Being a human has its advantages, even beyond having an
opposing thumb and standing upright. We have the ability to wonder and dream
things up. Many of our dreams become the stuff of reality. But how we see
reality and how we relate to it, even what we actually call real or unreal is
just as much of a wonder as are the realms beyond the fringes of the visible
Universe.
Bound by a body, we are destined to decay and death. Endowed
with a soul, we are destined for immortality. In everyday life, we struggle and
suffer either unhappy with our circumstance or yearning for our greatness.
Consciously, or unconsciously, we walk through life until one day it ends and
it’s hard to say if we ever resolve the conundrum of what and who we really
are.
In integral circles (where I happen to hang out and find
validation of my ideas) we hold that the source of suffering from our human
conundrum is the inability to hold our two opposing truths in the same space
without conflict and actually enjoy them equally. The proverbial pendulum
swings from materiality to immortality and hardly ever stops in the middle
where they meet and support each other.
What does it look like when the pendulum is all the way into
materiality? It looks like striving to accumulate, however never having enough
despite of how abundant one’s life is. It looks like a fear of loss because one
is so identified with what one has – body, stuff, reputation, friends, etc, that if something is lost, so is the sense of self worth. If the
body is old or maimed, if the car is stolen, if the reputation is destroyed, if
the friends have left…one feels like nothing. There is no room for spirit, no
sense of one’s immortal being. But there’s a lot of drive to make things
happen. A person fully and completely engrossed in materiality has his/her feet on the ground firmly but does not even
know that the sky exists.
What does it look like when the pendulum is all the way into
immortality? Death, really, but for a living being obsessed with spirit, it
looks like spiritual bypass – an inability to deal with the requirements of the
day, like holding a job, being a reliable parent, a functional social unit, a
skillful creator of your own life’s path. Hiding in a cave, in a commune, in
books, in constant retreats, spiritual practice, one is unable and unwilling to
deal with his/her undigested past experiences and isolates him/her self from
the world around. Without one’s spirituality…one feels like nothing. Materiality is despised and considered wrong.
But there’s a lot of drive to dwell in spirit. A person inspired and striving
for spirit and spirit only, has his/her head in the clouds and the feet do not
touch the ground.
What does it look like when the pendulum stops in the
middle? It looks like integration. One is able to integrate both truths of
human existence - the clay and the immortality. One is willing to mold him/her
self into the most this mortal clay can offer supported by the immortality of
his/her being. One is full of appreciation for the moment, realizing that
matter is in a state of constant flux and no rose bud will ever be duplicated,
no kiss will ever be the same sweetness and no moment of truth ever more
truthful, while finding strength to watch it all pass with gratitude for the
experience. Lost things, the passing of friends, the missed opportunities are
both mourned and celebrated at the same time. One is both sitting in the
comfort of Being and fully engrossed in Becoming. Not only is it possible to
hold a job but it is fun to have one. Not only is it nice to study and meditate
alone, but it is also easy to relate to people and share one’s heart and skills
with all who can benefit without the usual selfish concerns.
An integrated person lives with lots of “and's” while a
conflicted person lives with a lot of “either/or's.”
An integrated person creates reality without defining it. A
conflicted person argues over what is real.
An integrated person is one who can walk with their feet on
the ground and keep the head high in the clouds while fully embracing everything
in between and enjoying the different perspectives deep into the heart.
Where the pendulum
stops in the middle is where clay meets immortality – where consciousness, consciously
potentiates and energy willingly manifests. It’s the only place where Reality
can be seen and experienced for its realness. Everything else is bound to be an
approximation by the very distance from the center. Any other place along the trajectory
of the pendulum is bound to inherent suffering.
Being human has its advantages. One of them is that we can choose to know integration and the privilege to realize it.
Just saying, don’t pay lip service to things you've heard on
either side of the center and don’t live your life relying on other people to
tell you what is good/bad, what is right/wrong, and how you should be living
your life. Listen to everything. Hear everyone, and see what jives in your
heart. You can only be what you are ready to be, but you can never become more
than you are unless you try to test your comfort zone.
Cheers.
