Exile and return presupposes a homeland, a place of origin, a birth location. All that is apparent, that is in the world of appearance, available to the physical senses, has its roots in the Hidden, our Source.
When we live in the apparent, exclusively or predominately, excluding awareness of the Hidden, we are in exile. Our consciousness state is limited, of narrow focus. We are an island of exclusion in a vast ocean.
We may be born “trailing clouds of glory” but those clouds may be quickly dispelled and we fall into ignorance, ignore-ance of all but the apparent world. We do not realize who we are. We self-deceive. We low-rate our selves. Then puff ourselves up by whatever means we find.
We may have a vague understanding that we are in exile, “strangers in a strange land,” but we throw that aside and begin to “make” a living. We forget our birth place, our place of origin. We trade our birthright for a bowl of porridge.
We keep our attention entertained with news, with Facebook, with work, with our children, with our daily lists of activity. We forget the pearl of great price, our soul. We dress in the accepted clothing. We feast only on the food of the apparent, ignoring the nourishment of the Hidden.
We fall asleep. We forget who we are and for what we came.
When we live in the apparent, exclusively or predominately, excluding awareness of the Hidden, we are in exile. Our consciousness state is limited, of narrow focus. We are an island of exclusion in a vast ocean.
We may be born “trailing clouds of glory” but those clouds may be quickly dispelled and we fall into ignorance, ignore-ance of all but the apparent world. We do not realize who we are. We self-deceive. We low-rate our selves. Then puff ourselves up by whatever means we find.
We may have a vague understanding that we are in exile, “strangers in a strange land,” but we throw that aside and begin to “make” a living. We forget our birth place, our place of origin. We trade our birthright for a bowl of porridge.
We keep our attention entertained with news, with Facebook, with work, with our children, with our daily lists of activity. We forget the pearl of great price, our soul. We dress in the accepted clothing. We feast only on the food of the apparent, ignoring the nourishment of the Hidden.
We fall asleep. We forget who we are and for what we came.
I tend to think of my soul as "the pearl of extraordinary value" but not so much as "the pearl of great price". Perhaps that change of focus will enable me to stay awake longer each time I transcend; not being so quick to sell the practice of nurturing my soul for the distractions of the world of which I am part, but that I also see beyond.
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