Into the Mist

“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”…..Joseph Campbell

Your life follows where your thoughts go. This short Cherokee parable eloquently guides us in one of the most effective ways to improve our lives.

Two Wolves

An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life…

“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.” “

One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.”

“The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

“This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old chief simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Author Unknown

C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the mystical, metaphysical, and mythical insight that we all possess. His current novel, Sacred Vow is first and foremost a metaphysical love story, a tale of soul mates—twin flames—a journey toward our one true love…in its infinite expressions…bringing together two individuals from disparate realities—but one spirit—to heal the rift in the Collective Consciousness.

Receive new editions of Into the Mist through a reader  http://feeds.feedburner.com/IntoTheMist

Purchase a signed paperback copy from http://sacredvow.dragonsbeard.com/ – or buy from your favorite brick and mortar, or online store (Amazon.com ).  Purchase Sacred Vow as ebook http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/eBookDetails.asp?BookID=79405&Origine=3971  or the Amazon Kindle version

I am almost ashamed to say that I am a latecomer in openly acknowledging the importance of expressing gratitude as spiritual ritual—Yes, I realized I’ve missed the mark for Thanksgiving.
 
You see, I got hung up along the way on what I suspect was personal semantics. But I also had some intuitive guidance that there was more to it than that—something I had to resolve rather than just complying. I always internally recognized my joy and pleasure for my good fortunes, and felt that this state of mind radiated outward as a complementary blessing to the entire universe around me. I did not, however, manifest my experience in any sort of focus on gratitude.
           
One part of the initial roadblock seemed to be the idea of just who was I offering thanks to? Yes, I believe in a higher consciousness, an initiator of all that is, a source energy or intelligence. My concept of an intelligence so expansive would not allow me to ascribe it with a personality trait that would require or desire tribute for boons.  Personality is ego, and ego is not the Absolute.
 
Tao Te Ching, Verse 34
To its accomplishment it lays no credit. It loves and nourishes all things, but does not lord it over them.
 
If I offer a gift (gratitude) that is neither desired nor useable by the professed recipient, who is the gift (and the giving) actually for?
 
This brings me to the other part of my conflict. I often get my guidance by a process similar to feeling around in the dark (or with a more dignified simile, like dowsing). In a meditative state, I psychically ‘reach’ about (sorry, but it is very much like feeling for something in the dark for me) until I connect with an idea or an experience that resonates with my 3rd and 4th chakras (my “gut” and my heart)—truly finding a matching resonance that makes me certain that I have located what I am scanning for. In cases where I cannot find “an answer”, I have come to realize that this most often tells me that I am either asking the wrong question or proceeding into the process with preconceived ideas that are causing a conflict.
 
Whenever I have felt my gratitude, and scanned to know who I was connecting with in this process, I could never get outside of my own presence. Initially, I took that to mean that I was inappropriately focusing too much on myself. Yet, I eventually realized that for me the proper exercise of gratitude was being fulfilled, and in doing so I did not need to shift my awareness outside myself.
 
Next I looked into the definition of gratitude, thinking that this search might serve a function similar to a koan, some indirect inspiration. What I found was:
 
Gratitude: warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful.
 
So I looked up Appreciation: clear perception or recognition.
 
This led me to accept that the core essence of gratitude required no more than mindful recognition of what I possessed or what I received. With this, I noticed that gratitude for me is an act of personal significance, primarily. Now I am not speaking of or disregarding the individuals—physical or non-physical—that may have had a hand in bringing any blessing into my life. I am just speaking of the spiritual ritual or acknowledgement that was not being completed in my own experience.
 
I realized that I carry out gratitude as an act of internal focus, not external. In order to complete the spiritual process of a blessing experienced, it is not someone outside of myself that I need to offer acknowledgement to, but to my own spirit. In the offering of thanks, I realized I was validating my need or desire that had been fulfilled—my right to have that need, and to accept its fulfillment. In the expression of gratitude, I was accepting myself, in both states of need and fulfillment. In doing so, I am allowing the energy of my own spirit, manifest in this life, to complete its flow in this blessed act…the divine flow.
 
What could possibly have been wrong with expressing gratitude without first coming to terms with so subtle a distinction? Nothing at all. There are many paths of great value that I cannot follow, not because there is anything wrong with them, but simply because they are not the food that nourishes my spirit. My intuition would simply not allow me to be comfortable with sitting down to gratitude without first coming to learn the personal lesson that it had prepared.
 
“Anyone who imagines that their good fortune is achieved simply by their own merit or efforts is fooling themselves.”  Jon Pertee (a timber-frame contractor/yoga instructor that provides my day job at present), 2004
 
Copyright 2008 CG Walters 
 

C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the mystical, metaphysical, and mythical insight that we all possess. His current novel, Sacred Vow is first and foremost a metaphysical love story, a tale of soul mates—twin flames—a journey toward our one true love…in its infinite expressions…bringing together two individuals from disparate realities—but one spirit—to heal the rift in the Collective Consciousness.  

Receive new editions of Into the Mist through a reader  http://feeds.feedburner.com/IntoTheMist  

Get the full length FREE PDF of Sacred Vow by going to www.cgwalters.com/spirit_story.htm and clicking on the link in the page to download the eBook. This will allow you to save the book to your disk. Purchase a signed paperback copy from http://sacredvow.dragonsbeard.com/ – or buy from your favorite brick and mortar, or online store (Amazon.com ).  

This copyrighted article may be freely reprinted as long as the entire article and complete by line is included

When I bring forward anything I write—fiction or philosophy (never mind if there is a difference)—it is because I imagine that I see a possibility that the work might benefit someone I meet in print. Otherwise, the work remains private, as the exercise only meant for me to greet an aspect of myself. And it is assumed to be strictly for my benefit.

Once I imagine that the writing is not merely private, then I come to another question. What is one’s obligation to present truth or perspective as they know or believe it? If one believes that sharing what they know or see will avoid what they recognize as a disaster or as making another person happier, are we bound to deliver the information?

I end up turning this conundrum over and over. How does one decide the next step once writing is inspired?

First—for me—is the nature of truth. Enough people will probably consent to consider the idea that much truth (if not all) is—or at least might be—subjective to an individual and their needs or situation at any given time. You probably already realize that I do and do not believe that my truth is concrete and objective.

Yes, do and do not—My truths are right and invariable for me, at this moment.  And I hold to their guidance. But tomorrow will be a new world, possibly with new realities unfolded. If so, I do not imagine that truth of yesterday will be able to continue to justify itself.

 For me, “truth is but a resting place until the next revelation…an ever-progressing horizon…”* a collectively endorsed mythology. When it can no longer explain the world of our experience, it is surpassed, built on top of. Today’s truth may be tomorrow’s trash, and vice versa—But I do not imagine that even this must be the case for another person.  

When contemplating whether or not to share my truth, I consider that any descriptive (i.e. happy or disaster) that I may think I am responding to is always subjective. Therefore, my idea of ‘happier’ may be another’s idea of miserable! Even if their definition of ‘happy’ and mine are compatible (or the same, as best we can determine), our conscious perceptions are not always what state and/or condition we are most drawn forward by. After all, is it the happiness of the conscious mind/ego that is most beneficial to the spirit and will give us lasting joy? What element of our experience—conscious mind, subconscious, or spirit—do we gratify in order to produce happiness or avoid disaster?

There is a Taoist tale by Chuang Tzu that he speaks of the right service for the wrong individual :

 “Have you not heard that tale of old when a sea-bird alighted outside the capital of Lu, the prince went out to receive it, and gave it wine from the temple, and had the Chiu Shao played to amuse it, and a bullock slaughtered to feed it? But the bird was dazed and too timid to eat and drink anything; and in three days it was dead. This was treating the bird like oneself, and not as a bird would treat a bird.” 

So, the first requirement I make of myself in deciding if I should share my perspective is whether the information is truth for me at the time of my offering. Next, I make a point to consider whether I can perceive a value for others in my sharing the information.

If the information passes those two tests, I try to be certain the offering is relevant to the individual or audience before me at this time. I suppose this has a lot to do with why I am a writer. The free will of the reader to ignore any piece allows me some flexibility in responsibility on things that I am drawn to share. The reader can also take in installments any information that too quickly annoys their definition of reality—assuming they recognize sufficient personal truth in the writing to warrant reading it at all.

Finally, there is the issue of believing that the information can be “heard” by the anticipated audience, whether in a book or a personal conversation. The value is often in its timing. Offering perspectives of time as a great healer to someone who has just lost a dear one—even before they have had time to grieve—is insensitive (from my point of view), if not inappropriate. The same is the case for abstract concepts.

A beautiful quote by Sai Baba sums my considerations up:

Before you speak, ask yourself,
is it kind, is it necessary, is it true,
does it improve on the silence?

Ultimately, whether I speak/write of my perceptions of the truth in nonfiction or fiction, I am presenting my truth with the desire that “breaking the silence” will benefit someone who has been drawn to the work.

*“Strike a Cord of Silence” © CG Walters

 copyright 2008 CG Walters

C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the mystical, metaphysical, and mythical insight that we all possess. His current novel, Sacred Vow is first and foremost a metaphysical love story, a tale of soul mates—twin flames—a journey toward our one true love…in its infinite expressions…bringing together two individuals from disparate realities—but one spirit—to heal the rift in the Collective Consciousness.

Receive new editions of Into the Mist through a reader  http://feeds.feedburner.com/IntoTheMist

Get the full length FREE PDF of Sacred Vow by going to www.cgwalters.com/spirit_story.htm and clicking on the link in the page to download the eBook. This will allow you to save the book to your disk.
Purchase a signed paperback copy from http://sacredvow.dragonsbeard.com/ – or buy from yourfavorite brick and mortar, or online store (Amazon.com ).

This copyrighted article may be freely reprinted as long as the entire article and complete by line is included.

Who is your greatest ethical or moral role model? Is it someone famous, living today or from the past?

 For me, it is the unknown, unnoticed divine individual who gives openly, limitlessly, happily without desire to be seen, thanked, or acknowledged—without ever imagining they should be seen or acknowledged!

They are the ones who live their lives as their religion/doctrine/philosophy but based on their thoughts and actions you would never imagine they spend time on such impractical extravagances. I am in awe of the ones who do not seek out high places or position but by their nature cause others to automatically rise/progress/elevate.

These people manifest the world while driving a taxi, bathing their baby, working in a factory, trading stocks on Wall Street, or any other activity–from the most glorious to the most mundane. –as surely we all do manifest the world while simply living, but not nearly to this degree of impact.

But I am speaking of individuals about whom I cannot discern how they became different, or why they are that way. I do not know if their unlimited ability to give to the world around them is due to what they are, or if the individuals have become what they are because of their unlimited ability to give to the world around them.   

You may walk by them without seeing them, but not without feeling their presence–at that moment you will suddenly find yourself feeling better…noticing the best of yourself, the world.

  
  ******
 
There are tales of individuals called The Lamed Wufniks (or Muslim Kuth). They are on earth, and always were, thirty-six righteous ones, sometimes said to have the mission to justify the world before God, sometimes to each be 1/36th of God. They do not know each other and may show up in any aspect of life. If one comes to the knowledge that they are a Lamed Wufnik, they immediately die and somebody else, perhaps in another part of the world, takes their place. Lamed Wufniks are, without knowing it, the secret pillars of the universe.

Those I speak of may or may not be one of the Wufniks—and there are not merely 36 of them—but I suspect that such individuals inspired the stories.

copyright 2008 CG Walters

C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the mystical, metaphysical, and mythical insight that we all possess. His current novel, Sacred Vow is first and foremost a metaphysical love story, a tale of soul mates—twin flames—a journey toward our one true love…in its infinite expressions…bringing together two individuals from disparate realities—but one spirit—to heal the rift in the Collective Consciousness.

 Receive new editions of Into the Mist through a reader  http://feeds.feedburner.com/IntoTheMist   

Get the full length FREE PDF of Sacred Vow by going to www.cgwalters.com/spirit_story.htm and clicking on the link in the page to download the eBook. This will allow you to save the book to your disk. Purchase a signed paperback copy from http://sacredvow.dragonsbeard.com/ – or buy from your favorite brick and mortar, or online store (Amazon.com ).

This copyrighted article may be freely reprinted as long as the entire article and complete by line is included.

A core of my belief system is that no one I go to work with, visit with, or share this writing with is actually experiencing the same world/reality that I am. It’s easy enough to accept that there is a wide distinction in the practical reality of people with significantly different resources, experiences, or opportunities. From a pyschological perspective one could make a case that people in agreement about any subject are more accurately in a “practical agreement”—not some supreme, unqualified concordance that we sometimes imagine.  

But what about the people that I share the closest connections with in this life? My wife? My dearest friends? From my point of view, even these dear intimates do not truly share the exact perceptual space from which my experience originates. We alone see from our particular point of observation.—Of course others’ existence in their own realities are vital in the creation  of our unique experience. 

This group of people that I love and percieve myself interacting with, as a whole, has a finely defined balance of (spiritual/energetic) agreements including that there is not a lone reality (until we rejoin the infinite energy source). It so happens that we have enough mutual connection points for a illusory experience of a common reality. We are interdependent of—co-creating—each other,  but we do not exist in the same place—in fact, we do not exist in any space, but that is for another “what is not time.” 

When focused on our human experience, we are a completely unique in our perception, therefore, alone in our reality. You experience through the definition of your reality but everyone else does not experience your perception—therefore, it exists only in concept for them. As you believe, it is so….but only for you.

One reason this idea of an isolated reality does not trouble me is that in fact (for me, but not someone whose soul chooses otherwise) realities are illusion, the momentary perception of choice. The only real existence is the intelligent energy field that people give infinite characteristics (wants, rules, names, etc). That is all that is out there and we are points of perception for that ultimate intelligence. In truth you and I, and all you hold dear are not separate; we are the One Mind, the Absolute.

Human consciousness is a filtration system, a segmentation of the immeasurable signals in the Collective Consciousness. This is vital for the experience that we know. Just as one must block some light signals to perceive something other than white light, to experience the rainbow we need a filtration system. Our experience of reality is the result of that filtration system for the Absolute.

This is the best example I know to explain the concept of each of us being a channel of perception for the Absolute: Close one eye only. Open it while closing the other.

Each eye sees a slightly different variation on the scene before it, yet the brain is able to blend two different signals into a collective view that gives greater depth perception and detail. So the greater complexity of the Infinite Intelligence is able to simultaneously perceive the “eye” of billions of individuals (and other lifeforms) in every moment through all time and realities.

We each continually perceive exclusive aspects of the collective reality—different personal realities. For the most part, when we believe we are sharing a reality—a world—we are actually experiencing overlaps of similarity in our unique realities. It is only the vagueness of language and our inability to accurately communicate (consciously) that provides the illusion that we are in complete agreement, seeing the same things before us.   

You may ask if I do not feel lonely with holding such a perspective. No, I do not. For I know that segmentation is only an illusion to experience the joy of an otherwise impossible phenomena, the rainbow—a radiant expression of filtered energy that is human life. Besides you and I are ultimately aspects of the Absolute—One—and there is no space or time vast enough to separate us.

copyright 2008 CG Walters

C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the mystical, metaphysical, and mythical insight that we all possess. His current novel, Sacred Vow is a metaphysical love story, a tale of soul mates—twin flames—a journey toward our one true love…in its infinite expressions…bringing together two individuals from disparate realities—but one spirit—to heal the rift in the Collective Consciousness.

Receive new editions of Into the Mist through a reader  http://feeds.feedburner.com/IntoTheMist

Get the full length FREE PDF of Sacred Vow by going to www.cgwalters.com/spirit_story.htm and clicking on the link in the page to download the eBook. This will allow you to save the book to your disk.
Purchase a signed paperback copy from http://sacredvow.dragonsbeard.com/ – or buy from your favorite brick and mortar, or online store (Amazon.com ).

This copyrighted article may be freely reprinted as long as the entire article and complete by line is included.

Rather than a great evolutionary achievement, perhaps our self-awareness is a check-system that turns on the moment there is a variance between our true nature and what we are doing or thinking. Animals do not need this ‘gift’, because they remain true to their nature. 

Whenever I am completely in balance with my nature (writing certain material, say), at that moment I have no comprehension of if I am this or that, happy or satisfied. For that time being, I JUST AM–in total unison with my truest nature and not “aware” of anything. 

Receive new editions of Into the Mist through a reader  http://feeds.feedburner.com/IntoTheMist  

Get the full length FREE PDF of Sacred Vow by going to www.cgwalters.com/spirit_story.htm and clicking on the link in the page to download the eBook. This will allow you to save the book to your disk. Purchase a signed paperback copy from http://sacredvow.dragonsbeard.com/ – or buy from your favorite brick and mortar, or online store (Amazon.com ).  

It is not the teacher before you that manifests what you perceive as an awakening, but the awakening within you that manifests what you perceive as a teacher. *
 
For most of my years, I sought my idea of a traditional spiritual teacher to provide me with truth, teach me knowledge. I sought that rarefied being, flawless and wise who could give to me the connection to the Absolute that I imagined I was living uncomfortably without. In the end, much to my dismay, I repeatedly found my appointees inadequate. Over and over I concluded that I had not found the right person, but I have come to realize that it was the “right perception” I was lacking.
 
Not that my efforts were in vain—I am thankful for them. Obsessively staring into a mirror, trying to focus on the horizon, can induce some pretty profound results. The horizon seen turns out not to be “out there.”
 
“The fool who persists in his folly will become wise.”  William Blake
 
I found that it was my criterion for a teacher that was flawed, not any of the individuals that I tried to project the title onto. My efforts eventually brought me to the realization that in subtle mysteries like wisdom and spirit—the student/teacher relationship is not linear or well-defined, but more amorphous in nature. One moment I was comfortable in the compliant role I imaged to be a student and then I was scared to death to realize that the roles had reversed…and then back to being ‘student’, and then reversed again.
 
In truth, we all teacher and student—involved in a multi-faceted process, perfectly balanced as every one of us being teacher to and student of every other, simultaneously. To consider oneself as more one aspect of the process than the other is an illusion, and limits our collective experience.
 
Many of my best teachers—those who have given me lessons that have remained as significant tenets of my belief system—are people I no longer allow to have an active part in my life. There are two distinct reasons for this:
1.     One does not have to be wise to instill wisdom, virtuous to promote virtue.
2.     Once you complete the 1st grade, you do not continue to go back to that teacher’s classroom. There is undoubtedly more the teacher could teach you, but it is a matter of diminishing return—the final lesson of the student is to move on. Not to do so is to fail the teaching.
 
I do not discount those remarkable individuals that have obtained conscious levels of awareness of their connection to the Absolute that I do not consistently maintain at this time. They do indeed exist, I can feel the uniqueness of them whenever I encounter such a person—even those who do not, themselves, know of the power of their connection.
 
Even with such a person universally acknowledged as a teacher, my perspective is that instruction is offered most often because it is what ’students’ expect/demand. It is like getting someone about to panic to focus on your moving finger—a hypnotic induction to calm, allowing the student to return to a natural state of their own knowledge/wisdom.
 
It is not the mystic’s perspective that changes our reality, but experiencing their reality that changes our perspective.*
 
The real change comes about within us from spending time in the higher vibrational field of a true teacher…either directly in their presence or indirectly in the rhythm of their teaching (as a mantra may introduce peacefulness in meditation). They have seen the ‘face’ of the Absolute, they remember it, and the memory of that experience radiates from them—within or without word. One way or another, a true teacher holds open a sacred, safe place for the student to explore and lay claim to their own truth. A teacher reawakens one to the resonance of the Absolute so that the student can–on their own–find their way home to the Absolute, to their true Self.     
 
A teacher, or at least a skilled teacher, is someone with perceptive enough to comprehend the information most needed by the student, intelligent enough to purposely construct the means of the instruction, adept enough to elicit the learning without being intrusive on the student’s experience, and wise enough to realize he or she was the led in the process by the spirit of student.*
 
A teacher should not give so much of self or knowledge, but give to the student themself.*
 
A true teacher does not impart wisdom or learning, but draws forth the student’s own wisdom. The act of who is drawing forth—and not any defined role—shows us who is teacher and who is student at that moment.*
 
The order of need is no respecter of hierarchy.One may follow a path without a teacher, but to be a teacher, One needs a student.*

 Spiritual teaching is not something that you can choose, but rather something that chooses you.
 
copyright 2008 CG Walters
 
* Strike a Chord of Silence—CGW (a 20+ year old, unfinished manuscript still teaching me) 

C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the mystical, metaphysical, and mythical insight that we all possess. His current novel, Sacred Vow is first and foremost a metaphysical love story, a tale of soul mates—twin flames—a journey toward our one true love…in its infinite expressions…bringing together two individuals from disparate realities—but one spirit—to heal the rift in the Collective Consciousness. 

Receive new editions of Into the Mist through a reader  http://feeds.feedburner.com/IntoTheMist  

Get the full length FREE PDF of Sacred Vow by going to www.cgwalters.com/spirit_story.htm and clicking on the link in the page to download the eBook. This will allow you to save the book to your disk. Purchase a signed paperback copy from http://sacredvow.dragonsbeard.com/ – or buy from your favorite brick and mortar, or online store (Amazon.com ).  

This copyrighted article may be freely reprinted as long as the entire article and complete by line is included. 

A common “suggestion/implied obligation” encountered in one’s spiritual study is to “overcome the ego.” The idea seems to be that one should subdue, train, or even eliminate the ego. As a tool to avoid misidentifying myself as only ego, it has often been suggested to me to consider “the watcher” that remains outside the psychodrama of any moment of my mind or life—a marker to bring my awareness to the true, higher self.

I, however, would suggest that as long as there is a “watcher,” there is ego. Coming to awareness of the watcher merely brings my attention from one level of ego to another. Perhaps the nature of this next level of ego is something the (egoic) mind would consider less objectionable, but it is still ego. Does the Tao ‘watch’ the unfolding of its infinite manifestations? Does it care? Caring and watching (more “considering what we see”, in this context) is an anthropomorphic—human-like—characteristic. ‘Human’ is by definition ‘self-aware.’ Self-awareness is interdependent with—the soil of—ego.

I am by no means in disagreement with this long-established practice—focusing on “who is watching”—to pull oneself from the mire of immediate obsession. Nor do I question the benefit of this method. I have already suggested that we might better define where our attention has arrived when considering this watcher, and I would also suggest we reconsider our intention of subduing, training, or (especially) eliminating the ego.

First and foremost, I would disagree with eliminating ego. This is contrary to the entire nature of our experience here…much like coming into a physical reality for the purpose of experiencing that which requires physicality, yet disregarding or pursuing the elimination all things physical and sensual. Even the experience of “disregarding/pursuing the elimination” requires the antecedent physical environment and experience.

Another flaw in the idea of eliminating or confining the ego is that in this dualistic reality, whenever you try to eliminate or restrict something, you make it stronger. In the unmanifest Tao, neither black nor white exist. When you extract white—bring it into existence—you create black. The more you try—the more energy you apply—not only do you create your intention, but you also create what may seem to be the opposite of your intention.

I agree that our identity is not limited to the any level of the conscious definition of self, though the experience of that ultimate identity sometimes requires we become lost in our very limitation. Our true essence, the state that is without ego and identity, exists eternally—it is the prerequisite canvas for the painting of life and ego to exist. We always know that Ultimate Nature intuitively, and become acutely aware of it now and then. Even knowing that Nature requires ego in order to achieve this perspective. One cannot look into our own eyes without a tool or trick. The tool to perceive OurSelf in this space is ego—that thing that segments us (gives us a sense of experience separate) from the Absolute, from All That Is.

So, the ego has long been defined as a liability. Somewhere it was suggested to me that if you have a characteristic that has consistently been pointed out to you as a liability, find a place or a perspective where that ‘liability’ can prove to be an asset. The ego has invariable characteristics.

You can count on a core pattern of behavior from ego. We can trust it to express its ‘flaws’, and therefore we can benefit from its fixedness.

The ego is a master in working toward its own survival. It will morph into infinite expressions—fooling even the most adept onlooker into thinking it no longer exists or is not actively expressing itself—when it has merely changed form. Historically great benefits to humanity and spirit have been achieved under the mask of ego. Yes, quite a bit of damage has also been done in the expression of ego. But would you eliminate horses because they have a predisposition to kick in certain situations? As with the horse, the ego seems to do most harm when feeling threatened.

One does not need to try to master the ego or eliminate it, but rather co-opt the ego into using its tremendous talents of self-preservation and perpetuation to achieve what you (from your current view point) would consider a higher goal. Sell the ego on how it benefits from your humanitarian effort, your monastic seclusion—anything!—and that intention will immediately have access to a vast reservoir of focus and energy. The ego is a powerful vehicle that will be in motion and will always exist for as long one has even the desire of a spiritual path—that desire also springing from ego. Rather than fight something that is our nature as much as is seeking the divine, place the cargo of your “highest” aspirations onboard this natural powerhouse…and may we all benefit from the ego’s next (”higher”) manifestation!

By the way, I am not saying that one can never escape ego….just that one will not be in a position or inclination to contemplate the achievement when it happens…you will have moved outside duality.

Copyright 2008 CG Walters

C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the mystical, metaphysical, and mythical insight that we all possess. His current novel, Sacred Vow is first and foremost a metaphysical love story, a tale of soul mates—twin flames—a journey toward our one true love…in its infinite expressions…bringing together two individuals from disparate realities—but one spirit—to heal the rift in the Collective Consciousness.

Receive new editions of Into the Mist through a reader http://feeds.feedburner.com/IntoTheMist

Get the full length FREE PDF of Sacred Vow by going to www.cgwalters.com/spirit_story.htm and clicking on the link in the page to download the eBook. This will allow you to save the book to your disk.
Purchase a signed paperback copy from http://sacredvow.dragonsbeard.com/ – or buy from your favorite brick and mortar, or online store (Amazon.com ).

This copyrighted article may be freely reprinted as long as the entire article and complete by line is included.

After last week’s article, “Finding your center,” I was asked to give some detail about my own personal tools for connecting with my center, my higher self. First of all, anything I say here is strictly (as always) my opinion. In things of the spirit, the reader/individual is always the one who knows what’s truth for them.

Over time, I have put together a collection, a practice that helps me be healthier, happier, and generally a better person than I would otherwise be. I gladly share my history and centering activities, but must say that though some of these very same activities may be of great help to you, there is no inherent value in any of them, except that they are “the right key for my lock.” 

Unless you prefer trial and error, the first step is to spend some time in introspection, becoming familiar with your core nature—the essence of your consistent needs and motivations. This self-discovery may always have been as natural to you as breathing, may come by an intense period of independent study (some sudden, driving need—a dark night of the soul) or by structured study  (an established religion, method, or teacher), or it may sift slowly into your consciousness over years without even a conscious intention or your awareness. However it comes, each activity or item must be verified as being something that matches your personal nature— an experience that makes you feel more complete, content, and at peace. In identifying these tools, you are already performing a process of centering.

We are always getting hints concerning our keys—our strongest connection to Spirit—sometimes from the most unorthodox sources. It’s easy to miss the hints, especially when some of the points of connection to your interior can be things that may seem completely foreign to you. The strongest points of union cannot always be logically anticipated via your empirical experience, background or training. Sometimes the most remarkable insight is delivered to me via the most unlikely sources.

 “You’re quoting Snoopy the dog, I believe?”
“I’ll quote the truth wherever I find it, thank you.”
Richard Bach, “Illusions ” 

Of the personal points of connection that I have found, many were initially a surprise to me, being contrary to my immediate background or experience. But every one identified has proven itself to be an intrinsic part of me. In fact, in “retrieving” these connection points to my center—these things that I never knew that I had lost/forgotten—I was doing a form of “soul retrieval,” recovering splintered aspects of myself—making myself more whole.

Now, let me give you some idea how I made my way to my own personal methods of centering.

I was raised on a work-ethic obsessed family farm that—from my personal perspective—had little spiritual awareness (or need of such a thing), except indirectly, via the experience of the animals and the land. Gaia is—without question—a very spiritual vehicle, but you can make the journey without ever becoming aware of the connection. Anyhow, because of the farm experience, I have always had an acute connection with nature. It remains one of my strongest bonds with myself.

As a very young child, I loved books and stories, and would listen as long as someone would read. Later on, I—very unintentionally as far as I can remember—found out that I could allow a story to flow from me and in doing so would stumble upon the most remarkable place of inner connection and wisdom. The only problem was the initial information that I accessed was not compatible to my life environment at the time. As a result of initial unfavorable responses, that connection was put away and ignored for very many years…long after the incompatible environment was no longer the limiting factor.

As a teenager, TV delivered one of those seemingly unlikely tools of awakening while I was in high school. The show, titled Kung Fu , was about a wandering Shoalin priest exercising his remarkable philosophical and the martial skills through the 19^th century Wild West (US). Most of my friends were captured by the previously unimaginable possibilities of physical power. I was completely spellbound by the periodic vignettes of Kwai Chang Caine’s metaphysical training by the Taoist monks. 

The picture of reality that these little bits of philosophy introduced was unbelievably different from anything imagined by anyone I knew of. Yet it seemed perfectly “correct” to me. “That’s the school, I want,” I thought over and over. But being a teenager without any real tools of focus, girls and general confusion managed to take precedence.

My first real venture off the farm came when I enrolled in college. I stumbled onto a group that was teaching Transcendental Meditation. This experience took me right back to the fascination for internal exploration that the Kung Fu show suggested as a possibility.

In time, I started variations on the initial “mantra-based” form of meditation I was taught. First I realized that any word possessing a suitable rhythm—so long as one’s association with the word did not distract—could be used as mantra. Next, knowing that words have power, I collected a string of words that formed a beneficial cadence and delivered—I suspected—a subliminal message toward desired goals. I started each meditation with a slow, constant mental repetition of this string of words. As I became more and more relaxed during a sitting, I noticed the pace of my mantra would become slower and slower. Over the years, the various repeated mantras began to stop whenever I came to a particularly deep stage of my meditation.

Now, the mantra is only used whenever I find that my thoughts do not otherwise subside. My meditation is currently whatever experience arises during a time of just sitting. I usually start by psychically sending my energy into the earth and into the Universe (connecting myself to Mother Earth and the Tao). After that, as long as I feel an increasing sense of connection to my core, increased peacefulness and wholeness, I do not consciously direct the experience. During the course of a session, there is frequently a sense of drawing to my center, the occasional imagery, perceptions of my sense of self expanding like energy, energy arising from a psychic center, etc.

As beneficial and central to my centering as my mediation is to me, I have to say that meditation alone would not bring me to the sense of center that I have come accustomed to. Though any list can never be all-inclusive, these additional ‘keys’ are also vital and dear to me.

Minor things I make a point to do just about every day:

—Consistent small rituals can be beneficial for relaxation and centering by the activity itself, as well as the calming effect of a regular ceremony signaling body and mind that at this time ‘we are coming to center.’

      A few of mine are:

• Tea and toast, definitely first thing in the morning, but other times as needed
• Feeding the birds—medical science has proven repeatedly that interaction with animals is meditative, healthy for people. For most people this benefit comes through interaction with pets. For me, it’s caring for the wild animals, particularly songbirds.
• Time sitting with Kathy at the end of the day—the value of being in a healthy relationship or experiencing human companionship has been identified as providing health benefits and increasing longevity.
• Red wine and dark chocolate at the end of the day—both having proven health benefits

 Items that have proven to be a great benefit periodically:

—These are things that I don’t always practice or use as often as I know I should—time constraints, etc—but I have found them, and each time I return to visit them I am guaranteed immediate benefits.

• Tao Te Ching   – for me, this little book says all that really needs be said. The rest is elaboration or just for entertainment.
• Tai Chi

 Less obvious forms of centering that I do as often as possible:

• Watching uplifting, romantic, affirming movies—it just happens to be my nature, and sharing them with Kathy is an added benefit
• Reading books of the same character
• Music of the Classical period or older (Mozart, Johann Christian Bach, Joseph Hayden, Boccherini)—this was initially very surprising. My environment, studies, and life could not justify this connection when I first noticed my instant attachment.
• Singer song-writer music, blues
• Current movie productions of the works of Shakespeare’s plays—another thing that had no empirical justification in my life, but was immediately familiar to me and very much needed.
• Walking the mountain, especially for a number of hours—medical science agrees that interaction with nature is beneficial physically and psychologically. A study by Duke University concluded that regular exercise did more for maintaining positive emotions than drugs like Prozac.

Exercise is also vital to the spirit. Through the body, we experience the Spirit. That is the nature of  human life.

• Being in nature, in general
• Writing, especially poetry and fiction—journaling is often suggested as a process of self-development. My journaling just happens to be fiction—then Robert A. Johnson points out (in Inner Work ) that nothing is made up. Fantasy is merely the way of the subconscious communicating.

I wish you all good fortune in finding the keys to connecting with your deepest nature. For some it may seem a strange experience initially, but you will soon find out that you are satisfying a need that you were not even aware you had, healing an ailment that you had not even realized you were afflicted with. Based on the experience of myself and many others that I know about, merely re-inviting these ignored or forgotten aspects of yourself—the fuller definition of yourself—back into an active place in your life will bring you immeasurable joy and benefit.

Peace and centering,

CG

Copyright 2007 CG Walters

C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the mystical, metaphysical, and mythical insight that we all possess. His current novel, Sacred Vow is first and foremost a metaphysical love story, a tale of soul mates—twin flames—a journey toward our one true love…in its infinite expressions…bringing together two individuals from disparate realities—but one spirit—to heal the rift in the Collective Consciousness.

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