The Spiritual Journey as Expression

          Lately in these articles it has been explained that the spiritual journey isn’t from truth or to truth but is the effect on ego (I, me) and the person of truth rising to conscious awareness. It is an expression rather than an aspirational journey for a soul (disembodied ego). Truth rises to conscious awareness and one finds themselves on a journey of personal and spiritual growth. In most cases, one seeks validation of their experiences in spiritual teachings that are already around. In rare cases, one is moved to bring forth a new spiritual teaching or practice or religion. Some have expressed confusion about this, so an analogy arose in this mind, and clients have found it helpful.

Imagine the ocean, vast and deep and powerful and seeming never-ending. On the surface of the ocean is the usual debris, plant material from shores, like palm fronds and coconuts; items that have fallen off boats, like rope and seat cushions; plastics and other human-made trash; seaweed and other dead ocean vegetation, etc. These accumulate into debris fields in places on the ocean. The ocean is just the ocean and is not aware of, so has no concern with, the debris floating on its surface. Now, imagine an ego identifies with a debris field on the ocean. It says, “This is reality” and to an individual debris field, “This is me”. It sees meaning in the debris field, in all its parts, in its movement on the ocean, and its orientation (relationship) to other debris fields. Ego may or may not be aware of the ocean, but if it is, it thinks the ocean is part of its reality and must also be aware of ego and the debris. Given how vast and deep and powerful the ocean is, ego is willing to concede it is greater than ego. It must be the source of ego and the debris. But, of course, the ocean is not aware of any of this.

The ocean, moving as it does, occasionally blurps up into a debris field, causing the bits that make it up to shift and change around. If it wasn’t before, ego is now certainly aware of the ocean, and it thinks that what just occurred was for the sake of the debris field (and ego, because it identifies with the debris field) and perhaps all debris fields everywhere. Ego may embark on a journey related to the experience of the ocean having revealed itself through the debris. “I am more than just a debris field!” ego says and takes this message to other debris fields, “We are the ocean!” It may take this awareness happily forward, grateful for the experience and the greater awareness and changes it brought: “I have seen God (the ocean), it is real, and I will one day return to it when I die.” It may find or form practices and religions around this awareness. Or it may spend its life longing for the ocean to blurp up into the debris field again: “I want to see that again, it was wonderful, I want to live there!”

But why, ego wonders, did it happen in the first place? Maybe ego and the debris field are special. Or, maybe, by the grace of the ocean, ego was being shown what is real and therefore it must purify itself in some way to get the ocean to blurp up through the debris field again…

But, of course, what happened was the ocean in its perpetual movement just happened to move upward through that debris field, and it had nothing to do with the debris field or ego. It was not “personal”. But ego, in its belief in itself and its chosen reality, the debris field, can’t accept this. This couldn’t possibly be random; it was too meaningful to ego. In fact, it gave meaning to ego. For some egos, the awareness of the ocean remains, lightening its days. But for most, it doesn’t and ego cannot make the ocean appear again. So, if the ocean doesn’t blurp up again, ego may become disillusioned and give up seeking the ocean. It may even stop believing the experience was real. Or it may keep faith in the existence of the ocean, and it may try through various practices of purification, either by being “good” or “sinless” or being “less blocked”, to be worthy of the experience or to get it to come again.

This demonstrates what is meant when it is written here that truth—pure consciousness, the space in which ego and its world appear—being the only reality and everywhere, inevitably sometimes comes to conscious awareness and this affects ego but does not occur for the sake of ego. What is done with the experience is all the movement of ego in its story, in its seeming reality. If it doesn’t come again, it is not because of a failure on ego’s or the person’s part—it just doesn’t come again. Truth does not exist for ego, nor does ego have anything to do with truth. Ego and truth are seemingly two different realities. But, of course, there is only one reality, truth.

Learning this may make ego feel like its spiritual journey and practice are a “waste of time” since it is not to get ego to a goal. But the goal it seeks is here, always—just not for ego. The spiritual journey is an effect, an expression, of the presence of truth just as the ocean pushing up into the debris field causing it to shift around expresses the presence of the ocean. Ego is just an expression, too. An expression of the idea of not-truth, the idea that ego and its world are reality, either instead of or along with truth. This is what truth rising to conscious awareness reveals. The spiritual journey unfolding through your person, whatever that is, attests to the presence of truth. Truth is here! Watch for the movement of truth in yourself and others. The details don’t matter, each being a unique expression, some more distorted than others, but all affirm the same source is here, not some place you need to reach.

 >>>> 

If you have a question the answer to which you feel may be helpful to others, send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered in this newsletter/blog.