I had some ideas of maybe where to begin on a discussion of spirituality, but was still unsure that I would be able to bring anything useful to the table, besides a series of inspirational quotes from men and women wiser and more respected than myself.
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| My talking board |
I sat down at the board with my husband and going through our normal routine of checking to see if there were any important messages for either of us, I asked if there was any guidance that they could give me that would help me with my discussion of spirituality. Of course, they did not disappoint.
The following is the summation that I put together based on the explanations that They gave us about spirituality during that particular board session on June 15, 2013. This includes what they told us directly, and answers to questions we asked. It is all in paragraph form, as I have yet to possess the free time if would take to write up an actual transcript of an audio recording, as I would prefer. I have done so in the past and discovered that it consumes hours that I don't have. As is often the case, They used metaphors to illustrate Their points.
Spirituality
June 15, 2013
Picture a treasure map. Here is a dotted path that tries to
explain to you how to get to the X that marks "The Spot." The X, of
course, is the Treasure. The thing is, no one really knows what the Treasure
is. Sure, there are stories and legends, but no one you know has seen it with
their own eyes and lived to tell about it. And even if they have seen it, their
description never really helps you, because it's still secondhand information,
that is being filtered through another person's lens of interpretation. Also,
the treasure map is flat and plain. You see maybe a path to the treasure in a
dotted line, but this path does not tell you what you'll encounter along the
way. The map doesn't tell you that you'll have to hack your way through a
jungle, scale a mountain, fight off wild beasts, or contend with a mutinous
crew. It only gives you an idea of where X is and some vague idea of how to get
there, and wherever "there" is, you don't even know what you'll find
once you get there.
You have a compass, and it can at least tell you where North
is, but it cannot, by itself get you to The Treasure. You also need this
infuriatingly vague map. And you need to do your own footwork.
Like a thumbprint, Spirituality is unique for each and every
person. And even two people who ostensibly "believe" the same things
on paper - they attend the same church, and in conversations with each other
agree that they both believe in the same tenets - these two people actually
still have their own personal interpretation of their beliefs, that is filtered
through their own unique lens. Deep down inside, in their personal little Black
Box of Things That They Don't Talk About To Anyone Else, there are shades of
belief that make them different than even their most similar neighbor. Each person's
experiences, circumstances, and environment make up their own individual Secret
Blend of Herbs and Spices that informs that person's Spirituality. In the same
way that no two people are alike, there are no two Spiritualities that are
alike.
Therefore Spirituality is a very personal journey for each
of us. I am not on the same journey that you are. Our treasure maps look
different, and our compasses each claim that a different way is North.
There is an emphasis that it is the Journey that is the most
important part. When you watch a movie that involves a treasure map, it's The Quest
for the Treasure that takes up most of the movie, no? Sure, we get to the
Treasure at the end, but after that the credits roll, gosh, no one seems to
bother to ask what happens after that. Maybe because it's not that important
when compared to the Search, the Journey.
Spirituality is the Compass. It is oriented specially to
each of our own personal Norths. It can help guide us on our Quest. What do I
mean, "Personal North?" isn't North the same for everyone? Not in
this arena. Each of us has chosen to come into this life for our own unique and
personal reasons. We have elected, beforehand, before we are born, to place
ourselves in certain circumstances, to place specific sets of challenges in our
path, to make our way through life with a particular set of tools, all of these
carefully designed to assist us in growing in the way that we need to grow. We
have built an obstacle course for ourselves that is custom-designed to target
our weakest muscles, so that we can build them up where we are deficient.
Because each of our lives is its own unique little universe, we each have our
own way North.
What do I mean, by "our own way north?" Well,
because we are each different, our priorities are different. What we each value
is different. What we each feel is Right and Wrong is different, if even ever
so subtly, from our fellow Seekers of Treasure. Your neighbor is not seeking
the same Treasure as you, and this makes you unique. What makes us all the
same, however, is that we are all seeking A
treasure.
And what is this Treasure then? Where is the common ground
for all of us, where we can have a feeling of sharing and commonality in a
discussion such as this? The Treasure...is Enlightenment. But that may not mean
what it sounds like at first. As I have
said, we have each placed specific challenges in our life path that are meant
to teach us lessons. When we actually manage to figure out what those lessons are, we have found what we are looking
for, we have found The Lesson Plan, The Syllabus. This is Enlightenment. This
is The Treasure.
It doesn't even matter so much if we are able to learn the lessons in this lifetime. To
know what they are is the epiphany. The moment of clarity. How would you expect
to build a house with no blueprints? You might have a whole stack of building
materials and not even be sure what it is that you are supposed to build, or
that you are meant to build anything at all. You might be meant to start a
bonfire with it all this lumber for all you know. Ah, where are the plans? What
am I supposed to be doing with all this stuff? WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA HERE
ANYWAY?! The Plan, The Lesson Plan, The Syllabus is your Enlightenment, your
Treasure.
What is the difference between Religion and Faith and
Spirituality?
I may have faith that my car is parked outside, but the car
is out there, even if I have no faith that it is. That car, in this metaphor,
is Spirituality. Now this is just a metaphor, because there are obvious debates
about whether anything truly exists outside of our perception of it or belief
in it, but just try to roll with the train of thought here.
If Spirituality is the Compass that guides you toward your
Treasure, the discovery of your purpose in this life, much like the car in the
driveway, whether you have faith that it is there or not, you still have a
guide that can point you in the right direction, whether or not you believe
that you have such a tool. There can be signs pointing you, and friendly elbows
nudging you in the right direction without you even being aware that they are
doing so, or believing that this is their purpose. As long as you get to your
destination, it doesn't matter whether you are aware of the tools you are using
to get there, or how they work. I don't need to know how to build a computer to
go on the internet.
Spirituality is a human thing, for this physical life.
People on the other side, Spirits, whatever you would like to call our energies
once they have shuffled loose the mortal coil have no need of it; they can
already see the big picture. They know what The Lesson Plan is. Of course they
do; that's how you chose your life before you got here: you needed no Compass
then, you knew what to do.
