By Rebecca Traver
“There are some interesting parallels between being a tourist and living a life upon the Earth. First, the minute you get here, you have no doubt that you are in a place that is totally foreign to you. Second, you have arrived with a lot of baggage, namely your biological contract to live in fear. So, if we look at life this way, we can begin to understand why we are so confused most of the time.” — Spotted Eagle
When asked by his students for guidance as to their path in life, my teacher Spotted Eagle replies that all human beings share the same path. We are here to overcome our fear of an uncertain future and, in so doing, reclaim our power from the adaptive and conditioned perceptions, behaviors, and choices that result from our allegiance to that fear. While his response often elicits confusion, resistance, or denial, it holds the key to our spiritual evolution.
If we choose to grow spiritually, our search for truth and wisdom can reveal various maps or models which may assist us on our journey. At best, these models can help us find our way to lives of authenticity, presence, and emotional freedom. At worst, they can encourage us to turn away from the challenges inherent in the human journey and to remain entrenched in our quest for certainty and a life free of pain. For most of us, it’s a matter of trial and error as we travel the territory of the material plane, one foot in front of the other, maps in hand. The journey to wholeness demands great courage, willingness, humility, and an abiding awareness that truth is not static – it evolves. We needn’t travel far to discover that the path of authenticity is a narrow one.
The path of narrowness is the path of self-knowledge and self-mastery. It is a path marked by a simple realization that our creativity depends utterly upon our authenticity. We are as uncreative in life as we are being run by our fear-based conditioning. Our quality of life is directly proportional to the level of personal responsibility we are willing to take for everything we see, say, and do. Given the enormously powerful influence of our biological and psychological survival issues, and how our awareness as humans is always fractionalized to one degree or another, this is no small order.
I invite you to explore this territory with me. While our experience of the journey is our own, we share a common path. I look forward to hearing what your experience is showing you, how your lessons are revealing themselves, and where your journey is leading.
Contributed by Rebecca Traver
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