Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand

It is too easy to lose balance by the stresses of daily living, to let our small self call the shots, allow other people's agenda and ego or our own fears run the show. The question is- what game do you want to play? Do you want to play the game of life that feeds that small self or do you want to play the game that expands yourself? The bigger game involves seeing where your growing edge is, moving beyond your routine daily living to re-connect with your soul journey. You need to be willing to open to the Cosmic wake-up calls and nudges of your soul to learn the lesson required and find more solid ground. This is a game that lets you tap into power much larger than your small self and achieve possibilities beyond your wildest dreams. The game of course is the game of the awakened mind- one where we see our physical, material world- and another world where we see the events metaphorically or metaphysically as the opportunities to grow, learn and experience joy. The object of the bigger game is to learn to love more deeply, forgive more, offer compassion at every opportunity, be joyful, and find peace in any given moment. Sound like a good game to play? If not, then stop reading now. Just put the book down and walk away. If you aren't sure, keep reading. For, to paraphrase Alice in Wonderland (and it was such a good line in the movie “The Matrix”), once you go down this rabbit hole, you'll never look at the world the same way again. Great mystical traditions through the ages have described the magnificence and wonder of beholding the Divine Beloved, even if for a fleeting moment. Great reformers, spiritual teachers, and avatars through the ages have tapped into this powerful force, moving past earthly illusions. If you are reading this book you probably have consciously and intentionally sought this path. We need to awaken to this path and stay committed to following it despite the obstacles and hardships that may threaten to scare us back into our sleeping state. If you want to expand your world and your life beyond measure, the awakened path provides such rewards. The smaller self, the scared ego, can easily carry sway in our world. You have to be ever vigilant and have a good support network to stay on the awakened path. In this book I will review ways to progress on this awakened path. It all starts with answering the stirrings of your soul, saying, “Yes!” to playing the game. The awakened path allows you to live your life more fully integrated and to accept all the life events you experience. You can surrender your worry and anxiety, moving through your fear and grief to new levels of peace and vitality. For centuries mystics and sages have described the experience of awakening, transcendence, and enlightenment. There are many images for the awakened path - piercing the veil of illusion of this physical world. Plato's allegory of the cave teaches that there’s more to life that watching shadows on the wall - greater understanding comes from stepping behind the shadow. Buddha became enlightened by sitting under the Bodhi Tree, emptying himself of all his previously held desires and beliefs. The search for deeper understanding and the meaning of life has been part of human experience since before the written word. Staying grounded in shifting sand requires that we look beyond what is happening, and see the spiritual process that is unfolding. In essence, staying grounded requires playing the game of life following spiritual rules as well as the well-trodden earthly material path, with its rules for living and dying.