Enjoy the swim

 Last night I came upon "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" by Deepak Chopra. Do you ever find yourself completely swimming in an idea or concept--you're staying afloat but you're certainly not on solid ground, but you're willing to be wet? Spend any amount of time reading poetry, philosophy, religious canon, or in this particular case, Chopra's works and you'll soon have the experience if you haven't already. Just dip your toe into the water by reading my own take on several of these spiritual laws:

• Imagine that you're holding a small pebble in your hand that represents an intention you would hope to see manifested in your life. You throw your pebble out into the pond that is the universe but the water is choppy. In fact every thought you have stirs the water more and more so that when your pebble hits the water its ripples are soon broken and scattered....and so is your intention. But if you can clear your mind, if you can embrace the gap between thoughts until the gap grows wider and wider and smoother and smoother until suddenly it's a magnificently calm pond. Now is your moment. Cast your pebble out into the water and watch the message be sent. Outward and outward, bigger and bigger. Soon an intention is manifested, it's realized.

• Affluence comes from the root word "affluere" which means "to flow to". One aspect of affluence is measured in terms of money. Even money has interesting roots--consider the word "currency". Money is meant to be constantly flowing in and out of our lives and the moment you try to stop that flow, to hoard it, you've cut off the flow of money coming INTO your life, not just out of it. In fact, consider the effects to your body if you cut off your blood flow? The moment blood stops flowing it begins to coagulate and oxygen can't be delivered to your vital organs. It means death. The message is simple, if you desire love, give love. If you desire money, give money. If you desire joy, give joy.

This last one is my favorite.

• There is a concept of "do less and accomplish more" in the Vedic Science. You see this spiritual law most perfectly practiced in nature. Grass doesn't try to grow, it just grows. Fish don't try to swim, they just swim. Flowers don't try to bloom, they bloom. The earth doesn't try to spin on its own axis, it just spins. This is their inherent nature. What is the inherent nature of humankind? To make our dreams manifest into physical form, easily and effortlessly. We're creators. I once read a profound thought by Orson F. Whitney that has forever changed my understanding of how faith begets miracles. We have oft heard the Christian scripture quoted about having the "faith as a grain of mustard seed". Most explanations of this scripture point out that since mustard seeds are tiny and yet grow into tall and beautiful trees that so it goes with man's faith. It may be as small as a mustard seed but it will grow into a tree! This isn't a wrong interpretation by any means. But consider that the seed in and of itself is the representation of perfect faith, not so much the tree, the finished product. When that mustard seed is planted in the earth, it knows its inherent nature and easily and effortlessly sets about fulfilling it. The seed grows and expands and pushes the dirt aside in order for its roots to lengthen. In fact, the roots are so capable of manifesting their true nature that they will rend the very rocks that stand in their way in order for life to spring upward and outward. Have you ever seen trees that have done this, that have broken through the concrete or pavement? In a a very literal sense the faith of a mustard seed is sufficient enough to move mountains! Easily and effortlessly! It knows how to "do less and accomplish more". It's not necessarily the size of the mustard seed that Christ wants us to reflect on but the perfect obedience of one of the least of His creations. If a seed can obey Him, what's our excuse? Whitney muses, "If man were as perfect, as obedient to law, in his sphere, as the trees and plants are in theirs, where would be the limit of his power?"

Enjoying the swim?

Life of Pi musings

It's not every day a book leaves me utterly spellbound. Despite the fact that my particular edition of this book read "A Novel, by Yann Martel" I couldn't right away accept the fact that this was a fictional story. What does it say for a work of fiction if the whole time you find yourself wishing it were true? Wouldn't that somehow make the story that much more amazing? I literally stopped mid chapter and checked the front and back covers repeatedly searching for the words "based on a true story". Nowhere to be seen. This must have been part of Mr. Martel's plans all along. I felt like the skeptical Japanese man in the Mexican hospital interviewing Pi demanding that he "tell the truth" this time, "tell what really happened". Was it real? Was it not real? Interestingly enough, it doesn't matter. It's not about real and not real, it's about choosing the better story. What a beautiful way to conclude such an epic tale by letting us choose for ourselves which was the better story. Then to realize that this choice embodies our very faith and perspective of life and God! What a philosophical thrill!

That's the first layer. This was a masterfully weaved allegory. In truth, one of very few allegories I've been able to pallet. I can't bear the in-your-face moralizing of most allegorical works where everything is so spelled out there's no room left for interpretation and revelation, and let's be honest here, confusion. I've been so confused at certain junctures in this book that I have no doubt a second or third reading is necessary before I will feel "full of it". I once heard someone refer to our mortal experience as a lifeboat, saying that all of us were just doing our best to stay afloat and find our way to the shore. How clear this analogy became when reading this book and watching the film interpretation. Suddenly the absurd image of the orangutan, hyena, zebra, tiger and Indian boy all aboard the same lifeboat took on a much more profound significance. Watching each animal slowly get picked off in the natural survival of the fittest was an all too true representation of how life can be. And yet, just when you think you know who the fittest is, Pi pulls out his whistle and circus act and marks his territory. He will not be picked off! It's not until Pi reflects, weeks into his journey, that it was only because of Richard Parker that he was still alive. It was his fear of him that forced him to carry on each day. Don't we all have a Richard Parker in our lives? Don't we all have an amazing amount of insurmountable opposition that threatens to pick us off? Or if not to be picked off then to train the beast. Pi trained his fear. He controlled it, and he tamed it. Well...almost tamed it. Because we all know Richard Parker didn't look back once they reached the jungle. He was still wild, and it broke Pi's heart to admit it.

And that's where I am now, pondering this third and even more opaque layer. Maybe all those animals aren't characters in the real world at all, but maybe just different parts of ourselves. What is it that Pi was really grieving when Richard Parker walked away from him without a single glance back? No acknowledgement of what they had been through together. No parting look of goodbye or thank you. No closure. What part of him does Richard Parker represent? The hyena? The zebra? The orangutan?

There are too many hanging questions in that paragraph above, but it helps me process my thoughts. I love this book. I love that Pi thanks Krishna for introducing him to Christ. I love that he finds himself on a carnivorous island that to me represented false salvation. Everything was great in the day--eat, drink, and be merry--but what happens when the sun goes down? Are we just molar fruit? I love that the idea for this book in and of itself was so original and absurd that it worked. I loved that he danced around the moral instead of over-stating his case. All in all, it's one of my top three favorite books right now, and I couldn't even tell you what the other two books are.

You should give it a read and a ponder.