6 Oct 2009
Love ‘n’ Pain and the whole damn thing.
" In the quest for wholeness, paradox is at every turn. It is true that we cannot realise our wholeness as long as we deny any fragment of ourselves. If we seek to avoid fear or pain or sadness, we will simultaneously block the love and joy and laughter from our awareness. That pain, fear or sadness contains great stores of energy, which can be released for potent creative and constructive use only after it is consciously felt and thus allowed to integrate. A truly healthy person, one who has power over themselves and their own life, is courageous enough to become willing to experience whatever life has in store. "
I read these words by Christina Thomas in 1989 when I was once again in liver failure, back in hospital and losing the plot. Christina is a Rebirther and student of A Course In Miracles ( ACIM ) and since Rebirthing Breathwork had halted progression of chronic active Hepatitis B, I was eager to enter the unknown to seek solution. My friend had been murdered the year before, the loss of people around me dying from Aids was approaching the big five O and there was no cure for my condition. I was buggered in more ways than one, yet I had stayed stopped from smoking, drinking and drugging for 7 years, so something was working. I had halted relationships as all I attracted was people who thought I was brave and did nothing to meet my needs or smothered me with their fear of me dying watching me 24/7, in case I croked it. The only relationship I was interested in was within my body and the spiritual strength to survive it.
Recognising my wholeness, warts n all, was my saviour. I may feel damaged but feelings aren’t facts, the body is only a casement for the soul. It was at this point that I found, was given or came across the affirmation " God is my business Manager ". Having had good instruction since 1982 in 12 Step Programme Recovery work I had blown away all the religious cobwebs associated with " god stuff ". Thankfully I was not brought up a catholic or other dominating religion so I could free spirit " my god ". In the end I chose Babaji who entered my life the year before reading about Leonard Orr, Sondra Ray and Rebirthing Breathwork. That sat with me well and I have not altered this vision 20 years hence. One of the lessons in ACIM is " I will stand back and let him lead the way " and when you are on deaths door that feels apt. The big problem is when we have recovered, when the creative mind is once again alert to ego demands like making up for lost time. These days I am no longer dazed by circumstance but amazed by results. When I focus on MY part in the great jigsaw of life, all is well.
In order to develop ongoing recovery one learns to face everything rather than sweep under the carpet of fear. This sense of wholeness is as refreshing as completing a whole bunch of paperwork for the accountant or finally clearing out that cupboard. It is a paradox that in order to accept my wholeness I need to accept my flaws, the loves, the pains and the whole damn thing. This is true spiritual embrace, a detox of the ego.
You may want to consider today how you ask for help, who you turn to when it goes tits up and whether self punishment is still part of your inner curriculum. Self punishment is suicide compared to the pains that life throws at us. At least with life pains we can learn. Just think how fast the last two years have passed. Two years ago recession was feared, the worst since the depression. In retrospect we have all learnt something from this period of global cutback including the harsh reality that we have more than we need around us, should we seek it, that old habits can be changed and that confronting the worst, the death of something actually breeds life, energy and hope.
