DESTINY AND THE HERO’S JOURNEY #3

Incorporation (continued)

 

Alternatively, you may choose to pursue the spiritual life and the realization of Self through any one of the four yogas; Karma (service,) Bhakti (devotion,) Jnana (spiritual knowledge) and Raja yoga (control of the mind.) 

 

“May the hero awaken from forgetfulness and transcend all anxiety and sorrow.” The Upanishads

 

We know much more than we think we know and are much more than we believe ourselves to be. We only need to remember. This mean tapping into the “soulular” memory of our Store Consciousness – the accumulation of our past lives and our subconscious memories. We may have a sense of de ja vu and that we have heard these spiritual concepts before or that they are now easily understood and remembered. In this way we can transcend anxiety and the sorrow arising out of fear. At the end of the day and a series of hero’s journeys one comes to realize that the quest is a sacred one to connect with the Higher Self and its greater mission. 

Now is the time to settle in and not take any serious risks until the experience is reintegrated back into one’s life. Eventually it may even lead to giving up a partner, one’s job or selling one’s house but the supply lines for security, must be maintained. Relinquishing one’s survival needs may prevent us from actualizing any meaningful change. 

It is important to take time out and look at one’s current situation after the journey. One could also scrutinize prior warrior journeys to find the grail that may have been left behind on the way and also use that or those for any new resolution. It pays to have a skillful, trusted witness or witnesses who can listen to your story, embellish and expand it to help you find your archetype. Indigenous peoples had a council of elders for this. Inner practice and group synergism or just one other person can be supportive. 

 

“At first you must learn to do the humble things and often they are the most difficult to do.  In those humble things, be busy about helping someone who has need of you ... and then only will you begin to find true happiness.

 

I do not know what your destiny will be but I know one thing, the only ones among your who will be truly happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” A. Schweitzer

 

Many of us have to learn to live in two worlds; the one that pays the rent and the other that is our mission. One may have to carry out one’s true purpose for its own sake without pay back and in one’s spare time. That is perfectly fine as well as good karma. If we can find a sense of flow, fluidity even superfluidity and being in the “zone” and with that unique talent, you will – as Thurman says – come alive. This happens when you are using your core or signature strength (Seligman.)

 

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”      H. Thurman

 

Seek congruence – who is the real you? The real you is likely to be the one on your journey. Embracing this one can avoid returning to the old you. Attend to needs not wants – simplify. Are you marching to the sound of your own drum or that of someone else? Karma does not endorse a copycat destiny.

After the journey and the sense of knowing or the aha, walk the talk do not talk the walk. Do not put your experiences on the mantel piece for those who do not understand to invalidate or trivialize. To be polite, talk to them about context rather than content in words they can understand rather than want to challenge. The insights may be very subtle but vital. They usually are not like neon lights blazing in the dark. It’s all well and good if they are epic but it is also wise to be careful of these, they can delude you and arise out of grandiosity. If you cannot change what you do, maybe change how you do it. 

 

The worship most pleasing to God is service to others.” L. Boff

 

The Peter Principle states that we rise to the level of our own incompetence, in other words, “cream rises to the top and then it sours.”

Many of us, because of our ambition or because we are perceived as being competent at one thing may be logically be graduated to something out of our archetype or yoga. We must have the resolve not to be tempted to leave that sense of flow and aliveness and become mediocre in spite of the compelling perks that may be offered.

 

“Whatever you are, be a good one.” Abe Lincoln

“Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water (your work.) After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water (your destiny through service.)“  Zen teaching

 

Beware the “fall” out of the grace you have received with all the hard work you have done. Many will lose the way and slip back into old patterns, complacency and the allure of the material. Maintaining a regular spiritual practice is essential to holding to one’s truth, vision or myth. As Campbell says; follow your bliss.

 

“When you find your place where you are, practice (or service) begins.“ Dogen

 

With time one may find that there are recognizable inner experiences that confirm you are opening up to the spirit world – such as; synchronicity, coherence, a sense of flow or “super-fluidity,” and other intuitive powers. These can occur both in the awake or the dream state. There can even be kundalini-like vibrations occurring during sleep or other awakening experiences during your meditations. Validate, savor and honor them rather than rationalize them away and do not boast about them, they are sacred. 

Oneness experiences when the Knower, the Known, and the Process of Knowing fuse into one (Maslow’s Peak Experience) or wilderness rapture tell you your energy body is in sync with the cosmos but may not tell you what to do about it.

Remember that the paranormal talent or talents that you have – no-one has all of these – will be the one or the ones that your guides and the Great Spirit know to be those most accessible to their messages. It is wasteful of your time and theirs to follow those that are not part of who you truly are. Just because some well-informed person tells you that this is the way to go or the spiritual practice to embrace, does not mean either are the ones for you. Be wary of others relating their own epic experiences if they belittle your own.

 

“I implore you to submit to your own myths. Any postponement in doing so is a lie.”William Carlos Patterson