The oft-quoted passage I am referring to is: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. This is from Matthew 7:7–8, the seventh and eighth verses of the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, (1) in the New Testament. This is part of the iconic Sermon on the Mount. (2) These verses denote an important Christian theme: the power of prayer. I would suggest, however, that this metaphor can be used in a much wider context. By our very definition as human beings, we are seekers. We are searching for our mission in life. I would like to draw a distinction between the mission and its meaning. The mission must result in an intended arrival: You want to become a more educated person, for example. The meaning will be how your intellectual growth will benefit those around you. In other words, there must be a symbiotic connection between your life journey and its value.
Can I find my true mentor?
I suspect that vast amounts of professional teachers, unfortunately, are vainglorious – they think they are actually teaching a spiritually vapid and intellectually wanting audience and therefore hold the moral high ground: “We know everything and you know nothing,” the so-called negative teaching approach. (1) This is now rapidly changing, due to the advent of the cell phone and the Internet. In fact, over the centuries, we were exposed to the concept that “the only real teacher is the self,” though we didn’t believe it. After World War Two, this began to alter. The saying, “If you don’t have a job, you don’t want one,” was quite literally true. (2) Our present post-Millennial population has adopted these values, though the economic reality is now quite different.
How to prepare for the journey: gird up your loins.
This week, I had a lot of frustrations. To be fair, most were based on my inability to convey my thoughts adequately. I realize that whether you are sixteen or sixty, there are times that that old bugbear stumbles into your reality: solipsism. Now, is this a real phenomenon or not? All life experience, I believe, would suggest that, yes; it has a basis in fact. “But the young educated adults of the 90s — who were, of course, the children of the same impassioned infidelities and divorces Mr. Updike (1) wrote about so beautifully — got to watch all this brave new individualism and self-expression and sexual freedom deteriorate into the joyless and anomic self-indulgence of the Me Generation. Today’s sub-40s (2) have different horrors, prominent among which are anomie and solipsism and a peculiarly American loneliness: the prospect of dying without once having loved something more than yourself.” (3) Wow, difficult thoughts to read. But there is a resolution.
Continue reading How to prepare for the journey: gird up your loins.
What tools do I need to begin?
This morning, I experienced one of those magically awe-inspiring, yet fleeting, vignettes of life — one of those rare, unforgettable moments: those times that benchmark reality. I woke up early to the soft stirring of the world. The birds sitting on a nearby tree, ensconced in nature, its heralds summoning a new day. Everything was stunning and perfect. Looking at this peaceful scene, I was suddenly struck with a sense of hopefulness. We have all been here, I am sure. For whatever reason, you are given a universal, a constant, the truth: “Everything works out …” to quote the actress Sandra Bullock (b. 1964): and, it is so. Wow: thank you for this gift. Not so soon, however. The minute we have consciousness, we realize that, though peace and happiness may be innate, we still have to dig for them — we must work to uncover them. How: what is the necessary method that will put us in this state? What we are talking about, of course, is freedom from wage slavery. In what way do I achieve a fulfilling life that blends all aspects into an orchestra of great deeds and actions?
The great adventure: the discovery of you.
Have you ever noticed that when you embark on an adventure that intimately involves you, your blood pressure increases: you just don’t know what will happen! What will come is up to fate, luck, God, the gods, a good pilot or ultimately, a good helmsman. You are placing your trust in others. Perhaps this feeling of helplessness is part of the mystique of travel. I remember that a rollercoaster ride elicits the same response: terror and yet a sense of suspense and wonder. It was in such a state that I found myself at twenty or so. I was lodged in a state of puzzlement. In my experience, if you think (now some beings, of course, choose not to) you are placed in an odd reality. Whatever your color, your ethnicity, social circumstance or family background, you realize that you are free to be you: no question – you exist. Personal liberty flows through you — even inside the confining walls of your body or mind. You inhabit a special place: the residence of the self. You are liberated and yet safe inside your consciousness.