Wednesday, December 12, 2007

The Circular Journey


The experience of consciousness is rather like a giant circular process, which goes round and round without any force or exertion. A wheel which brings us round full circle, again and again. Each time the wheel spins us round to a new point within our experience, find ourselves at pivotal points wherein we can discover new ways to face old situations, rise to the energy of the current place we reside in, or live out past cycles again.
The journey of the person awakening to the memory of the soul is no different, and in fact can seem rather amplified once we are aware that we are processing energy, assimilating ideals and philosophies, and awakening to the truth within Self.

In my own experience of this circular cycle, I both observe myself, and those around me, and learn a great deal from all. I have witnessed myself, and other people, meet a new experience, which is then treated with the old reactions. What I mean, is we are constantly given new opportunities to experience, but often we do not meet them as "new", and treat them as we have a past experience. This is what I term being on the merry-go-round. We are free to experience the circular flow of awareness, without being "stuck" as though we were on a ride we could not get off.

The key is to greet each new experience, as new, literally. It is a human behavior to compare all that we are encountering to all we have already encountered. A new person comes into your life, and they remind you of someone from the past, and that similarity can in some way define how you feel about this new person. But in essence this person is new, so is it beneficial to you to hold them up to the image you have of someone else? A job opportunity comes your way, but you were fired from your last job, and are feeling insecure about your abilities, so rather than seeing the new opportunity as a start-off point (which it is) you are seeing it as a challenge; something to feel intimidated by. Someone irritates you, steps on your personal boundaries, and rather than find a new way to respond to this type of situation, you choose to respond in the way which you have previously responded.

We all do this, pretty regularly. We are unsure of the unknown, and it feels much more structured to hold it up to the light of what we do know, and proceed from there.

If we could just have faith in the circular nature of experience, and know that while we are winding round and round our own consciousness, we are receiving new experience by which to flex our own growth muscles, then we could free ourselves of the past and open up to the plethora of opportunity before us.

It is by and large a human fear condition which seats us in the past, holding on to, rather than looking forward to.When you hold on to something which has already occurred in your life, it is a statement on some level that you are not prepared for anything new, as you are now going to languish in the old. But the past is gone, not but an echo, and holding on to it serves no purpose other than self-pity, which is a translation for self-abuse. When you can meet new opportunity from an objective place of receptivity, knowing that while it may remind you of something or someone from your past experience it is truly something new, you free yourself to learn new ways to express yourself in light of the new energy around you.

The Christmas holidays can be a great metaphor for this exact thing. Many of us have memories of Christmas holidays past; dinners with family, gathering with friends, happy times and possibly sad or angry times. This Christmas holiday stands not more than two weeks away from us, take a moment (if you celebrate Christmas) and ask yourself if you are ready to greet this time of year with open receptivity, or if you are holding on to some Christmas past, which is keeping you from allowing in the new of Christmas, 2007.

The circular journey is not one we take into the unknown - into the Universe, out of ourselves. It is an inward journey, which is sublime in intimacy and personal meaning. My inward circular journey of consciousness can only be shared via word, intent, and action. I can not expect another person to have the same experience, because no other person is quite like me. So here we are, billions of us, having the same journey towards inwards knowing, yet many of us are looking "outside" for signs and meaning and poignancy. We can become confused, easily, as to where substance lies.

My latest trip round my own circular consciousness has found me questioning nearly everything I believed in and held dear. While I was experiencing it I was afraid of losing the feeling of safety I had in my previous experience of "believing". I held tightly to what I thought was safe and loving and nurturing, only to find that I was hurting myself by not letting go. And the moment I finally let go, I realized I was not losing anything, I was gaining. I let go of old concepts which were dormant and stagnant within me, in order to see what was so clearly before my eyes - a deeper sense of Faith in Self.

I share this to draw another metaphorical analogy for you; when we are prepared to let go, in divine faith, we can easily (or at least with some ease) transition between old ideologies and energies, into a new state of consciousness.

These shifts in consciousness are reflective of all that we have known, been, and strived towards. We want so much to "Awaken" and to be Aware, or Enlightened, however we hope these things will appear via our own condition and rules; in a very positive and safe way. But growth will not always be achieved in a vaccuous space of 100% comfort and ease. There will be painful experiences, there will be perceived times of trauma, stress, struggle, and hurt. Clinging to a past notion of what is "good" can just be a way to deny the new, in order to avoid pain.

Pain can be the most beautiful reminder of who you Are.

In your own circular journey, you can choose to be conscious of the cyclic nature of your life, or just flow with it, unawares. There is no right or wrong, you may choose (or not choose) to be as present as you want to be. Being aware of what cycles you have lived and are attempting to manipulate your way through now can be extremely cathartic, leading to new and deeper levels of self-understanding. Letting life flow through you, without analysis can be just as cathartic, as epiphanies are not exclusive to those who are consciously experiencing an Awakening of Self.

No matter what you do, or experience, do so with an open mind and heart, with faith abundant in yourself, and with a knowing that the past is a figment of your imagination, it no longer exists. If it no longer exists, perhaps it no longer serves you to hold on to the images you have of times gone by.






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