Why am I getting messages that I feel I should have got when I was a child? Why has it taken so long for these messages to reach me? I haven’t been intentionally avoiding them. And if I had, surely one of these messages would have explained why I was doing that and why I shouldn’t. But these messages didn’t arrive until I was much, much older.
Little children are always ready for the teacher but few are sent the right ones.
They say that the teacher arrives when the student is ready. Children are always ready but they must be taught the right things. They must be taught truth or rather, they must have truth mirrored to them. But there are too few people who are capable of doing this. Most of us, as parents and teachers, are better at filling them with mistruths, lies and fears that we ourselves have learned only too well.
So, as a child I was ready but the right teacher didn’t arrive. Instead, I had other teachers who taught me things that, looking back, I would rather not have learnt.
Now this comment is not entirely true and perhaps the following might help to explain why:
They say there are no mistakes in life, there are no accidents and everything happens in its perfect and purposeful way. We don’t always see or accept this because our view of the world is so desperately finite. We only see a tiny, tiny pinhole view of an infinite world. How then can we expect to see the deeper and fuller meaning, the perfect and purposeful account of all our life experiences?
It’s not possible, not unless we somehow acquire that infinite view ourselves. And this is possible and some people have seen it, people like the Buddha and Jesus and Rumi and St Theresa of Avila and St John of the Cross and some shamans and esoteric masters.
Then there are others who catch glimpses of it albeit unexpectedly and in very short bursts, people who enter into near death experiences, or people who spend time in meditation.
The thing is, the languages we speak and write don’t lend themselves to the description of what is seen and experienced. So those who have such experiences have to rely on metaphor or they speak obtusely because they can never really describe what is beyond the capabilities of spoken and written languages. Or they may communicate their knowing through art, music, dance or poetry (which is an abstract use of language).
And those who see or read or listen to these expressions of their experiences may not get the meaning, may take things too literally or may dismiss it outright as esoteric flim-flam.
In the meantime, there’s the rest of us trying to make sense of what is really going on from the tiny pinhole of information that we allow ourselves to see. Yes, I say ‘allow ourselves to see’ because we have learned to block out most of the complete picture for a variety of given reasons:
- You’re not worthy of seeing and understanding the whole picture. Only god is.
- You’re not capable of seeing and understanding the whole picture. Only god is.
- The whole picture might be too scary for you. It might overwhelm you to the point of insanity.
- It’s just not possible to see the whole picture. We humans are not designed for it.
- Only a select few in this world have access to the whole picture, a select few chosen by god or one of god’s messengers.
- You really don’t want to know the whole picture. It could change your life completely and you may not want that.
Nevertheless, some of us keep trying. Not necessarily in an obsessive way but perhaps is a more relaxed way, keeping ourselves open to the possibility of such Enlightenment and keeping in mind that Enlightenment is not an ‘on – off’ thing but an ongoing moment-to-moment thing requiring our ongoing presence.
And we don’t put life on hold while we wait for Enlightenment.We realize that
Enlightenment can only happen in the midst of life, in the picturing and framing and reframing of our experiences, in the focusing of our spiritual lens and the choice of our subject matter.
We realize that Enlightenment is not the light that shines on our experiences but the pictures that emerge when we allow the light to shine. And in between the moments when we allow light to shine, we can make up stories, grand and great stories about the experiences that we have. After all, we are conditioned story tellers except that the ones we tell carry more pessimism than optimism, more pathos than celebration, more problems than possibilities.
So, while we wait for Enlightenment, for more and more moments of Enlightenment, we can make up stories that inspire us rather than depress us, stories that delight us and fire our imagination and predispose us to allowing more light through more often.
After all, why do we seek to be Enlightened if not to help us suffer less and enjoy more? If not to be more free and less imprisoned? If not to love more and fear less? If not to forgive more and hate less? If not to smile more and frown less? If not to be more healthy and less ill? If not to feel more alive and less numb?
So, that’s it. In between the moments of Enlightenment, create amazing stories! No one can tell you they are fantasy at least not any more of a fantasy than the lives we live. Our whole life is a fantasy starting with the way we view ourselves as primarily physical when we know we are essentially pulses of energy which we can feel when we close our eyes and let our thoughts settle while we focus on our breath, for instance.
So, I say, if you’re prone to making up stories, make up amazing ones. You’ll live happier while you wait to become Enlightened. You’re totally allowed to!
MENTORING
Let Life express itself intoxicatingly, uniquely, powerfully and limitlessly in, as and through you. Don’t settle, whatever your age. Know your true Self. Follow your Bliss. Live the Life that you know you want to! Contact me here.
MINDFULNESS ONLINE
Join me every week to sit in the presence of your true Self and experience the greatness of Life flowing naturally, effortlessly and powerfully in, as and through you!