Friday, March 31, 2006
Reflections on Moving and a poem
You too Have Heard Them
You know these well.
You too have heard their voices.
How they proclaim
in various tongues
that they alone
have looked
Truth in the eye,
fastened the Word to a text.
For only they have glimpsed
the Holy Vessel,
recorded its echoes
in the chambers of the soul.
What should we make
of these insistent claims?
Others speak of
many truths, many paths,
all leading to the same destination,
the summit, final Vision.
Dorothy Walters
March 19, 2006
"Moving" involves a great deal more than transferring the self and one's belongings to a new location. The entire psyche is rearranged, the self is remade, everything inside one's consciousness is shuffled about, as if an earthquake had interrupted the normal contours of a familiar landscape. One must adjust to new terrain outside, the unfamiliar compartments (rooms) of the dwelling inside. There is a new way of doing things--from shopping for groceries to taking a different mode of transportation to one's destination.
But there are many rewards in such a move. There is a deep sense of renewal, rebirth even, as one discovers the new identity being shaped within. One's true friends come to the fore, with offers of help and support. One becomes an explorer, adventuring into new psychological and physical territory. What was close is now far away, but what was distant is within easy reach.
Kundalini, of course, is the greatest "mover" of all, well beyond most physical shifts. The experience is a major demarcation in the life--there is all that went before vs. what transpires thereafter. And only those who have undergone such dramatic transitions can understand its true impact on the life.
For this reason, those who share kundalini awakening can communicate in a special way. They understand each other without lengthy explanation, speak without the need for detailed description. To be with one or more of such kindred souls is, indeed, what I call a "visit to the home planet." It is as though we share a common origin, and come from similar beginnings, whether physical or spiritual. Whatever else may be true, we know who we are, that's for sure.
I had one such experience recently with two friends, one of whom I met for the first time. As always, I loved "hearing her story." When she was in her early twenties, she was "awakened" by a master in an unexpected shaktipat, something she was totally unprepared for. Since that time, she has dedicated her life to spiritual service. Her narrative gave me quite a lot to think about in terms of the usefulness of a "master" in the spiritual process. Generally, my attitude is that expressed in the poem above. But for her, "discipleship" obviously worked. Through her awakening process, she was "moved" from being a rather giddy young pleasure seeker to become a serious (though fun loving) pilgrim on the path. And, interestingly, she says that now she relies primarily on her inner guides, rather than outer authority, even though it was the guru who "jump started" her spiritual process.
As the movie title asked, "What the (blank) do we know?"
You know these well.
You too have heard their voices.
How they proclaim
in various tongues
that they alone
have looked
Truth in the eye,
fastened the Word to a text.
For only they have glimpsed
the Holy Vessel,
recorded its echoes
in the chambers of the soul.
What should we make
of these insistent claims?
Others speak of
many truths, many paths,
all leading to the same destination,
the summit, final Vision.
Dorothy Walters
March 19, 2006
"Moving" involves a great deal more than transferring the self and one's belongings to a new location. The entire psyche is rearranged, the self is remade, everything inside one's consciousness is shuffled about, as if an earthquake had interrupted the normal contours of a familiar landscape. One must adjust to new terrain outside, the unfamiliar compartments (rooms) of the dwelling inside. There is a new way of doing things--from shopping for groceries to taking a different mode of transportation to one's destination.
But there are many rewards in such a move. There is a deep sense of renewal, rebirth even, as one discovers the new identity being shaped within. One's true friends come to the fore, with offers of help and support. One becomes an explorer, adventuring into new psychological and physical territory. What was close is now far away, but what was distant is within easy reach.
Kundalini, of course, is the greatest "mover" of all, well beyond most physical shifts. The experience is a major demarcation in the life--there is all that went before vs. what transpires thereafter. And only those who have undergone such dramatic transitions can understand its true impact on the life.
For this reason, those who share kundalini awakening can communicate in a special way. They understand each other without lengthy explanation, speak without the need for detailed description. To be with one or more of such kindred souls is, indeed, what I call a "visit to the home planet." It is as though we share a common origin, and come from similar beginnings, whether physical or spiritual. Whatever else may be true, we know who we are, that's for sure.
I had one such experience recently with two friends, one of whom I met for the first time. As always, I loved "hearing her story." When she was in her early twenties, she was "awakened" by a master in an unexpected shaktipat, something she was totally unprepared for. Since that time, she has dedicated her life to spiritual service. Her narrative gave me quite a lot to think about in terms of the usefulness of a "master" in the spiritual process. Generally, my attitude is that expressed in the poem above. But for her, "discipleship" obviously worked. Through her awakening process, she was "moved" from being a rather giddy young pleasure seeker to become a serious (though fun loving) pilgrim on the path. And, interestingly, she says that now she relies primarily on her inner guides, rather than outer authority, even though it was the guru who "jump started" her spiritual process.
As the movie title asked, "What the (blank) do we know?"
