Ouch! And yet I still find "Believe" to be a beautiful word ...

Recently a young woman on my Facebook page made a remark that is very true though perhaps a little controversial. She expressed her struggles with what she considered might be a contradiction inherent in new age spirituality – that getting on the Path, so to speak, makes you happier and helps you get what you want. The law of attraction has translated into many sales (how attractive!) through modern spiritual teachers offering guidance in ‘how to manifest’, in an effort perhaps to help us become more conscious of what we already do on a daily basis, and to therefore gain more choice and less unconscious reaction in what we are bringing into our lives, the theory being that if we choose something, we will like how it comes into our lives too – you probably get my implied point here, but more on that in a moment.

I remember hearing Caroline Myss once remark that many who sought the spiritual path for personal growth were expecting that it would honour them with some sort payback in the form of a Life akin to a spiritual pleasure cruise, and all their worries would be over. It is perhaps needless to say that she scoffed at the idea of this, and many in the audience chuckled too with a sort of “oh, yes, how ridiculous to think that” agreement, whilst I silently considered that was actually one of my expectations of it all at the time (ah, I was young, but I still harbour a rampant optimist within, so consider yourself warned).

Her remark reminded me of a comment made in an interview with an enigmatic Indian man known as UG, interviewed by a Professor HSK in an article called “the Mystique of Enlightenment”. To UG, enlightenment ain’t so mystical. His experience of it, he said, is a realization of impermanence and unreality of what we consider to be reality. Because he considered that many people search for enlightenment as a way to permanent bliss, UG remarks that if they knew what it was (for him), they wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot barge pole!

There is a place to dwell somewhere in the middle of these extremes of plunging head-first into an imagined pleasure-fest and according new age promises with as much believability as a TV infomercial.

In this middle-place, spiritual growth doesn’t promise that we can mould the world as though we were the supreme creator, yet it does acknowledge our current role as co-creators of our world, through how we choose to be within ourselves and how we choose to live, according to the circumstances in which we find ourselves. It doesn’t offer us a fantasy escape, but it does offer us the courage to dream of living our truths and the boldness to believe that this dream is within our grasp. It doesn’t promise dreamy outcomes, but it does genuinely assure us that what we are seeking, we will find, if only we are open to it. Sometimes that will be even more dreamy than we imagined for ourselves and sometimes it will be much more down to earth. Whatever will best serve you is what comes to you, even if you don’t realise it straight away. The Universe loves you. It serves your growth always.

Your part is to be open to the manifestation of your prayers or dreams, even if it isn’t happening in a way that you expected (and when is Life that predictable, really?). What you pray for, from deep in your being, comes to you. It may take lifetimes if you have a lot to work through to get to a place where you can allow it. For some it might take about fifteen minutes. It really depends on what it is that you are seeking and how deep your journey is to get there. The sweetest fruit is at the top of the tree, so sometimes having a bit further to climb makes the attaining of the goal that much more delicious. There are other times when we are ready to have a quicker awakening, sort of like ripping off that band-aid rather than tugging at it slowly.

Here’s a snappy little story that I like. It’s a Buddhist proverb about a woman called Enyadatti.

Enyadatti is convinced that she has lost her head. People are shocked by her statement and her passionate and consuming search. Yet they cannot reason with her that she has lost nothing at all! One day Enyadatti is walking down the street, anxious and obsessive in her search when she is spotted by an old friend called Tara. Tara notices her friend’s anxiety and asks her what she is doing. Enyadatti says “I have lost my head and so I am trying to find it!”. Instantly Tara smacks Enyadatti right in the centre of her forehead with great force causing Enyadatti to cry out in pain. “There’s your head, Enyadatti,” Tara says to her friend, “it’s right on top of your neck!”. Enyadatti held on to her aching head and mumbled her thanks.

Even that which would appear to be striking us down, can be an ally to us if we so choose it. If our inner victim takes over, we may feel martyred or unfairly treated by life. If our inner hero or warrior takes over, we can instead choose to rally our forces and become clever little minxes, seeking the healing possibilities hiding in our pain (perhaps realizing that we do have a head after all – or what it symbolizes, perhaps wisdom, a mind of our own) and finding a way to turn what was once adversity into an advanced spiritual growth experience, emerging stronger and with less inner obstacles to manifesting our truths than ever before.

This is what can bring peace and happiness. Not changing life with it’s inevitable pains and disappointments, but changing how we respond and interact with Life. Neither expecting it to always be miserable, nor to always be blissful. This is where we can ironically enough find the peace we were seeking through trying to change Life in the first place. To arm ourselves with the knowledge that even an occasional thump on the head is offered with Love, to help us find that which we have sought so passionately, can help us relax and roll with the punches (or thumps). I can tell you from past experiences, that the kicks up the bum that I have received from the Universe brought me answers that I had sought (and one my backside stopped smarting I was grateful for the help).

My wish for you is that any kicks up the behind that you receive from Life may be swift, illuminating and not too shocking, and that when you are awakened, you find that whatever your heart was seeking, dear one, is actually right there in front of you, within you, or at the very least, not too far out of reach and soon to be yours for the taking.