I look across the empty spaces here in Arizona and realize they are anything but empty. The San Francisco peaks, home of the spirits, collect light and hold onto it as the sun sets across the vast scrub deserts and canyons below. As I watch, the light on the mountains climbs back above the peaks into the sky, which to the east seems to hide itself under a shawl of deepening blue and glowing pink. There the moon rises, full and bright.
One has to respect those spirits that according to legend have emerged from the underworld through clefts in the stone to find their ultimate destination in the high mountains. One needs a ritual or two, a shaman or two, to help those spirits remember where they are heading and to stay out of their way. Although we are “smarter” now in a manner of speaking, with all our “ologies” and “iences,” it’s good to remember that an older life is still within us and needs our attention — perhaps now more than ever. If the human world of beliefs eroded in the same way that the land does here in the Southwest, we would see how shallow our history actually is and how many layers of prehistory go deeper down, showing us who we have been in the canyons and dry bones of our past collective existence.
There, beneath our feet in the revealed strata, the spirits are still alive. It is our unconsciousness of them that makes so much trouble. Brutal individuals, brutal societies are evidence of how inadequate our logical mind is to solve our problems. The very notion that we live with various forms of creative “terrorism” proves that we, the civilized, do not yet fully understand ourselves as individuals or a species, nor respect the universe of which we are a very small part. The fact that we cannot seem to solve our ills — the social and economic inequities, the need for violence and domination, the destruction of our own habitat — signals a most fundamental, “logical” (illogical) narcissism on our part, a lack of humanity that seems ever more strongly built into what we choose to call our humanity.
What’s true is that we don’t begin from an incipient respect for the notion there is anything greater than we are. Perhaps our ancestors were not so crazy after all to believe in a spirit world stronger and older than human consciousness, a spirit world that shows us the symptoms of a spiritual disease through the physical problems of the body and psychic problems of the mind. A whole village might be possessed, might get ill. Believing that much, as shamans do, at least puts us all on notice of the presence of other, greater powers — things we don’t yet understand.
I am not suggesting that we go backwards in time toward some preachy, fundamentalist or conservative cult doctrines, rituals and sacrifices in the name of bad, maybe dangerous values, externalized and imposed on others. Such beliefs are themselves part of the distortion I’m talking about — signs of the spirits acting up — wanting their primal due in a world that’s decided to ignore them, that’s decided that a desert is just another empty place.
I am writing in metaphor to suggest we pay attention to the spirit world of our own hearts and that we enter that world humbly to find out where the trouble is that is showing up in the daily news as terrorism and narcissism, violence, ignorance and inequality — and all the rest.
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We’ve been pondering similar spiritual threads my friend! Although I wasn’t thinking of Arizona and shamans…more so in regards to America and our lack of roots (unless you happen to be Indian and originally from here)
I know the focus of your post is spiritual and yet part of this ‘root’ problem for me is also ‘where do I really come from’? It reveals a lack of real rooting and attachment for my own homeland that over the years has led to a deeper drive and desire to understand where I came from. (which has also been fun since I have what could be considered a heinz 57 bloodline! » English, Irish, French, German…AND a wee touch of Indian as well!)
As for the spiritual…that has been a huge quest most of my life, and having gone through various stages. Currently consider myself spiritual from the moment I decided God was bigger then the breadbox of ‘fundamentalism’. Not that I have the Power, Creator, Source, Universal divinity figured out by any stretch of the imagination!
However, to add a touch of humor to my usually serious comments, I’ll offer some of my more humorous spiritual muses that actually helped me in my own spiritual walk. These were 3 pivotal A‑HA’s that I hope will create laughter and will not be cause for offense! The imagery makes me laugh so I hope you will too. : )
Humorous Life-changing Idea #1:
Your existence is not a threat to the Universe. So go ahead. Breathe.
Humorous Life-Changing Idea #2:
The Universe does not become insecure or have an identity crisis when you have doubts and fears.
Humorous Life-Changing Idea #3:
The Universe is not worried that it will be de-throned in the face of ANY question you might ask.
: )
PS: That was supposed to say spiritual but not religious…
Dear Samantha~
Thank you for this lovely amplification of the post. Your three “Ah-ha’s” remind me of Carl Sagan’s observations about our pale blue dot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot.
And as to your point about spirit vs. religion, I often consider how important this distinction is. Too many times religion is a threadbare alternative to the true spiritual journey. That journey can come to a religion, but if it is the real thing, it will be based on an intimate experience of awe and communion, borne from a genuine personal struggle, not escape from that struggle into convenient, socially approved “faith.”
As always, I am grateful for your sensitive commentary, Samantha!
All the best
~Dan
Dan,
Your deep and rich piece has reminded me of the book I am re-reading — one of my favorites of the past year — The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible by Charles Einsenstein.
He writes,
“Once upon a time, the tribe of humanity embarked upon a long journey called Separation. It was not a blunder as some, seeing its ravages upon the planet, might think; nor was it a fall, nor an expression of some innate evil peculiar to the human species. it was a journey with a purpose to experience the extremes of Separation, to develop the gifts that come in response to it and to integrate all of that in a new Age of Reunion.”
Forgive my indulgence of sharing this long passage — from another writer — but I felt it so closely spoke to your observations and questions — that are so compelling and disturbing.
Exploring the cave paintings in the Southwest, I’ve wondered what the artists saw — but more important — what they felt. Was it fear? Surely it was as so much of the writings act like talismans against the powerful forces of nature. But so much was also awe and wonder. I think a sense of Union . The kind of union we dismiss now as superstituous and primitive.
Like Eisenstein, I choose to believe that we’re transitioning now to what he calls the New Story — towards Reunion. Having said that I have no idea what it means. Perhaps it’s a form of intuitive guidance — patched together by many different kinds of people working towards forms of wholeness. They enter the world with humility as you say because they understand how brutalized and fragile it has become after its long battle with itself.
And to quote a wonderful writer I sort of know, “One has to respect those spirits that according to legend have emerged from the underworld through clefts in the stone to find their ultimate destination in the high mountains.”
Beautiful.
Dear Louise~
Thank you so much for the reference to Charles Eisenstein’s book. I think there are many of us who are looking as far as we can into the human condition in a quest to understand our personal and collective emergence. I, too, look forward to Reunion and appreciate the necessity to keeping our spirits open to whatever that means! Your sharing here is a treasure to me, Louise. I feel a sense of very deep kinship and welcome, so thank you for all of that, and for holding space for the tribe.
Many good wishes
~Dan
Dan,
An open door to discover what we want to make real and then to live spiritedly by it.
Thanks for another thought-filled call.
Jon
Dear Jon~
Many thanks for your fine words!
Best
~Dan