who is your guardian, your friend, your guide?
One of my favorite activities in the world is to go on inward journeys that take me to unfamiliar places and introduce me to beings I could not imagine in normal consciousness. This morning I ventured deep into an ancient forest and as I waited in a small, light-filled clearing, surrounded by quiet tall grasses, a black panther appeared and lay down beside me. A leopard soon followed, and then a very large, sleepy-looking lion. The experience of friendliness, grace, and clarity that came over me as we sat together by a still pool is too mysterious to describe. But when I emerged I knew clearly how our guardians, friends, and guides are always with us, deeply present in this strangely paradoxical existence of ours that is both inner and outer at the same time. I love our human nature that exists in dualism, since that brings to consciousness so much of what otherwise would be pure peace and love. Our struggles and our strivings make us aware of ourselves and our experiences. Eventually, as happened to me in the presence of these beautiful wild cats, I became aware of being aware, which is a state beyond dualism and even beyond one-ness. Who are your guardians and guides? Perhaps you’d like to take some time today to meet with them. You can do this yourself through meditation or by following a guided visualization from someone who has a voice you’re drawn to (there are plenty on YouTube and elsewhere on the internet). My way this morning was through listening to shamanic drumming — maybe you’d like to try that. Travel is always enlightening.