Perspectives

Making Sense of the Emptiness

There may be times in a healing when you don’t sense much of anything happening - understandably, this may cause you to reconsider doing more of this work. However, most healing is not about the putting in but the taking away of "negatively" charged energies and issue ("stuff") from our space. When this occurs, it may not be readily apparent to our limited conscious awareness (but that doesn’t diminish its importance). This healing work helps create more space within our being so that we may be more sensitive to the contrasts in our outer and inner life – not just for the artistic balance, but that we may know the deeper meanings and purposes for us being here. 

“Meaning in life is defined by the emptiness that surrounds it”.

Creating and appreciating material “empty space” (called “Shibui” by the Japanese) is not something we are used to in this culture. The beauty of empty space is that it makes what is truly meaningful come into view. For example, the black typed words on a page are not visible without the contrast of white empty space behind it. Within the context of spirituality, our awareness - when contrasted by a space free of mental and emotional stuff - begins to focus on that which remains - the essence of our Spirit... Love, Peace, Wisdom and Joy.

Unfortunately, the ego-mind does not see empty space this way... it interprets such loss of “stuff” as a bad thing because the ego-mind WILL ALWAYS WANT MORE OF EVERYTHING: more possessions, more concepts, more sensations, more emotions.... And from all the things our ego-minds have already internalized into our space - all the identity attachments, sensory illusions, conceptual limitations, and energetic barriers... we are rarely able to see the bigger picture of our lives. So when our ego-minds perceive that space is being created (from a healing), we generally don’t like it – its too subtle - not enough flash and bang for our buck. But Spirit (like empty space) is very subtle... its very nature is not more but less. In the Bible, it is said that Spirit comes to us as "a still small voice". It is not a flashy, brash, inflated or proud voice... but a soft, subtle, gentle, respectful, kind and loving voice (but this is not what we are used to hearing, so we don't easily recognize it).

The most delicate subtle application of healing energy is like the stroke of a pen (or brush) that creates one letter (or line) after another, and arranges the letters of a word and the words in a sentence in just the precise order... all making the difference between saying (imagining) and meaning one thing or something quite different.

Spirit works with our soul as if it was a fine Swiss watch, knowing precisely how the smallest of parts (like the letters of a word and the lines in an image) fit into the whole.

In a healing, when Spirit removes stuff from our space, it's like cleaning the dust off the intricate mechanism of a watch... where even the tiniest speck of matter can plug up its smooth operation. In its subtlety and mastery, Spirit is carefully and gently guiding and directing every little detail of a healing... way beyond our abilities to know the whole story or see the bigger picture.

If you look closely at the pieces that make up a jig saw puzzle, each piece could have an image... or no image at all. Some could be totally whitened out, pitch black, a blurry impression, a mixture of colors, different textures. Some are clearly definable, delineated, ordinarily shaped... and others are uniquely, oddly, vaguely wrought. Yet to make up the whole finished picture, we need all these small subtle pieces... and we need them to be placed in their correct positions. On the human level of awareness, when it comes to the puzzle that is our souls, we do not have the overall perspective on who we really are or where we are going... only the "Divine Artist" knows the ultimate goal - where everything goes.

Our own life is like a puzzle in many ways. There are those times when we know exactly what to do, where to go, and why we are doing whatever we are doing. And then there are other times when we feel confused with life’s twists and turns... and it all seems nearly impossible to make out the details of our life... or figure out where all the separate individual pieces of it fits into the whole. 

It’s similar to the feelings one may have when experiencing a healing... with not the foggiest notion of what (if anything) is going on... not knowing if it is (or isn't) of benefit to you.... But how would you really know ? How could you tell ? 

Most of us experience ourselves and reality from the extremely limited subjective point of view of our materially minded consciousness - which is so full of "stuff" that it's a wonder we can perceive and maneuver in the outer world at all. With such a distorted (subjective) perspective on reality, is it possible to discern the empty and full spaces and places in the background of life ? 

While our life is experienced subjectively from a variety of sense organs... the "narration" of that view occurs within our own mind as one letter per moment, one word per heart beat, one sentence per breath, one paragraph per minute, one page per hour, one chapter per day, week in, week out, from month to month, year to year, lifetime to lifetime, and so on....

Though we are “living” out our story from moment to moment, Spirit “knows” the whole story plot line from beginning to end (but spirit won’t tell us the details, otherwise that would spoil the buildup of our suspenseful tale). Spirit can take a glance at the book of this one lifetime – and all the lifetimes before it. Spirit can even cast its glance forward and tell the gist of future life stories by those that we completed or left unfulfilled.

The point is, you as a human being cannot see the complete overview (the "big picture") nor do you know the best way to travel down your "Path" (your whole life "story line") ... but Spirit does. And yet, you think you know what your happy ending is by just reading a few lines or looking at a few pieces of the puzzle? (I don’t think so). None of us are given that information down here (not completely). If Spirit gave us this information, we would not learn what it is to live in faith and trust (besides... it would take the fun and suspense out of living our life). Yes, we could try to force the pieces of our lives to fit into some shape... and we could try to force our life story to go the way we think it should go... but there are more powerful forces that twist and turn our life, overruling our small human plans... making it so that nothing will ever exactly go the way we desire. Besides, if we try to force the pieces of a puzzle into a shape of our own choosing, we end with loose pieces that don’t fit anywhere, and an image that will not be cohesive or harmonious (for a picture puzzle is to look a certain way when finished and no other). And if we try to force the letters and words into a story of our own choosing, we lose the spontaneity and mystery of life. And like a crossword puzzle, if we don’t get the letters in just the right spots, there will be letters and words that will not fit in with other letters and words... and things just won’t make sense. This is how our lives are when we run it from the limited perspective of our ego-mind.

If we want our lives to make any sense in relation to the whole... if we want all of our soul pieces to fit into place, and our life story line to make any sense, we need to let go of our small ego-mind stories and let go of the illusory images we think we are. The Healer, as a representative of Spirit (working in conjunction with your Higher Spirit Self) is here to assist in this "letting go" process. When Spirit is fully empowered to heal us, given a sufficient amount of time to remove enough stuff from our space... a brand new - pure - blank canvas is finally revealed, allowing your own Higher Spirit Self (the "Divine Artist") to freely and easily (without impediment or distraction) narrate your own Perfect Divine Story and paint your own Perfect Divine Image upon your life.

Spirit has the ability to look at your entire being... as it was, is, and shall be... from past, present to future... as it exists in its highest form... to how it is manifesting here on earth, and on all dimensions in between. Spirit can look at where every minute aspect of your life fits in with all those around you as you all perfectly fit into the universal "Divine Design" (so we all have a happy ending to all our stories, which, by the way, doesn’t end at the death of our bodies). It is from this perspective and with this divine knowledge that Spirit approaches each healing session.

Spiritual Healing moves your puzzle “pieces” around till they start to fit neatly into place and coalesce into the original picture that you were meant to be.

Spiritual Healing rearranges the narration of your story so that it starts to make sense and harmonizes with the rest of the stories of all other beings within the greater universe.

Spiritual Healing takes your attention off the outer world by creating empty space around and within you so that your attention starts focusing on what’s true and meaningful in life.

 Any great journeys take time to unfold, and involves some hardship... thus it demands of us patience, persistence and sacrifice. There will be steep hills to climb... cold abrasive winds against our face... lonely and dark nights... and the views may at times be rather stark. But as long as we continue the healing process, Spirit will (eventually) get us to our goal - a whole lot sooner and easier than if done alone. Till then, don’t expect to make sense of or "figure" anything out (that's the ego-mind trying to take control of your process). The best thing we can do is relish (with full attention) the individual experiences along the way... otherwise we will be waiting and waiting for some far off goal without enjoying the process of life.

Until you do enough of this healing work, the immediate benefits may not be redily apparent. If during the times of the healing there is felt even the subtlest shifts, let that be sufficient, for each healing session you receive builds upon the previous session, like the stones layed in the foundation of a massive structure. And the larger a  structure one builds, the more work has to go into it before the finished product is realized. Our soul is massive and so very complex, much more than any building on earth. So too, many sessions must be completed before the majority of benefits derived are best known... and seen in retrospect (in days, weeks, months, or lifetimes later).

Most certainly, if you do enough of this healing work (at some point) you will see your life's journey (the completed "structure" of your Soul) from a clearer perspective (you might even catch glimpses of the "Universal Picture"). Until then, ones perspective of the healing process will be similar to the old adage of not being able to see "the forest from the trees". In the meantime, trust that Spirit sees from a better perspective than we ever could, for Spirit knows the terrain - the lay of the land, and the blueprint of our soul.

Expectations

"Enlightenment is progressive Disillusionment" (The Buddha)

As you continue your healing journey, you will be diving deeper into successive levels of being... shedding lifetimes full of accumulated baggage... peeling away the hard outer shells that cover your soul. When ones illusions start to melt away, the old patterns we held on to can no longer support us, and for a short while we may feel lost, confused and disillusioned. Reorientation to this new self may take time, but it will happen. No one likes to throw their favorite shoes away, but when they are worn out, what can you do but get a new pair... in time, one eventually comes to love the feel of their new soles (souls).

This healing work will do some amazing things for you if you are persistent in doing it. However, do not expect just one session to alleviate all your problems - if you have such high expectations, you are sure to be disappointed. This healing work (just like life) is never going to turn out or be what we think or want - but it will always surprise us.

Even a small amount of personal growth is better than none. If you take it one step at a time, even the highest mountain can be climbed (it just takes longer that is). No matter what it may look or feel like in the moment (either crunchy or creamy) doing even a few segments of this healing work is cause for celebration - it will move you that much more forward on your life path (which is better than doing nothing and stagnating).

Unrealistic Expectations of Being Human
We build our role models up to be something more than human, something that we can never be...  for if they were merely human like us, than we would have no excuse not to follow their example. We project all our hopes and dreams in these "Spiritual Super Stars", and for as long as they fulfill these roles, we love them (we still idolize actors instead of embracing our own inner “Star”). And if our heroes don’t perform to our expectations (being something more than what we are) then we throw them away and find another.

We know that the Israelis of 2 thousand years ago were a conquered and suppressed people who dreamt of a freedom from Roman tyrany, and a rebirth of a glorious kingdom. Yet Jesus came not to set free a people from an external tyrant but rather an internal one. He did not come to restore the old monarchy but rather a heavenly one.

It's easy to pay lip service to a teaching from a book and idolize someone who has been dead for 2,000 years... they cannot personally correct us if we are wrong in our interpretation of their message. But things change when you work with someone who has a direct, immediate, and radical relationship with Spirit. With that in mind, what if Jesus was alive today in the here and now (it's possible). Could we rise above the expectations and preconceptions inherent in our human nature and see beyond ? What if he didn't agree with our belief systems, nor heal our physical bodies, nor make us all rich, nor give us other things we want... would we cast him aside, out like all the rest... calling him a fraud, or just a (deluded) man ?

What would our expectations be of Jesus today? Just like the lyrics of a Bob Marley song, would we want him to wave his hands around and "make everyone high" and "make every little thing all right" ? And if he didn’t magically erase all our problems and wash away all our woes, how would we feel about him then ? History has a nasty way of repeating itself with those who don't live up to our ideals and expectations... think Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas Gandhi, John Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, John Lennon (to name just a few). What do they all have in common? Are there many today who would dedicate their lives to strive for a cause greater than their selves ? Would you?

There are still many...
who need to find and follow their Soul Dreams
many “Stars” who need to be lighted on fire.

Change = Life
Of all things in life, constant change is the only sure thing. If there is any goal on the spiritual path, flowing and surrendering to the changes in the moment is that goal. In a healing session, one should not expect (nor judge) your experiences to look or feel or be one way or another, for everything in life changes, and attachment to one thing over another will always bring you disappointment (and suffering). With this attitude, you will never be disappointed in regards to the healing work, your spiritual path, or life in general.

For those who ask “When am I going to be fully healed? When is this going to be over ? How many sessions do I need ?” All these sorts of questions come from the impatient ego-mind that is constantly trying to solidify its understanding of the universe - to be able to have the definitive truth of life tucked away in its pocket - never to be shaken or changed. The ego-mind wants to get to that place where it can finally hang its hat up and say "there is no more need for search, no more change, no more movement - I have arrived - this is IT !". True, there are many pivotal important events, experiences, and moments in a life (ones that we relish above others), but the process of our life does not end with one experience... rather, it is a series of moments occuring ever in the Now, and the Now, and the Now..and so on. To be waiting for one definitive event or experience (that looks and feels just like "so" and "so") is not living in your HEART, not feeling fully in the flow of life. Rather, it is keeping us in the judge-mental attitude that "this" experience is not good enough... or, it has to look and feel like "this", or "this".... Yet, while we are awaiting (expecting) a particular experience to happen, we are not being fully aware of the reality of what experiences are happening in "this" very moment, having discarded or blocked them off from our conscious awareness (by the way, in doing this, those experiences get suppressed or "stuffed" into our energy field and subconscious). Living with this state of mind (which we all do to some extent) is a sort of living stagnation or death – yet this is the tendency (and nature) of the ego-mind. In other words, no matter what your experience, your mind is going to compare and judge it as something less than itself (for the ego-mind hates competition). This is what our ego-mind does - try to belittle our feelings and experiences, to make them insignificant and meaningless (for the ego-mind cannot make sense of feelings). In reality, when you can experience any feeling or sensation (like what happens in a healing session), it is significant - you are FEELING SOMETHING ! When you start to see yourself judging what you experience in the session (or in life), know that this is your mind trying to shut you down... and it's very good at doing so (which is why we all need the healing work so badly). 

The Now
To fully live to the MAX, we need to be fully present to all our feelings and experiences in the ever changing Now, no matter how uncomfortable... without judgement or expectation or attachment. We must be able to flow in each moment (to "bend like the reed"), no matter if all the rugs from under our presumed reality are pulled from under us, and we see that all the rules and truths of yesterday change in the blink of an eye... and in the next moment, we have to start all over again. That is life “as it is” – it’s designed this way to keep us on our toes.

The past is history. The present is a gift. The future is a possibility. Heal the past. Live in the present. Dream the future.

However, most of us are not satisfied with the “Now”. It doesn’t meet with our expectations, which makes us feel uncomfortable and impatient for some idealized better times (the "good old days"). To compensate for this disappointment with “what is”, the ego-mind typically responds by regressing us into some romantic past or projecting us into some idyllic future.

The ego-mind part of us is attached to the “idea” of a destination or goal only in so far as it can distract us from taking the steps to get into our feelings and into our hearts (and avoid being in the Now). Most of us would not even begin the journey if we knew it would take so long to complete – but then we would miss out on all this fun!

Now here's the disclaimer: it's easier to read (and write) about living in the moment, than actually doing so. Fortunately, we have the healing work to help us.

Copyright 1999 - 2008. David Raphael Isaacson. No portion of information in this website may be reproduced or distributed in any form without prior permission from the author. All rights reserved.

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