Wednesday, October 26, 2011

I'm not lost, I'm right here.

It’s been a year since I felt the insight that changed my life. It was a murmur. A deep longing that, as I cycled around Sellwood district in SE Portland, it said to me in no uncertain terms; “I want this”. What ‘this’ was, I couldn’t really be sure. Was it the wooden porches, the vegetable gardens, the sunshine or smiling strangers? No, it was the feeling. It was a deep feeling of clarity and connection between me, that moment and everything around me. This felt right. And from that moment on I’d been educated about what it felt like to be in the right place, or doing the right thing. This wasn’t an analytical conclusion, but instead based on a felt sense. It’s hard to explain that sensation without trying to over complicate it. But like I imagine we’ve all felt from time to time, this was me, that small voice that whispers just beneath my thinking self. It was indicating that I was on the right track.

The interesting thing is that from that moment on, I swore I would take more notice of that feeling and see where it led me. Likewise, I decided I would take more notice of when I wasn’t being guided by that feeling. Considering for once that maybe my personal intelligence could learn something by trusting this impersonal, but deeper felt sense. I realized I had a sensory and physical intelligence that quite possibly knew more that I could put into words. Some people might call it ‘intuition’, ‘Gaia’ or ‘God’. Personally I called it ‘wisdom’. They don’t teach us about it in school and sadly, from time to time the connection gets a bit murky. But, it’s always there. On that day, in a single moment of insight, I understood that for myself. I was beginning to embody everything I’d been learning about the Three Principles.

This moment of insight instigated a whole chain of events that eventually brought Cory Willson and I together. We’ve both been taking part in our own life experiments. Both led by our understanding of how the Three Principles underpin our human experience. I admit this is no humble statement, but it’s honest. Understanding life through the Three Principles has brought many subtle and also profound experiences into being. Cory and I are united by our experiences, our love for Portland, Oregon and our fascination with the human mind. Living life only through the lens of thought can be a turbulent experience. Thankfully, with our understanding of how these three simple principles work, we have gained the interesting perspective of frequently (though not always) seeing life from under the lens of thought. It makes for a whole different perspective. It’s a bit like riding in a run-away car, but with a seat belt and a safety ejection button. It takes the utter fear out of the experience, leaving you to enjoy the thrill of the ride. Cory and I have a shared sense of humour and deep appreciation of how these Three Principles of Mind, Thought and Consciousness play out in our everyday experiences. This allows us to marvel and for the best part, enjoy the limitations of our humanness!

It was Teilhard de Chardin, the French Philosopher, paleontologist and once controversial Jesuit Priest, that said “You are not a human being in search of a spiritual experience. You are a spiritual being immersed in a human experience”. We’d like to suggest that since it’s the fact that we ‘think’ that makes us uniquely human. Perhaps it is those thoughts that relentlessly immerse us in this human experience. Introducing the Three Principles into this theory, we have an alternative viewpoint for experience. Life viewed only through the lens of thought might lead us to conclude that we are all formed individuals, consisting of often unyielding bundles of expectations and habits. Perhaps, this is how many will know us; the busy yet hugely enthusiastic mum (that’s Cory) or the single, just turned 30, ‘what am I doing with my life’ explorer that I’ve become. But what if when you look closer, all these bundles actually just consist of thoughts? Neutral thoughts with habitual physical and emotional responses that have married over time. What if all the while, underneath this, we are innocent beings just trying to make the best of the ride?

It’s with this in mind that Cory and I decided to write this blog together. It’s a forum to discuss the real life experience of being human. To laugh about our limitations and to ponder those moments that move us further away, or closer to that connected, clarity bringing and wise self. We’d like to share our learning about how we attempt to navigate between these existences; the being versus the having, the fearless versus the fearful and the potential versus the form.

The chances are, if you are reading this blog you have been to a Three Principles workshop, or perhaps you've been learning from Cory or myself via osmosis. So, along the way we’d welcome your questions, comments and insights. This is a space for reflection, humour and learning. We are looking forward to sharing it with you.

1 comment:

  1. I LOVE the way you describe the felt sense as "the small voice that whispers just beneath my thinking self". Beautiful...poetry to the ears...AND imagine if everyone became more aware of this under-used internal navigation system!
    It takes some faith and courage to follow your good feelings wherever they may take you, and I can wholeheartedly say that, Faye, you live by this. I adore your "If you're not ready, just begin" attitude and the straightforwardness in which you discuss the human experience. You have such clarity & so much to teach. I'm delighted that our new blog will create that opportunity in a new way. May the "life experiments" continue!
    ~Cory Willson

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