THE SEARCH FOR THE SELF #5
NAVIGATING THE APOCALYPSE
Spiritual laws are operative whether or not we understand them or can explain them or whether or not we even know about them or believe in them.
The Contents of these several Blogs are below. These are to delineate the crucial factors in the Search for the Self. The Brown color delineates what has been done so far.
ABSOLUTE SPIRITUAL TRUTHS
THE SEARCH FOR THE SELF
SELF-REALIZATION or (“BECOMING”)
FREE WILL
IMPERMANENCE AND NON-ATTACHMENT
KARMA’S FIVE PRECEPTS
SOUL ARCHITECTURE
THE THREE DEADLY SINS OF KARMA
THE THREE DEADLIEST SINS OF KARMA
THE HERO/INE vs. THE WARRIOR ARCHETYPE
THE HEALING OF MEANING
DEATH - THE FINAL JOURNEY
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE – "FIELD" – SPIRIT GUIDES
GRATITUDE
LOVE - FORGIVENESS
ENERGY SYSTEMS
If you would wish for things to be other than they are do not try to change the things themselves but rather seek to change the circumstances that give rise to them, looking first to one's internal conditions for therein is where change in the external begins.
A cedar tree does not spring from an acorn.
THE HERO/INE vs. THE WARRIOR ARCHETYPE
THE HEALING OF MEANING
DEATH - THE FINAL JOURNEY
THE HERO/INE'S JOURNEY - A QUEST FOR A VISION
Congruence and finding purpose
”I implore you to submit to your own myths. Any postponement in doing so is a lie.” William Carlos Patterson
It is often an existential crisis which compels us to take this step towards congruence with who we truly are and can be.
Congruence
Emotions and their expression match and behavior arises from the root of their being. They sing their own song and do not do things for others’ approval. Intellect, heart, soul are congruent
The Hero/ine’s journey is about finding our core or signature strength (Seligman) and our true purpose. This form of physical, mental and spiritual surrender is not a giving up of anything but a giving in to something bigger than ourselves and then making something useful out of it.
Unless we are in service to others, we will not endure happiness and the more we focus on ourselves the more miserable we become. This is not an ethical judgment, but a fact of life that is fixed as a default into the fabric of the soul.
"You make a living by what you get, you make a life by what you give." W. Churchill
The journey may feel like a sacrifice but is anything but one, when its comes to discovering one's destiny - a vital part of realizing Self.
There is a difference between the warrior and the hero archetypes. The warrior keeps the "grail" for him/herself, the hero/ine gives the grail away.
There are three distinct phases to the Hero/ine's journey. the Warrior fulfills only the first two stages. There are many Warriors, fewer Hero's. All three phases of the Hero's journey involve fear as a catalyst for growth.
Separation-Threshold-Incorporation
Firstly we Separate from who we think we are. Secondly, in Threshold, we go through an ordeal where we encounter our physical, mental and spiritual fears. Thirdly we return to Incorporate any "Aha" experience or grail into some way in which we can give back. Ideally this involves using one's signature strength which later may slowly morph into our true destiny. Whatever you give back is positive karma yoga.
“Whatever you are, be a good one.” Abe Lincoln
Nature is a preferred environment for the classical journey but anything can qualify if the essentials are honored. An encounter with any existential crisis can be a powerful impetus.
Incorporation can be be the most difficult of all the phases since we tend to slide back into old familiar patterns.
Our role on earth is to correct injustices.
“We are here to help others. What on earth others are here for, I do not know.” W. H. Auden
During Incorporation we discover and then use our core strength whether we get paid for it or not. Incorporation may dictate keeping our day jobs and the supply lines open so that we can be of help to others in our spare time. Karma does not allow for any excuses.
This is just a brief outline but for more information you can refer to earlier blogs or other numerous texts.
THE HEALING OF MEANING
“Once what you are living and what you are doing has for you meaning it is irrelevant whether you are happy or unhappy. You are content, you are not alone in your spirit, you belong.”
L. Van der Post
Victor Frankl after being interned in a Nazi concentration camp wrote
“We are all in the same boat on a stormy sea and we owe each other a terrible loyalty.” G. K. Chesterton
Others like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi were able to do the same and in spite of suffering severe hardships always maintained their vision for the future. They never lost site of incorporating their mission at some later date.
“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
Seligman the father of positive psychology developed methods to enable others to find meaning, well being and happiness. These included using one's core or signature strengths to help others or something larger than oneself. He stated that accomplishment should not be pursued if it was meaningless.
Buddhism teaches us to take our suffering and make something useful out of it by helping others. Even if this is not in line with our destiny it becomes the path of karma yoga and will bring happiness.
“Wherever you turn you can find someone who needs you. Even if it is a little thing, do something for which there is no pay but the privilege of doing it. Remember you do not live in a world all of your own.” A. Schweitzer
"I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve." A. Schweitzer
DEATH CAN ALSO BE CONSIDERED THE HERO/INE'S FINAL JOURNEY
"May the hero/ine awaken from forgetfulness and transcend all anxiety and sorrow." The Upanishads
Know before you go.
Prepare for what you do not know.
“Death asks not what have you but who are you.
Life’s questions is not what have I but what am I.”
Swami Rama Tirtha
Living virtuously is to die gracefully. The only thing we take with us are our memories and our karma.
For many, even though subconscious, denied and put aside, death can be one of our greatest fears because it is an unknown, intimidating landscape. This does not have to be so. By studying ancient wisdoms we can learn that death is not final - the spirit moves on. The Zohar says we live in a one percent world and there is another 99% waiting to be discovered. We find some of that when we cross the veil between worlds to the other side - usually to one of the Astral realms. Preparing for death is preparing for our final "separation." Like any hero's journey we have to be sure we are well prepared.
This is also the object of this series of blogs, to highlight the work that needs to be done so that death is only a path to a new and more expansive destination and not something to be feared. In a sense the same three phases of the hero can also be applied to death.
Separation: Prepare to separate from all attachments and reconcile any unfinished business.
When we pass over it is critical that our karma is as intact as possible. Realizing our destiny or core strength and helping others is a vital part of this. We need to have no unfinished business or skeletons in the closet that require forgiveness and reconciliation.
If the slate is clean we should be able to go into an existential free fall without any attachments that can impede the journey. We need to have fearless clarity without confusion otherwise we may not see the light or hear the ancestors calling us home. Our state of mind, which is also determined by our karma, will have a lot to do with which Astral vibration we inherit.
Threshold. Navigating the earth bound plane skillfully so that we can pierce the veil and arrive in the vibration we have earned rather than a lesser one. Reconciling our karma on the other side with a spiritual tribunal and learning the errors of our ways. Spiritual laws are operative whether or not we understand them or can explain them or whether or not we even know about them or believe in them.
Incorporating into the next lifetime. Learning in the Astral who we are and need to be and what we did that was unskilful so that we can better navigate the next time around.
We forget mostly everything we encountered on the other side if the veil when we reincarnate. However, we still have that knowledge resident in our soul which can be retrieved as long as we do not succumb to sentient challenges.
Some will have earned a higher vibration in the Causal realm. They will have also found their true destiny. They do not need to reincarnate unless they choose to do so for a special mission. In other words, as the sowed - in prior life times' hero's journeys - so they reaped.
For those that have a morbid fear of death there is hope of cure with the help of entheogens - sacred, mind altering plants taken in ceremony under guidance which allow one to experience other realities other than those on the earth plane that limit our consciousness.
Stanislav Grof in the 60's found that after taking L.S.D. many participants no longer feared death. The F.D.A. has recently cleared the use of psilocybin for patients with refractor illnesses, anxiety or depression which are often associated with a morbid fear of death. The results have shown positive results.
Going on this inner journey can also be part of a hero's journey if the three phases are actualized.
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