The book
of Revelation in the Bible is a bit of a mystery to most who are familiar with
it and probably unfamiliar to many. I took a Bible study on Revelation a couple
years ago. It is filled with vivid imagery of the "end times" when
all humanity comes face to face with the great Creator and Lord of life. He is
here to judge and make right all that is wrong. There will be a new world, and
it will be glorious. But, the reckoning is intense and scary. Some might liken
it to a "bad acid trip".
Some
people view the Bible literally and some metaphorically. The Bible as a whole
is designed to operate in different ways. Some parts are historical, some
metaphorical, some allegorical, and some parts, "the voice of the people
from time immemorial." The Psalms, in particular, speak to the deep realm
and spectrum of emotions and human experience.
For me
whether you take the bible literally or metaphorically is really a moot point.
Let me explain. From a Yogic perspective our inner world shapes our outer
world. In other words, our own perspective shapes our reality. As our
perspective begins to broaden, so does our understanding of the events around
us. In my opinion our feelings are a mere key to inform us of our own
perspective. Our feelings can shape our thoughts, and our thoughts create our
reality. What we think matters – a lot. “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
This is warning not only to our words and actions, but taking it down to the
core, changing not just the outer man, but the deep, deep inner man. This is
one of the reasons I reject the notion (from part one
of this blog series) that our feelings are of supreme importance and deserve to
dictate at all costs. I think it is a step in the wrong direction, a diving
into sickness at all costs – all the while justifying the decent all the way
down the rabbit hole.
Think
Dante's Inferno. Allow me to clarify.
Feelings are important, they inform. We should honor them as the sacred
messengers who are informing us of our own deepest prejudices, wounds, and places
where we are "stuck". Should we stifle them, repress them, shut them
down, and up, just move on? Of course not. Should we wallow in them, make them
the only thing that really matters, allow them to dictate our truth and shape
reality? No, of course not. “There is a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a
time to mourn, and a time to dance.” In other words, acknowledge them, honor
them, explore them for the end goal of moving on and through. Everybody has
their journey in this thing called life.
I cannot
answer the questions of why I am " white privilege" and do not deal
with the plight of racism. Whether a person of color experiences
"real" or perceived racism, the feelings of pain are the same. I do
not need to try to enter into their deep well of experience and convince them
that what they feel is only a perception and not reality as they feel it. It is
not my "job". My "job" on this planet as a spiritual being
is to be a human being and show them empathy, kindness, compassion and
ultimately love. This is what our Lord Christ taught as Truth incarnate, as
well as a human being.
Getting
closer to being walking Truth makes us more human, not less. If this same
person comes to me asking for my perspective, I might step into one of the many
roles I play in this walk called life
(a friend, a teacher, a nurturing mother, a sister, etc.) and show them my
perspective on the situation. Perhaps, if it is the right time, and place and situation,
this wounded soul will be able to open a window to a new reality that is
broader and kinder, a healing balm. It may well be that the situation they confronted
is "true racism". There are “people that walk in darkness", like
those who are racist from their own deep fallenness, But for the person who is
confronting that, when their own inner wound has been healed and they know on a
cellular level that they are not less
than, these things will not affect them, or at least in the same way as
before. It will no longer be putting salt on a wound, but rather a more
tempered and legitimate, manageable reaction. Their core will not kick into
panic in "fight or flight mode", but rather they will hear, see, and
experience the situation much more objectively because they know the Truth. They
may feel sadness for the fallen man, or man's darkness. After all, Christ sweat
tears of blood in the garden of Gethsemane and experienced great sorrow for the
state of mankind. This is part of the human experience, but he "did not
take it personally".
So it all
comes back to the basic question: Is there such a thing as objective reality or
Truth? And if so, how can we embrace that objective reality and not fall into
the trap of being convinced that our subjective perceptions are reality as it
is. For me the answer lies in coming back daily to that objective Truth and
then measuring that against what is felt and perceived. I was at a heart opening
conference at the Himalayan Institute a couple years ago. We were handed out a
sheet with some texts from the Ancient Indian scriptures (the Bhagavad Gita) as well as some quotes
from the Bible. We started as a group to "work through" these texts, and
there were especially strong rejection reactions when we came to Isaiah 45:
6-7: “There is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form
light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the
LORD, who does all these things.” This was followed on the page by Augustine’s
interpretation:
All
that happens to us in this world against our will (whether due to me or to
other causes) happens to us only by the will of God, by the disposal of
Providence, by His orders and under His guidance; and if from frailty of our
understanding we cannot grasp the reason for some event, let us attribute it to
divine Providence, show Him respect by accepting it from His hand, and believe
firmly that He does not send it to us without cause.
“All that
happens…” People were mad, even hostile. Some of the responses were: "That
sounds just like the fundamentalist garbage I grew up with", "What about
the poor, the needy the sick, the wars, the list goes on and on....????"
Our master responded calmly. And being a master the tone and sea of emotions
were calmed in an instant. He responded empathetically (hint hint) and said
these are such noble pursuits and feelings (being concerned, wanting to change
these situations) and softly went on.
I went to
another conference at the institute where Swami Rama was teaching from a video
(which had been taken before his death). He spoke about the book of Revelation.
From his great wisdom and Yogic perspective, this is an inner experience that
one has when they are able to pass from the depths of their fallenness into the
fullness of Christ (he did not use those exact words, but that is my
understanding) – when the last bit of Maya (illusion, darkness) has the light
of Truth shined in its face.
Now weeks
after the election people are still spinning. As I have heard so many times
from different people, PC has gone out the window. For so very many salt is
being poured on people's deep wounding. The fallen nature has reared its
darkness and "it ain't pretty".
What I do
know to be my personal truth and present perception is that this is not in the
end about whether Donald Trump or HRC is president, but rather that there is a
much greater plan at work by our Creator that will play out as it is meant to
play out.
I had a
conversation a few years back when I was in Yoga teacher training with my
teacher of that course. I explained my own existential dilemma about my
"role" in life. I have followed my heart and have been an artist, a
mother, a teacher, a yogi, but are these my true calling? Should I be doing
more for the state of humanity? Is there something bigger, something better
that I should try to do and be? Her answer to me was so simple and so very
helpful. She said your job is to do your daily practice. I can tell you, this
changed my life and lined up the order of importance of my being.
Come to
the Lord daily, consistently with seeking and He will guide your path. "Seek
and ye shall find.” I did not have to suffer endless hours of questioning,
tugging back and forth with this and that. Most times we over-complicate things
so much. Being simple can seem to be so very complex. Time to follow the Nike
slogan and "Just do it." What a burden lifted off my shoulders that I
was carrying, when it needed only to be handed over to Him. I do not have to
figure it all out, just like I do not have to be the moral judge of the world. That
is his job, and he does it perfectly. The world we look at might not always
seem so, but look very closely: Is that Him, or is that fallen man?
Come back
to nature and see his perfect creation, and beauty. The Creator creates out of
love, for that is his very nature. So "be ye therefore perfect even as the
Father". Be love, be empathy, be compassion. Discard your fallen nature, gently,
and embrace your divine nature daily. The end.
No comments:
Post a Comment