Saturday, March 9, 2019

Tool for the Journey #39 - What if?


           "There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."
- R. Buckminster Fuller
         

            When I was 16 years old, R. Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller introduced me to the star tetrahedron, the importance of the pyramid as a structure and the concept of sacred geometry. He spoke of many things which seemed fantastical and extremely complex to my young mind. He spoke of ideas no one had ever spoken to me about because I was just a kid. Looking back now, I think he spoke to me about these things because I was a kid...because maybe I still had enough elasticity in my brain to allow for the possibilities and the 'what if'? I didn't understand all (or even most) of the things he said, but somewhere inside I felt they would one day be important. I believe he knew, despite my outward appearance of an awkward teenager, I was a caterpillar which would one day become a butterfly. Bucky gave me many gifts which I would not truly comprehend until decades later. His most profound gift however was one simple question: What if?

      Bucky taught me not to cling too tightly to things perceived as 'truth' because what if new information reveals those truths are no longer the whole truth? He said in the end it may not be that we were wrong, but rather that our understanding was incomplete. Some truths have durability (ie: 1+1 always equals 2) but as our perspective broadens we may, if we are open, discover additional facets of what we once perceived as the whole truth. If we cling too tightly to something as absolute truth then we leave no room for discovery and 'what if?'

         Over forty years ago Bucky planted seeds of insight, wisdom and knowledge; only in the past year have those seeds finally sprouted. So, what changed, you may ask? What was the trigger? The best way to answer is to tell you about the Lodgepole Pine. The seeds of the Lodgepole Pine are locked tight inside the cones, and the cones *(also tied to sacred geometry) can't open unless they're exposed to extremely high temperatures like the temperatures a forest fire provides. “Serotiny” is a scientific term for an ecological adaptation exhibited by some seed plants, in which seed release occurs in response to an environmental trigger rather than spontaneously at seed maturation.  For the Lodgepole Pine, the trigger is heat. For me the trigger, the ‘heat’, was the death of someone deeply important to me.

      The forest fire of my grief decimated my inner landscape; rendering it unrecognizable. Before Scott's passing I considered myself an open-minded person overall. That being said, even healthy forests (open-minded people) contain dead trees (old belief systems) and decaying plant matter (dogmas). When a fire turns them to ashes, nutrients return to the soil instead of remaining captive in old vegetation creating the possibility of new growth. Slowly, as the months passed, I began to see, among the ashes and charred branches, my own new growth. I experienced increased awareness and a surprising level of dynamic receptivity to new ideas and I began exploring topics I'd never considered before.


  "Ninety-nine percent of who you are is invisible and untouchable."- R. Buckminster Fuller


      I'm not a phoenix risen from the ashes, but rather a tiny bit of determined leafy-green; a sprouted pine-cone seedling born out of the heat of those flames, pushing my way through the charred rubble towards the light. And somehow I sense Bucky nearby cheering me on!

      On November 7, 2017 I began meditating daily. Little did I know that meditation would lead me down an unknown road towards insights and wonder which I had heretofore never imagined, let alone experienced. I cannot tell you if these insights came from deep within me or from outside of me, but I don't supposed it really matters. What does matter is these gifts are being given and are the nutrients being returned to the soil (of me).

      One day in my meditation I said, "Make me an instrument." and this is what I heard in reply:  "We are making you an instrument, but remember an instrument cannot play itself. Thus, you must allow the wind, vibration and energy of Spirit to flow through you to make your own unique music. Each instrument is unique and has its own voice. Allow Spirit to play with and through you. We are not separate. We are neighboring strings on The Grand Guitar. When we are in tune then together we make lovely music."

Here are other gifts also given to me in my meditation:

* A rainbow doesn't hate any of its colors because the combination is what makes it beautiful.

* You are a hatchling. You know the coziness inside of the shell but one day you realize it is time to break open the shell and discover the Larger Reality.

* Your brain is a receiver of Consciousness not the creator of it.

* Everything you need to know is hardwired into your DNA. You are not learning, you are remembering.

* Infinity is where Consciousness resides.

Question: What is an over-soul? 
   Reply: Take an egg. What is the over-soul of the egg? The chicken. The chicken knows more than the egg but contained inside the egg is another chicken 'becoming'. So, the egg in its DNA already knows what the chicken knows. You are both chicken and egg.

* The Tide meets the Shore (you) and with each lap of the tide (energy) information is imprinted on the Shore. It is then up to the Shore to do or not do something with that information. The Tide imprints constantly - whether the Shore knows it or not. The treasures of the Deep are ever at your disposal. Awareness is all that is required.

* There is The Choir and The Soloist. Every member of The Choir has the potential to be a Soloist *(Soul-O-ist?). There is both individuation and unity. One Voice alone and One Voice together in unison with The Whole.

* If you take a drop of water from The Sea then, for a time, that drop is individuated from The Sea. When you put The Drop back into The Sea then what is the difference between The Drop and The Sea?

* That there is Light is what matters. Lighthouse, flashlight, candle, match, lightning. The Light is more important than what is producing that Light. You are the keeper of your light - SHINE!

* Traction comes only with motion. Keep moving. Infinity is at hand and reminds you it is the journey, not the destination which should be sought. This now-moment is the one that matters.

* You have a vibratory sequence unique to you. We are tuning you so your resonance can reach higher levels of consciousness. We must tune you before we can play you.

* The two oars of a boat work together far better than one alone. Who is rowing the boat? Who are the oars? The trifecta, the trine: The Rower, and both of The Oars...

* You are crafting the kite string to fly with. You are the string, the kite and the person holding the string. You are all at the same time. WE are the wind! 

* You do not need to be wise. You simply need to listen.

* Raindrops and snowflakes are individuated for a time, but ultimately merge again with their Source.

* Spirit resides in a room in your house that many people never go into. Instead make it the most comfortable, lived-in room in the house.

* Undoing is just as important as doing. Untie your knots.

* Mind = doing, Heart = Being. Do less, Be more!

                                **

      These are just a few of the many gifts of insight and wisdom I have received in the past year while sitting in the silence of meditation. Points to ponder which have opened me more with each passing day. They are not the path, but they are pointing me in a direction I believe is worth traveling.

      The fire consumed who I once was. I am now someone else. The forest I was is gone, but through grace new growth is occurring within me, and everywhere there are green shoots rising up. I'm exploring and discovering so much which was unknown to me before the 'fire' (not known, because not looked for). 

      The things Bucky gave me in my youth are finally making sense. I now understand the significance of the star tetrahedron and the pyramid and appreciate the beauty and complexities of sacred geometry and how it ties this Universe together. Things have come full circle. Now when I sit quietly and simply listen, I swear he is with me even still, and he continues to give me gifts, more tools for my journey. And when I find myself doubting this possibility I stop and ask myself: what if?

      This Tool for the Journey is: What if? Take a moment and really let that sink in...what if? What if infinitely more is possible than we ever imagined? What if when we get quiet and listen there are those in the unseen realms who will speak to us, educate us, guide us? 

What if?

      I used to aspire to be the butterfly...now I aspire to be the wind! - Cheryl Page

With love and light,
Cheryl
*


"Not being known doesn't stop the truth from being true." - Richard Bach    

(Information about the image at the top can be found here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flammarion_engraving )
  

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