Revealing The Mystery I

The Best of Us

Isaac George
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Last November I attended a conference in London on lucid dreaming, shamanism and OBE’s (out-of-body experiences).  Returning to London, and to a part I’ve never been in (Notting Hill, West End) was quite delightful.  However, lest I turn this into some kind of shamanic travelogue, I’ll get to the main point now.

I’d been to another conference the previous May in Dublin, Ireland, but this was a much bigger affair held in an old Masonic temple, and it boasted a stellar line-up of presenters.  One of those presenters, the last one on the bill, would ignite a profound shift in me.

The last speaker on Sunday was Tim Frekes.  He presented something profoundly different from the previous presenters.  He spoke of his direct experiences with the “Great Mystery” and his feelings slowly spilled out into the entire audience.  Something began to happen.  As I connected with the profound awe and love this man exuded I was opening to something more deeply touching and revealing of The Mystery within me than the mere symbols in the environment.  I felt a certain reconciliation between myself and my Soul’s deepest desire.

I was experiencing a rebirth, a reconnection to that part of my being that is the most lucid, and the most loving.  This experience also reminded me of the amazing and miraculous stuff from my kundalini awakening twenty years ago.  I re-experienced the extraordinary “wow” of becoming a channel in 1998, even as I was going through an intense healing process.  I rediscovered what it was like to throw myself open to that Mystery within, and to dance with it all, which led me to a few moments of total lucidity that I can only be describe as “unity awareness”…union with God, while still remaining completely human.  As Tim’s talk drew to a close, I realized that my cheeks were wet with the joy and excitement of feeling so “at home” once again.

Since coming back to where I reside in Cork, Ireland, I can readily say that I feel like I’ve reclaimed that childlike part of me which lived very close to Nature as I was growing up on a farm, and at those times when, as an adult, I sought the solace I needed by hugging a tree, or watching the ocean’s waves, until the heart pains were washed away in the absolute wonder of it all.

I understand the purpose of the wilderness that I’ve been wandering in for the past 10 years, exploring and questioning many of the experiences I’d been through, acquiring and weighing new information, and trying to understand what the direction my work and life needed to go.  I wanted another “calling” to my soul, beckoning me into the next adventure.  Even though I might fear letting go of the known, it is definitely the desire for freedom and authenticity that is giving me the courage to step into who I have always been.

Since my return home, the most pronounced sensation is that of an open and curious heart…eager to love and also to just plain “be.”  The trick is to be deeply aware, as much as possible, without becoming transpersonal or going away from the body.

So many of those I encounter, whether they be clients, fellow seekers, or just regular folks in my daily life, are looking for something unique, something that can lift the tension, anxiety, fear or sense of loneliness that seems to be their constant companion.  We compare our experience with theirs, and think we’ve somehow not studied enough, cleared enough karma, gotten rid of enough ego, prayed enough, meditated enough, done enough yoga, altered our diet enough, or not attended the right workshops, read the right books, or found the right spiritual teacher, shaman or guru…yet.  Endless, this self-improvement gig, isn’t it?  When does the striving stop?  When do we become finders instead of seekers?

We want the Big Juice, the feel-good formula that all these things promise, but they only seem to deliver in short bursts or not at all.  I used to believe in “ascension or bust,” but not any longer.  I can’t afford the cost or the toll it takes on my humanity, and my soul.

Our thoughts are not a problem. We have been told our thoughts, or the process of thinking, is a spiritual problem which keeps us separate from God.  Without our minds we would be unable to function in this world, and many of the skills we take for granted would be unavailable to us.  Our minds are part of us.  Our ego is not our enemy.  It is a unique vehicle through which Life discovers and expresses through our divine spark.

Our bodies are not a problem. We’ve accepted how religions have demonized our bodies, creating shame, guilt and self-hatred and impediments to spiritual growth. A house divided against itself cannot stand.

Our passions and feelings are not the problem.  Repression, sublimation or detaching from our deep feelings, desires and passion is a bigger problem that leads to distorted perceptions and behaviours.  None of these emotions can make you a hateful person, unless you become totally lost in it…identify with them.  Exploring our shadow side and loving it can integrate and empower you towards wholeness and appropriate action.

Even pleasure is not a problem.  It is our yearning for touch that connects us to the manifested spiritual energy all around us…especially the miracle of our own bodies.  There is infinite healing and tenderness when we caress the face of a lover, or stroke a beloved pet, or receive a foot rub, enjoy a favourite food, or indulge in sex without shame or reserve.  Nature doesn’t blush.  But our species has learned to do just that through eons of hurt and shame… usually heaped upon us by religious or spiritual “authorities.”  It is through touch that our hearts realize the reality of love, comfort and belonging in the manifest world.

If we are to accept the challenge of these times, then we are all going to have to redefine our spiritual perceptions.  Our survival, the survival of many species, and even the survival of Gaia(Earth) is hanging in the balance.  That is exactly why we are here and in this Now.  Gaia has awakened, and we as Her children are awakening with Her.  This awakening is happening from the Galactic Core outward into the spiral arms, where we are.

What will the best that is in us do?  What will become of us?  What’s going to happen next?

What do you or I want next?  Will this or that happen…or not happen?

Frankly, I…don’t…have…any…idea.

And maybe that’s okay.  I can certainly desire and intend and will my desires to become reality.  It’s called trust.  Desire to your heart’s content, then let go and see what happens with it.

The bottom line is that the best in us is our humanity and what it connects us to.  We’re warm and loving, but a wee bit crazy and neurotic too.  We’re scared and we’re capable of amazing and courageous things. We are a pile of paradoxes…which is just as it should be, because that’s the way it is.  We’d do well to brave The Mystery within and stop resisting ourselves!

When we embrace all of ourselves, we begin to touch the most profound secrets of our deep Nature…the intangible thing that connects us all.  We realize it when we love another for no other reason other than because we do, and there’s no explanation for it.  We realize it when we spontaneously love our children or pets, Nature, or even our food and creature comforts. We are Love when we embrace and express the best in us.

That best is everything that you are, we are, Here and Now.  For me, perhaps that’s just perfect like it is.

With gratitude,
Isaac