As you may have already gathered from the title, this ain’t no sci-fi fantasy, but I might fondly classify it as a space odyssey. From childhood, my life pilgrimage has always been pre-occupied with space. Isn’t everyone’s? Hmmm, maybe on a physical/biological level, maybe not so much on mental-emotional and spiritual levels.
Here’s where I’m going with these thoughts. My earliest awareness of space is a fascination my little friend, Donalda, and I held for aliens and UFOs. Our kindergarten tin lunch boxes were packed 24/7, and we often sat outside waiting to be carried away to a new planet. In our attempt to understand space, we started with galactic space. As the years progressed, my space boundaries narrowed down to what was visible and desirable around me. Eventually, this migrated to what I saw as “beautiful and practical”. The appreciation of beauty remains true today, but practical has since evolved into “meaningful practice” and finally into truth, which once again signalled a narrowing of my ‘space boundaries’. Why? Because the truth is easily coloured by our biased, conditioned and often external perspectives, which are all about our past experiences. The greatest challenge for truth seekers is ‘where’ to look for the truth. The greatest discovery is that the truth cannot be found outside ourselves. We must enter the deepest realms of our inner being to uproot and reconnect with the truths that bind us all as one.
This appreciation of beauty and truth has led me to where I am today and to two very recent conversations with “friends who know me.” As I reflected on my inner space odyssey, I noted —
Jan, I think you will enjoy the following on so many levels. During the “space” asana practice today, I realized all the physical space and relationship freedom I require in my external world reflects my yearning for inner space. Interestingly, as I departed the yoga studio, a friend asked me why I do asana. In fairness, I propelled back to my first classes, where yoga was all about the physical benefits (flexibility, healing, effortlessness). However, that too passed, and the last few years I have been working to understand the connections between my physical sensations, blockages and pain and my core energetic and mental-emotional patterns or habits. As I described this to my friend, I used today’s ‘enlightening’ about “inner space” as an illustration of life’s holistic interdependence. And though this knowledge has always been with me, it’s meaningfulness seemingly flashed in lightning speed! Life delights me. Thank you for your inspiration.
As vast as Life or even the Universe appears, so is our inner expanse. Just as space and global travel is exciting, so is the inner journey never boring. I started my latest poetry book (Unplugged: Poetry for the Spiritual Warrior) with the following poem, which aptly describes what this inner space odyssey means to me.
The Enlightened Seeker
It’s another deep dive into hidden territory.
No matter how fearsome the journey,
the soulful urge to express the authentic prevails.
Brutal honesty forces a shedding of skin
where its tearing away exposes
sensitive vulnerable secrets.
She will not be silent, this child of joy,
forever probing personal crises
to awaken and catalyze creation.
Sometimes she asks too much.
Her desired revolution triggers memories
of past exhausting
journeys.
A weak rebellion ensues followed by
sweet surrender, and a sheepish
tail tucked between legs.
Sensation wins over the reluctant revolutionary,
and she discovers one more puzzle piece
to the emerging mystery.
May your summer and space travels be filled with peace, love and joy.
(image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net)
