The opened mind?
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Dearg-due
The opened mind?
One of the things my fellow practitioners always talk about is having an "opened mind". That permanent state of metaphysical awareness. Dispite my efforts an "opened mind" eludes me. Obtaining that mental shift or click is something I haven't been able to do. Any ideas? Pointers? Anything might help.
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Kassandra
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Embracing being a newbie
hahaha When you find this “permanent state†of mind, do let me know, won’t you? ‘Cause as far as I know, “metaphysical awareness†is a constantly changing thing. My brain hurts when I have to burn new neural pathways into it as I am constantly learning something new, especially as it relates to the metaphysical world. I will never be permanently anything when it comes to this stuff. In fact, I’m actually quite skeptical.
Whatever of my mind is “opened†became that way because it was pried open the hard way, like a stubborn oyster shell you have to crack open with a knife. And that knife for me was usually an eye-opening experience of some sort. That’s about how open minded I am about the metaphysical. Not only am a graduate of The School of Hard Knocks, but for some reason I keep finding myself returning to it for continuing education credits. "Lifelong learning," I guess. So I don’t know who these “fellow practitioners†of yours are, but they seem a pretty impressive lot to me, what with their permanently “opened minds†and all. That’s really awesome.
The grass ain't no greener
However, I would offer that you stop paying attention to them and work on honoring where you’re at right now. Refrain from comparing where you’re at spiritually to where (you think) your "fellow practioners" are. Stop looking over the fence at what you perceive to be their spiritually greener grass. In the mundane world, someone always seems to own a cooler car than you do, or have a nicer house, or a “deeper†relationship with his or her significant other than yours, etc. That cool car could be 5 payments behind and repossessed by the next time you see it, that nicer house could be foreclosed and auctioned off by this day next month, and behind closed doors that great relationship could be a chronically dysfunctional nightmare of fights, abuse and infidelity.
The grass always just looks greener, as in the mundane world, so in the spiritual. People seem like they're more "aware" or "spiritually advanced" than you, as well. But things are not always what they seem. Our Christian friends are always good for a bit of ironic entertainment as far as that goes. A requisite practice for the evangelical path is to “preach the gospel.†Preaching the gospel takes a great deal of courage, indeed, and clearly has its perils, for you may very well be called upon to practice what you've preached. And this often poses a problem. Thus we see the likes of Jimmy Swaggart, Jessie Jackson, and their ilk break out in sweats vigorously preaching morality. And we can then count on the very same, like clockwork, getting busted patronizing prostitutes, molesting children, or impregnating parishioners. This reminds us there is sometimes a great gulf between living some idealized life of “permanent state of metaphysical awareness,†and the real life of a human in a physical body. Bridging this gap is a constant challenge for pagans, Buddhists, or anyone undertaking a spiritual path.
> funny preacher video vanished, sorry <
In America, we looooove our tele-evangelists!! It is said that the good
Reverend Jimmy Swaggart's ministry received $500,000 a day in
contributions. Now that'$ a lot of love! Was a prostitute worth losing
such a lucrative career over? Neither judge, nor be too impressed with
your "fellow practioners," no matter what your spiritual path. No telling
what they've got hidden in their closets.
Embrace your newbie-hood
Hannalore was a student in a class I took in college at UC Davis in California. She was German or Austrian I believe, plain, and from all appearances to me had been a homemaker who decided to go back to school to get a degree in her first love, art. By the time I was doing upper division work, I had already won a competition or two for my artwork, shown in a gallery here or there, was at least moderately acquainted with some locally-prominent artists, etc., and had a bit of an ego to match my purse and hat.
In our first painting class together Hanna, it seemed, hadn’t picked up a paintbrush before. Her initial works were sophomoric and belabored. She had no sense of composition, and her drawing skills were near-nonexistent. But she would be in the classroom when no one was around, still working on her paintings after hours. And she was one of the first ones set up in class before the rest of the students arrived. She didn’t run her mouth like the rest of the class, partly due to her being older than everyone else, but partly due to her focus on her work.
She began to take chances with her compositions, doing things us “learned†art students “knew better†than to do. She let it all go. After over two years of intense work, her artwork began to look more and more confident, even attaining its own unique sense of mastery. People began taking a second glance at it, and she began to exhibit it in shows, making sales. I began seeing her stuff all over the place. I could only imagine where she is now, probably represented by some big gallery somewhere. I’m sure she’s successful with whatever she’s doing because she has the character and consistency to be successful, and the artistic ability to match.
I learned two things from Hanna:
1. Never dishonor where someone’s at with something (including yourself)
2. Never underestimate where courage, focus and determination (including your own) may take someone on his or her life path
I love hearing people rag on “newbies†as though forgetting they weren’t exactly born knowing all they know today --and still have yet to know it all. Yes, they too were pathetic newbies at one time, asking a bunch of stupid questions, making a bunch of stupid rookie mistakes. We'd all do well to respect, not criticize and judge, when others do the same in order to grow. But instead we learn a few things then spontaneously knight ourselves “Her Majesty’s Royal Expert.†To some extent I think I did that with Hanna. When we were in those art classes together, I never said anything bad to her. But in my mind I thought she would never be a good artist. I was dead wrong. I totally underestimated her desire and focus. And meanwhile, she embraced her newbie-hood, lovingly honored her path, and frankly didn't give a care what I, nor anyone else, thought of her or her work.
Honor your path
Dearg-due, it’s all a constant challenge. We die daily, and “permanent†anything is always suspicious. To me, people should be changing and growing, not stagnant. I have a lot to learn, and when I don’t know something, I just say so; when I’m struggling with something, I say I’m struggling with it. I don’t act like I’ve mastered what I haven’t yet mastered. You can’t know it all, live it all, and do it all at once. Anybody that gives you the impression they know it all is a good actor, and they know you’re a connoisseur of fine acting when you see it.
Bottom line, honor your path, enjoy every bit of it. Relish your spiritual experiences and abilities, no matter how small you think they are. Celebrate your victories and give yourself full credit for the persistence it took to get where you’re at today. Don’t compare your path to others.’ No matter how “new†you are, never feel bad about where you’re at today. In fact, treasure your mistakes because you grow the most from them. And if anyone tries to act like they’re more “open minded†than you are and belittles your efforts, ignore him or her.
.
Whatever of my mind is “opened†became that way because it was pried open the hard way, like a stubborn oyster shell you have to crack open with a knife. And that knife for me was usually an eye-opening experience of some sort. That’s about how open minded I am about the metaphysical. Not only am a graduate of The School of Hard Knocks, but for some reason I keep finding myself returning to it for continuing education credits. "Lifelong learning," I guess. So I don’t know who these “fellow practitioners†of yours are, but they seem a pretty impressive lot to me, what with their permanently “opened minds†and all. That’s really awesome.
The grass ain't no greener
However, I would offer that you stop paying attention to them and work on honoring where you’re at right now. Refrain from comparing where you’re at spiritually to where (you think) your "fellow practioners" are. Stop looking over the fence at what you perceive to be their spiritually greener grass. In the mundane world, someone always seems to own a cooler car than you do, or have a nicer house, or a “deeper†relationship with his or her significant other than yours, etc. That cool car could be 5 payments behind and repossessed by the next time you see it, that nicer house could be foreclosed and auctioned off by this day next month, and behind closed doors that great relationship could be a chronically dysfunctional nightmare of fights, abuse and infidelity.
The grass always just looks greener, as in the mundane world, so in the spiritual. People seem like they're more "aware" or "spiritually advanced" than you, as well. But things are not always what they seem. Our Christian friends are always good for a bit of ironic entertainment as far as that goes. A requisite practice for the evangelical path is to “preach the gospel.†Preaching the gospel takes a great deal of courage, indeed, and clearly has its perils, for you may very well be called upon to practice what you've preached. And this often poses a problem. Thus we see the likes of Jimmy Swaggart, Jessie Jackson, and their ilk break out in sweats vigorously preaching morality. And we can then count on the very same, like clockwork, getting busted patronizing prostitutes, molesting children, or impregnating parishioners. This reminds us there is sometimes a great gulf between living some idealized life of “permanent state of metaphysical awareness,†and the real life of a human in a physical body. Bridging this gap is a constant challenge for pagans, Buddhists, or anyone undertaking a spiritual path.
> funny preacher video vanished, sorry <
In America, we looooove our tele-evangelists!! It is said that the good
Reverend Jimmy Swaggart's ministry received $500,000 a day in
contributions. Now that'$ a lot of love! Was a prostitute worth losing
such a lucrative career over? Neither judge, nor be too impressed with
your "fellow practioners," no matter what your spiritual path. No telling
what they've got hidden in their closets.
Embrace your newbie-hood
Hannalore was a student in a class I took in college at UC Davis in California. She was German or Austrian I believe, plain, and from all appearances to me had been a homemaker who decided to go back to school to get a degree in her first love, art. By the time I was doing upper division work, I had already won a competition or two for my artwork, shown in a gallery here or there, was at least moderately acquainted with some locally-prominent artists, etc., and had a bit of an ego to match my purse and hat.
In our first painting class together Hanna, it seemed, hadn’t picked up a paintbrush before. Her initial works were sophomoric and belabored. She had no sense of composition, and her drawing skills were near-nonexistent. But she would be in the classroom when no one was around, still working on her paintings after hours. And she was one of the first ones set up in class before the rest of the students arrived. She didn’t run her mouth like the rest of the class, partly due to her being older than everyone else, but partly due to her focus on her work.
She began to take chances with her compositions, doing things us “learned†art students “knew better†than to do. She let it all go. After over two years of intense work, her artwork began to look more and more confident, even attaining its own unique sense of mastery. People began taking a second glance at it, and she began to exhibit it in shows, making sales. I began seeing her stuff all over the place. I could only imagine where she is now, probably represented by some big gallery somewhere. I’m sure she’s successful with whatever she’s doing because she has the character and consistency to be successful, and the artistic ability to match.
I learned two things from Hanna:
1. Never dishonor where someone’s at with something (including yourself)
2. Never underestimate where courage, focus and determination (including your own) may take someone on his or her life path
I love hearing people rag on “newbies†as though forgetting they weren’t exactly born knowing all they know today --and still have yet to know it all. Yes, they too were pathetic newbies at one time, asking a bunch of stupid questions, making a bunch of stupid rookie mistakes. We'd all do well to respect, not criticize and judge, when others do the same in order to grow. But instead we learn a few things then spontaneously knight ourselves “Her Majesty’s Royal Expert.†To some extent I think I did that with Hanna. When we were in those art classes together, I never said anything bad to her. But in my mind I thought she would never be a good artist. I was dead wrong. I totally underestimated her desire and focus. And meanwhile, she embraced her newbie-hood, lovingly honored her path, and frankly didn't give a care what I, nor anyone else, thought of her or her work.
Honor your path
Dearg-due, it’s all a constant challenge. We die daily, and “permanent†anything is always suspicious. To me, people should be changing and growing, not stagnant. I have a lot to learn, and when I don’t know something, I just say so; when I’m struggling with something, I say I’m struggling with it. I don’t act like I’ve mastered what I haven’t yet mastered. You can’t know it all, live it all, and do it all at once. Anybody that gives you the impression they know it all is a good actor, and they know you’re a connoisseur of fine acting when you see it.
Bottom line, honor your path, enjoy every bit of it. Relish your spiritual experiences and abilities, no matter how small you think they are. Celebrate your victories and give yourself full credit for the persistence it took to get where you’re at today. Don’t compare your path to others.’ No matter how “new†you are, never feel bad about where you’re at today. In fact, treasure your mistakes because you grow the most from them. And if anyone tries to act like they’re more “open minded†than you are and belittles your efforts, ignore him or her.
.
Last edited by Firebird on Wed Apr 29, 2020 1:31 am, edited 40 times in total.
Reason: funny preacher video vanished :(
Reason: funny preacher video vanished :(
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Dearg-due
Thank you Elisa, That helps. Not quite the help I expected but it makes perfect sense. I find that pride and patience are my best and worst aspects respectively. If I am lacking in something (whether I actually am or just see myself as lacking) I tend to berate myself for my failure and then pursue the quickest most effective method of correction regardless of consequences.
Ill keep looking for "an opened mind" but perhaps the way I'm searching is incorrect. Maybe if I focus more on the searching and less on the finding Ill get more than just what I'm looking for.
Ill keep looking for "an opened mind" but perhaps the way I'm searching is incorrect. Maybe if I focus more on the searching and less on the finding Ill get more than just what I'm looking for.
i hope things work out for u dear.
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Ginger Faith!
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Cultivating the opened mind
I don't have to add much,since there has been really great insight given in the above posts (it actually helped me a lot to see things in a little different perspective). All I have to say is try to listen to your intuition. The more you trust it, the stronger and more accurate it becomes, and this opens up your channels to healing and other stuff too. I know this from personal experience: every time I have a spiritual experience that leaves me in awe for some time about the majesty of the world we live in and the perfect synchronicity of some events, I find myself more open, I feel the energy inside me stronger and this is the time I usually have more spiritual and healing experiences coming from me.
It is hard to cling to this feeling for a long time though, it slowly wears off. But, as written above, meditation helps. Sometimes all you need is to be more open is the belief that you're open, as I see psychic skills more like something that is already there but we have grown up thinking it doesn't exist inside us, that it's something we have to acquire. It is not an external thing, it was always inside you, like the ability of walking and talking.
The problem is that, although you learnt how to walk and how to talk, you didn't learn how to get in tune with your inner energy (how to have an opened mind). But that doesn't mean it's not in you. You just have to learn how to use it,and it helps a lot if you strongly believe that it's already there. Believe that you already have an opened mind and life will bring your way the perfect ways to strengthen this ability of yours.
I hope I helped!
It is hard to cling to this feeling for a long time though, it slowly wears off. But, as written above, meditation helps. Sometimes all you need is to be more open is the belief that you're open, as I see psychic skills more like something that is already there but we have grown up thinking it doesn't exist inside us, that it's something we have to acquire. It is not an external thing, it was always inside you, like the ability of walking and talking.
The problem is that, although you learnt how to walk and how to talk, you didn't learn how to get in tune with your inner energy (how to have an opened mind). But that doesn't mean it's not in you. You just have to learn how to use it,and it helps a lot if you strongly believe that it's already there. Believe that you already have an opened mind and life will bring your way the perfect ways to strengthen this ability of yours.
I hope I helped!
Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again.
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Ginger Faith!
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Stephanie Mae
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Starwitch Stone
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Re: The opened mind?
I was just fixing videos (as you know, Kassandra) and wanted to say that I like this funny video about the preachers. haha