Our Abyss + Our Liberation

I. THE ABYSS

This essay is inspired and dedicated to people who are courageously walking through a spiritual desert and exploring an existential abyss of the soul. Where the sun forever fades, and Hope proves to be the only source of illumination.

It seems that in the latter part of this year, we stepped into the abyss and succumbed to the powerful force of its bottomless depth. It's a vacuum that feels like it can drag us down and pile an extraordinary sense of gravity onto our bodies. We feel it physically. It's a feeling of depression, anxiety, despair, and it's okay to come to the bitter terms that all feels lost.

There is this false idea that you are doing something wrong if you are not primarily optimistic all the time.

Growth can be achieved through chaos and disorder. It can arrive by the people who challenge us with opposition or with the limitations that we encounter with our desires. Solutions can not arise without an existing problem.

For many of us, this night of the soul may have felt different from the rest because we may be questioning our purpose in life. We may even be dissecting our authenticity and who we are at a core and it may feel uncomfortable.

II. ENCOUNTERS

These are the two primary experiences that I've persevered through the past few months and maybe these are two that you can relate to. If there are more, I am incredibly eager to learn from you.

I already believe that duality, although is great for introspection, is meant to help us ultimately arrive at a sense of unity; an oneness. Lately, this idea of negativity has been clouding my mind, dare I say even what we may consider as evil. The morality of doing the right thing and depriving ourselves of our desires, or doing the wrong thing for the sake of being true to ourselves. Whatever this action may be, it is what we wanted to do anyway, right? It is our animalistic drive, and is not our dharma following our hearts?

This part is emerging, not because it may be sinful or evil, but we are to embrace the discomfort and be transparent with ourselves. This is a side of us that needs to be acknowledged so that we can begin to show it a radical sense of compassion.

What we fear about ourselves and others is what we lack the most. I read that we must make fear into our allies to remove the power behind it and to transform it into a healing essence.

Fill what is lacking with what it needed the most, an endless stream of compassion, non-judgment, and unconditional love.

'Lieh Tzu was trained by Lao Shang: “For three years, my mind did not reflect upon right or wrong and my lips did not speak of gain or loss. During this time, my master bestowed only one glance upon me. After five years, a change took place, and my mind did reflect on right and wrong; my lips spoke of gain and loss. For the first time, my master relaxed his countenance and smiled. After seven years, I let my mind reflect on whatever it would, but it no longer occupied itself with right or wrong. I let my lips utter whatsoever they pleased, but they no longer spoke of gain or loss. Then, at last, my master invited me to sit on the mat beside him. After nine years, my mind gave free reign to its reflections; my mouth gave free reign to its speech. Of right, wrong, gain or loss, I had no knowledge. Internal and external were blended in unity. I was wholly unaware of what my body was resting upon. I was born this way, like leaves falling from a tree and playing on the wind. In fact, I knew not whether the wind was riding on me, or whether I was riding on the wind.'

To activate the power of Te, do not negate the mind, but do not allow it to keep you its prisoner. Being natural and spontaneously yourself, you are always wooing experience because it will always reflect the condition of your inner world." - Cafe Au Soul

This brings me to the second encounter which is limitations. The above quote proved to be incredibly helpful when tackling the mental imprisonment we may place ourselves in. While what we feel caged in can feel very real and can be real, there is always a way out. This is where we can test the ingenuity of our soul, the Divine creative spark we can internally manifest.

III. LIMITATION

The dance between limitations and what is untamed is fascinating and can be further explored by researching the Shakti of the Purva Bhadrapada nakshatra. Limitations are created by our "karmic imprints" where the liberations arrive out of bliss, an eternal reminder of our Divinity.

The mental and emotional anguish experienced stems from the surfacing of karmic patterns bringing about perceptions that need to be evaluated.

…Check back to see a continuation.