Surrendering to a mysterious Power
"I knew nothing, had learned nothing before I came here. Some mysterious Power took possession of me and effected a thorough transformation. I knew nothing and planned nothing. When I left home in my 17th year, I was like a speck swept on by a tremendous flood. I knew not my body or the world, whether it was day or night. It was difficult even to open my eyes. The eyelids seemed to be glued down. My body became a mere skeleton. Visitors pitied my plight as they were not aware how blissful I was. It was after years that I came across the term Brahman when I happened to look into some books on Vedanta brought to me. Amused, I said to myself, 'Is this known as Brahman!?!"
Ramana Maharshi
If being a traveler of the Way sounds a little elitist, it is not. Anyone who starts asking spiritual questions can become part of the journey in a heart-beat. A few months ago a client approached me and asked a few questions, saying that he merely wants to understand some of his friends better who have mystical powers. When I checked with him a few months later he described all kind of mystical experiences that had happened to him in the shortest time. It was then when I understood that everyone is a potential traveler of the Way. Initiation is merely the understanding that we are flowing with a mystical river, and that we stop putting up our self-imposed interference to the divine movement. Anyone, spiritual or not, can have that intuition.
As a matter of fact, we always have been on this journey, yet, we weren’t aware of it. Your pushy colleague is on the same journey, and so is the drug addict you may know, or the greedy neighbor next door. Everyone is on a soul mission so to speak, it is just that a few are aware of their subconscious drives while most are not. Awakening is like lucid dreaming, the amazing state of being aware of the fact that we are dreaming within the dream. Often you discover new-found powers, and you can have fun with them. Yet, new problems can arise. Often there is a level of apathy, a lack of desire to accomplish anything associated with this part of the journey. This can lead to troubles with our family, our life partner and can impose unnecessary economic constraints.
Key to success along an Awakening journey is honesty. Start realizing who you are beneath the hood. Tackle the interferences that hold you back and chip away at the stuff that holds you back, but don’t confuse the two. Repressing the stuff that is meaningful to you in the name of spirituality is spiritual by-passing. It can delay your journey by years and drain enormous energies. In my experience, the Awakening journey is all about authenticity. It takes guts to admit greed, lust or fear within us, but facing these attributes we must. Some desires bind us and some desires set us free. That insight has always been my guiding post for me journey. Our idiosyncratic soul longing may not be appealing to everyone, but in order to be authentic, we must face them. We can’t simply wish away what is meaningful to us
Many paths lead Home, so who am I to say that there are not alternatives to the process that I am proposing. Many other faiths suggest to constantly remind ourselves of our Core. ‘I am not this body’, they say, or ‘I Am That I Am’, or ‘I am no-thing’. One day we shall experience these holy states in the depth of our being, but for the time being we have to accept our authentic self. Not accepting who we are beneath the hood is spiritual by-passing in my experience. It feels good temporarily, but it doesn’t get us anywhere. I would venture to say, once you look beneath the hood and are willing to accept yourself unconditionally, you will also get your passions back. Apathy is just a reflection that you override what is meaningful to you in the name of spirituality.
Going back to the river analogy, while we likely float more often than we have ever done before in our life, swimming upstream like everyone else is unfortunately still part of the journey. Sometimes a log is in our path, and we would only get stuck going with the flow. So we have to actively woe the love of our life. We have to work hard to get that promotion that we really aspire to have. We may also have to face a few demons that are always bound to pop up when the Awakening journey starts in earnest. This all involves hard work and doesn’t feel like floating at all.
The river is bound to merge one day with the ocean. That’s what the transformation is all about. Ramana Maharshi compares this transition with enlightenment:
Just as a river does not continue its flow after discharging into the ocean, so also a person loses all movements after he merges in the Self.
Well, one day it shall, but remember that until this blessed transformation you have a role to play in the here and now. In fact, we are drifting downstream in a beautiful, life-giving river and that’s all that matters right now. Don’t waste your time contemplating what it will feel like when we finally merge with the ocean. This is spiritual by-passing! The river sustains fresh-water fish that cannot survive in the ocean. Likewise, we can enjoy our life here and now and serve God that way. God gave us yin to worship as Her manifestation. God gave us children to raise as gods. God gave us friends to horse around with, and a job to express our creativity with. Enlightenment comes when it comes. Let’s welcome Divinity moment by moment.
All that really matters that we are on this magnificent Awakening journey. All that we can do is to zoom into the here and now. There may still be a little work ahead, a few layers to be shed, but we are part of this Divine flow and it is a mind-blowing experience to be part of it. Enjoy!
"I knew nothing, had learned nothing before I came here. Some mysterious Power took possession of me and effected a thorough transformation. I knew nothing and planned nothing. When I left home in my 17th year, I was like a speck swept on by a tremendous flood. I knew not my body or the world, whether it was day or night. It was difficult even to open my eyes. The eyelids seemed to be glued down. My body became a mere skeleton. Visitors pitied my plight as they were not aware how blissful I was. It was after years that I came across the term Brahman when I happened to look into some books on Vedanta brought to me. Amused, I said to myself, 'Is this known as Brahman!?!"
Ramana Maharshi
mysterious power that can change things
There is a Process that one day kicks in for many of us. You can write books describing the ensuing transformation but at the end of the day you try describing the indescribable. Is my 2.0 version today really that different from the fellow I knew ten years ago? Not really! I have always had a huge heart, and in a way, despite all that mystical stuff, I haven’t changed my scientific mindset either. In some ways I am completely different, in others, exactly the same person I used to be. Yet, my reaction function has changed. I am no longer in charge, She is, and the transformation continues. Travelers of the Way can immediately spot travel companions. Yes, we come from very different directions, and we still make mistakes, but we all bow to the same Power.If being a traveler of the Way sounds a little elitist, it is not. Anyone who starts asking spiritual questions can become part of the journey in a heart-beat. A few months ago a client approached me and asked a few questions, saying that he merely wants to understand some of his friends better who have mystical powers. When I checked with him a few months later he described all kind of mystical experiences that had happened to him in the shortest time. It was then when I understood that everyone is a potential traveler of the Way. Initiation is merely the understanding that we are flowing with a mystical river, and that we stop putting up our self-imposed interference to the divine movement. Anyone, spiritual or not, can have that intuition.
As a matter of fact, we always have been on this journey, yet, we weren’t aware of it. Your pushy colleague is on the same journey, and so is the drug addict you may know, or the greedy neighbor next door. Everyone is on a soul mission so to speak, it is just that a few are aware of their subconscious drives while most are not. Awakening is like lucid dreaming, the amazing state of being aware of the fact that we are dreaming within the dream. Often you discover new-found powers, and you can have fun with them. Yet, new problems can arise. Often there is a level of apathy, a lack of desire to accomplish anything associated with this part of the journey. This can lead to troubles with our family, our life partner and can impose unnecessary economic constraints.
Key to success along an Awakening journey is honesty. Start realizing who you are beneath the hood. Tackle the interferences that hold you back and chip away at the stuff that holds you back, but don’t confuse the two. Repressing the stuff that is meaningful to you in the name of spirituality is spiritual by-passing. It can delay your journey by years and drain enormous energies. In my experience, the Awakening journey is all about authenticity. It takes guts to admit greed, lust or fear within us, but facing these attributes we must. Some desires bind us and some desires set us free. That insight has always been my guiding post for me journey. Our idiosyncratic soul longing may not be appealing to everyone, but in order to be authentic, we must face them. We can’t simply wish away what is meaningful to us
Many paths lead Home, so who am I to say that there are not alternatives to the process that I am proposing. Many other faiths suggest to constantly remind ourselves of our Core. ‘I am not this body’, they say, or ‘I Am That I Am’, or ‘I am no-thing’. One day we shall experience these holy states in the depth of our being, but for the time being we have to accept our authentic self. Not accepting who we are beneath the hood is spiritual by-passing in my experience. It feels good temporarily, but it doesn’t get us anywhere. I would venture to say, once you look beneath the hood and are willing to accept yourself unconditionally, you will also get your passions back. Apathy is just a reflection that you override what is meaningful to you in the name of spirituality.
Going back to the river analogy, while we likely float more often than we have ever done before in our life, swimming upstream like everyone else is unfortunately still part of the journey. Sometimes a log is in our path, and we would only get stuck going with the flow. So we have to actively woe the love of our life. We have to work hard to get that promotion that we really aspire to have. We may also have to face a few demons that are always bound to pop up when the Awakening journey starts in earnest. This all involves hard work and doesn’t feel like floating at all.
The river is bound to merge one day with the ocean. That’s what the transformation is all about. Ramana Maharshi compares this transition with enlightenment:
Just as a river does not continue its flow after discharging into the ocean, so also a person loses all movements after he merges in the Self.
Well, one day it shall, but remember that until this blessed transformation you have a role to play in the here and now. In fact, we are drifting downstream in a beautiful, life-giving river and that’s all that matters right now. Don’t waste your time contemplating what it will feel like when we finally merge with the ocean. This is spiritual by-passing! The river sustains fresh-water fish that cannot survive in the ocean. Likewise, we can enjoy our life here and now and serve God that way. God gave us yin to worship as Her manifestation. God gave us children to raise as gods. God gave us friends to horse around with, and a job to express our creativity with. Enlightenment comes when it comes. Let’s welcome Divinity moment by moment.
All that really matters that we are on this magnificent Awakening journey. All that we can do is to zoom into the here and now. There may still be a little work ahead, a few layers to be shed, but we are part of this Divine flow and it is a mind-blowing experience to be part of it. Enjoy!
The Mysterious Power By Weiss, Christian
Reviewed by julie sasha
on
April 01, 2019
Rating:
Reviewed by julie sasha
on
April 01, 2019
Rating:
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