MYSTICAL JOURNEY

It has been said that the mystic floats on the water that the psychotic is drowning in. I suspect there's not been that many definitive studies in this regard, but there is, I believe, a pattern of seeing that is held in common. Not in every case but certainly, it's the main element for many. Both involve seeing the part of the world that is invisible to, insignificant from, or ignored by the mainstream cultural, religious, and political society. Both are marginalized and labeled as not fitting in or not embracing all that makes up the way things are done by the majority. This is a very general understanding with lots of exceptions, yet in the context of history and human nature, similar dynamics are at play, regardless of development and advancement. Sophistication is not enough to change or coverup underlying realities.

This is all a bit of tosh, as the Brits say, if there isn't a practical, effective and meaningful understanding. Explanations, rationalizations, and suppositions are many times not enough to cover what is seen. Some live in air tight worlds in which all that is in their sight is accounted for in one way or the other. Many think they have most of it put together so what doesn't make sense about the rest is not enough to create any difference. Others wrestle with what they see and don't have any pat theories, theologies or ideologies as they've seen enough hypocrisy, incongruity, and inconsistency to believe there isn't an understanding that covers everything. But that doesn't mean there won't be one at some point. So, it's not hard to believe that a number of people can get lost in all of this, especially if they see it in a fuller way while still holding onto expectations.

The mystics here can be seen as a fools if they detach themselves from all that they see and live as if nothing in the world affects them. Rather, it is with an ever growing vision and empathetic awareness that they live without answers or fulfilled expectations. It's not like walking a tight rope or skydiving without a parachute. Help is there. It's just not predetermined where that help comes from, how it comes or who it comes through.

You usually don't wake up one day and decide to be a mystic. It's more likely that, after you travel for quite a ways spiritually and still haven't found a place to be, you find a mystical understanding has been fitting you for quite awhile. Some don't have to travel far at all before they find their spiritual home. Others seem to need more exploration before they settle down. And oddly, many who travel great distances, in the end, find themselves back where they started. I don't believe there's a right way or a wrong way to do the spiritual journey, but there are some understandings that can make a difference, especially if you don't believe the mainstream is doing as well as they claim.

The spiritual or mystical journey is an accumulation of stuff - insights, experiences, disappointments, hurts, elations, changes, ideas, dead ends, inspirations, and everyday struggles. All, I think, to help us see the way things really are for ourselves and for others, also to see and know who we really are. 

Sometimes that begins with seeing that we have a soul to fully grow and develop just as we grow and develop in other ways. So much can be said about what it means to have a soul or like C.S. Lewis said, "You don't have a soul. You are soul. ....You have a body." Certainly we are heart , mind and spirit as well, but the essence as well as the sum can be seen as soul.

I'm as skeptical and untrusting as they come, so it took me a long time to follow the inner direction that was becoming stronger and stronger. I relaxed some once I saw that it was healing what needed to be healed and was revealing me my true self, warts and all. With this came a freedom to live as I saw fit, away from all that said you can't do it your way. 

It is sometimes too hard to live from the inside out along the mystical journey, but that's were everything is happening. I wouldn't discount the exteriors of what it takes to live in this world as they all are parts of the journey and of being here, make of them what you will. But remember what is going to have the greatest value in the end. 

The mystical journey is not for everyone. There are other modalities that can accomplish the same thing.  It should not be seen as a higher way or existing in between two worlds or possessing special knowledge, even though some understand it that way. Likewise, it is not a panacea or cure all that takes care of all your concerns with little or no effort. 

For me, there's still plenty that needs to be fixed, learnt, and changed along the way. But the list isn't as long as it used to be nor as detailed as the one my wife compiled. I'm confident in the direction, in the instruction and in the consultation. The more time I have given it, the more natural everything has become. After all, it's proven to be the right fit for me, and it is ....the path that will take me home.

BONUS PIC

CREDITS: IMG QUOTES, HUFFINGTON POST, POETRY IN MOTION, S. GROF-TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY, JOSEPH CAMPBELL

WHO SAYS SO?

On Saturdays evenings, the next show after APHC (A Prairie Home Companion) on WGBH in Boston is SAYS YOU!, a radio game show of bluff and bluster, words and whimsy as they always say at the opening. I can't identify my fascination with such a low key show. It's the same show every week except for the words and sometimes that's not true if they bring back a classic round. Perhaps it's the collegial interaction and word play that makes for an hour of obfuscation, conjecture and humorous wit similar to early game shows on TV like I've Got a Secret, What's My Line? and the various forms of To Tell The Truth.

As I recall, Says You! was a sarcastic rejoinder indicating disbelief, questionable veracity or unsubstantiated opinion. Similarly, you could use the question Who says so? Many kids asking their parents the question Why? got the usual Because I told you so? Apparently, their authority was sufficient. I was brought up in an era where you were to respect your elders. But many of them were real dumb asses. I should have made more inquiries but the usual adult answer, or judgment, wasn't really worth the possibility of punishment. Nevertheless, the well placed request for further clarification served me well at times.

If Because I Said So! doesn't work, the usual is to cite some even higher authority, perhaps an expert in the field or someone higher up in the chain of command or a popular figure whose understanding has more merit just because of their celebrity status from acting, playing sports, reporting the news, writing book or books that are commercially viable (especially if they have been made into movies), making scientific discoveries, having exceptional musical or artistic talent, or excelling in any other area that represents the best that the mainstream has to offer and of course, have been on Charlie Rose more than once.

If citing a popular mainstream figure doesn't work, there are a few steps, but only a few steps, before the dialogue escalates to the ultimate authority. Appeals to philosophy, spirituality, personal responsibility, rationality, practicality and basic human values can be made to some effectiveness but are often skipped for what we think is irrefutable. 

Even though I've done so myself, I'm not sure exactly sure why this approach is taken. I never put it on a placard, but I certainly saw things that way for some time. It's all rather convenient to have all your duckies in a row. It's not just a coincidence that you're right about everything.

It seems that we like to make rules, codes, standards, and laws that are expected to be obeyed, especially by others. We also like to form groups that are governed by procedures, policies and regulations. I guess all of this is so we can immerse ourselves in political processes and interactions as we struggle over money and power in our pursuit of recognition and superiority. It's amazing how comfortable that can feel. Being a part of the whole is very important. And labels make all the difference.

I read the other day about a group of the people who started an atheists' church, which doesn't seem so odd if you think about it. But the church ended up splitting over how much they should emphasize their atheism. I had to chuckle.  

What is the name of your group? Feel free to string together as many identifiers as you need. How much does it control you? Someone wisely said, "What you can't freely criticize or question controls you." I think they were from New Jersey. There are now more registered Independents than ever before. And the number of people who say they have no religious affiliation is climbing. I'm not sure how much of this counts as a trend but additionally, it also seems there are more groups within the big, main groups that want to be heard. Some of course would just want to take over.

I don't think we'll see an outbreak of individual freedom anytime soon, but more possibilities are obviously being considered. There are a lot of reasons not to be part of the crowd, to find your own way, to be open to other ways of knowing, to believe you only need some truth not all the truth, to be more a part of creation than the world, to float upon the waters of fear and hate until you are able to walk on them and perhaps above all, to always ask, "Who Says So?" 

BONUS PIC

CREDITS

PEW RESEARCH CENTER, SAYS YOU!, POTHEOS.COM, AJJOSHI.COM, STEFAN SAGMEISTER,  MATHFAIL.COM, LOTUS GROUP, HUFF POST FGU, GETTY 

STEPPING INTO THE MYST

MOMENTS IN THE MYSTICAL MARGINS

We are all part of the mainstream to one degree or another, rather we like it or not. Some want to be in The Mainstream as it's usually seen as the final authority in all things and where all the money is. Getting recognized for your participation in it and contribution to it seems like one of the goals. Of course, grasping all the power and privilege you can get has to be a lofty achievement as well. 

One of the first questions people usually ask is, "What do you do?" The answer is most assuredly met with a lot of assumptions, presuppositions and judgements, rather intended or not. It's the placement question that put's you on a scale or in a classification that may or may not be changed. I think it's a natural product of human evolution. 

It takes some longer than others to get the difference between how everything is said to work and how everything actually does work. I'm not sure if you're supposed to be more impressed or less impressed. I do know there's much that I like about our modern way of life, particularly when I have to go to the hospital. Yet there's something deep inside me that  is aware of other streams of life that have no scales or classifications.

Over the years, the most enjoyable times have been when I was drawn into nature when it seemed to be a portal to a place that only my soul and spirit could really appreciate. There was an extra something there, a sense of peace and aliveness.

It doesn't always have to be where such might come naturally. In the cities where I have lived, the parks had few if any, people in  them when it was snowing hard. The falling snow seemed like a barrier or enclosure that created the illusion of being insulated from what the city was doing.

Driving in the falling snow can often feel very similar and is particularly satisfying if you have that one special traveling companion with you. 

Perhaps the best was when my wife and I were driving over the pass to Durango in the falling snow. I think we only met one car. When telling a friend, she asked, "Didn't you think there might be a reason?" I guess we didn't because it was later in the winter and the snow level was fairly high which created a whole new look. It was a spectacular spiritual wonderland that needed to be enjoyed and taken in. Unless we went off a cliff of course. Then it would have been a true portal to the other side.

These moments were only one of the many ways to sense something special in life that runs counter to the mainstream. Mystical margins exist in many different places, forms and experiences. For me, becoming more aware of them has been essential. I've learned not to define life by the final authorities or in a way that still fits in somehow. I am grateful for the moments where convention has no place and other possibilities arise.

More and more, I am drawn to the hope that lies in what is never considered.

MAKING SOMETHING OF SOMETHING MORE

It's hard enough to get some agreement on what is in the physical realm much less the metaphysical. Some are content with a material universe, some are satisfied with a particular immaterial construct that explains and defines everything and some, perhaps the majority, have a combination of both held in varying degrees, ratios, and emphases. Common phrases like we're all alone, he's so heavenly minded, he's no earthly good, and the opposite of that, plus in the world but not of the world similarly I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger, which in more modern times does not apply to many religious, and God is on our side are just a few expressions of or approaches to living. There are also sayings about saying anything about the areas that even angels fear to tread. But when the options don't satisfy, help, fit, make sense or get you to where you need to go, further explanations are sought.

The universe, and the part of it that we get to live on, is a wonderment as are all the creatures except snakes, mice and flies.  The human body is a masterful construction that has an integrated economy of function on the highest level. To be able to contemplate and explore how humans came to be, along with other classical questions, points to a dimension that questions if such complexity could come from a singular source or modality. It seems as if some have made the answer to that a sole determinate. Which comes up short when you consider how many more mysteries need to be explored. But in doing so, a couple factors are in play, the limit or capacity for man to know and understand, and what he has done with what is already known.

However, you can't discount all that humans have accomplished and the amount of civility they have been able to obtain. It appears that humans do well with all things physical noting the many changes over time and especially the last couple centuries. One can only imagine someone who was born in the last of the horse and buggy days and lived long enough to witness the landing on the moon. Likewise, imagine someone who started first grade with a thick pencil and a Big Chief tablet and lived long enough to make the most of all the electronic devices that have changed the way we learn and communicate.

Cities symbolize and contain so much about humanity. Most include nature in someway, but it could never be compared to standing on top of a 14,000ft. mountain or finding a forest meadow that for a moment is all your own. Yet there is something to the bright lights of a big city and what they provide even with all the problems that have been a constant.

In all of this, there is the something more that is considered in many, many ways. You would think that would be enough and to add more or in a different way could easily be seen as a fool's errand. But the place between the physical and the metaphysical doesn't seem like a boundary but an expanding zone from which one can develop an understanding that includes something more in a more mystical way and the harsh realities and neglected wisdom from the margins of life. Such an approach will be discussed in this blog, but for now, this painting attributed to Bansky answers the question of why one senses something more and why it's important to make something of it.

It is not necessary to eliminate others in order to have a place to be.

Credits: Huff Post, Bansky, Wikimedia, Digntaswpp