Sunday, March 28, 2004
The Stages of Transformation
The Merchant's Son
At dawn I rose
and went to the
field of rice
at the edge of my father's land
.
The sun ascended,
branding the earth
with its scarlet stain of love.
I said my prayers,
chanted my verses,
drank the golden air.
Shiva came into my body.
One day
I heard the cry of Ganesha
thunder through the valleys,
echo over the fields.
That day I left,
went into the forest
to find him I yearned for,
my betrothed,
bridegroom of the blazing locks,
body of fire.
copyright, Dorothy Walters
The Devotee Arrives on the Banks of the Ganges
O, my beloved, what
is this torrent
pouring down upon us,
o, my secret soul,
I am drowning
in this flood of feeling,
this rushing through my body,
my cells,
even my bones
are shaking in quiet joy.
I will stand here forever.
I will remain fixed
always, day and night,
locked in holy embrace with you,
sage of the burning locks,
the one who ceaselessly dances
the earth aflame in beauty.
copyright, Dorothy Walters
THE STAGES OF SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION
YEARNING
The time of yearning is one of the most important stages in the spiritual journey. It may last months or years, or lifetimes, even. The disciple must want, beyond all else, some sign or token or intimation that there is hope for connection with something yet unseen. It is the ache of the heart for the invisible other, the something more that is sensed but not yet manifest.
CONCLUSION: Always attend to the inner voice. When you are ready, it will speak to you in a distinctive tone, and focus your psyche on what is after all most important--finding who you are.
SEEKING
This is the period of active search, through books, teachers, practices which one tries out to see what ensues. One tests and explores. One seeks and either finds or rejects. Often it during this period that a "false teacher" will arise. If one is victim of such spiritual fraud, one may turn away from the path entirely, or else try other approaches. Now the devotee is a wiser, less vulnerable pilgrim. Innocence has been lost, but a certain protection has been gained.
CONCLUSION: Find the approach that is right for you. You will intuitively recognize it, in the way you discover the right life partner or the perfect vocation. Avoid the "one size fits all" approach.
UNION
Ecstatic union may or may not come in this lifetime. Earnest practice will not guarantee it. Service in the name of a higher power will not insure that such an epiphany will occur. Grace alone operates in this sphere. Whatever form the revelation takes, it will be a monumental surprise. It may come suddenly, as in the "lightening flash" of awakening. It may be the result of long effort over time. Seeming lack of success in no way means your efforts are in vain, or that you are somehow a less worthy person. There is great benefit for both you and those about you if you are steadfast in your search, for you are "making your soul," as Yeats put it. But now you are entering the world of pure Mystery, and no one can be certain how it will unfold.
Conclusion: Love comes to us in many ways, and all are of value.
INTEGRATION
This is one of the last stages (for most of us in this incarnation). We seek to bring together the old and the new beings within, we give ourselves now to one, now to the other. We pursue our chosen practice, and may feel that we have been kissed by the divine. But we also try to reclaim our place in the world, looking perhaps the same as we did before but utterly transfigured within. We try to perform our usual functions in society, with greater or lesser success. We may suddenly reject our old occupations, and even withdraw completely from the world for a time. We long to find others to tell our story to. We are "reborn," but who are we now?
CONCLUSION: This process will continue one way or another for the rest of our lives. We will constantly discover new experience, novel revelation, experience fresh infusions of mystery. We will never know exactly what it is which has occurred, but we will follow with trust and assurace. We cannot name it exactly, but we know that this transformation is why we have been born.
RETURNING THE GIFT
Now our foremost desire is to give back to the world some of the fruits of our journey. We will find ways to share according to our individual talents and capacities. What we want most of all is to help others who are struggling in a similar search. In this way, the benefit becomes universal, not merely personal.
CONCLUSION: These are some of the traditional stages of the archetypal journey. It is the most important of all life experiences, for it has to do with the soul's discovery of its true nature and place in the universe. Each person will experience the process in unique terms, for each being is truly of a special design.
At dawn I rose
and went to the
field of rice
at the edge of my father's land
.
The sun ascended,
branding the earth
with its scarlet stain of love.
I said my prayers,
chanted my verses,
drank the golden air.
Shiva came into my body.
One day
I heard the cry of Ganesha
thunder through the valleys,
echo over the fields.
That day I left,
went into the forest
to find him I yearned for,
my betrothed,
bridegroom of the blazing locks,
body of fire.
copyright, Dorothy Walters
The Devotee Arrives on the Banks of the Ganges
O, my beloved, what
is this torrent
pouring down upon us,
o, my secret soul,
I am drowning
in this flood of feeling,
this rushing through my body,
my cells,
even my bones
are shaking in quiet joy.
I will stand here forever.
I will remain fixed
always, day and night,
locked in holy embrace with you,
sage of the burning locks,
the one who ceaselessly dances
the earth aflame in beauty.
copyright, Dorothy Walters
THE STAGES OF SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION
YEARNING
The time of yearning is one of the most important stages in the spiritual journey. It may last months or years, or lifetimes, even. The disciple must want, beyond all else, some sign or token or intimation that there is hope for connection with something yet unseen. It is the ache of the heart for the invisible other, the something more that is sensed but not yet manifest.
CONCLUSION: Always attend to the inner voice. When you are ready, it will speak to you in a distinctive tone, and focus your psyche on what is after all most important--finding who you are.
SEEKING
This is the period of active search, through books, teachers, practices which one tries out to see what ensues. One tests and explores. One seeks and either finds or rejects. Often it during this period that a "false teacher" will arise. If one is victim of such spiritual fraud, one may turn away from the path entirely, or else try other approaches. Now the devotee is a wiser, less vulnerable pilgrim. Innocence has been lost, but a certain protection has been gained.
CONCLUSION: Find the approach that is right for you. You will intuitively recognize it, in the way you discover the right life partner or the perfect vocation. Avoid the "one size fits all" approach.
UNION
Ecstatic union may or may not come in this lifetime. Earnest practice will not guarantee it. Service in the name of a higher power will not insure that such an epiphany will occur. Grace alone operates in this sphere. Whatever form the revelation takes, it will be a monumental surprise. It may come suddenly, as in the "lightening flash" of awakening. It may be the result of long effort over time. Seeming lack of success in no way means your efforts are in vain, or that you are somehow a less worthy person. There is great benefit for both you and those about you if you are steadfast in your search, for you are "making your soul," as Yeats put it. But now you are entering the world of pure Mystery, and no one can be certain how it will unfold.
Conclusion: Love comes to us in many ways, and all are of value.
INTEGRATION
This is one of the last stages (for most of us in this incarnation). We seek to bring together the old and the new beings within, we give ourselves now to one, now to the other. We pursue our chosen practice, and may feel that we have been kissed by the divine. But we also try to reclaim our place in the world, looking perhaps the same as we did before but utterly transfigured within. We try to perform our usual functions in society, with greater or lesser success. We may suddenly reject our old occupations, and even withdraw completely from the world for a time. We long to find others to tell our story to. We are "reborn," but who are we now?
CONCLUSION: This process will continue one way or another for the rest of our lives. We will constantly discover new experience, novel revelation, experience fresh infusions of mystery. We will never know exactly what it is which has occurred, but we will follow with trust and assurace. We cannot name it exactly, but we know that this transformation is why we have been born.
RETURNING THE GIFT
Now our foremost desire is to give back to the world some of the fruits of our journey. We will find ways to share according to our individual talents and capacities. What we want most of all is to help others who are struggling in a similar search. In this way, the benefit becomes universal, not merely personal.
CONCLUSION: These are some of the traditional stages of the archetypal journey. It is the most important of all life experiences, for it has to do with the soul's discovery of its true nature and place in the universe. Each person will experience the process in unique terms, for each being is truly of a special design.
