Labels Are Limits

Some time ago, a friend of mine told me that the Priestess of his Wiccan Circle had confided in him that she was an Agnostic. Then she said to him "Now, tell me where the power is in that."

An answer sprung to my mind instantly and involves the following;

One of the 7 basic principles of Huna (the Shamanic tradition in which I was trained)  states "There Are No Limits", meaning that the only true limits that exist are the ones we put in place for ourselves. Another states that "The World is What You Think it is" meaning that we create our experience of reality from our own thoughts.  More recent information, coming from the field of Quantum physics indicates that the basic components of matter (as we currently are able to define them) respond to human thought.  

It is our vibration which determines what we see, experience and attract to us- and having a definition of a thing within that vibration influences that thing to conform to a certain framework.

The word "Agnostic" was coined by the 19th-Century British scientist Thomas H. Huxley. He made up the word from the prefix a-, meaning "without" or "not", and the noun "Gnostic" which comes from the Greek "gnosis" meaning "knowledge" in the esoteric and spiritual sense.

Huxley was often labeled by outsiders as a "Gnostic", a group of his fellow contemporaries, or "intellectualists" as he called them, who had eagerly embraced various doctrines or theories that explained the world to their satisfaction. But Huxley considered himself to be "...a man without a rag of a label to cover himself with.."

Although Huxley believed that what was "truth" was manifested in the physical world, he would not adhere to any one specific theory or philosophy about things unseen.

The Shamanic Traditions believed that we do create what is our truth in the physical world every day. But in resisting any particular philosophy or dogma we keep the possibilities open.  

That is the key...

By refusing to "label" himself--i.e. take up an association of belief to the exclusion of all others--he was also not excluding possibilities.

To project this a bit further, we could say that he believed that anything might be possible.

My friend's Priestess, by considering herself Agnostic, was also functioning in the belief that anything is possible--and going back to Reality Theory, and "The World is What You Think it is" we know that to believe something is possible, is all that is needed to make it possible.

That is the essence of true magic, this is the true meaning of power.

My friend's Priestess was indeed very wise. 

Living "In The Moment"; The Structure of Reality

There is an ancient, Buddhist sayiing that goes;

"When you take care of each moment, you take care of all time."

Many people equate this saying with the popular phrase "Live In The Moment", and more fatalistic individuals or those devoted to non-attachment often define it as enjoying what is because there is no guarantee of more.

We look at time and envision a string of moments, occurring one after the other from some distant beginning to some equally distant end.  Modern physics, however, has put forth the theory that time does not exist in the way we have traditionally thought of it.  They surmise time as an endless series of moments which all exist simultaniously, in the same place.  Each moment, is then, a self contained parallel reality , and distinguished from it's neighboring moments by a difference in it's vibrational frequency.  What we see as "moving through time" is in reality a steady series of shifting from vibration to vibration.

Suffice it to say, that Reality as we percieve it is more like a series of film frames that click  into place one after the other.  Click-click-click-click  we are here, here, here, here.  Each moment, really then, is all there is since there is nothing technically "before" it and nothing technically "after" it.  When you believe something to be true, your vibration, or frequency can be said to be in harmony with that reality, and so the vibration of the next frame pulls you towards it (The Law Of Attraction).  Each moment is it's own parallel reality and the version of "you" which buys into the belief of its existance moves to that next moment and you feel as though you are moving through "time". 

Even what you might consider to be "past" or "future" lives are all happening concurrently.  The Human mind creates the illusion of time in order to understand what it observes.  As I said before, human beings must learn by relating a thing to another thing.  Separating time into past, present and future allows us to hold one up against another and say "I like this", or "I didn't like that".  Once we determine a preference, changes can be made, but MORE than that--

The Expanding Reality

When a preference is expressed-consciously or unconsciously, ANOTHER parallel Reality comes into being that takes into account the preference and exists, in its own self-contained vibration.  If you want to change your reality, you must first change your vibration in order to be pulled towards the reality which exemplifies the kind of experience you want.  The simple act of wanting it, imagining it or desiring it creates it.  Everything that exists today, began as a thought, which began as a preference-I'd like a better way to do X, I would rather have Y.  This is the way our Universe expands, through thought as focused by the mind (see note "The Ego Is Not The Enemy")  By having your preferences, you act in concert with the All That Is in creating expansion in the Universe. 

"Living in the moment", then means to, in a sense, see the SAME MOMENT from a different point of view, so it is your perspective that is shifting, not the segments of time.   Indeed, we shift through billions of parallel realities every second. The time it takes for us to shift one vibration is sometimes referred to by physicists as "plank time", but I'm not blessed with an intellect which can wrap itself around the finer points of theoretical physics so I just won't go there.  ;)  (if you are interested in more on this subject read "The Field" by Lynne McTaggart (sp?) )  Each moment is different from its neighbor in such an infinitessimly small way that are barely aware that we are shifting at all.  But if, in that moment, you can somehow change your patterns of belief, you can be drawn to a different perspective of that moment which creates a different Reality.

This structure of the reality shifts (no pun intended) the responsibility of change to the individual as the changes we create in ourselves and our beliefs are the way by which we experience the reality that represents our preferences.  We do this by "taking care of"- or evaluating each moment according to what we believe and what we want.  The Shamans were aware of this.  There is a Huna principal that says "Now is the moment of Power".  

We cannot change our past, and we cannot act directly on our future.

The only period in which you are able to act is in that self contained moment.  In our human existence, we have only now in which to institute any change.  "Time" is Now.  If you desire to make a change, you must do it now, and in doing so, you are indeed addressing "all time".

Indeed, there is nothing else.

Why The Journey To Spiritual Growth Often Makes It Look Like The Sh*t Is Hitting The Fan.

Many People have asked me why things often seem to go crazy just when they begin their studies of Spirituality. In order to answer this question, you have to take a look at the ways in which humans have establish the quantification of "learning".

When we teach a worldly subject-math, science, literature-anything really-there are certain criteria that we must fulfil before we are considered expert enough to teach these things. These criteria are put in place by "experts" in the field, mathematicians, artists, writers etc. who have come before, and we assume they have earned a certain amount of prestige and credability via their struggles.  When we are done, we get a pat on the back, and a piece of paper that says "congratulations, we think you're competant." and sometimes, we are treated to dinner.  Then if we're lucky, we are provided with students and the whole process begins again with someone else.  

But when the subject is spirituality aka self empowerment aka unconditional Love; there is no certificate, and no trophy because, unlike an academic pursuit, the study of one's Self and our connection to the Universe is never-ending and ever-expanding.  

You are never finished. 

And who, ultimately, has the right to judge how far we've come?

Even if you read all the writings of Buddha, or memorize the Bible, or the Koran, eventually you will realize that these texts, no matter how ancient or acclaimed, are simply the writings of someone else's interpretation of what worked for them.  Beginning your journey by following them will help you start out, but eventually, you realize that it is the Universe-God-Ohm or your interpretation of the All-That-Is which tests us, teaches us and gives us its blessing for us to continue.  This is given to us directly, so that only your interpretation is what matters.   This is a tremendous honor, a blessing, and a big, big, BIG responsibility. (of course *that* particular point is not often stressed)  This is because the lessons are *always* tailored and perfectly designed for the person who is learning them.  No one lesson is appropriate for every person. Lessons must be given to encompass the whole of possible experience-no one lesson can contain all of that.  the Universe expects you to strike out on your own eventually- so take the chance.

What do we have to go through in order to be considered "competant" or "wise" or "accomplished enough to teach?

Being a Spritualist does not mean that I am automatically given wisdom.  

What I am given are opportunities to "be wise".

I am not given serenity; I am given the chance to maintain my serenity in the face of conflict.  

I do not get courage, love or joy nicely garnished on a plate-instead, I get opportunities to be courageous, the chance to choose the loving solution over the unloving one, and reminders that the joy I seek ultimately comes from inside me.  

These things appear in the form of people, situations, and happenings.  We may not get "classrooms" as we envision them, but we do get people with lessons to be learned showing up around us.  We will be able to help some of them, and unable to help others.  The ones we cannot help will go on to find other teachers.  The ones we can help will go on to teach others.  The ones who do not hear us, may end up hating us, but when I took this path, it was with the understanding that the process of growth was not always easy-and that the things I do not need would often be stripped away.

I also had to trust that what was taken, would always be replaced with something better.  I learned through experience that if what was taken-circumstances, resources or even people, didn't survive the process, it was not something I needed anyway.

So, if in your studies of your inner Be-ing, it suddenly looks like things are starting to unravel, remember that you are only being given the lessons that you asked for.  Understand that you are more than what you seem on the outside, but some people are not yet ready to see the real you.  

Others may blame you for their problems, but it is really only that there is something you reflect in them that they are not able to accept seeing. What others cannot understand they often react to with anger.  

In their anger, they may point out things in you that you will have trouble seeing and you will be sorely tempted to react with anger- but this never, ever works.   

Be grateful for the increased clarity and bless those who bring it to you by whatever means.

Things will happen.  

People will change.  

You have tossed a pebble into a pond-there will be ripples.

Keep in mind that you are being tested at your own individual level, and that no matter how you do, you will pass the class.  As Human beings, we are all given this Grace, but the only lesson that matters is the one that teaches us to reach, and hold onto, that inner connection with the All-That-Is.  This is your connection to the "stillpoint"-the "void"- the point at which all things are possible and from which all things spring.  Sadness fades with time, but this connection is eternal.  This is your clarity, vision and sustenance.  

And if, at any time, you feel overwhelmed with more questions than you can handle, the answer to all them all, is Love. The kind of unconditional Love that comes from holding a strong connection to your Source.

No matter what.