In Power
Spirit
the Universe
Okay, Lori... I want to start this by saying that we clearly come from very opposite points of view. That's okay. Anything I have said here isn't personal, though I was accused by a friend of "seeking an argument." That is NOT my agenda, so I hope you (and others) will hear me on that. Frankly, I don't think discussions such as this can be answered with one or two-word responses, but that's just me. In trying to understand where YOU are coming from, I offer my own reference points and attempt to make them clear. But, of course, in the bigger picture, even if you and I came to an understanding (formed a consensus), it really would make no difference whatsoever. So... in many ways, we have to acknowledge that most forum discussions are little more than exercises in stalking our own assimilation.
In talking to you or Michael or Juhani or Jahn or Jen, my agenda isn't to change YOUR mind, but to thoroughly challenge and explore my own. That's what stalkers do. When I am in Dreaming mode, I "inhabit the experience in the Now", but the reason Toltec teaches that a warrior must learn both dreaming AND stalking is because there does come a time when we are required (by ourselves) to form a foundation of Knowledge that is both fluid and cohesive, at the same time. Dreaming (fluidity) and stalking (cohesion).
So, this question is posed from the point of view of a stalker: When you say you have faith in the universe, spirit and power... my question becomes... how would you define those things? What I'm getting at is that when people say they have faith in spirit or the universe, they are usually envisioning some manner of extant "power" - whether god, goddess, atman, or other - and at that point, there is still what amounts to an abdication of power and responsibility from the "self" to something "other". Maybe that's not what you mean. That's what I'm trying to get at here. What DO you mean? Without a further refernce point, they are just words hanging in a void. What is the universe? What is spirit? What is power? Not questions you need to answer if you don't want to - just trying to point out that our definitions of these things, and our experience of them, is not going to be the same, so part of coming to an understanding involves building a common language (as much as is possible - which may be altogether impossible...
The bottom line is simply this: too many people I encounter (including myself!) fall into comfort zones of believing that if they wish for something or hope for something, it is going to come to them. That was part of the whole platform of the latest spiritual fad - "The Secret." The concepts may work at a core level, but unless combined with actual ACTION (dreaming and stalking working together - thought/idea becoming manifested through intent)) they tend to sit dormant in the back of the mind as a "comfort zone". We lose ourselves in "hoping" and put off the "do-ing".
Doesn't matter, of course. It's not my intent or even my hope to change your thinking.
Heartfelt. My intent is only to challenge my own comfort zones - and that often comes in the form of presenting ideas that are not particularly popular. My contention is that if I am "disturbed" by something you say (or vice versa) the stalking exercise has been successful. Obviously (to me anyway) knowledge cannot be traded in the form of words alone. Anything you say to me, anything I say to you, must be filtered through our own processes - and hopefully somewhere in that do-ing, we not only understand ourselves better, but we also build a more cohesive "foundation" that welcomes challenge as an opportunity for growth, rather than automatically retreating from it as a threat to ego or existing comfort zones.
So, since it seem to be an issue and a question, allow me to say publicly that I'm not seeking an "argument." I'm trying to stimulate my own thinking by engaging with others. That is not going to involve joining any consensus and there will be times when it will not even be "politically correct." But, in the bigger picture, isn't that what the path is all about? Challenging our comfort zones? Abolishing all belief systems (including what we believe about words), until we stand face to face with the authentic self?
If we're just here to agree with one another, we're wasting our time.
Heartfelt, unconditionally,
D
