

On By Just StephIn Authentic Living Series, Metaphysical MussingsLeave a comment

“A circle is the reflection of eternity. It has no beginning and it has no end – and if you put several circles over each other, then you get a spiral”

~ Maynard James Keenan

You have heard, I am sure, of the circle of life.  Anyone who has watched the Disney Classic “The Lion King” has felt themselves tearing up (or at least in awe) while sitting through that opening number where the interconnectedness of all of nature is emphasized (and with a phenomenal musical score nonetheless).  But when it comes to the concept of spiritual evolution, it isn’t so much a circle as it is a spiral.

Circles are perfect.  Just ask the Zen masters who saw the circle as the embodiment of absolute enlightenment.  Called the ensō, this circle represented strength as well as elegance.  It was used to represent both the void and the universe in all its wild complexity and, more recently, has come to be seen as an expression of the moment and the perfect completeness of “now.”

This is all fine and good for representing the perfection of enlightenment.  But what about what comes before?  Better yet – what about that which comes after?

Enlightenment, you see, isn’t the end.

Wait, what?  Isn’t that what this is all about?  Isn’t enlightenment the whole purpose of spiritual evolution?  Isn’t the prospect of enlightenment all about the perfectness of the moment, of that instant when everything becomes clear to you and you finally realize the true nature of reality and the reason that you have been put on this earth?

Of course it is.  But that doesn’t mean that enlightenment is the end.  Becoming enlightened does not mean that you instantaneously become perfect; never have a bad thought or speak a bad word ever again.  In fact, enlightenment is, if you will, simply the beginning, for it isn’t enough to know the true nature of reality; to know the reason that you have been put on this earth and how everything fits into place.  Now that you know it, you have to live it. You have to live your truth and that, quite frankly, can take some doing.

In fact, living your truth and the progression that comes after enlightenment can actually be more confusing than what came before, and that is because you are no longer on a journey.  You are no longer following a path to actually get somewhere.  Now that you have got to where you are going you have to create an entirely new life; a new existence; a new reality for yourself, like the pioneers who traveled out west in their covered wagons.  They didn’t always know where they would end up, but once they got to where they were going, it was time to get started on the real work; on creating a life for themselves out of the wilderness they had discovered.  It is the same with enlightenment.

Once you have awakened; once you have become aware of the true nature of reality and of your real reason for existence, you stop searching and begin creating a life based on your new realizations, and that isn’t so much a circle as it is a spiral.

Imagine if you will a giant slinky.  A slinky is not much more than a flexible coiled spring whose individual spirals are all part of a much larger whole.  Now, when you condense the spring into its smallest form you see it for what it really is; a slinky.  But when you pull the spirals apart – stretch that flexible spring out to its maximum length, it almost appears that the slinky is made up of individual spirals.

In fact, if you were small enough (and if you turned the slinky on end) you could start at the bottom end of the slinky and slowly but surely walk your way up; spiral after spiral; to the very top.

Congratulations!  You’ve just made a visual picture of the evolution of the soul.

That’s right.  Once you’ve broken free from the infinite loop of habit; of years and lifetimes’ worth of repeating patterns and conditioned responses; once you’ve attained enlightenment as to the real nature of reality and of your place in the universe, then and only then can you start your real journey, the journey that will take you up the spirals of your soul’s spiritual evolution as you create for yourself a life based on those things that you have come to hold dear.

Each level of the spiral is a circle complete and contains within it that reflection of eternity attributed to the ensō.  And yet, as the Zen ensō leaves a small space at the end of the brush stroke completing the circle, so too does a spiral leave a space for the one walking the circle to move up to the next level, completing the circle while transcending it at the same time and integrating everything that was learned in transitioning the circle below into the creation of the life currently being lived.

Trapped in an Infinite Loop

On By Just StephIn Authentic Living Series1 Comment

The whole universe is based on rhythms. Everything happens in circles, in spirals.
~John Hartford~

You’ve heard I am sure, of the circle of life. Anyone who has watched Disney’s “The Lion King” has found their eyes misting over at the beauty of that opening number. And while the concept of life renewing itself is a beautiful and moving one, there is another kind of circle that is far less pleasant to contemplate and far more commonplace and definitely a lot more frustrating. You see, I’m betting that you are far better acquainted with that insidious circle that is also known as an infinite loop.

Seriously, doesn’t it feel that way to you sometimes? Don’t you feel as if you keep coming back to the same point in your life; that the universe keeps presenting you with the same situations over and over and over again?

If you are like most people you also find yourself reacting to these repeating patterns in the same way; time after time after time. And each time when you realize that once more you’ve “done it again” you feel like kicking yourself for not having seen what was happening. Well, you don’t have to keep knocking yourself out for repeatedly making the same silly (and sometimes not so silly) mistakes.

And really, though it may seem ridiculous, there actually is a reason that you keep making these same mistakes. There really is a reason why the same situations keep repeating themselves over and over again in your life. It is because there is something you have yet to learn and, obviously, if you keep reacting to the situation in the same way that you have before, you’re never going to get past this point.

There are some people who go an entire lifetime repeating patterns over and over again; falling in love with the same kind of guy (or girl), getting fired from (or quitting) the same kinds of jobs or even sabotaging themselves with the same kind of negative behaviors. The more often they repeat the same series of actions, the deeper the programmed response becomes. Lucky for everyone, there is a way to break out of these repeated patterns.

Believe it or not, repeating patterns and reactions is one area where practicing everyday mindfulness and mastering emotional mindfulness can be put to some seriously practical use.

By becoming aware of your own emotions; of those people and situations that push your buttons and cause you to react, you can step back from the pre-programmed automatic responses that spring into action without you even having to think about them. You can step back from these unwanted emotions and think before you choose to act; take a moment to listen to what your heart has to say instead of simply acting on instinct.

By practicing everyday mindfulness and becoming aware of your surroundings you can also prevent yourself from coming into contact with those things that trigger your negative responses or, if you can’t prevent the actual interaction, at least be aware that you are walking into a situation where you have screwed up in the past.

It is by using your newfound skills in mindfulness that you can break the habit of these repeating patterns and learn the lesson that they have been trying to teach you. Then and only then can you step out of the never-ending circle and take you place on that great spiral that is the road of spiritual evolution.

2012; The End of the World as You Know It

On By Just StephIn Authentic Living SeriesLeave a comment

Welcome to 2012!

Did you stay up to welcome in the New Year?  Did you celebrate with champagne and kisses?  Did you throw confetti and drink toasts to everyone’s good health?  Did you stay up creating your New Year’s Resolutions?  My guess is that no matter who you are and no matter how you choose to celebrate the New Year, it probably crossed your mind to wonder if there is something to all the hoopla about 2012; you know, about 2012 being the end of the Mayan great count calendar and the rumors that the world could possibly come to an end on the winter solstice.

I’m not here to speculate as to the accuracy of the claims made by others or to address the metaphysical symbolism behind the calendar itself.  I’m here to ask a question.

While there is plenty of speculation as to whether or not this year will mark the end of the world (or at least the end of the world as we know it) I have a question for you; if it DOES mark the end of the world, what are you afraid of?

I don’t care if you believe in a Christian God or in reincarnation or in the Great Flying Spaghetti Monster, there should be no fear involved in contemplating the end of physical existence.  In fact, the ONLY reasons that you should be afraid of the end of the world (if this IS the end of the world) would be either if you don’t believe in anything outside of the here and now, or if you are not living up to the expectations of your belief system and are afraid of being punished by your god or belief system.

If it is the first – then there is nothing I can do for you, I’m sorry.  By choosing to believe that there is nothing  bigger than yourself– nothing more than this life – you have chosen to live a life of quiet desperation; a life where you have to get all your living in now because there is nothing more than this life so you may as well enjoy yourself in the time that you have, and I understand your frustration, for what is the point of enjoying yourself; getting all of those experiences in if, when you die, they are all gone and there is nothing left?

If it is the second, then there is a question that you need to ask yourself, and it is this; what is keeping you from living up to the expectations of your belief system?  If you are afraid that the world will end and that you are not “ready” then there must be something that is keeping you from following through; something preventing you from giving yourself over fully to what is required of you, and if your belief system is important to you, this would definitely be a good time to work through your blocks in that particular area.

Then there are those who believe in a third way of being; one that does not involve the hopelessness and pointlessness of a chance existence or of living up to the expectations imposed on you by an outside deity or belief system.  Those who adhere to this particular perspective see their life not as a chance product of evolution, nor as something controlled by and under the influence of an outside deity, but who see themselves as manifestations the divine itself; life as the reflection of the creator; who see themselves, indeed who see every living thing as containing a soul, and the soul as being a direct spark of that eternal oneness that IS divinity; who see each and every living thing as having a direct connection to the divine Source.

For those that adhere to this way of being, the end of the world holds no fear, for they understand that this physical existence is NOT all that there is, that they are a part of something far bigger.  As aspects of the divine, they accept responsibility for their actions instead of trying to claim that they are victims of circumstance or cosmic design.  They also accept responsibility for creating the life that they are living and realize that if something about it is not living up to their expectations that they are perfectly free to re-create it by choosing to focus on those things that they want to bring into their life.

It may not be a comforting life, for there is no one and nothing who you can blame for any of the bad decisions that you have made and no miracle quick fix that will make everything perfect for you; you have to accept the responsibility for those but there is always the option of being able to change your life by changing the focus of your thoughts.

There is also the knowledge that as an aspect – a manifestation of the divine – that you are here for a specific purpose; to live in a specific way in order to accomplish that which you came here to do, and that by choosing to live an authentic life; a genuine life – one that is not false, not copied, not the life that someone else wants from you or expects from you, but a life where your physical life and your soul purpose are in alignment; a life in which you can reach a state of enlightened purposefulness; a state of being where you are LIVING your purpose 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

What does it mean to live an authentic life?  That, my friends, is something that we will work on discovering over the next few days so that as we begin the New Year by destroying the world that we have accepted or created for ourselves; the world that is based on others fears, beliefs or expectations.  That we can begin 2012 by living an authentic life; our original life; the life that we were meant to live.

And So It Begins

On By Just StephIn Metaphysical MussingsLeave a comment

I have a story to tell you; a story that needs to be told. I will not tell you if it is truth or fiction – that is something which you will have to decide for yourself.

So listen closely.

Listen well.

If my story rings true for you, then truth it is. If it does not, then there is no harm done. You have wasted a few minutes of your time, nothing more.

If, however, you find what I have to say disturbing, you may want to ask yourself why – and to answer yourself truthfully.

And so it begins…

 

Once Upon A Very Long Time Ago – so long ago that even the rocks that make up the earth’s foundations don’t remember it – there were energies that were set loose in the universe.

These were not random, chaotic energies however, no. These were energies with purpose, and each of them made their way to a specific set of coordinates, coordinates which, oddly enough, intersected with planets – planets on which life was destined to evolve.

One of these energies was assigned to Earth – and its purpose was singular and simple: To bring about and advance the evolution of life on earth.

And so it was that the energy did as it had been directed – it brought about the beginning of life, and, having done so, it faded into the background, waiting patiently as change after change occurred, as eon after eon rolled slowly by, bringing with it plant life and aquatic life, amphibian and avian life.

And each time that it seemed that life had reached a stalemate – an evolutionary dead-end – the energy would re-awaken, each time taking a new and different form through which to act, through which to serve its purpose: serving as a catalyst to re-activate the evolutionary process.

It has come as fire and it has come as ice. It has come as the breath of life and the agent of destruction, each time rearranging energies and circumstances in such a way as to fulfill its original mission. And even though it can sometimes appear to be causing great suffering and upheaval, it knows what it is doing – fulfilling its original mission – and it will not be deterred.

It is an energy with a mission….and that mission is even now not yet complete.
And so it was that for millennia this oldest of earth energies, this energy containing the Breath of Life, the mind of change and threat of Chaos, laid dormant for a very VERY long time.

But once again its time has come. Once again it is time for the next step in the evolutionary path to be taken, and this time it has targeted humanity as a whole as the means to unlocking the next cycle in the evolutionary process.

And this time it has chosen a much more subtle means of evolutionary advancement, for this time fire and ice, flood, climate change, none of these will work, none CAN work, for while this is an evolutionary change of momentous proportions, its work – its change – cannot be accomplished purely on the physical level. For this is a change of the mind, an evolution of the spirit.

This time it is choosing to propel humanity past its own mental blocks and into an era of spiritual evolution that will unlock the potential of mind, body and spirit: potential that humanity has been sitting on for millennia.

And in order to accomplish this….this most ancient of energies had to do something very unusual indeed.

It had to be born.

But it was not born, as you might expect, into a physical body. Rather, since it is the mind and spirit that will be doing the changing, it had to be born into the human psyche.

This is not a future event. This is not something that WILL take place days or months or years down the road. IT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED. It happened while you were sleeping; while you were working; while you were laughing; while you were making love.

It is in your mind, right now, and there is nothing you can do about it.
One day you will wake up and find yourself looking out through its eyes, but they won’t be the eyes of a stranger. Somehow you will know that you have finally woken up to the person; to the potential that has been inside of you all along.

Looking at the world through eyes made fresh by understanding; life will once more be a marvelous place where every day is a gift and dreams are not impossible but loom on the horizon like the shores of distant but not unobtainable countries.

These eyes will see a world where wonder and mystery still abound and peace is the order of the day.
And these eyes; these eyes will cry for joy that once more, in the heart, love reigns supreme.

Spirituality by Picasso

On By Just StephIn Metaphysical Mussings2 Comments

I find it amusing when someone claims to have THE truth. Don’t get me wrong, I admire their ability to stick to their guns and defend their viewpoint, but to insist that there is only one way to look at things – only one truth – makes me shake my head.

It’s like looking at a photograph of a person – or a painting – and making assumptions about where they were and what they were doing from the angle the photo was taken or the painting was painted. How on earth would you know – from a head shot – what type of shoes the person was wearing (unless you were there) or what was happening to make the Mona Lisa smile?

The painting style known as Cubism began in the early 1900’s with the work of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. This style was based on the idea of incorporating multiple points of view in a painted image, as if to simulate the visual experience of being physically in the presence of the subject, and seeing it from different angles – all the different angles – all at the same time.

I’ll grant you that it makes for some confusing paintings (until you can wrap your brain around what you are looking at), but I think that the same concept can, in effect, be applied to spirituality.

Each religion and spiritual movement has a point of origin; a founder or founders who viewed the world around them, and their own and their followers place in it and saw it all in relation to god from a certain angle – from a certain perspective. They felt the truth of what they taught – felt it to their bones – but they all made one very big mistake, and that was to assume that their view, their perspective, was the correct one. Or more to the point, that their view was the ONLY one.

In fact, if you take a step back, and view the different spiritual movements, the different religions, you can see how each of them had a perspective of truth – as if each was/is looking at the same object, only from a slightly different angle.

It would seem – upon reflection – that the logical outcome of this would be to piece together the puzzle using the different perspectives to get a lock on the truth that each of them was perceiving from its own perspective in time and culture; to choose those parts of each “truth” that were accurate in order to construct your own view of the “truth.”

Of course there are those who would say that this dilutes the truth – that to pick and choose what one feels or believes are right from different movements lessens the impact of the message.

And indeed, that is the problem.

So why not try this; instead of picking and choosing what one “likes” or feels comfortable with from the different movements and religions, why not leave them all exactly as they are?

This does not mean to not study them; to not come to understand them, how they came to be and how they were viewing the world around them.  Instead it means to not try to pull a truth from here and a truth from there, but to leave the movements and religions alone; to leave them as they are and instead to take a step back from them so that they all fit onto the same canvass so that they will provide a three-dimensional view (when taken all together) of the truth(s) which they were/are trying to convey.

Only then; when you have seen the totality of them all, instead of choosing one (or several concepts from each and making something new for yourself), why not embrace them all; the totality of truth as seen from your new, fourth dimensional vantage point?  I can almost guarantee that it will be a far more comprehensive view than any you have had before, including aspects of humanity, and of your own self, that you may not even have bothered to consider before.

It may be a bit difficult to take in, and at first it may seem like having one’s spirituality defined by a Picasso – but if you can manage it, it may end up lending a depth and understanding to your overall perspective that might otherwise be missing.

The Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge

On By Just StephIn Metaphysical MussingsLeave a comment

Full Moon Meditation; The Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge

You come to me; filtered through the branches of my apple tree; a silvery orb of forbidden fruit that fills my soul with wonder and leaves her clarity on my tongue. Fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil could not be sweeter or more energizing and, some would say; more dangerous.

Just look at some of the names that you have been given; Mictecacuiatl; Man-Eater; The Queen of the Living and the Dead; as if you would bring danger into the lives of those you touch. Danger? Really? I don’t see danger. I see introspection maybe; introspection that leads to self-awareness and self-understanding perhaps, but danger?

Ah yes – I see. I suppose that sort of knowledge and understanding could be considered dangerous; especially if it threatens to upset one’s status quo; to pull the rug of complacency out from under one’s feet; to make one realize that all of our best laid plans and hopes and dreams are nothing if we do not submit to the pull of that tide that would have us be who and what we really are.

To some, I suppose, that insidious pull could be a threat; a malicious plot to strip us of everything that we hold dear and leave us naked and bleeding at the feet of the Dark Queen; subject to your mercy and the beck and call of your commands as you makes demands on us that we are unable or unwilling to comply with; demands that go unfulfilled and so leave our soul stained with the fear of retribution.

To others you may very well be a goddess figure; divine protector who offers up her care, asking only that we meet those conditions that she asks as an acknowledgement of our gratitude for all that she has done. But is this any better than the Dark Queen? Does Agea or Andromeda or Artemis or Hekate ask less than the Dark Queen, or do they only ask differently?

The lengths to which humanity will go in order to avoid what is right in front of their eyes is truly amazing, for if you strip away the layers of myth and controlling fears and expectations; if you slip past the Dark Queen and the Divine Goddess, you find that they were only a shell; only a projected image; for at the center of the fruit you will find only your heart; bare and unadorned and vulnerable.

And when you see what resides there; at the center of the fruit of knowledge, you will understand that there were no demands; no expectations to be met in order to fulfill your end of the bargain. You will see that those things that are asked of you were asked BY you; by your heart, and your heart would never ask us to give anything that we are not willing and able and ready to give. She would ask nothing else. She CAN ask nothing else.

Any perception of demand and expectations and demands of acknowledgement are simply illusions; illusions generated by the all-too-human ego-self in order to keep us from opening ourselves up to the seeds of the fruit; to the possibilities that come with introspection and self-awareness and self-understanding; qualities which, when swallowed, take root in our soul and fill our lives with the kind of peace and awe and wonder that most can only dream of.

For Such a Time as This

On By Just StephIn Metaphysical MussingsLeave a comment

All around us the world is changing; its energy is changing; moving; shifting; preparing for an upheaval of unimaginable proportions.

You are aware of these changes. You can feel them. Everyone is aware of them at some level. Everyone can feel them whether they realize it or not.

Even for those who deny it, the energy will out. It makes itself known; felt; understood, and it will use whatever means; whatever emotions and feelings it has available. It may make itself known as a nagging annoyance; as an insatiable restlessness; as a need to find something (though you may not know what it is you are looking for); as a persistent and underlying anger; as moments of uncontrolled rage against the injustice of it all (though you may not be entirely sure what you are raging against); as a low grade apprehension that keeps your insides churning with the knowledge that something is about to happen; or even as outright fear.

Human nature being what it is most people will try to find reason for these emotions; someone or something that they can point to and say “Look – they are to blame!” or “Here is the reason that everything is falling apart!” Then they proceed to find a way to reason it out; to justify it for themselves. They can’t help the way that they feel because they are being controlled/manipulated/influenced by outside persons or forces.

But all it amounts to is YOUR reaction to the changes in energy that you feel; the result of your fighting the changes in the energy that you feel; and it is not even energy that you have any control over. It simply IS.

This change in Earth’s energy simply IS.

It is time.

That is all.

And we happen to be living here in one of the most monumental times of Earth’s history; standing on the brink of an evolutionary shift so profound that it cannot be described; only felt and experienced.

It cannot be avoided.

It cannot be ‘fixed.’

This is exactly what is supposed to be happening and you can’t ‘fix’ it because this IS the fix. These changes in energy are what is going to set things right. The upheavals in everything from societal standards to plate tectonics are part of the cure; as is your being here.

You being here; you being here now – at this particular moment in time – is part of the cure.

You chose to be here during one of the greatest evolutionary shifts in earth’s history. Yes. You chose it. You may not remember doing the choosing, but you did or you would not be here.

Some of you chose to be here because you were curious and wanted a ringside seat; others because they wanted to experience it for themselves – wanted to get in on the action – take the ride if you will; and some few because they wanted to contribute in some way, shape or form to this restructuring. Then of course there are those who are contributing to the changes in ways that have been building over many lifetimes with the knowledge that it would come to this in the end.

But it isn’t the end, and that is the whole point.

No matter how scared you may be; no matter how angry you may feel at your life being turned upside down or inside out; no matter that you have forgotten as to why you are here, and how this is part of what is supposed to happen right here and now; it doesn’t matter.

It’s time to take a step back from the anger.

It’s time to take a step back from the fear.

It’s time to take a step back from the emotional upheavals and remember that this is part of something much bigger; YOU are part of something much bigger.
Take a step back, and then take a deep breath.

Stop fighting the changes – even if you feel that they are changing you. Let them. This is part of the process.

Stop fighting the emotions that these changes are generating and LET THEM GO.
Let go of the anger. Let go of the fear. Let go of the hatred and the rage and the irritation and the restlessness. Let it all go.

Feel the changes as they occur; observe them; let them move through you, but don’t become attached to them; don’t let your emotions get stirred up by them. Let them do what they are here to do, even if what they are doing is inside of you.

These changes are going to happen, no matter if we fight them or not, and resisting them will only cause us pain. We knew this was going to happen. In fact, we’ve been planning on it.

So relax and let it be.

You came here for such a time as this.

A Blue-Gray Wind

On By Just StephIn Metaphysical MussingsLeave a comment

 

There are colors on the wind tonight, and flavors in the rain. So I roll down my window as I drive, and let the colors float through, taste the flavors of the raindrops on my tongue.

I found a last shred of hope under the visor, but lost it when a blue-gray wind whipped through the car and carried it out into the woods where crickets are calling out for reinforcements against what has to be invading bull-frog hoards. I slam on the breaks, but it’s gone. All gone, whipped off and no longer visible, and I find tears on my cheeks, for it was all I had left, and now my heart is left empty.

But even as I sigh and head back down the slick black road, dodging puddles and downed tree-branches, I have to wonder what they thought of a blue-gray wind bearing hope. Did one side or the other see it as an omen, a sign of divine intervention on their behalf?

Or maybe it didn’t pause in those damp green woods, perhaps it drifted right over the heads of the battling crickets and bull-frogs and instead drifted off into the fields where slightly soggy lightning bugs are huddling under ivy leaves in the hopes that it will dry out enough for them to give their backsides a good workout – it’s been a very long time after all, and what would they make of a blue-gray wind carrying hope?

Or did the wind ignore the lightning bugs and instead curl itself around the legs of a late-night jogger, devoted soul, only a devoted soul would be out jogging on a night when blue-gray winds are whipping things out of people’s cars and splattering white mesh running shoes with muddy spray. Did my hope trip up the jogger? Make them fall face first into a mud puddle? Are they even now spitting out a mouthful of mud and brushing the leaf bits out of their hair?

They probably didn’t even notice the hope. They would have cursed it. What need has a jogger of hope? Focused devotion, that is the only emotion that they have room for, they probably carry it strapped to their arm like an iPod, turned up to highest volume, nothing else in the world for them at that moment in
time.

Perhaps my hope never made landfall at all, and is even now drifting off into the stratosphere, its blue-gray transport slowly turning to silver-white as it crystallizes into ice, its silver touch chilling the hope to nearly the freezing point.

But that’s the nice thing about hope you see, it can never be entirely destroyed, so even a silver-white wind wouldn’t have any effect on it – or not entirely, it might make it sluggish and cold, but eventually the silver-white wind would lose its grip, and on its way down – spiraling down to earth, it might just get caught up in an updraft, and a sliver of rising morning sun, and a splatter of raindrops, and, just for a moment, my hope, that hope I had tucked so securely beneath my visor, that hope for which I had such great plans, would be visible to the world, reflected off a million raindrops, refracted by a million photons of sunlight, and trickling down to the world – into my waiting hands, in an outpour of shimmering multi-hued rainbow light.

And I smile, because that’s my hope. I feel it in my heart of hearts, recognized it the moment I saw it. And it’s made even greater now, by having been lost, it’s finding can touch the hearts of thousands – of millions – and perhaps they will not be silly enough to fold it in half and tuck it under their visors, but instead keep it always in their hearts and souls for all the world to see.

Our Greatest Teachers

On By Just StephIn Metaphysical MussingsLeave a comment

We all have someone in our lives that drives us absolutely crazy, someone who, every time they speak, makes you cringe, someone who hurts you with what they have to say – or the way they treat you – or the way they react to you, even though they may not be intentionally doing so.

Most people consider these sorts of persons “trials” or “burdens” or perceive them as some sort of test, something to overcome.

Well, what if that person – the most difficult person in your life – is actually your highest teacher? What if that person is the person that was put in your life TO HELP YOU?

What if you thought of that person not as someone you can’t stand; someone who you barely tolerate, but as a great spiritual master? What if it were true that the person that represents the most difficult part of your life is someone from who you have vowed to learn something, regardless of the way in which they teach it?

Think about it…great spiritual teachers can be very difficult. They do not spend a lot of time stroking their students’ egos. They are much more concerned with helping their students let go of the parts of themselves that prevent them from seeing their own divinity, and although the methods that they use to get the message across may seem like selfish actions designed to purposefully annoy.

Great spiritual teachers are often unpredictable, unreasonable and irrational. They regularly engage in behaviors that defy logic and that make you come up with solutions that you otherwise might not have considered. The guru is notorious for putting their student in a “no-win” situation so that they can learn that the only way they can find happiness is to release their attachment to opinions and preferences.

Does this sound familiar?  It should, for each of us are given great spiritual teachers to guide us on our way; to bring into focus those aspects of our own lives that need the most attention; the most fixing.

Re-perceiving this person (whether they are family, a friend, a partner, an employer, co-worker or even a stranger) as a potential teacher opens up an entire new perspective on life. It can truly make us take a fresh look at the person – not as a person – but a message from god; a directive from the universe; a teacher sent to us specifically to teach us what we most need to learn.

So when does it end?  When is the lesson ‘learned’?  When can we move on to the more interesting stuff; the people and interactions that we actually enjoy and want to be a part of?  Does this mean that we simply have to tolerate those people that we find the most difficult?  That we are stuck wit them?   Is our lesson learned when we can deal with the crap that they dish out and not react to it?

Oh no my friend; it is far more than simply tolerating or not reacting.  If we are open to instruction; to direction from a higher source; from our higher selves; we will find that when it comes to these greatest of teachers, we have to surrender.

Ha!  I felt you cringe.  You don’t like that word, do you?  Surrender has bad vibes for most westerners; it reeks of giving up independence, individuality and control; of submitting your will to the will of another, of losing a part of yourself.  Of no longer being YOU.  But in this situation, you couldn’t be more wrong.

Surrendering to your greatest teacher does not mean that you give up and let them have their way with you; that you become a doormat for every insult they throw at you and submit to their lack of trust or their hurtful words.  No, in this case submission means that you in your mind you acknowledge them as your teacher and embrace the lesson that they are giving you and in so doing open yourself up to instruction and correction.

So the next time that you find yourself hurt by another’s words or actions do not react to them.  Surrender to them.  Allow yourself to feel the pain that is caused by their words or actions.  Feel it fully.  Where does what they are doing or saying hurt you? Can you feel it as a physical pain? Does it hurt in your heart, your mind, your gut?  What emotions does it generate?  Does it make you feel angry, sad, betrayed, annoyed, disgusted?

Pinpoint the pain; the emotions.  Take note of them and allow yourself to feel them, even if it is uncomfortable, for only in experiencing the true nature of these feelings; this pain; can you gain understanding of what the pain and emotions are in reaction to, and only in understanding can you begin to find the answers that the teacher sets you.

Something you will inevitably ask yourself as you work your way through this is “what happens when I’ve learned my lesson?  What happens when I have worked through the issue that this particular teacher was sent to teach me?”

The answer is actually quite simple.  Once you have learned the lesson; once you have worked through the issue, the person’s part in your life will be over.  Either they or you will move on and their influence over you and your reactions and attraction to them will dissipate.

Yes, I know, that gave you pause didn’t it?  It is a hard concept to wrap your brain around, especially since some of our biggest teachers in our lives are those we are closest too; parents, children, spouses, partners, friends; and the idea of simply not having them in our lives anymore may seem unbearable and painful in its own right, but in truth it is not so bad as all that.

Consider the parent/child relationship.  We have our children, we raise them, nurture them, provide them with everything that they need to learn and grow and become, and then we ALLOW them to learn and grow and become.  If they learn and grow and become what we had in mind for them, life is wonderful.  If not, we may be disappointed, and it may make us a bit sad if they choose a different way; if they don’t live up to their potential, but we know that we have done our best and that now it is time to let them live their own lives.

A healthy parent/child relationship will allow for this with the parent still caring for the child; still a part of the child’s life, but allowing the child to go their own way; to find their own meaning and purpose even if it is not what we would have chosen for them.  There comes a point in time where, no matter how much we love them, we have to let them go.

The same concept applies to every great teacher in our lives, regardless of whether we consider them to be a teacher or not.  No matter how close we are to them; no matter what we have shared.  If the lesson they had to teach us has been learned and the time has come for them to move on and learn lessons of their own; to find teachers of their own, then we must allow them to do so.  This does not mean that they will never be a part of our lives again, that is impossible.  They are a part of us and always will be.  It simply means that their part in our story is through.

This can be seen as a very ungrounded way to live; never considering anyone or anything to be a permanent part of our lives; of our existence; but the truth is that until we find the person or persons with whom we are destined to have true soul partnerships (with each partner giving and receiving equally and consciously in a particular relationship) the relationships that we enter into – for whatever reason and with whatever intentions – will wither and die by the wayside as the purpose for them is fulfilled, and to cling to them will only make everyone miserable.

The good news is that when we have learned our lessons; when we have come to an understanding of what this particular teacher had to teach us; our true soul partners will make an appearance.  Whether they are individuals with whom we will be friends; work partners, or even lovers (or all of the above) we cannot be with them, fully and completely, and will not be ready for the sort of mental and emotional intimacy that is required in order to maintain these extra special relationships, until we have worked our way through those issues that our great spiritual teachers have teach us.

The Chrysalis Effect

On By Just StephIn Metaphysical Mussings1 Comment

There comes a point in the life of certain caterpillars, when they have eaten enough; when enough nutrients have been stored, then the caterpillar reaches begins to spin a silk pad on a leaf or twig and proceeds to hang itself upside down from this pad.  Slowly it begins to molt its outer skin, leaving itself encased in its green chrysalis.

The creation of the chrysalis itself is an incredible process, for this is not just some special substence that the caterpillar excreets for the job; what it is is the caterpillar’s own skin transformed into this hard green shell.  The caterpillar willingly unraveles itself so that it can allow the change to occur.

Inside the chrysalis an amazing transformation takes place. The caterpillar’s body does not just undergo a complete and total physical transformation; its body completely breaks down into a “soup” of cells which, over the next few weeks reconstruct themselves into a butterfly.

The caterpillar doesn’t resist the pull of change; the instinct to stop eating and begin the next stage of its journey. It doesn’t lament what it will lose by ceasing to become a caterpillar, nor does it try to justify why it should continue its existence as a caterpillar when its heart is telling it that it’s time to let go. One other thing a caterpillar does not do is to worry about helping other caterpillars to recognize and listen to their own instinctual pull.  Instead it simply acts on its instinct and trusts that this is the best thing that could happen at this particular moment in time.

No, the caterpillar does not resist.  It simply stops what it’s doing; no matter what it’s doing.  It stops with no fanfare mid crawl; mid bite; and begins to spin its silk pad, letting everything it was dissolve into nothingness, trusting that the universe will take care of the details, and proceeding to move on to the next state of existence. It surrenders to its heart and in so doing begins the most important transformation of its life.

So too does there come a point in the life of every individual when they are prompted by signs from the universe; indeed by the urgings of their own heart to simply stop being who and what they are; to surrender themselves to the transformational power of their inner-being.  When they do heed the signs they begin to undergo an incredible transformation; a spiritual evolution that will turn their world upside down.

This transformation is not always pleasant.  In fact, sometimes it can be downright painful, for the changes involve breaking you down; stripping you of every thought, every belief, even those relationships that you associate with being you.  It will strip you of everything; reducing your ‘self’ to a protean soup of possibilities, and then will reconstruct you into the ‘you’ that you were always meant to be.

But here is the amazing thing, instead of losing your ‘self’ during the transformation, you emerge on the other side more ‘you’ than you could ever have imagined being, and with an understanding and a perspective that would have been impossible in your old way of being.  Suddenly you can see what it was that you were missing; why it was that your old life never seemed completely satisfaction.  And once your wings have dried in the sun of understanding, you will shake them out; spread them wide; and begin to fly.

 

©Stephanie S. Henry 2012