Choosing an Illusion

Often in our lives, something attracts our attention. We call it 'reality' or 'illusion' or 'dream' or 'possibility' ~ whatever suits our immediate temperament.

What it is, is of less importance than what we name it. Our word for the attraction is powerful. It becomes our focus and we make it into the moment's truth.

This particular image and statement captured my attention for that reason. I had never thought of the light at the end of the tunnel as an illusion. I thought of it as a goal, as something to reach toward. My thoughts about the tunnel never turned toward it being reality or illusion either. I simply thought of it as a place where I happened to be traversing. I must explain that I've always liked tunnels, caves, ladders up to unknown places. For me, a tunnel is not a negative place to be. My definition of the 'tunnel' and the 'light' are uniquely my own.

Most of us have a general understanding of the power of words, the power of how we think and talk about the people, places and events in our lives. I can go to a concert with a friend. When we leave, I say, "Wow! That was fantastic!" My friend responds, "Yeah. It was pretty good, I guess." Even though our descriptive words are nearly the same, the "I guess" implies an unsure attitude. We've experienced the same event, but we describe it differently. That colors our individual emotional sense ~ and even physical sense ~ as we part ways and go home. I'm upbeat, tapping my steering wheel to the music running through my mind. My friend is tired, quieter. It's in our minds that the reality or illusion is born.

How do you approach the events in your life? Do you recognize the strength of your words? Is the Light or the Tunnel an illusion to you? Why?

Enlightenment and Reality

As I was looking on the web, I came across the name of someone whose work I read many years ago: Anthony de Mello. This quote came from his book, Awakenings: Conversations with the Masters.

I don't have a continuing grasp on seeing Reality as it is. Sometimes I totally get that there is no water around ~ no threats or negativity coming toward me. Other times I believe that I'm drowning ~ my world coming apart at the seams. 

What I've come to realize, in bits and pieces, fits and starts, is that Enlightenment is about how I choose to perceive the world. Occasionally, that's as far from Reality as I can get. That negative energy that blocks the true perception of Reality isn't from anyone else; it comes from my own thoughts, my own soul.

How do you perceive Reality? Is it always the same way? Are there differences on different days? or at different times? How do you return to the right view of Reality ~ and Enlightenment?

Definition of a Shaman

Susan Seddon-Boulet

from Oriah Mountain Dreamer (https://www.facebook.com/Oriah.Mountain.Dreamer):

A shaman is often described as one who walks with a foot in both worlds ~ the realities of spirit & matter (that are inseparable in this lifetime only in our thinking). It can be tempting to use experiences of the essential unity of the underlying reality to move away from the very real losses of a human life. But what if our human experiences are just as important as our "spiritual" visions? What if the point of those glimpses of a bigger/deeper reality is to help us stay present & open-hearted? What if being human offers us the experience of being an ensouled body NOT as something to be endured, but something to be cherished, celebrated & savoured?

Shamanic practice brings together the worlds we often see or claim as separate. It's a way to join our spiritual sense and being with the physicality of the world around us. For some it's an easy flow. That's their life. But there aren't many who find it so.

For others, it's a constant slipping in and out of the ordinary and extraordinary times. It's a fluid space-time to be, to find a moment of our personal existence. Walking between the worlds, with a foot in each, demands our vigilance. We continue to slide and move as we determine which reality we are in moment by moment. Neither one is 'right' nor 'wrong', 'better' nor 'worse'. Both carry us forward.

How do you walk between the worlds? How do you define the 'shaman' within you?