September/October 2001

A Path Too Often Traveled
Lisa M. Payne

I remember the meandering path through the alpine meadow filled with mountain lupine.  It sloped gently and curved its way down to the stream, hidden by pristine peaks and defined by the feathery silouettes of pine.  Truly, it was the path few had trodden; the path of least resistance.

I remember the straight path, rock and root filled.  It ascended sharply to the jagged rock out-croping. Exposed, it was barren, devoid of foilage and life.  Clearly it was the path many had sought; the path toward self-enlightenment and/or aggrandizement.

No matter what path I remember, they all made me stumble and fall, except one -- that of walking the path of peace. As humanity teeters once again at the precipice of war, each of us can change only ourself and our direction. We must not take a path too often traveled   the war path.

The war path is strewn all around us constantly. Visions of past horrors loom in our recent memories. From the chill of the starving prisoners to the radiating heat of the A-bomb.  The spectres of war still hover over us, perhaps have never left us. The clamouring of ancient swords resound in our collective memory.

Were we, are we ever still, the immortal cosmic warriors forever banned from the rest of the universe? Banished to this unsacred planet of sorrows, must we remain forever destined to the war cycle? The answer is unequivocally, NO. We can see the light and turn upon the darkened path to show the way.  The way of peace that can be freely chosen rather than a path too often
traveled; the war path.

OM SHANTI OM.

If you could but remember.
 

Path in Progress
Nancy M. Davison

There are many definitions and descriptions of the spiritual Path. We can read about the Left-hand Path, the Path of Discipleship, the Path of Evolution, the Path of Initiation, the Path of Probation, and so on. Moreover, the methods of searching for this Way or Path seem as varied as its differentiations.  Some seek a broad, well-illumined avenue, traveled by many, with signposts and mile-markers, finding comfort and satisfaction in time-honored mainstream religion, where dogma and theology leave no room for doubts or change. Others conversely thirst for change and brush out their own trails, as they explore the farthest reaches of the spiritual forest.

Rudyard Kipling, speaking to this often undeniable human desire for adventure and discovery, wrote: "Something hidden. Go and find it.  Go and look behind the Ranges - Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!" (The Explorer). The "ranges" of today's spirituality most often are not found in some far-off land, but comprise the peaks and valleys of the often very mundane life in which we find ourselves this time around.

It is said we must become the Path before we can tread it, that we won't find it by packing our kit bag and striking off across the hills; it doesn't stretch out ahead of us, nor is it discovered by building bridges to the past. There are no maps nor physical landmarks along this Way, there is only our own sense of direction as we journey toward the source from which we came.  The landscape may be bleak or marvelously varied depending on our curiosity and willingness to experiment and change.

But what, after all, is the Path?  If our physical senses can't find it for us, how can we know if we are "on" it or not?

Let's say I want to learn to sail a boat.  I have no experience in sailing, so I read about it, take trips on someone else's boat, learn to crew, study tides and winds, and finally, with some trepidation, I take my first solo sail. The spiritual aspirant approaches the Path in much the same way. She observes and studies, ponders and experiments, and at some point, still a bit shaky, but resolute, she hoists her timid sails. On her maiden voyages she discovers unexpected depths and adventure, along, no doubt, with a few sandbars, and unexpected detours, but she gradually moves beyond the safe harbors, crossing the bar into the untracked ocean beyond. Thus she becomes the Path in Progress.

If I follow a marked trail through the woods, I am choosing to go along with someone else's idea of where and how to move forward. It may be prudent to do this for a time, at least until I am confident enough of my own abilities, my sense of direction and growing knowledge of woods-lore. That's when I have to decide whether to continue to follow meekly or create my own path --; do I want to be a sheep, or should I consider becoming a goat? The idea that sheepness is best has been promoted for centuries because those in power find sheep easy to lead, and goats entirely too unpredictable.  If you think about it,
the true disciple is definitely a goat --; innately skeptical and unwilling to follow anyone or any ideal blindly.
Robert Frost touched on this when he wrote, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --; I took the one less travelled by; - And that has made all the difference". (The Road Not Taken). If I, without thought, accept received information --;  whether from the media or a spiritual teacher --; I am a sheep, walking in someone else's footprints. On the other hand, if I play the "devil's advocate", seeking truth through experience, I create the mental portion of the Path, the "road not taken". Thinking for myself, acting on my own understandings, believing nothing and proving everything, are the prerequisites for the lives-long process of return. Faith, we are told, is based on experience and is never blind. As the Buddhist monk wrote, "I do not believe, I understand, I do not worship, I practice what I understand."

The Path builder is keenly aware that she travels not alone, she never forgets her responsibilities to those with whom she shares the task of construction. Taking a look at the exam-ples of self-forgetfulness demonstrated by public servants in New York during this September of 2001, we are assured that the Path is being created everywhere, and that there is no reason to fear that Humanity is lost or without hope.

As we proceed with this work of construction we become enlightened in the most literal sense; each cell of our bodies is redeemed and refined through our daily efforts. The little lives --; the lunar pitris --; that go to make up our lower natures, move, with our help, from the involutionary onto the evolutionary Path; we are, in essence, their redeemers. In the New Testament we read that the Christ tookthree of His disciples onto a mountaintop where He was transfigured.  This initiation of Transfiguration is the inevitable effect of our work on/as the Path. Nelson Mandela, in his inaugural speech, said, "As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same," and when we say the Affirmation of the Disciple, we affirm that we, as Soul, are "a way by which men may achieve, a beam of light, shining upon their way...", both apt descriptions of the disciple who is the Path in Progress.
 

Path
Charlotte Schmid
 
  SHOW me the man
  that steadfastly
  walks, deep strides
 
  when bombs fall
  houses crash and
  long lines of displaced
  people carry belongings on
  broken backs.
 
  SHOW me the man that
  can ignore such sights.
  Is he human, is he a god that has
  seen it too many times,
  no longer
  shakes and fumes in despair over
  human selfishness?
 
  SHOW me the man that
  walks the path
  undisturbed by his environment
  the man that does not halt his steps to stoop and
  become like the rest
 
  SHOW me the man that does not shed tears on this
  broken path.
 
  SHOW him to me!

The Path of Self-Governing
Ford Boyer

There is nothing new in the statement that peace begins within each of us. In the same sense, a peaceful government begins with each of us. Self-governing is the key to a peaceful nation because self-governing brings with it a sense of freedom and, at the same time, a sense of responsibility.  Taking responsibility for our own lives requires a belief in "something" that provides a provable source of inspiration for expanding our consciousness. You may call that something God, a Higher Self, the Soul or some other such terminology, but whatever it is called it must lead to an expanding awareness that there is more to life than just "me".

There must be a growing awareness, beginning in the earliest days of childhood, that we are each a part of the planetary whole and that we each contribute  however great or small a portion of responsibility to see that we live on a peaceful planet. The sense of responsibility brings about a sense of accomplishment leading to a sense of positive self-esteem.

If we are riddled with guilt, shame or any one or more psychological conflicts, we must take responsibility for attempting to clarify our consciousness of these mental and emotional burdens. We may visit a therapist, use some form of mind-expanding meditation or follow a spiritual path of some type. These methods are actually paths of learning, of psychological emotional and mental cleansing; a path of self-governing.

In eastern philosophy, one path of self-governing is referred to as Karma Yoga.  It is a process whereby we become aware of each desire, each thought and each action.  It is a path that teaches us to "think before you act", that we are each responsible for the outcome of our thoughts as well as our actions.  We can find the same process or path in the Christian bible where we are told that "whatever you sew, so shall you reap." Becoming aware of the simple fact that east and west teach the same path   the path of self-governing   should bring an expanded awareness that there is a certain similarity planet wide; that we are not as different as we might like to think we are.

If we learn to see our 'self' as "individual" rather than "different", we find our place within a greater whole of integrated individuals rather than being separated from that greater whole. We can heighten our self-esteem by governing ourselves as part of the whole rather than being cut off from that whole. Our thinking becomes "what can I give" rather than "what can I get" and it is the giving that brings peace and joy to the inner person.

Inner peace grows as we rid ourselves of negative thinking; the thinking that says, "I am a victim", "I am being persecuted", "I don't have", "That person has more than I do", and a long list of other negative thoughts.

How often do you hear someone say, "I don't think" such and such.  I don't think!  Such a phrase.  Gramatic-ally, the phrase is "I think not".  But even the use of language has become irresponsible.  Can we become self-governing in the proper use of language so that we each understand the other?

The Path of Self-Governing involves the simplestof all methods   THINK, and especially think before you REact as well as before you act. While "look before you leap" may save your life, "think before you act" may also save your life. In order to learn to think clearly and positively, we must learn to rid ourselves of highly emotional REactions.  We don't try to repress our feeling nature, we simply learn to quiet the emotional system so that we can think with clarity and purpose.  Learning to maintain a calm emotional system is a major step in the process of learning the Path of Self-Governing.

In this seemingly troublesome time of our new century, may we each travel the Path of Self-Governing toward a more responsible and peaceful planet.