We are in a process of seeking to understand our self, to uncover who we are underneath all of the layers of drama or illusion. It seems there are several steps or understandings or tools that are important in this process. Some may refer to these as levels, keys, jewels, the label is not important, it is our understanding that matters. I will use the word step.
It is important that we not become stuck in a pattern of understanding, but need to become aware that we are always in a process of understanding. In other words, the understandings that we have, our knowledge is not concrete, it is fluid and can flex, bend, change and grow to fit each situation we encounter in our daily lives. Knowledge/understanding is a tool we are given to use in our daily lives to shape and create the world around us.
We should not be looking outside of ourselves for someone to give us the answers, to tell us what we should or shouldn't do. What we need to seek is help in dealing with whatever comes to us in our daily situations. Each situation we encounter is different and serves a different purpose. We should be asking for help from others as to how to use the "tools" of our understanding to see what we can actively "do" in a situation rather than focusing on what someone else has done, will do or could do. Instead of asking for answers from others we need to ask the question, "What can I do? How can I best serve everyone, including myself?" Things don't just randomly happen or happen by accident, we know this, they happen because something was done, they happen with purpose.
We often get stuck in thinking that there is a certain way we "have" to think about a situation. For example, I have to be mad about this, there has to be someone to blame, someone has to be right or wrong. The idea is to become unstuck and be more open, not tied to old patterns of how we "have" to think. The goal is to learn to think differently, learn to assess each situation as it arises and use our understanding to discern how to act in each situation. There is no set way we "have to" think or react. We always have a choice, we can think differently and act differently, but it is not always easy or natural to do so. We are all different, each situation that arises is different, how we deal with it will be different, there is no set pattern, no one size fits all answer to any situation.
There are several steps to understanding who we are. The steps are fluid, they are not concrete, you can be experiencing them in different order and be at different levels of understanding on each of them.
It is important to understand the possibility of reincarnation. Perhaps we come into a body to experience different situations and learn from them. We leave that body, review what we've learned from the situations we were in, plan a new life and come back into a body to experience the situation from a different view or to experience a completely different situation. Each life is a learning experience, we are learning about the expression of our soul, seeing how we react in different situations or the same situations while in different forms. Not everyone is ready or willing to accept this idea and that is fine. I'm not asking you to, that is a personal choice a personal understanding.
With each life a reaction carries over from our actions. This is understanding what some people call Karma. When we understand Karma, take responsibility for our own actions, see that WE are in control of our destiny rather than looking outside of ourselves for someone to blame or tell us what to do, we will begin to have more influence or control over our situations. In other words, when we look within ourselves and take responsibility for our actions we will gain more control over what we are creating. Once again nothing happens by chance, everything is as it should be. If we want our situations to be something else, WE are capable of making them something else.
Understanding that there is no division, no separation is very important. Is it possible there is no such thing as high, low, far, within, without, no right, no wrong, no good, no bad. Is it possible that everything just IS, that hose words are just labels, judgments placed on people, places and situations. Some people speak of Hierarchies and levels and the differences in all of us, but perhaps that is only to help us understand the nature of man. What if in reality there is no separation. There are no good guys or bad guys, no us and them. What if we are all ONE, each one of us having different experiences, learning lessons and fulfilling certain roles. Can we see that we are in the right place at the right time functioning and evolving.
We are here to become what we already are. We can only become what we are. In other words underneath all of our layers lies who we really are, that is what we are striving to uncover, seeking to become. There are no limits to what we are other than the limits we've placed on ourselves with our minds/thoughts. We have an active role to play in what is happening, this doesn't necessarily mean we have to "got out and do" but rather be aware of and conscious of each situation we find ourselves in. It means seeing the influence we can and do bring into each situation by whatever we do or do not do. It's about being observant and aware, paying attention to how our action or inaction effects those around us and our world. It also means taking responsibility for what we ourselves have done or not done in each and every situation.
We are all in the process of evolving. We are uncovering, unwrapping, unfolding into our Spirit. We are in an "ever-upward" spiral which has no beginning and has no end. As we evolve there is constant motion and unfolding, with no set pattern adjustments are made along the way.
It is important to initially pursue development of "ourselves". We ourselves must become informed through our own individuality. We see who we are as a separate person with a unique body and personality. We use our separate "form/body" to experience life and learn about our "self". The development of our "self" leads to knowledge of self. This is how we find out about ourselves and get in touch with who we really are. When we get in touch with who we really are we move from development or growth of our "self" to growth of all/the whole, we move into seeing we are a part of a whole and that everything we do effects those around us so we begin to base all of our choices for the greater good of all people, we become selfless. At this point we are ready to become selfless servers.
When we have gained knowledge of who we are, knowledge of our "true self" and are willing to become selfless servers, we are in a state that is difficult to express with words. We've uncovered who we really are, we've connected with what we've been trying to get in touch with for so long, our beautiful inner self.
Getting to this state is a process. We learn to use our "tools", what we know, what we understand. Each one of us works at our own pace, using our own methods, our own style, yet nothing takes place in isolation. Each step is important, we are the totality of them all. Our task is to know this and to keep our minds fluid, opened and flexible. Our task is to look within ourselves and find our own understanding, to hold fast to that which our soul, our conscious tells us is "good", but to be accepting of others and their process along the way. Our task is to use our own understanding to be discerning and to know what speaks to our heart/soul and when necessary to take action or to wait.
As Thich Naht Hanh said, "Each thought, each action, in the sunlight of awareness becomes sacred."
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