« Previous | Main | Next »
Our Inner Selves
May 08, 2007
Inner Self ~ Canon 30d
The Soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.
~ Emily Dickinson
Okay, so I realize not everyone will see the connection between their souls and the pollen-filled guts of a wilting tulip, but I see the connection, and I'm going to run with it.
Where do the personality and the soul meet? In the heart, of course.
Every artist, mystic and seeker will tell you as much. It's the point where time meets eternity ~ where our limitations interact with our limitless potential. It isn't someplace way out there in the clouds, it's the timeless place where the Seer sees and the Knower knows deep in the Land of Nothing which encompasses Everything.
Am I talking Jabberwalky? Maybe ~ let's say it a different way, shall we?
In a world defined by packages and outward appearances, it should come as a relief to find out there's more to each of us than meets the eye. You have a higher self who is watching and waiting for an opportunity to knock your socks off if you'd only recognize it's loving presence within of you.
Now, I know the "first" thing y'all did*... you popped your hoods and did an underbelly inspection and you came up with nothing, didn't you? Maybe you even ran out and had your doctor order an MRI in the space between the lines of my sentences, and even HE couldn't find the Seer and Knower of Everything. Perhaps your priest told you the only way eternity could be inside you would be in response to a dogmatically proper emotive invitation. I say you don't need all those diagnostic tests and fact-finding missions, because we all came out-of-the-box with heaven inside of us. The batteries are included, thank you.
Heretic! There she goes again! Light the bonfires! It's time for some fireside mystic-roasting burning at the stake entertainment!
You wanna hear something really surprising? Especially to those of you who have been here with me since the beginning? I'm in the midst of reading up on Christian mystics, and they are so freaking cool. They were rebels and nutjobs and rabblerousers and visionaries. I'm not talking all the saints here... I'm talking about the wild woman levitator, and the crazy guy who heard animals talking to him. The "out there" Investigators of the Interior who practiced, "Shut up, sit down and listen," and radically changed their exteriors to the point of changing the world.
If you don't believe me, look up St. Teresa of Avila, St. Francis of Asissi, or George Fox of Quakerdom, to name a few. They all pointed to the simplicity of the soul and were willing to embrace fuzzy logic when needed.
(There's a definition for fuzzy logic, and it's called creativity, btw.)
Problem is, most of us are too caught up in our frantic time-based, package-based I need more of everything, somebody get me off this train, my head is about to explode, make my boss go away, I can't believe in God because the world sucks, physical realities to take the time to even notice there's a channel waiting to be opened between your heart and your soul. What are you waiting for? It's right there, inside of you!
So... here's a simple, humble, boundless, invitation. An invitation more concerned with the gooey caramel filling, than with the thin religious wrapper:
Peel back the petals and take a peak at the golden sunshine sparkling within your soul, especially if your petals are feeling a bit droopy. Tap into the creative, limitless well of possibility brimming in your soul. Keep the door ajar, and it will find you.
“Each of us has a soul, but we forget to value it. We don’t remember that we are creatures made in the image of God. We don’t understand the great secrets hidden inside of us."
~ St. Teresa of Avila
{image shot at the Franciscan Monastery in DC}
* teasing.
Posted by vincent at May 8, 2007 09:40 PM
Comments
*Bob chuckles*
Profound and light hearted at the same time. Cool. It seems to Shimmer.
What are you doing? Or should I even ask? You're sounding a little like Rumi. Just keep diggin. You are bringing out some pretty cool stuff. It doesn't matter if it is jabberwalky.
As for me I am well aquainted with what is inside, my soul, my Buddha nature, my animal nature, my sacred masculine and feminine, my inner child and so on. It all works together to achieve Nirvana and the realization that none of this is perminent. :-)
Peace.
Posted by: Bob at May 9, 2007 04:38 AM
What am I doing? (hee) I'm sitting down, shutting up and listening, my friend. Thanks, Mr. Bob.
Posted by: susan at May 9, 2007 06:58 AM
Susan,
While I was sitting in church on Sunday, listening (well, not really listening)to yet another useless message I found myself thinking about your last week's post on metta, wishing it were you standing up in that pulpit speaking to us of life.
I may print this one and take with me this week!!
Posted by: aola at May 9, 2007 11:08 AM
Oh my! You just keep gettin' better and better! Keep up the good work!
Posted by: jzrart at May 9, 2007 01:39 PM
I finally caught up with all your teachings and incredible photos. Sending metta helps us all and I am certain the love that flows from all of your friends helps heal this troubled world. Thank you for sending such positive thoughts my way.
Posted by: janet at May 9, 2007 05:53 PM
susan i really loved this post. so thought provoking and i found myself nodding in agreement through the entire read. it reminded me of the intro to a book i read several years ago on the eniagram (a fancy 7 point personality thingy). and it also reminded me of a book of poetry i have which i love called love poems from god. it combines the very soulful, very passionate poetry of both eastern and western mystics.
Posted by: la vie en rose at May 10, 2007 03:54 PM
I really have tears coming to my eyes when I see your beautiful and provocative images. thank you so much! it is always such a treat to see what will be there when I click on your link ;)
Posted by: Kim at May 11, 2007 01:14 AM
aola,
What you wrote is very interesting because I see swift transformation in myself since engaging in this opening and listening practice, and centering upon what my buddhist buddies call "loving presence". To be quite honest, I see this presence as "god". I don't think it matters how we identify it, because it is beyond definition and complete comprehension ~ it is love... what more do we need to know except that?
As the Dalai Lama has said so many times, "Stay where you are." He suggests remaining with the faith tradition you are currently with, and only to turn to Buddhism if you can't help it because the Buddhist path speaks to you so strongly. Better to learn and reap the BIG HUGE benefits of meditation practice, and allow it to round out and deepen your current spirituality than to toss the baby Jesus out with the bathwater, so to speak. The core of Buddhism and Christianity are perfectly congruent with one another. I speak from personal experience, but don't take my word for it. Try it yourself ~ hold on to what moves you and works for you, and leave that which does not draw you closer to Source by the roadside.
Healing presence is always drawing us closer to itself. We have fallen under a trance of unworthiness, forgetting our true and normal state... our true nature, really is WHOLENESS.
So, take this with you to church. Be an instrument of healing to the people around you, and in the process of doing so, your acts of kindness will heal yourself.
And finally, I do not for a moment see myself on par with preachers. This space is my online meditation, and if it helps you and speaks to you, please know it isn't coming from "moi", I am sharing what I am discovering from my teachers, who have much more expertise in this, and from spending quiet time with my soul. Look to your soul, not to me, for the answers to your biggest questions.
Namaste.
Susan
Posted by: susan at May 11, 2007 09:18 AM