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!

I’ve been working on developing a section of the site dedicated to exploring the concepts and ideas presented in numerology. It’s 8.17am on a rainy and grey January morning, and I just finished publishing the last page. The last section on which I worked, and the one that seems to take the longest, was the part focusing on Place Numbers. Since I happen to be in California right now and I’m still trying to get a sense of the place and what life looks like here, I thought I’d dedicate today’s post to exploring California’s vibe.

California’s Namechart, as well as its Whole Name, Vowel and Consonant Numbers are shown below. The calculations that we’ll do here are only based on this place’s Whole Name, Vowel and Consonant Numbers but you are also provided with its Namechart in case you want to conduct a deeper analysis of how this location would/does affect you by comparing your Birthchart and your Namechart to its Namechart, as well as taking a look at the Missing Numbers to determine any specific karma of the location. I haven’t gone into depth with analyzing how my charts and numbers mingle with California’s, but I will…one day…hopefully soon…when there’s time…hopefully!

Your mission while living here…
[taken from the place's Whole Name Number]

Your mission while living here would be to develop your mental powers for the benefit of others. You would have to learn to distinguish the true from the false, to seek out the hidden mysteries of life, to think, observe and try to understand, to enjoy solitude and silence, and to teach others your moral philosophies so that they may benefit from your wisdom.

You would have to remember to keep your feet firmly on the ground. Your danger lies in becoming so involved in spiritual matters that you lose touch with reality.

The way you would see your life here…
[taken from the place's Vowel Number]

You will feel that you have a lot to live up to while living here because you will be called upon to deal with things that will seem to be on a very large scale. Having said that, the energy here is aligned to support you in your endeavors and there is no reason why you should not succeed.

You will be given many opportunities while here to learn how to understand the needs and emotions of other people. Once you master this, you will be able to bring out the best in them and channel it to your mutual advantage.

At times, you may feel that you are called upon to give more than you are prepared to give, and in these cases – when your approach to life is not fully from the heart – the rewards and honors you could achieve could escape you.

The way others would see your life here…
[taken from the place's Consonant Number]

The way others would see your life here isn’t necessarily the way that you would perceive your stay, but it is important to consider external appearances because they dictate what would be expected of you by those around you and in turn, this could influence your behavior.

People in California would see you as someone who emanates strength and power. You would often appear larger than life and resemble the cartoon concept of the successful big businessman or tycoon – even down to the big cigar! Your appearance would conjure up thoughts of commerce, authority and material success. You would also appear to others to carry your successful, material image into your clothing and tend to wear expensive and exclusive clothes and accessories. Negative aspects of the way others would see you are that you may be judged as someone who tends to go over the top with your desire to impress and some may think you are loud, flashy and vulgar.

Remember, these results are not to say that everyone who lives in the US will feel this way. What they do reveal are the dominant vibrations for this country, so from a general perspective, people living here are influenced by these specific resonances.

One final aspect of the place analysis that we’ll look at here is what the Letters of Significance have to tell us about this location.

C – represents ‘energy’.

Characteristics
Good-humored - cheerful, willing, genial, light-hearted, carefree.
Extravagant – lavish, liberal, unthrifty, improvident, spendthrift.
Dexterous – skillful, proficient, handy, versatile, an all-rounder.
Orator – eloquent, outspoken, a speech-maker, a talker.
An organizer – planner, promoter, engineer, inventor.
Impulsive - spontaneous, impatient, spur of the moment actions.
A negative C can be shameless, negligent, inattentive, immoral, unscrupulous, careless and unprincipled.

A – represents ‘the head’.

Characteristics
Determination – exertion, will-power, resolution, intent, purpose.
Enterprise – lavish, liberal, unthrifty, improvident, spendthrift.
Courage – boldness, audacity, daring, self-reliance.
When A is the first vowel in a name this points to a great interest in life in general and an independent nature. When three As or more appear in the name, this tips the balance and points to selfishness. A negative A can be a very critical person who is skeptical about everything and sneers at the efforts of others.

I – represents ‘law’.

Characteristics
Elegant - stylish, tasteful, sensitive, artistic.
Warm-hearted – helpful, kind, loving, unselfish.
Impulsive – instinctive, intuitive, inspirational.
Gentle - compassionate, humane, tender, considerate.
A negative I can be nervous, lack confidence, be timid, hesitant and fearful or quick to anger, bad-tempered, impatient and easily offended.

If you have ever spent any extended period of time in California, do you think the picture depicted by the general analysis of its numbers aligns with your perceptions and experiences?