I myself looked for some larger branches and put them on top of the kindling. So it was in life. In order for the more substantial  pieces of wood to catch fire, the kindling must burn first. In order for us to liberate the energy of our strength, our weakness must first have a chance to reveal itself.

~The Witch of Portobello, Paulo Coelho

“I cannot live with myself any longer!”

Have you ever said this to yourself in the privacy of your own lunacy? If you have, perhaps you’ve made yourself miserable enough to want to wake up now and acknowledge that you’ve just made a fundamental discovery! You’ve identified two of you – there is the “I”, and then there is the self with which “I” cannot live. If you assume that this is true, then is it possible that only one of these “I’s” is real and the other is artificial? An interesting thought…

So, why bring this up? Well, what I’d like to do during this three part this ‘Living in the Now’ series is to discuss the difference between our ‘real self’ (you as a part of the Oneness) and our ‘false self’ (our physical body as identification with the ego).

How can we challenge ourselves to step beyond this limited view of ourselves and step into the greater expanse of who we really are? How can we free ourselves from the intense grip of our egos, which is currently controlling our thoughts, our emotions and our mental image of what we project into the world we perceive? How can we step out of our ‘minds’ – these minds to which we surrender so much control? How can we learn to live in the present moment and let go of past baggage and fears of the future?

These sound like impossible tasks to some, but hopefully with greater understanding of how to apply the principle of living in the Now to our lives, we can attain a deeper grasp of how we can transform ourselves into ‘Beings of Now’.

Enlightenment, transformation and living in the present moment can only truly begin when we honestly look at ourselves and ask questions like, “Who am I?”, “Am I listening to my soul?”, “Is there a ‘real’ self and a ‘false’ self? And if I believe that there is, can I make a distinction between the two and believe in myself enough to take the necessary steps for transformation?”

During this period of major realignment on our planet, there are many coined phrases and terms that are flowing as freely as our out-of-control minds. Words like evolution, vibrations, false self, ego, consciousness, superconsciousness, unconscious, inner body, unmanifested, authentic self, soul, spirit – the list goes on and on. It’s easy to get overwhelmed trying to determine the meaning of each word and how it fits into our own interpretation of how things work. But remember, these are just words – words that can both confuse and words that can excite, words that make us feel empowered and words that make us feel unworthy. But remember that the most basic job of words is to help us TRY to communicate.

As an example, there are words whose meaning we don’t question, such as the word ‘dog’. When we hear that word, we can assume that most people immediately envision a furry, friendly, cuddly pet who wants to lick us and be our friend forever. Pretty simple: mental image = definition of the word. But…what about other words a bit more tricky to envision? How about a word like ‘enlightenment’? What immediately comes to mind? Is this a harder picture to conjure up? I would guess if we asked each person reading this what he or she saw in the mind’s eye, each person would have a different mental picture and thus a different explanation of what ‘enlightenment’ means.

Our minds are very important to this process, but we must know how and when to use them and when to step out of our minds! Our intellect is also very important in our human expansion, yet our intellect can also get in the way of transformation. We have to learn how to understand the difference between our mind and our intellect in order to really make significant changes in our lives. The journey is challenging, yet it is tremendously important in our own personal path back to Source.

Can we release our falsely-created self, the ego, behind? Can we truly breathe the lighter air of the spiritual on a regular basis? Through the wisdom of various spiritual teachers, a variety of different lessons and also, with the study of the powerful book of Eckhart Tolle called ‘The Power of Now’, let us bring to light the importance of living in the present so that we can face this existence in a state of true inner peace. Eckhart Tolle shares so beautifully his deep understanding of the power of our own minds. In this book he speaks of ways in which to understand how the mind works, of obstacles that we are confronted with daily that have the power to challenge our ability to stay on the path, of the importance of undersatnding relationships that we share in our lives, and of how to discover, through communion within ourselves as well as with others, how to truly live in the present moment.

As we work through this process, it’s important to define a few terms that we will be discussing as they relate to the material given here. Each person, each religion, each teaching that we have all been exposed to over the years can have a different definition or understanding of a specific term – that is both the beauty and the confusion of trying to use words for spiritual understanding. I by no means am giving the ‘right’ definition of the following terms but I am attempting, within our limited vocabulary, to share one possibility, one variation of an xplanation of some of these important terms so that clarity may have a chance to assist us in the understanding of what it means to live in the Now.

The first word I would like to discuss is the word ‘being’. I am sure there are various definitions of this word but in this context here, the following definition is offered:

BEING: ‘Being’ is the eternal, ever-present One Life beyond the many forms of life that are subject to birth and death. ‘Being’ is not only beyond but also deep within every form as its innermost invisible and indestructible essence.

This means that it is accessible to us now as our own deepest self, our true nature. ‘Being’ is used by many people because it is an open concept – it does not reduce the infinitely invisible to a finite entity since it is difficult to form a mental image of ‘Being’.

Many people identify the word ‘being’ with a physical expression and label it ‘God’, where they can envision a very large man-like character who knows all things, sees all things and judges how we live our lives. Other people think of ‘Being’ as life-force energy or Sprit of pure love and light that vibrates at a very high rate of frequency. No interpretation of ‘Being’ is right or wrong. For every living creature, it is their very presence, and it is immediately accessible to us as the feeling of this presence. It is only a small step from the word ‘Being’ to the experience of Being! How incredible is that!?

Next, what is enlightenment? Simply:

ENLIGHTENMENT: means to regain our awareness of ‘Being’ and to abide by that state of ‘feeling-realization’. It is simply our natural state of ‘felt oneness with Being’ that keeps us in the state of connectedness with something immeasurable and indestructible – something that IS essentially us and yet is much greater than us. It is the discovering of our true nature, beyond name and form and identification with our physical body. The word ‘enlightenment’ conjures up the idea of some superhuman accomplishment, and the ego likes to keep it that way!

The inability to feel this connectedness gives rise to the illusion of seperation, from ourself and from the world around us. We then can perceive ourselves, whether consciously or unconsciously, as an isolated fragment, separate from everything else. When this happens, fear arises and conflicts deep within ourselves can become fueled.

The greatest obstacle to experiencing the reality of our connectedness to All There IS is the identification with our mind, which then can cause thought to become compulsive. Not to be able to stop thinking is a dreadul afflication, but we don’t realize this because almost everybody is suffering from it so it is considered normal. This incessant mental noise prevents us from finding that realm of inner stillness that is inseparable from Being. This can help to explain why so many people have difficulty meditating. Their inability to establish stillness within and of having a mind empty of thoughts seems an insurmountable task. After several failed attempts, our minds declare victory and meditation becomes an imposibility. However, if we can learn to understand the power of our minds and begin to have power over them, the results are peace, happiness and stillness within.

How many of us have experienced a ‘calling’? What is this voice, or pull, or force that has set us on a journey into unknown territory? Where has this urging come from? From within us? From outside of ourselves?

The next set of questions that come to mind are…

‘When did all this begin?’

‘What was I searching for on the day that I realized that I possessed a calling from something so much greater than myself?’

‘Did I know that once I embarked on this search, I would not be able to turn back?’

Then, of course, the next set of questions begins with…

‘If I could turn back the clock to a time much simpler, when this calling wasn’t such a big part of my life, would I go back?’

‘How has this urging changed me?’

And finally…

‘Has the momentum of this pursuit for answers escalated over time or is the desire and passion for my search diminishing?’

‘Am I continually feeding this urging or am I trying to push it aside?’

‘What has control over who I am?’

‘Is it my ego struggling to make sense of it all or is it my humble, simple craving soul reaching out to me for a connection, a union with all of the other parts of me?’

These are some of the questions that we each need to be asking ourselves…we need to delve deeply within our hearts and souls and truly see what our motivations are and why you are here, reading these words right now. Please take the time to ponder these many questions when you are alone in the stillness. Take time out of your busy days to understand not only why you are here but where you are going. We each need to have a goal, a purpose, a spiritual focus within our lives in order to truly live a full, balanced life.

We are each on our own paths and have each arrived here through different experiences, different relationships, a different set of circumstances; yet, WE ARE HERE!!! We are a small group amongst a hustling community, yet the size of the group is immaterial. We are all here for a reason…some are seeking support and guidance during a challenging period of their lives, some are striving to release fears or practice forgiveness on a regular basis, some are working hard on controlling their thoughts and emotions and some are looking to add a much deeper spiritual realization into their lives. Then there are others who are on a fast-paced ascension process, whereby their primary life focus is on their spiritual growth and on maximizing their life experiences to attain a higher vibration and more powerful energy balance. Whatever the reason, this urging continues to simmer, stew and sometimes boil, depending on the heat within us.

The key is that we continue to come together to answer this ‘calling’ that is deep within our being and that continually talks to us – whether we can hear it or not… Each of us is unique and each of our paths are special and unique. No one person is better than any other…no path more powerful. We are united here for one purpose and one purpose only…that is to remember who we really. And who are we? We are simply spiritual beings having a human experience. We all know this, yet we have a tendency to forget it!

Okay, why am I bringing up this calling over and over again? It is because I believe that once we recognize that voice of silent knowingness that comes from the depths of our being and when we honor that recognition of Divine truth and let it direct our lives, we will never be the same! We have joined others hearing the calling at this time in our evolution, to join this emerging global family of like-minded individuals who are simultaneously undergoing this life-altering transformation. It is now time to become who we really are, time to relinquish the limitations that are fostered by our fears and embrace the truth that is conceived in love. We have reached a crossroads of monumental proportion that requires the relinquishing of all that is ego-based and material-driven and must strive to replace them with unconditional love, kindness, truth and honesty.

We live in very trying times right now where confrontations are mounting, both in our homes and in the nations of our world. We have crises in our waters, in our air, in our economies, and even in our streets where we used to feel safe. What is happening and why now? There are many theories, many prophecies, much discussion about energies, about vibrations, about earth changes…but what do we think about this? How does this resound deep within our souls? Each of us probably feels differing beliefs on these questions. There is no right or wrong answer. Each of us must answer our own questioning, discover our own beliefs and truths and live our lives accordingly. For within each one of our personal ‘callings’ there is a remembrance of things past, an undefinable place of recognition that comes from within us and forms a connection with who we truly are. This connection has a deeper knowledge as to why we chose to come into this particular body, in this particular lifetime. For this reason, we each must continue to seek and re-discover who we really are and why we are here at this particular time. By loving both ourselves, others and all of nature as one connected energy and by living our principles and our truths, this truly is possible.

The key to this process is getting to know who we really are, what direction our lives are heading, making any correction or improvements in how we lead our lives if necessary, and by truly getting in touch with our Higher Selves and our deeper truths. This process of rediscovery is a journey, an opening up of new ideas and yet a closing of old doors, a holding-on and yet a letting go, a time of struggle followed by a deeper personal understanding of what the experience brought to us. This process is powerful and it is on-going. It doesn’t happen overnight or after a couple of spiritual classes or books. It takes time, it takes effort and it takes conscious awareness of our thoughts, our emotions, our habits and our choices on a DAILY basis. Through this process of self-discovery and personal insight into who we are, we are then able to make conscious choices of who we want to ‘become’. We are changing each moment of every day, and when we are able to make ‘conscious’ choices, we can truly mold ourselves into a more loving, accepting and balanced individual.

Life is continually changing and providing us the opportunities for soul development and growth. The moments in time when we find ourselves right in the middle of any major change in our lives merely reflects a pause in an ever-ongoing momentum of individual soul growth. Through these experiences and challenges, we are given the opportunities for expanding who we are. Can we see change as a gift to us which has all the possibilities of expanding our consciousness? This is only possible if we condition ourselves to see the beauty, to see the opportunity, to see the potential in each change in our lives as a grand possibility for personal soul growth. How we react to change is a choice made by each one of us.

A life lived by choice is a life of conscious action.
A life lived by chance is a life of unconscious reaction.
It all depends on how we choose to exercise our own free will.

This ‘calling’ from our souls for a deeper connection can be our constant companion when we listen and acknowledge its presence. We must never expect that the process of evolution ends at any given point, whereby having completed a given course of study, we are tested, graded and given a diploma and can then just sit back and utter a sigh of relief. This is a process, experience after experience, challenge after challenge, lifetime after lifetime. We are the captains of our ships, we are the ones to keep the momentum going forward…to see where we are heading and to be in control of the wheel at all times. When we allow someone else to step up to the helm and make decisions or choices on our behalf, we lose a part of our souls to this outside force and give away our own individual power. Through the deeper understanding that these Teachings give to us, we are fortified with the knowledge of the powers that are contained within each of us…and this power must be truly understood, controlled and directed throughout the course of our lives.

There have been few times in all of existence when humans have been able to hold so much of their own power within their physical bodies. With this power, comes much greater responsibility. We are now in the transition period during which we are given time to climate to our newly powered vehicles. Take this time to be accepting of yourself, to look around you as well as within you and take in all the changes that are taking place. And most of all, remember to be patient with yourself and those around you.

During the next several weeks, you will be given many opportunities to engage with your calling. Are you going to listen? Are you really able to hear it speaking to you with all the mental clutter that is going on in your mind? Please give some thought to the questions and comments written here and share your own thoughts on this topic with the rest of us. Help one another discover ways to really open up and hear this voice of wisdom that wants SO badly to reach all of us!

Remember dear ones, we are all teachers and we are all students. Let’s maximize this time of change by truly practicing understanding, sharing our wisdom and experiences with one another and unifying as one heart of SOUL.

‘We came into this life with nothing to learn…we have only to demonstrate what we already know…’
~Neale Donald Walsch

CHAPTER 6: Realisation In Action

Link to chapter: click here
Length of chapter reading: 30:37 minutes

This morning, I saw a man at work. This man was very special. I knew that he had agreed, a long time ago, to meet me in this exact place at this exact time to teach me what I was starting to forget. He sat at his desk, the same small space he fills each day, wearing the same uniform I imagined him preparing each evening for the following day. He worked very quickly, his hands very busy making notes and shuffling papers. Each time a patient approached him, he would look up and, from his serious demeanor, he would shed light on the face looking back at him with a warm and patient smile. He knew that he worked in a place where people were afraid to go. He also knew that he had the power to bring them peace, through his eyes, through his smile, and through the integrity with which he dedicated himself to his work. It is through him that I saw God this morning. It is through his nobility and his grace that I was able to remember myself. It is for this that I am grateful today.

“As some, under the idea that law is the opposite of joy, mistake intoxication for joy, so there are many in our country who imagine action to be the opposite of freedom. They think that activity, being in the material place, is restriction of the free spirit of the soul, but we must remember that as joy expresses itself in law, so the soul finds its freedom in action. It is because joy cannot find expression in itself alone that it desires the law which is outside. Likewise, it is because the soul cannot find freedom within itself that it wants external action. The soul of man is ever-freeing itself from its own folds by its activity. Had it be otherwise, it could not have done any voluntary work. The more man acts and makes actual what is latent in him, the nearer does he bring the event yet to be. In that actualization, man is ever-making himself more and yet more distinct and seeing himself clearly under newer and newer aspects in the midst of his varied activities, in the state, in society. This vision makes for freedom.”

I read something about myself recently that has had an impact upon the way that I identify my ‘character’ is the roles it plays. Because of a number of things, including tools provided to us through astrology (the date and time of my birth) and numerology (my name and the place of my birth), I read that I am destined to have many different jobs in this life. My first thought was one of isolation – with so many different roles, I’ll have to attempt to enter into many different tribes, some that will accept me, and some that won’t. The isolation comes from my perception of my fleetingness, the transitory nature of my journey, going from one place to another, fulfilling my role, and then moving on to where my purpose takes me next.

I have already started to realize this destiny. I have identified the distinct transitions from one role to another and I have begun to understand how to see the beauty and richness in what sometimes feels like quite lonely work. It is actually quite a magical dynamic because in one sense, it is isolating – you sense that the experience will be temporary, yet much important work needs to be done. But during that short period of intense service, intimate connections are made between souls, there is a recognition of the higher essence amongst the souls who are connected through these acts of service.

Why have I written about this self-realisation? Because it is through action within this physical world that I learn such great lessons and experience thoroughly hopeful moments of connection and divine recognition – through others of my Self.

Our journey is not one of systematic predictability. We are not meant to follow the path discovered by out neighbor because we know where it will lead. Our journeys are of a much greater purpose. By having the courage to follow a path that we create with each choice we make, we learn who we are. We get to know our Selves. We rediscover the consciousness that we were when we were planning this life; the consciousness that we are underneath the physical vehicle; the consciousness that is in each breath we take. Action is the process through which to rediscover our Selves. And when we rediscover the truth about our Selves, there is no more a need for fear. That is where freedom comes in.

“…the ideas in our minds are constantly seeking opportunities to take on outward form…”

Action is also the greatest desire of our thoughts, but not in the way that many people think. Thoughts are living beings. We can create thoughts. We feed them into life. When a thought ‘comes into’ your mind, it is literally a foreign entity seeking a source of life. If you choose to invest energy into contemplating the thought, repeatedly going back in your mind and thinking about the thought, expanding on it and playing with what it would look like, it beings to grow. The more you invest in feeding it with energy, the more it acquires a life of its own, until one day, it has the power to physically manifest. This is a very powerful area of esoterica. If you are interested in learning more about it, perhaps you would enjoy The Magus of Strovolos by Kyriacos C. Markides.

“The Upanishad says, ‘In the midst of activity alone wilt thou desire to live a hundred years‘. It is the saying of those who have amply tasted of the joy of the soul. Those who have fully realized the soul have never talked in mournful accents of the sorrowfulness of life, or of the bondage of action. They are not like weakling flowers who’s stem-hold is so light that it drops away before attaining fruition. They hold onto life with all their might, and say, ‘Never will we let go ’til the fruit is ripe!’ They desire in their joy to express themselves strenuously in their life and in their work. Pain and sorrow dismay them not. They are not bowed down to the dust by the weight of their own heart. With the erect head of the victorious hero, they march through life seeing themselves and showing themselves in increasing resplendence of soul through both joys and sorrows. The joy of their life keeps step with the joy of that energy which is playing at building and breaking throughout the universe.”

Some of us will receive the gift of coming face to face with one of these joyous souls that live each moment so nobly and to such a full extent that we forget maya’s hold on us and realise the true opportunity we have been given in this life. It is so easy, so very easy to dwell in the sorrow, and the pain, and the misfortune, and the unfairness of this world. These are tools that are meant to confuse us and to distract us from our true power and our true purpose.

I don’t have an inspirational story to share with this quote, but rather one of shame. For you see, I have been caught up in the throws of maya lately, forgetting all about the beauty and glory of this life, and dwelling instead on the suffering. I have forgotten, until now, as I listened to Tagore’s reminder, that there are SO MANY souls waiting in line just to be chosen to come into embodiment. “Why?” you may ask. Well, it simple. ‘Up there’, we prepare. We study, and reflect, and we get ready for the moment when we will be able to come back into this, or a similar world and apply our new knowledge so that we can discover a little bit more about your true Selves. It is through experiences that we create together here that we can get closer to our true Selves. Some of us have seemingly charmed lives, and others suffer the pain that only heroes could endure. It is not for us to judge why. It is not for us to even question whether we are worthy, for that has been decided long ago. All that is left for us to do is to make each moment count. There is joy in every moment. Find it and you will remember why you are here.

“He who thinks to reach God by running away from the world, when and where does he expect to meet Him? How far can he fly? Can he fly and fly and fly until he flies into nothingness itself? No, the coward who would fly can no where find Him. We must be brave enough to say, “We are reaching Him here, in this very spot, now, at this very moment. We must be able to assure ourselves that, as in our actions we are realizing our Selves, so in our Selves we are realizing him who is the SELF of Self. We must earn the right to say so unhesitatingly by clearing away, with our own effort, all obstruction, all disorder, all discords from our path of activity. We must be able to say, “In my work is my joy, and in that joy does the joy of my joy abide.”

Hahaha! This made me laugh. If I had a nickel for all the times I would have wanted to avoid the physical world and escape into the comforts of the metaphysical, I would certainly get a few free coffees by now! It is very tempting not to want to do ‘the work’ and to call our avoidance an act of purification or, alternatively, a quest for pleasure. I’ve heard both arguments, and they’re both equally colorful!

I don’t think ‘killing time’ is a sin if, by this, you mean spending time doing something that is fun, without stress and brimming with pleasurable. It is, however, a great loss if, by ‘killing time’, you are attempting to numb the pain of a life devoid of inspiration and passion. The work of Sir Ken Robinson is certainly a testament to the power of following your passion. His latest book entitled The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, will help many people awaken to this truth. Makes you wonder, once our work truly becomes a manifestation of our passions, what are we going to do with all our days off?! Haha!

CHAPTER 3: The Problem of Evil

Link to chapter: click here
Length of chapter reading: 33:11 minutes

Evil is a concept that epitomizes fear. Fear is a lack of wholeness. Wholeness comes from connection to our Selves. We are all One, affecting each other with every choice we make. When we see our Selves in others, and are able to honor each facet of our brilliance with unconditional love, evil becomes but a part of the Universal Whole.

“The river has its boundaries, its banks, but is a river all banks, or are the banks the final facts about the river? Do not these obstructions themselves give its water and onward motion? The towing rope binds a boat, but is the bondage its meaning? Does it not, at the same time, draw the boat forward? The current of the world has its boundaries, otherwise it could have no existence, but its purpose is not shown in the boundaries that restrain it, but in its movement, which is towards perfection.”

Evil is but the perception of the short-sighted. It is not empowered in the mind that sees beyond the current scene on the stage. How far beyond the scene we choose to see depends on one thing and on everything…

It depends on the seer – who has the choice, the free will to choose whether to see from a point of love, or of one of fear.

It depends on all of us – for we are all interconnected Oneness. All that he does impacts on all of us. The ripples of her actions reverberate upon the surface of the sea of Oneness which we all connect to form.

For now, in this form, the sea has a shore that defines it, that delineates it from what is beyond. This allows us to see in concepts and ideas. This is the imperfection of our perfection. Evil is a concept. It is a tool that is meant to help us move beyond the stage. It is but a theme, a plot twist, a part of the drama. Watch the show. Enjoy the drama. See it for what it is.

“Just as a man who has an ear for music realises the perfection of a song, while in fact he is only listening to a succession of notes, man has found out the great paradox that what is limited is not imprisoned within its limits. … infinity revealed within bounds.”

How is it that we can be so profoundly yet unconsciously connected to the wisdom of the All, yet get so caught up in the drama? Think of the magnificence of our inherent capabilities and then look at what so many of us choose to do with each life. I am not saying that we all don’t do our best and proceed upon our paths at our divine paces, but what if we chose to express more of our true Self to the world? What would the world look like then?

Yesterday I met someone new. At a certain point he was talking about his perception of his work-week and how, by the time 3pm on Friday comes along, the seconds seems to tick by excruciatingly slowly. I saw this divine being in front of me, with gifts and talents that only he can offer to the world, and wondered what the world would be like if he shared those gifts with us. What do you think the world would look like then?

“When we select for observation a limited area of our activities, our individual failures and mysteries loom large in our minds, but our life leads us instinctively to take a wider view.”

Perception.

“Pessimism is a form of mental dipsomania. It disdains healthy nourishment, indulges in the strong drink of denunciation and creates an artificial dejection which thirsts for a stronger draught.”

Do you see the optimist as trustworthy or delusional? Do you see the pessimist as realistic or hopeless? I don’t tend to distinguish between optimist and pessimism. I don’t think in those terms. When someone calls me an optimist, it is usually said in a wistful manner indicating to me that there is a part of him or her that would like to believe, but it’s too difficult to run the risk of being deluded…again. In place of optimism and pessimism, I see imagination and trepidation. To see life through child-like eyes does not mean to be ignorant and senseless. On the contrary, innocence brings with it wonder, delight and joy.

“…knowledge is nothing but the continually burning up of error to set free the light of truth.”

How would our children view school if this was the ideal of our teachers? Would the definition of education change?

“[Man] is more in truth then he is in fact. He truly belongs to individuals who are not included in his own individuality and whom he is never even likely to know.”

How many times have I wondered where the rest of the souls in my Monad are at any given time?! Have I met all of them in this life? Will I? Would I recognise them if I did meet them? Are they scattered all over the cosmos, or are we all sharing in life on this planet at this time of its evolution?
When I am out in the world – in a car at a red light, at the airport standing in line, walking down a cosmopolitan street – and I lock eyes with a stranger and feel, in that instant, that time stands still and a message is being exchanged, I wonder – do I know you?

In celebration of spring, you are warmly invited to come join in the reflection of the Spirit. This time of rebirth and new awakenings is a perfect opportunity to widen our eyes and open ourselves to seeing more of our Selves. For the next 8 weeks, we will embark on the Literary Exploration of Sadhana, the Realisation of Life by Rabindranath Tagore. Every week, you are most welcome to share your reflection of each of the 8 chapters of this illuminating tome.

The Literary Exploration Series is an opportunity to delve into the world of an author who had the courage to explore the esoteric and share his or her experiences with the world. The first book in this series is entitled Sadhana, the Realisation of Life, first published in English in 1913. Rabindranath Tagore, Asia’s first Nobel laureate, wrote this collection of stories that, as I understand them, aim to demystify the relation of the individual to the universe. They speak of soul consciousness, the ego, love, beauty, and that which has no beginning nor end.

If you would like to read more about the author prior to beginning this audiobook exercise, you are most welcome to begin your introduction to Rabindranath Tagore here. You can also find links to each of the 8 chapters of Sadhana, the Realisation of Life here. Every week for the next 8 weeks, we will reflect upon a single chapter until we reach the end of this literary exploration. You are welcome to join in at any time, and are warmly invited to write about your reflections here by commenting on the weekly posts.

During this first week, we will be reflecting upon Chapter 1: The Relation of the Individual to the Universe.  You may wish to listen to the chapter in full before reading the following reflection, or you might prefer reading the comments below prior to listening to it for yourself. The choice is yours.

Chapter 1: The Relation of the Individual to the Universe

Link to chapter: click here
Length of chapter reading: 38:06 minutes

A beautiful experience – and by that, I suppose I mean the experience of listening to Rabindranath Tagore’s The Relation of the Individual to the Universe, as well as the actual experience of realising life. Although I am not certain the extent to which I have realised my own life, I have to believe that this book comes to those who are ready to reflect upon the process. And, to reflect upon this grand theme of existence, I suppose that one would have had to have already recognised it at some point.

“…for we can never make anything truly our own except that which it truly related to us.”

If it is already related to us, then making something our own is simply the process of recognising a part of ourselves that was there all along.

“We can look upon a road from two different points of view. One regards it as dividing us from the object of our desire. In that case we count every step of our journey over it as something obtained by force in the face of obstruction. The other sees it as the road which leads us to our destination, and as such, it is part of our goal. It is already the beginning of our attainment, and by journeying over it, we can only gain that which within itself it offers to us.”

The way I see it, the first point of view is the definition of effort – fighting against obstruction. The second is the process of going with the flow.

“The man of science knows in one aspect that the world is not merely what it appears to be to our senses. He knows that earth and water are really the play of forces that manifest themselves to us as earth and water. … Likewise, the man who has his spiritual eyes open knows that the ultimate truth about earth and water lies in our apprehension of the eternal will which works in time and takes shape in the forces we realise under those aspects.”

An example of how perception has the power to divide, in this case, the worlds of science and spirituality.

“In art, we strive for originality and lose sight of truth which is old and yet ever new. In literature, we miss the complete view of man which is simple and yet great but he appears as a psychological problem or the embodiment of a passion that is intense because abnormal and because exhibits in the glare of a fiercely emphatic light, which is artificial.”

It is simple to underestimate simplicity.

“Where man tries to push himself to eminence by pushing and jostling others, to achieve a distinction by which he prides himself to be more than everybody else, there he is alienated from that spirit. … in the pursuit of wealth, you really give up everything to gain a few things…”

It is not ‘lonely on the top’ because no one else is good enough to be there with you. It is lonely because on your perceived climb up the ladder, you have forgotten who you are and how to connect to the essence of your Being. We are only alone when we forget that we have our Selves, and within our Selves is the Oneness of All.

“We are immersed in His consciousness – body and soul. It is through His consciousness that the Sun attracts the Earth. It is through His consciousness that the light waves are being transmitted from planet to planet. Not only in space, but this light and life, this All-feeling Being, is in our souls. He is all-conscious in space (or the world of extension), and He is all-conscious in soul (or the world of intention).

“Thus, to attain our World Consciousness, we have to unite our feeling with this all-pervasive infinite feeling. In fact, the only true human progress is coincident with this widening of the range of feeling. All our poetry, philosophy, science, art and religion are serving to extend the scope of our consciousness towards higher and larger spheres. Man does not acquire rights through the occupation of larger space nor through external contact, but his rights extend only so far as he is real, and his reality is measured by the scope of his consciousness. We have, however, to pay a price for this attainment of the freedom of consciousness. What is the price? It is to give one’s ‘self’ away. Our soul can realise its ‘Self’ truly only by denying its ‘self’.”

Poetry, philosophy, science, art and religion are all mechanisms through which we are invited to expand our awareness – to open our Eyes and see more of that which is hidden from the physical eyes. It is like the proverbial buffet table:

“Treat these words as various dishes laid out on a buffet table. Pick and choose what looks and tastes good to you. It is for you to decide what food agrees with your digestive system. None of this is for your acceptance or rejection. None of us get brownie points for what we believe to be true; only for what we apply.”

Devotion to one religion, admiration for one poet, appreciation of one artist or one school of scientific thought is constructive if we realise these beliefs for the duration that they benefit us and are willing to eventually let them go for new realisations. It is attachment to any one philosophy, to any one belief or perspective that is futile to the development of our World Consciousness.

“Compared to his ego, the rest of the world is unreal, thus in order to be fully conscious of the reality of All, one has to be free himself from the bonds of personal desires. This discipline, we have to go through to prepare ourselves for our social duties, for sharing the burdens of our fellow beings. Every endeavor to attain a larger life requires of man to gain by giving away and not to be greedy and thus, to expand gradually the consciousness of one’s unity with All, is the striving of humanity.”

Knowledge only becomes power when it is shared. I must be humbly honest with you that I do not know why I am writing this blog, where it will lead me, or what I am supposed to do with it next. But, what I do know, unequivocally, is that we are all meant to share with one another. It is not to teach, to preach nor to dictate that I write these words. It is to serve. It is to enable the sharing of experiences, of perceptions and of stories in order to broaden the collective perspective.

The attunement process is a ceremony of spiritual awakening that symbolizes the creation of a new connection between you and the Universal Source of Light that aligns you with your Highest Good. You can imagine it as being similar to the process of turning the dial on a radio to find a station. During an attunement, you are ‘tuned in’ to a different station. In other words, you are being attuned to a higher frequency.

A Reiki attunement must be given by a Reiki Master. A Reiki Master is someone who devotes themselves to attaining and maintaining a very high frequency of energy respective to the general masses. A Master’s connection to the Universal flow of energy is high enough that he or she can create a stronger connection between you and the Universal flow. After the final attunement, a person is technically labeled a Reiki Master, but the process of attaining Master-hood takes an undefined amount of time, depending solely on the person.

One of the unique characteristics of Reiki is its tradition of attuning people to the different levels of vibration that are represented in each degree. During the first degree, you receive four attunements and the second and third degree each require one attunement. Attunements are short ceremonies in which the Reiki Master performs a sequence of acts that connect you to a greater flow of energy. The ceremonies create an energy pattern around you when the Reiki Master imprints symbols into your aura. Your energy frequency immediately adjusts to the higher frequency represented by the Reiki symbols. The attunement is permanent.

Remember the definition of Reiki. It means ‘Universal Life Force Energy’. When someone says that they work with Reiki energy, it doesn’t mean that they are accessing a special kind of energy.

I work with Reiki energy = I work with Universal Life Force Energy

There is no distinction between ‘different types of energy’. There simply is energy, or there is no energy. There is no ‘good energy’. There is no ‘negative energy’. Once you realize that everything is energy, you begin to fully understand what the attunement process is and what being a Reiki practitioner means.

There are many sources that will tell you that the purpose of an attunement is to allow you to access ‘Reiki energy’ in order to heal a person or a situation. This is misleading. The purpose of an attunement is simply to give you greater access to the Universal flow of energy. What you choose to do with this new connection is up to you although it is important to recognize that wanting an attunement in order to heal others or to heal a situation are secondary desires.

You will not be able to heal anyone or anything until you begin to heal yourself.

To heal means to balance.

Until you balance yourself, your ability to balance elements around you is limited.

Enlightenment is a two-way process. You are invited to share your experiences of attunement with others who have gone through it and/or who have questions about it by adding your comment here Why don’t I start by sharing an attunement experience with you…

I was attuned to master level in Toronto, Canada – although I was slow to start and tried to ignore that inner voice for as long as I could…because of fear.

My whole attunement process took approximately 2-3 years. I had intensive periods of lessons and attunements with my teacher. These were followed by longer periods with little-to-no contact with him during which time I was encouraged to put the teachings into practice and to observe the changes that were to take place within myself, in my life and to those around me.

I was not encouraged nor deterred from giving Reiki sessions to others. My teacher was supportive throughout the process. I was often reminded that free will was a governing Universal Law and I had the choice each step of the way.

As I became more and more comfortable with the changes that came with this process, I began to hear that little voice in my head more often…although I wasn’t as afraid of it anymore. I noticed myself being inspired to try new things and face fears that I knew were holding me back. I took Kundalini Yoga classes which I thoroughly enjoyed, and opened a Reiki practice that allowed me to give Reiki sessions and attunements to others.

After about a year and a half of advertising myself as a Reiki practitioner – all in the name of empowering others with the benefits of Reiki, I decided to close down shop. My personal experience made me feel that offering Reiki in exchange for money tainted the process and actually limited to flow of energy. This is my experience, and I am by no means saying that this will be the case for everyone.

Since my first attunement, I progressively learned more about energy and made the conscious choice to apply what felt right. After experimenting with different approaches, I decided that rather than singing in the streets about the ‘miracle of energy’, I would respect the fact that everyone chooses for themselves and took the indirect route of simply providing the information to others through my site.

Back in January,  I wrote a post based on an article I read in the first 2009 issue of O Magazine. This afternoon, I found a torn out page from the magazine on my desk with some of my notes on it and it reminded me that I had read something else in that issue that moved me. Timothy Hutton (p.57) was reflecting upon an aha moment he had in his life and he wrote, “…I realized I didn’t have anywhere I actually needed to be; therefore, it was time to be somewhere else.” I’m not sure I agree…

I’ve moved around a lot in the short time I’ve spent renting room on this planet, and not just the kind of moving around that backpacking adventurers do during a summer of freedom. No, the kind of moving I decided to do was a bit more expensive, emotionally arduous and uprooting – I moved my home many times, changed addresses, purchased mailboxes, rerouted phone numbers, the whole lot.  If there was a reward program for Ikea customers I’d have the international platinum account! And I’ve done it more than once.

Why am I bringing this up? Because moving around means that at some point, you’re faced with the “cliff moment” – there are either two places you can go if you find yourself on the edge of a proverbial cliff: either jump off the cliff into the unknown and just do your best to keep the faith that you made the right decision, or start retreating from the edge and go back to what you know. When faced with that decision, you may find yourself wondering what there is to gain, and what there is to loose. In the process, you might ask yourself, “Is there anything left for me here? Do I have any unfinished business left to complete?” Reading Hutton’s statement brought me back to the cliff moments in my life and got me reflecting on how I see myself and the world around me when faced with those questions.

How do you know whether there is anywhere you actually need to be? The only way I can imagine answering that question is by looking deep within myself and listening to see if you hear from that little voice – intuition – because asking myself whether I still have appointments to make or whether I’m willing to leave a good friend behind just doesn’t seem to generate the ‘right’ kind of answer.

How do we know whether there’s somewhere we actually need to be? How can we know whether there’s someone out there, either in a nearby city or in the apartment right next to ours who needs help that we are able to give? How do we know? So many of us have become so focused on ourselves and on how to survive the times that we have completely forgotten to ask how we can help. It scares me sometimes. Am I losing my faith in humanity? Or am I coming to an age where these questions are naturally on one’s mind? I don’t know…

But what I feel is that if we ask for guidance, become and remain open to divine intervention for the Highest Good and act when the Universe requests our assistance, then perhaps we will discover a purpose where we didn’t think one existed… Or perhaps not, but that process of deep reflection and openness to whatever answers come from within is important, I think. Perhaps…we might just discover a new reason for being…wherever that may be…

So tell me, how can I help?

A conversation where science, art, education and politics are discussed within the context of spirituality.

“I’m nothing special. I’m just like you.”

Along the side of this post, I’ve included words – words that resonated strongly with me as I watched this video. This is an interesting exercise to perform with someone else, with 2 or more observers. You see, we all see the world through our own eyes. No one sees the same way. We all create our own perceptions of each and every thing we experience. These perceptions are created out of all the other experiences we’ve had, all the choices and judgments we’ve made and all the understandings and concepts we’ve collected throughout all of our lifetimes. So, why not share our perceptions? In this case, while watching the video, and in other cases in our lives? Listening to other people’s perceptions could not only teach us tolerance, acceptance, patience, and understanding, but it could also help us open our eyes to the illusion of all that is around us. What is real is connection. Let’s connect. What words resonated with you while you watched this video?

“Rei meaning “a ray of light” or “universal soul” and Ki meaning “universal life force energy” or “radiating energy”.

When the Japanese characters are combined, they present the concept of “universal life-force energy”.

The history of Reiki is a story of a man discovering his ability to connect to a powerful source of energy and transferring it through himself to others.  Over time, Reiki has become known to many as a healing art.  People associate it with a therapy that involves the ‘laying of hands’ on the body and healing physical ailments.  In many ways, these things are true, but Reiki encompasses much more, and you will learn as you begin to experience the process, that there are many unspoken benefits that must simply be experienced in order to be understood.

What Reiki Does

Reiki works on all levels affecting us. It will naturally begin to assist you in releasing limiting belief structures about yourself and the world around you. Instead of dwelling in the past or worrying about the future, you begin to embrace every aspect of the now and live in the moment. Emotional outbursts stabilize, and you become less vulnerable to the shifts of your ego personality. Your motives and the motives of others become clearer, and you better understand how things happen for a reason. Your thoughts don’t run aimlessly in your mind and you learn how to focus energy specifically on those thoughts that you want to become your reality. Those affected by increased flows of energy often choose to no longer allow fear to run their lives and they gradually detach from dependencies.

When you integrate your mind, body and spirit into one harmonious flow of energy, you begin to leave behind the fears and ego-centred motives of a world of pain, and enter into a higher state of consciousness that brings health and prosperity to all facets of your life.

Physically:

Reiki speeds the mending and recovery process.

Why?
Everything is energy. Your body is simply energy. If there is a blockage through which energy cannot flow freely, an imbalance exists. Your body will (at first) gently tell you that you have created an imbalance by exhibiting pain. When you sense pain, you can choose to ignore it or to heal it. You can also choose to recognize that your body has communicated an imbalance, and with the ability to tap into a greater flow of energy, you can choose to rebalance yourself. When you bring balance back to yourself, any imbalance that existed is released.

Mentally:

Reiki relieves stress (stress=imbalance), and softens a crisis mentality by alleviating the mental pressure without losing the integral importance of the lesson.

What does that mean?
You will see things differently. You will begin to see a bigger picture of any situation: your point of view, the perspective of others, and any other factors that are involved in any situation. You will understand why you are creating your thoughts, the way they develop and how to identify them consciously before you freely release them. You will notice that you have more choice about what you think and do because you will be able to approach any situation at a slower speed (so to speak) and decide what to do before you are in the middle of things and feel like there is no way out.

You will understand why people act the way they do. You will find it easier to be compassionate and understanding. You will catch yourself in a moment of wakelessness and see that you always have the choice to do what benefits the Highest Good. You will ultimately be able to understand why things happen the way they do, and what you can learn from every experience.

Emotionally:

Reiki helps to resolve tangled emotions and purifies your emotional state of being.

Why?
Your emotions are a very big part of who you are. Sometimes it’s tricky to maintain a balanced emotional state, and there are even people who ‘loose their mind’ because they let their emotions run wild. Reiki helps harmonize emotions in two ways. When participating in a session, you subconsciously train your thoughts to calm your emotions. This will allow you to identify your emotions clearly, sensing which feel right and which feel out of place. The unconscious process that takes place when you tap into a more powerful energy flow also works on balancing you while you sleep. The process is gentle and healing.

Spiritually:

Reiki opens us to the presence of the divine. Aligning us with our spirits is one of Reiki’s most profound affects. The process attunes us to our own spiritual being and puts us in harmony with the Creative power.

What does that mean?
This is the most abstract benefit of Reiki. To explain this concept, let us work from the outside in. You have a body, but you are not your body. When you have a feeling about something, or when a creative idea comes into your mind it is not because your finger or your knee told you so. Thoughts of inspiration and guidance come from a very special place. They come from the real you, that little voice inside of you that is heard only when you are still enough to listen. Reiki creates a clearer connection to the real you, connecting you more closely to your spiritual self.

The beneficial affects of Reiki are only limited by the person who is receiving. When you realize the limitless potential of Reiki, there is nothing that can prevent you from achieving what you now see as the impossible.

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.

William Shakespeare – All the world’s a stage (from As You Like It 2/7)

I seem to remember going through this already. Why the repetition? I didn’t enjoy it the first time around, so could I just skip through it this time?

I’m born again, and I’m in a new body. The body has to learn how to function so I have to teach it how to walk and talk and eat without the help of others. That part is fine for me to accept, although that isn’t to say that I enjoy the process of maturation that will eventually allow me to pull away from these twits I have to share classrooms with and eat apple slices coated with the most ridiculous paste they call ‘peanut butter’.

They treat us all the same. Why? We are at such different stages of development. Some of us even still remember. Why are they doing their best to convince us that forgetting is the way forward?

I’m having difficulty merging into these experiences. I want this stage to be over. I want to be able to start where I left off last time. I’ve passed these lessons already. Why again? I have so much work to do, so many tasks to complete, but I can’t do them until I’m at a level near to the one I reached before I left last time. Why the repetition?

Ah…patience. I see! I suppose I could have forgotten more before coming into this life, so that means that I’m remembering more than others for a reason. Is it to teach me patience? Alright, fine, but is that really necessary at this stage? I have so much work to do and I can’t do it from this infant-state. I remember more than most of the teachers who are trying to ‘guide’ me. Why are they not listening when I attempt to explain to them the error of their ways? They call it ‘imagination’…“Look how imaginative she is!” Why are they not listening?

Yes, I know, physical reality = illusion. So perhaps it’s been about deciphering what part of my perception is Truth to begin with…

I don’t know exactly at what stage of my awakening I have reached to date – perhaps because I’m only looking into one dimension of my existence. In any case, I sense that I have not yet reached the peak of my clarity – I knew more in other lives, I knew how to tap into higher levels of power before. At least I’m at a point, though, where I have gone through the mundane. Is it wrong of me to see the early stages of the soul’s maturation as mundane? When you go through them so many times, how can they not become mundane…?

“Soul age refers to how a person has grown from experience on the planet, not just to how many lifetimes he or she has lived. … An Old Soul starts each lifetime being born as an infant who experiences Infant Soul consciousness and gradually grows into prior levels of consciousness. … It does not work to stick your nose in the air (or your head in the sand) in an attempt to avoid lessons and gifts from the other soul ages.”

Source: http://www.michaelteachings.com/soul_ages.html

While reading this wonderful piece, I made some notes about specific parts of the reading that resonated strongly with me…you can find them below:

“Seldom doing anything they don’t want to and preferring their own unconventional pursuits, they often seek the path of least resistance as far as work, so that all energy can be poured into spiritual development.”

…the times when I have accelerate most quickly up the ladder at work were times when I had to consciously disconnect myself from my more ‘spiritually minded’ activities. Otherwise, I would quickly loose interest in the working world, and simply be intoxicated by the metaphysical…

“If higher education proves necessary in order to teach, less orthodox schools allowing more opportunities for inner exploration will be favored.”

…hahaha! I consciously seek out the most unorthodox higher education route that I can find! Being unorthodox FUELS me…

“Old Souls may explore many religions and teachings, being most drawn to those emphasizing love and to those they’ve resonated with closely in past lives. But being rule-bound or as orthodox as some disciplines require does not usually last long.”

…this has unfortunately been the case for me. I have had the soulful pleasure of bonding instantaneously with certain groups, but found that their rules were too difficult by which to abide. This eventually led to my silent departure…

“However, some people get uncomfortable once they are here with their aridity and lack of emotional warmth and set out to make up for what their personality seems to lack….A similar situation arises after a person has had materially successful lifetimes.”

…I have been torn in these worlds of relationships and wealth lately. One part of me craves emotionally rich relationships while another part needs solitude to explore and develop a connection to the wisdom within. One part of me wants to dive into the consumerist culture while the other finds infinite peace in making the most of what I have…

“A major challenge of the Old Soul period is mastering self-esteem.”

…and I thought self-deprecation was noble!

“It is never your last life until you like it here; essence would never let you off the hook before then.”

…OH MY! I have some work to do!

“In order to even out your past life choices, as an Old Soul you are often in the body of the sex you least prefer.”

…so THAT’s why I so understand the physical being-ness of the opposite sex so much more…

“Third level people do best when they give themselves the space and time to stay home and be alone as much as they want. Respecting their own proclivities and loving themselves just the way they are always smooths the way for more enjoyment of self and life.”

…well, I think I just gave myself permission to stop feeling guilty!

Love and Light!