THE SEARCH FOR THE SELF 

 NAVIGATING THE APOCOLYPSE #3A

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. 

Apologies for the repetition which is to remind us of the soul's complexities. 

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 OF KARMA

THE HERO/INE vs. THE WARRIOR ARCHETYPE
THE HEALING OF MEANING
 "FIELD" – CREATOR, SPIRIT GUIDES, GRATITUDE

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE 
LOVE - FORGIVENESS 

ENERGY SYSTEMS

SOUL ARCHITECTURE

“All the talents of God are within you.
 How could this be otherwise when your soul is derived from His genes!” Hafiz

 

“No human soul is like any other human soul, and therefore the love of God for any human soul is infinite, for no other soul can satisfy the same need in God.”  W. B. Yeats

 

God’s love is not a test. God is not a test of love. Karma is the test. God loves us regardless - even more than a loving parent loves a son or daughter when they misbehave.

The soul's journey is intimately connected with its own, unique destiny (and no one else's.) To be complete we have to search for that and serve it to help others. This can be a lengthy process taking many life times. Mostly our wants rather than our needs and being in a sentient body enable us to go astray. An understanding of the soul's structure can help us on our journey.

 

“In every person there is something precious which is in no-one else. And so we should honor each for what is hidden within them for what only they have.” Talmud

 

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” 

C.G. Jung

 

The soul is pure and the soul is single. The soul is never split or parted. The soul, however can split from the body due to the unskillful machinations of our Shadow (Evil Inclination), Ego and Monkey mind. This can result in soul sickness or in extreme cases, soul loss. Ego, Monkey Mind and the Shadow all have their rolls and are necessary. They are not there to be eliminated but to be controlled and confined to their respective tasks which are centered around self-mastery and actualization of the lesser self.  We are continually in a state of flux between Ego, Monkey (Narrow) Mind, and Shadow (Evil Inclination) versus the Higher Self, Big (or Spacious) Mind and our Good Inclination. We need to subordinate the former three to the latter three. Tricksters are usually present to enhance the dark. Our guides are there to facilitate the light - if we ask to receive. Hence there are eight variables to attend. For most of us beginning the journey. there are mainly six. As we ascend up the energy hierarchy we will start to encounter tricksters. We will need to invoke our guides for support because of the law of free will. A spirit guide practice with the help of an altar will enable this connection. Tricksters come unbidden and disobey this cosmic law. They are there to sabotage our ascent to the light. Our guides can facilitate the light and warn us about the tricksters. The best way to manage this flux is with spiritual practice and knowledge, as well as a spirit guide connection.

“From the sound of my sighing has my essence (soul) cleaved onto my flesh (body.)” King David

The soul’s essence should lodge comfortably in the body.

 

The soul yearns to do the Creator’s will and clings to the body when all is well.

A body caught up in cravings and attached to sentient pleasures distances the soul. The soul withdraws causing bodily imbalance and sickness. The body’s (sentient, flesh) attachments need to be broken so the soul (essence) can return to the body. 

 

King David was first a shepherd. Before he became king he was nature bound and probably communed with God in the Creator’s masterpiece of wilderness. The “sound of sighing” is when we achieve equanimity and unity and we feel One with our Self (Soul) and our body and the Creator. Sensory, bodily oriented, active meditations can enable equanimity. 

 

The soul's fulfillment is through the experience of the senses.
The soul's conversation is not of the mind. It is best heard with the senses.

Africans say we pray by singing and dancing and there is a Chassidic saying that with song one can open the gates of heaven. Sacred chanting is another way to unite body and soul.

Shed and shie from what keeps the soul from joy.

 Soul sickness or loss occurs when the soul-essence separates from the body-flesh because of the indiscriminate and irresponsible reveling of the body in the senses due to lack of control over Ego, Monkey Mind and Shadow.  In other words, Samsara, which results in the continual cycle of death and rebirth.

These six energies within us have to be managed. Three of them contract and are fear based and three expand and are love based. All six of them are essential for spiritual transformation. The negative  however, must be subordinated to the positive.

 

The three that contract, impede or constrain and are fear driven:

1.   The small or lesser self or Ego which embellishes our Persona and the image we want to convey to others. The Buddhists call this self-cherishing with an emphasis on the small self.

2.   Monkey (Narrow) Mind, our survival instincts arising from the primitive brain creating our unskillful emotions and linked to our Sympathetic Flight or Fight response. 

3.   The Evil Inclination or the Shadow.

Most are unaware of the wiles of the “evil inclination” 

who is a master of disguises all appealing to our lesser self…

The Shadow is like a chameleon changing colors to disguise itself. It projects it's own darkness onto others and then blames them for what resides within itself. 

"S/he who cannot see themselves canot be redeeemed. We can only be redeemed to extent we can see ourselves." The Talmud

We have to be able to see our shadow to know where the light is coming from in order to embrace that.

“To confront a person with his own Shadow 
(Evil Inclination) 
Is to show him his own light.” Carl Jung

 

Sometimes the bigger the shadow the more the light in term of the Good Inclination,

 

“The soul is like an orb inside which are two worms, one blue, the other red that move constantly. The blue represents good and the red, evil.  These components balance the soul. A balance of the two is essential for all souls to exist. If there is only blue or good, the soul cannot long survive. If there is only red or evil the person deserves not to survive.” Credo Mutwa, Zulu Sangoma or Sanusi (prophet or seer.)

 

“Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and  the act – falls the Shadow. Between the conception and the creation, between the emotion and the response – falls the Shadow. Between the desire and the spasm, between the potency and the existence, between the essence and the descent – falls the Shadow.” T.S. Eliot

 

The shadow wants to project its own negativity onto others so that the ego can feel better about its little self. We would not be able to point fingers at another if those bad qualities were not part of our own Shadow. When we point, there are usually three fingers pointing back at us.

 

It is not the job of our good inclination to do away with our evil inclination nor to overcome it, but rather to balance and guide so that our drives, attitudes and instincts may support our soul's purpose.

While it is true that “Evil Inclination” is a collective name given to the drives and attitudes of our baser instincts, these instincts are necessary for our physical survival and while they can interfere with our spiritual growth and closeness to the Infinite One, it is the Creator who has put within us this inclination just as it is He/She who put within us the inclination to do good.

 

There is a Native American story about a grandfather talking to his grandson and explaining to him that in every person there are two wolves fighting for domination. The one wolf represents good and the other evil. The grandson asks his grandfather; “which one wins?” He replies; “the one that you feed.”

In the figure below we can see the dynamic flux between, light and dark, expansion and contraction, love and fear, sacred and profane, good and evil and between the purple and the red. The only way to handle the flux is through spiritual practice and understanding which will assist our free will in making skillful decisions.

With all your strength, seek knowledge.

"Only an ignorant person does not fear evil,"  Hillel

Action must continually be weighed against intent 

to make sure it serves honesty and purpose.

 

THE SEARCH FOR THE SELF 

 NAVIGATING THE APOCALYPSE #2

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 more we understand ancient spiritual truths and practice them the more equanimity we will have during these crazy times. The Buddhists teach that they are the true hedonists because they teach principles that make us happy. Many of us are looking for happiness in the wrong places. 

We need to keep reviewing and remembering these key truths below.    Repetition is important because so quickly we forget. We need to be constantly reminded about spiritual tenets or for that matter anything important. The mind gets bored with something already heard even if it has not been fully encompassed and embraced. 

Being aware of the lesson is different from learning it. Knowing the path is different from following it.

This blog series is a bird's eye view of our seminal spiritual landscape. We need to keep looking at the map ahead so we do not get lost. "If you don't know where you are going any road will take you there."

After this series we will drill down on them in greater detail.

Each of the following stand alone and together they are a gestalt for the soul's Becoming. There are so many variables out there these days, both light and dark. The only ones we can control are those inside of us.

I will use the same introduction each time so you know where we have been and where we are going. The journey is never finished and is a constant remembering and practicing. 

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 topics are listed below. The ones colored brown will be where we have gone, the purple where we are going.  

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
"FIELD," CREATOR,  SPIRIT GUIDES,  GRATITUDE

AND SPIRITUAL PRACTICE 
LOVE - FORGIVENESS 

ENERGY SYSTEMS

KARMA'S FIVE PRECEPTS

Consequences are neither reward nor punishment, they simply are consequences - natural cause and effect, often not immediate but always inescapable.

Free will determines what we do in terms of our intentions, choices and actions. 

Everyone can ultimately achieve the spiritual perfection for which we are created. This may take many life times because of free will. Free will is always neutral, motivated and catalyzed by one’s desire.

KARMA'S FIVE REQUIREMENTS

Destiny

“… Each soul makes two agreements upon entering the world. The first binds the individual to a distinct destiny that becomes the soul’s great project in life. 

The second entangles each person in the limitations of fate and responsibilities for family and community. While all second agreements can be renegotiated, the first is non-negotiable.” Michael Meade

Each of us has a unique talent to help the planet that no-one else has. Our work is to actualize it.

The hunt for our destiny is the hunt of our lives; stick to the scent, stay on the spoor.

God most delights when you are most you, when you are being most yourself. 

“Everyone has in him/her something Divine, something his own, a chance of perfection and strength, however small, a sphere which God offers him to take or refuse. The task is to find, develop and use it.” Sri Aurobindo

Our core strength which can enable our destiny is also linked to the Hero/ine's journey and the Healing of Meaning.

"To thine own Self be true." W. Shakespeare

"Be true to your myth." Joseph Campbell

Subordinating Ego

“The Light of lights looks always on the motive, not the deed… the shadow of shadows, on the deed alone.” W. B. Yeats

All must be done for its own sake, not for reason of outcome. All is a journey and not a destination and is a continual arriving.

The three deadly sins of karma are self-cherishing the persona (the small self,) desirous attachment and judgment which are also all part of the ego. These as well as the three most deadly sins of karma, greed power and fame/infamy will follow later.

Good deeds bound to an ego motive have karmic consequences.

Emperor Wu asked, “I’ve built temples and ordained monastics; what merit is there in this?”
Bodhidharma replied, “No merit.”

Our contributions to society are valuable but karmically neutral or even negative unless done for their own sake. Wu's contributions should have been anonymous for the sake of his karma.

Doing no harm (Ahimsa)

“See yourself in others then whom can you hurt? What harm can you do?”  Dammapada

“The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.” Roshi

Doing no harm to any of the Four Beings of nature - not just we Talking Beings is seminal to our karma.

"We all inter-are." Thich Nhat Hanh

The breath that is in all beings emanates from the Sacred Wellspring making us one - not the same.

Love

“Love is the most universal, formidable and mysterious of all the cosmic forces.”de Chardin

Love your neighbor as yourself is not a sentiment or an emotion but a commitment to seeing the divine essence in every human no matter how difficult that is. It does not mean we have to like them or have anything to do with them except maybe offering a helping hand in the moment if needed.

"We are all in the same boat in a stormy sea and we owe each other a terrible loyalty." G. K. Chesterton

If the law does not serve love do not serve the law.

Joy

"Everyone will be called to account for all the legitimate pleasures they failed to enjoy." The Talmud

Savor the moments, good or bad - the bad - for the lessons they can teach us.

“Indifference to the sublime wonder of living is the root of sin“ Joshua Heschel

"Joy is not incidental to your spiritual practice, it is vital." 

Rev Nachman

“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.” de Chardin

Joy is an in the moment, exuberant, sensory experience that is difficult for many of us to attain except in rare instances. Rather it is usually about happiness, harmony, equanimity, balance, serenity, well being, all of which can and should be associated with gratitude. 

According to Daniel Kahanaman joy is part of the Experiencing Self.

Happiness on the other hand is often more of an evaluation of past, present and potentially predictable future events and how they feel. He calls this Synthetic Happiness which is part of the Remembering Self as well as our Psychological immune system. 

Synthetic Happiness also has a Reset point.  One bad event can spoil the happiness factor resident in the Remembering Self. He also claims that the last thing that happens to us is what will be recalled and hence it is essential to reset, reframe, reverse and replace this memory with a happy one - walking on the beach, chatting to a good friend, watching a funny movie etc. This information is critical to the times we find ourselves in now. Moreover, if we have watched toxic news or violent movies we may want to "cleanse" ourselves of them afterwards.

Using the senses (responsibly) for this is helpful. This is why the Ancestors are in favor of an embodied sensory practice; dancing, playing a musical instrument, yoga, singing, chanting bhajans or kirtans etc.

The route to God is through the senses. From my flesh will I behold the Divine.

  

 

THE SEARCH FOR THE SELF 

 NAVIGATING THE APOCALYPSE

"People are like tea bags, you only know how strong they are when you put them in hot water." Unknown

This is a large topic which includes a lot of other topics, many of which I have covered over the years in greater detail than I will in this series of blogs. I will highlight them briefly to remind and urge us to manage them especially during these crazy times. We need not to let what is happening on the planet get the better of us. There is always an opportunity in every crisis if we look for it.  Every challenge we face may not be a "problem" - or worse still a crisis - but rather grist for the mill to make us stronger.  The Buddhists look at adversity as tests of their spiritual fortitude. Especially during these troubled times we need to enhance our inner resources and find ways to maintain our equanimity and maintain our spiritual vibration is spite of the negatives around us. Committing  to a spiritual life can help allay our stresses and fears. 

There are only two feelings, love and fear and there are so many troubling variables "out there" pushing us towards fear.  Fear can result from the following; threat to life, limb, organ or function, religious or superstitious, fear of the occult and the unknown, social and threats to the ego or one's persona (shame being the most severe.)  Religious fanaticism in Jihad is threatening our existence and is bent on eventually getting rid of all infidels unless they buy into Sharia law. Authoritarianism is doing the same to control for different reasons. They are both  about barbarism, power and greed. These together with other planetary disturbances threaten us and cause stress and fear. What we need to strive for is eustress. Finding the light in the adversity - turning the crap into manure. A spiritual life can help us do so.

Balance is achieved by harmonizing polarities. Dualities come into harmony by negotiating a third or middle path, 

a path not of assimilation but a path of coexistence.

We have to find the balance between the sacred and the profane, the light and the dark, the good and the evil, the positive and the negative,  There can be no growth without conflict. It is all part of some grand mystical and mysterious conundrum. We cannot have one without the other. There is no rose without a thorn. When the dark overwhelms we need to bring in more light.

THE SEARCH FOR THE SELF

The search for the Self, the real Self, the True Self, the Soul, or that perfection made in the image of the Creator should be at the core of all human motivation whether we know it or not or strive for it or not.

“Before the soul enters this world it is conducted through all worlds. Last of all it is shown the first light which when the world was created illuminated all things and which God removed when mankind grew corrupt. Why is the soul shown this light? 

So that from that hour on it may yearn to attain the light and approach it rung by rung.”

That light is the soul coming into full recognition of its-Self and that it is pure light. Unity consciousness - being one with the Infinite One. Those that have had Near Death Experiences seem to have encountered that same light - which is pure love. They are never the same afterwards and they yearn to attain the light and approach it rung by rung. We need to do the same.

The journey itself is the place of being, it is never finished; the being is always becoming. The road to this place is the road of surrender.

SELF REALIZATION, ENLIGHTENMENT OR THE PROCESS OF "BECOMING"

The process of becoming is a journey and not a destination.

 "Kabir says, friend, there are very few who find the way.”

The gates are wide but few will enter.

FREE WILL - THE COSMIC LAW

"Becoming" may take many life times because of free will. 
Free will is always neutral, motivated and catalyzed by 
one’s own desire.
You cannot say, the devil made me do it.

 

One needs to rise to a certain level of excellence to achieve "Enlightenment." Spiritual perfection is a state of impossibility. Hence the Ancestors prefer the word “Becoming” to that of Self-Realization or Enlightenment which may assume a fixed point. There is always another level of vibration to realize above the one that we have attained. Once a certain level of excellence is fulfilled, we are no longer required to continue on the journey of “samsara,” the cycle of death, reincarnation and rebirth with its mundane existence and suffering. Without the tension delivered in the multitude of polarities around us there would be no challenge and no possibility for Becoming. Our challenge is the gift of living in a sentient body. When we go to the other side, the spirit lives on but we drop the physical body and we are no longer confined to the senses. Being sentient is a gift. Managing it responsibly - so as not to pollute the soul which is pure - is the challenge.

  

… I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.”   William Ernest Henley

 

With all your strength get knowledge.

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.

IMPERMANENCE

"A net is spread out for the living. Everything is given on loan (impermanent) and all is preparation for a grand celebration.” Rev Akiva

Do not think to store in cisterns for they will crumble, and the water will be lost.

 

Everything is already in the process of being broken so we need to enjoy it without attachment. Savor all the moments, even the bad ones for the lessons they bring. Joy or happiness is an imperative for our karma. To actualize the moments karmically we need to savor them. We are here to take pleasure but to do so responsibly. This is why the Ancestors are in favor of a sensory driven spiritual practice.

If we think of ourselves paddling our sentient body in a canoe down the river of life eventually heading to the other side across the veil, we can consider the two banks representing Attachment and Non-Attachment.

If we touch up against the bank of pleasure, joy and happiness we should be in the moment, enjoy it fully and then push back into midstream. When we end up on the bank of pain, suffering and misery we should, by all the methods given to us by the sages, look for the learning opportunities and head back to midstream with equanimity. We never set up camp or become attached to either bank.

Harrison Owen's rules of non-attachment can help us.

“Whoever are present are the right people.

Whenever it begins is the right time.

Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened.

When it’s over – it’s over.”

 

KARMA and FREE WILL

The results of cause and effect are often not immediate because they would influence free will.

Karma is about spiritual merit, not material achievement. The law of cause and effect is about accountability and the spiritual consequences thereof. About how we do things? Out of love and for their own sake or out of fear and for an agenda. The yogis say that any motivation bound to an ego motive will buy us another life time.

When we eventually cross over the veil between worlds to the Astral realms (there are multiple vibrations and possibilities) we will have to account for our deeds to a Spiritual Tribunal. This is not judgment day  but as we sew so we reap. We are lovingly shown the errors of our ways which determine our next incarnation.

The laws of Karma which will be covered in the next blog arise out of Five Imperatives: 

Fulfilling our destiny. 

Correcting injustice and helping the planet.

Doing no harm to any of the Four Beings of nature. 

Subordinating ego to the Higher Self.

Love. 

Experiencing the joy of living, having gratitude and savoring the moments.

We are continually being tested - not about how much we know or how well we perform but that our trust, our love and our faith are being always tested at unexpected times in often unrecognized guises…