Awareness of Archetypes in Game of Thrones

Last night's episode of Game of Thrones was particularly dark and gruesome.  The Game of Thrones books and HBO series depict a power struggle among a group of ruling families within a fictional society based on feudal, medieval Britain and Europe.  

I enjoy watching even the more violent and disturbing episodes, because they make me think about forward progress through history and Jung's collective unconscious. I love to work with archetypes in my own self-growth process and Game of Thrones is chock full of them.  

An archetype is a universal symbol that alerts us to repeating patterns and behaviors embedded in our individual and collective psyche.  Archetypes range from the broad and general to the refined and specific; both simple and complex characters in literature, film and television invite us to recognize archetypes.  In Game of Thrones we have a complex structure of interconnected archetypes and characters, some simple and obvious: Warriors like Jon Snow and Rob Stark, The Heroine (Daenerys), The Witch (Melisandre), The Villain and Corrupt Ruler (Joffrey). We also see characters embodying multiple archetypes or evolving from one archetype to another, such as Catelyn Stark, The Mother and the Wise Old Woman, and Shae, The Prostitute who evolved into a dutiful Servant and Lover.  

In the twins, Cersei and Jaime Lannister, I recognize an interplay between the Anima and the Animus, and even through their long separation, Jaime has found another way to keep this going with Brienne of Tarth. Here comes a spoiler, so skip the next sentence if you are not caught up on the episodes.  In the violent scene where Jaime loses his right hand, we are reminded that he was once an unmatched swordsman.  It is significant that he lost his last sword fight to a woman serving as a knight, and that he lost his hand saving her life and her virtue. The right hand was cut off, and the right side of the body represents the masculine.  Brienne of Tarth is a masculinized noble lady, a female knight.  Those of us working to balance and allow expression to both Anima and Animus can play with all of the subtleties of the Jaime Lannister character. I am excited to see how his relationship with Brienne unfolds, and also to watch how the incestuous dynamic will change between him and his female twin Cersei.  

Many of us are also developing awareness of ancestral patterns and tapping into collective memories.  The more violent and barbaric scenes in Game of Thrones, depicting cruelty, ruthlessness, enslavement, prostitution, sexual abuse, warring, relentless power struggles, betrayal and torture--these alert me to repeating behaviors throughout the development of human history.  We see the underbelly of our tribal beginnings and the struggle for survival and dominance we have shared as a species. These conditions still exist on our planet today, but have continued to improve over thousands of years, with periods of regression followed by quantum leaps of forward progress.  

In my interfaith seminary training, we have studied the theory of conscious evolution and also Jungian techniques in spiritual counseling. I have learned that we must work to bring our collective and individual Shadows to consciousness.  Carl Jung said, "What is not brought to consciousness comes to us as fate." Seeing violence and upheaval, within ourselves, in our world, in our relationships, or even on television... is unpleasant.  We can turn off a show or put down a book, and it is wise to use caution in what we take into our consciousness. At the same time, it can also be therapeutic and constructive to actively work with dark literary or artistic content. It shakes things loose so we can recognize them and lessen their grip on us. As someone with a literature background, I have done this for years and will continue to do so.  I applaud the Game of Thrones writers for bringing so many collective issues to a mass audience.  I will keep watching and doing my own work on the side. 

The Gift of Prayer

Prayer is always a gift. When you pray alone, it is a gift to God and to yourself. When you pray with others, it is a gift to them and to God.

Prayer changes based on whom you are praying with and for, and it flows from
the heart. If your heart is not open, you will be constricted in praying spontaneously for others and with others. Many of us live more from our heads than from our hearts. On a day when you know you will offer prayer for people in need, perform actions that open the heart: recall what recent blessings and synchronicities have graced your life; recall your failings and the forgiveness

you have received; sing; or open your heart center in the body through yoga or dance.

Always speak the names of the people present with you in your prayers and thank

God for them. When praying in a group of 8 or fewer, every person in the room

can be lifted up to God personally by name with specific needs, however small.

In a larger group, the collective body and their needs are expressed, sometimes with attention given to certain ones who have requested prayer.

In prayers for healing, the ailments and specific body parts affected are named

and the desired transformation in the body is described in as much detail as

possible. It is very helpful to mention the tissues and cells of the body, to

speak to them and bless them. The body responds to spoken prayer and inspired

voice commands amazingly quickly.

Prayers are sealed with love and gratitude. In whatever way your heart directs

you, offer praise and thanks to God and gratitude for all those present as you

close your prayer.

In your life, remember the words of Paul and pray without ceasing. Our lives are living prayers.

Photo credit: oneprayergirl.blogspot.com

The Long Game

Last week I had dinner and went to yoga with a busy friend.  When I say busy, I mean four children, full-time job and wake up before 5 a.m. busy.  So I was flattered that she made time for me and impressed that she made time for herself.  We talked about busy women, balancing family with work, and looking at life as "the long game" (not a reference to the British TV show).  

Here is what I took away from the long game discussion: in a lifetime, a woman can experience and accomplish a dizzying number of things, but when we try to hit all of our targets at once, that's when we really get dizzy.  I know, I know...when we were little they told us we could have it all: a spouse, children, a rich education, a meaningful and/or lucrative career, developed interests and passions and a travel map full of colored thumb tacks. Our generation of women was to be liberated and gifted. Some of us had the idea we'd have all of this at once. And some women do, and if we feel like it, we can be inspired by their examples. We can also be inspired just looking at our own lives. 

Wherever we are, we can be pleased with ourselves. Why? Because some of us never really thought we'd do it all at once.  Others may have changed their outlook once the reality of a rewarding yet all-consuming career set in--maybe the single life was a better fit after all.  Motherhood may have caused us to adjust course, balancing priorities and re-evaluating short and long term goals, based on a family's particular needs. Or perhaps an ailing parent or sibling needed help and reduced hours were required. It could be that a divorce inspired an international move, a couple of years off for travel, or a prioritization of self-growth over the drive to reproduce. The scenarios are endless, but it's clear that most people, not just women, aren't hitting every aspect of the idealized life at one time.  

If you are like me and the busy mom I was talking to, you have your passions, your interests, your goals and your precious relationships. You have trips you want to take and skills you want to refine. In spite of everyday pressures, you enjoy each day for what it has to offer, but you can't help thinking about next steps and new ways to grow.  This doesn't make us restless.  In fact, it's an auspicious sign--it means you have hope, you are optimistic, you can still look at life as if you were 18, but instead of saying, "my whole life is in front of me," you say, "the rest of my life awaits me." I'm 41. If I look at what I have done since I was 18, it is such a long view.  It opens up more space for me to realize that I have hit many, many points on my short list AND my long list. Had I boiled all that down to five years... well, that would be impossible! Make that calculation for your own life, and watch the time pressure disappear. 

Maybe you're not seeing your kids as much as you thought you should when you went back to work. Or, maybe you plunged head first into parenting and community, but your career is on a hiatus. Maybe you haven't gone on a honeymoon yet or you never got around to learning ballet or running the New York marathon. That doesn't mean that those things won't happen--it just means they didn't all happen at the same time.  For most of us it's impossible to live out all our dreams in the short term. And many people who seem to be doing it are mostly unable to savor anything; they are under-slept, overstimulated, over-medicated and possibly overrated. 

We live in a culture of extremes, but we intuit that moderation is better for us.  However we choose to do it, we learn to prioritize, balance, and find the combination that works best.  We can do it all and have it all, if we expand our perspective and view our life as from above, rather than down low, crowded in among the blades of grass. We can look out over the horizon.  We can see our way ever expanding before us, with plenty of space to evolve. There is no rush, no urgency, unless we impose it. We can give ourselves permission to love what we have right now, believing that the well-rounded life of childhood dreams is possible, when we play the long game. 

Self-Love: A Guided Meditation

We are taught from infancy to seek validation of our worth and worthiness outside of ourselves: it begins with a parent, then teachers, then an external God or Savior, then a mentor, a boss, a number on a paycheck, or even a comment thread on Facebook.  You may not see yourself as consciously seeking validation in these ways, but how about unconsciously? Most of us need to reconnect with our inviolable, essential self-worth.  Here is one tool to help with that.  I will post the audio version of this guided meditation in the future.  To work with this script, enlist a partner to read it to you.  Choose music that brings you peace and ease.  Light a candle to ritualize your intention. 

Guided Meditation: Self-Love

By Michelle Garrison Hough

1.        Go to a place that is comfortable and peaceful for you.  Find a spot that is quiet other than possible background noise, and silence your cell phone and all other electronic devices. 

Once you have settled into this quiet space, begin to find ease in your body.  Sit in a comfortable position or lie down.  Close your eyes.  Before we go any further, inhale, breathe in, clenching your fists and your arms, and tense up every part of your body, from your face down to your toes; hold it; and on an exhale let it all go.  Completely relax your body.  Turn your head from side to side, releasing tension in the neck.  Let your shoulders drop and unclench your jaw.  Take a full breath in, and let the breath out on a delicious exhale; again… and again.  Find the ease and the rhythm of your breath, letting it wash through you and over you like ocean waves.  Begin to pull your attention inward even more, focusing on the sound and sensation of your breath.  Inhale… and exhale.  Notice the way your thoughts slow down or subside once you are fully relaxed and conscious of your breath.  Notice the pauses in your breathing.  Expand into the space between your breaths.  It is here that you experience your soul.  Keep breathing quietly, just like this.

2.      Now, with your mind’s eye, envision a beautiful scene from your memories, a place you have experienced before that brought you an unforgettable moment of bliss and tranquility.  You know this place.  You have imagined it before when you have needed to be there again.  It could be the setting of a cherished childhood memory, somewhere beautiful you visited on vacation, a spot you go to regularly to find solace.  Take yourself there now. Immerse yourself in those sensory impressions, the smells, the temperature, the way your skin felt, the sounds you heard.  Who was with you? Were you alone?  Why did you feel so good? Recreate that wonderful experience, in your mind and body, right now.  You are back there again.  You are basking in the glow of that radiant experience, letting it fill your consciousness, allowing it to heal you. 

3.       And now, in this space, where you are relaxed, where you feel whole, where you feel peace, joy and love, breathe in these beautiful qualities.  Just as your breath is washing over you, peacefully passing through you, peace, joy and love are permeating your being, flooding your heart.  Feel the breath as if you could breathe in and out of your heart, as if the breath went out from and returned to touch the heart space.  Love is from the heart.  Remember, or imagine, how it feels to love and be loved, completely.  When we love someone, a lover, a best friend, a child…we forget their faults so easily.  We long to see them, to be with them, to touch them, and in their presence we experience the best in ourselves.  We spend time alone with them, private, personal, intimate time. For the gift of their presence, we accept and forgive many offenses, many inconveniences.  Love makes us forget those things. The light and heat of love, shining from the heart, burns through all resistance, sluggishness, bleakness and negativity.  The light of love is constant, the warmth of love is steady, and the vibration of love is blissful.  Be in love.  Bathe in love. Be with the beloved, here in this space. Receive the energy of love; let it reverberate through your being.  What you send out to others comes right back to you.  Send love out from your heart, to the one you love, and receive that love as it comes back to you.  Breathe love in.  And breathe love out.

4.      And now, you are the beloved.  You are filled with love, rooted in love, surrounded by love, and you are the beloved.  You have invited yourself, the beloved, into this safe and healing space.  As you would welcome someone you love into your home, into the privacy of your inner room, welcome yourself into your love.  See yourself for who you truly are: a being of light, the creation of love.  Hear your voice, speaking for yourself: I am unique. I experience my own unique being, embraced by the Wholeness which created me. I have unique DNA, unique cells, a unique body, a unique mind. I have wonderful and unique insights, gifts and talents. I love my own being. I love myself. I love my cells. I love my skin, my eyes, my muscles, my bones. I love my brain. I love my voice. I am the embodiment of my spirit. I came from spirit to experience love. There is only one me, and I am beautifully and wonderfully made.  Everything I do, everything I have done, is a step on the journey of my life.  Everything I have done, do or will do, comes back to love.  My coordinates are love and love is my destination.  Seen through the eyes of love, nothing I have done is unacceptable.  Love covers all that I have done, do or will do in my life.  Love is always present and love is always enough. I am loved. I love myself. I am enough. I am a gift. In every moment, I am a gift to myself, and the people around me. All that I experience is a gift, helping me to open the gift of myself, the gift of love. “I am beautiful.  I am a being filled with the beautiful treasures of life, peace, love, purity, bliss, power. Tears of happiness fill my eyes as I see the beauty, depth and wisdom which is me. I say, ‘wonderful.’  I have begun a wonderful new relationship with myself.  Other relationships may falter.  I will always be there for myself, to comfort, encourage and foster.  I am a good friend to myself.”[1] Feel the embrace of the powerful love that surrounds you, now. Know this love.  Return to this love, anytime, anyplace, in any moment that you may need it. Love is here for you, now.  You have found love, within yourself.

5.      Rest comfortably in this space of love.  In the presence of people we truly love, there is no need for words, for constant chatter.  Rest into the silence here, enveloped by the presence of love.  You are one with yourself, in the presence of love, with a peaceful mind.

6.      Now, begin to come back to this room.  Gently awaken your senses and let your mind return to your body, regrounding in this present moment.  Take a deep breath in, and then exhale fully.  Begin to shift and adjust your body.  Wiggle your toes and rub your fingertips against your thumbs.  If you are lying down, roll onto your right side for a moment, and then come to sit up, with a straight spine.  When you are ready, allow your eyes to gently open, and adjust to the light in the room.  Feel how your energy has shifted. Notice what has opened up for you.  Experience this new space in the mind.  Take this with you for the rest of your day, and reconnect often with this energy.  Thank you for the gift of your presence.  Namaste.

---

[1] From the CD, “Garden of Angels” produced by the Brahma Kumaris.

The One Who Will Never Leave You

Last week when I was assisting and observing a yoga class, a palpable sense of peace and security enveloped the room.  It was such a gift to be able to witness the integrated and quiet practice of other yogis set to inspiring music with sunlight pouring through the windows.  One song really drew me in and focused my thoughts on the deeper meaning of the practice.  The song became popular in the 80's and it's one we all know, by Cyndi Lauper, Time after Time. The version played in class was the slower, acoustic cover by Eva Cassidy. The refrain is, "If you're lost, you can look, and you will find me, time after time.  If you fall, I will catch you, I will be waiting...time after time." 

I thought about how we come to yoga to find our true selves, to connect to our essence.  When we come to class, or when we come to our mats at home, or really in any moment of the day when we come back to ourselves and make a connection, then in that act we are showing up for ourselves.  We are leaving everything else to the side and reconnecting with that part of ourselves which never changes: our light, our essence, the true self.  This is a great comfort and source of strength, knowing first of all that we have an immovable, eternal part of our being, and secondly that we have a way to connect to that part anytime, and whenever we need it most.  "If you're lost, you can look, and you will find me. If you fall, I will catch you, I will be waiting."  I saw people looking deeply, and finding the true self, balancing in a posture and catching themselves if they fell out of it, coming back home to themselves, eyes closed, during savasana.  And they have done this before, and they will do it again, time after time.  

I thought about yoga, and the meaning of the word: union.  Generally we think of the union of mind, body and spirit, and the unity we seek with one another and sometimes with a higher power.  But on this particular day, right before Valentine's Day, when I heard this love song I thought about union within the Self.  I thought about the wholeness we experience when we connect the parts of the fragmented Self and experience the essence of our being.  For me, that is yoga.  

We read and speak often of mistaking the false self for the true self, the ignorance that is referred to in Sanskrit as Avidya.  Through our practice we are confronting this ignorance: we are moving from the false self to the true self, from the gross to the subtle, from darkness to light.  Sometimes this feels like a struggle, and it can also look that way from the outside.  Other times it feels sweet, it feels like peace, it feels like coming home.  However it may feel for you today when you practice, try to find that sense of connecting with your true self, with your essence, and take comfort in being there for yourself...time after time. 

Criteria for a Yoga Teacher

Deepavali Anugraha Sandesha

www.sringeri.net

The job of a yoga teacher is highly specialized, and far more demanding than it appears on the surface.  Teaching yoga falls under the category of the “helping professions”.  There are many types of teachers in our world, but very few teaching jobs involve an ongoing interaction with the mind, body and spirit of the students.  To teach yoga well, there are four indispensable criteria: connection, discipline, precision and humility.  

Yoga is a holistic science, therefore a good yoga teacher cannot present it in a compartmentalized way.  For this reason, the number one criteria for a good yoga teacher is that he/she be wholly present and connected; connected within and without, aware of the inner self and consciousness, the greater consciousness that surrounds and sustains us, the body in all its majesty and fragility and the mind as the filter and veil between these dimensions.  This connection allows the yoga teacher to tune into each student’s energy, state of mind, physical health and progression in the practice of asana.  It also facilitates the structuring of each class, from the dharma talk to the sequencing of the postures.  There is no flow without connection.  

Yoga is a discipline to be followed with consistency.  Passion and dedication motivate the teacher and the student to stay with the practice, but even with these, it is impossible to stay the course without discipline.  Therefore, discipline is the second most important criteria for a yoga teacher.  We must show up regularly on our own mats, on our own meditation cushions, applying the principles of yoga in our day-to-day lives, or we will be unable to bring the fruits of our practice to our students.  To practice and teach yoga, discipline is an absolute prerequisite.

Yoga is an art to be perfected over the course of a lifetime.  No yogi dies having completely perfected the practice, because there are so many layers to uncover, something new to discover each time we come to the mat.  This continual evolution does not imply a lack of structure, or imprecision.  There are definite forms requiring skill and concentration to embody.  For this reason, precision is a third essential requirement for every yoga teacher.  Precision in the postures is key in the training of mind and body.  Precision must be distinguished from perfection; a perfect asana practice is not a requirement but our attention to form certainly is.  

Finally, no matter how lofty our aims or intense our dedication may be--if we can’t keep our feet on the ground, if we can’t put our heads in the service of our hearts, if we can’t bow to something greater than ourselves, and to the greatness in our students--then we cannot be of service.  The fourth and final requirement for a good yoga teacher is humility.  Humility prevents the teacher from teaching to meet his or her own needs rather than the student’s needs.  Humility saves the teacher from the trap of the ego and the quest for perfection, in oneself and in the students.  Humility allows the teacher to keep learning, to retain a sincere passion for yoga, to experience the childlike joy the practice can bring. Every teacher must be humble above all else, for there is no service without humility.  

The ultimate role of a yoga teacher is to take the students on a journey, to guide and foster them in walking a path they are also traveling.  The journey begins by connecting with the body in a new way, connecting with the breath, integrating the mind, the body and the breath. The path leads to union, the true meaning of yoga. The path leads to the ultimate realization that we are not separate, but whole.  We are not separate from the Divine or from one another, and the many aspects of ourselves we normally see as separate can be integrated.  A yoga teacher opens the student up to the possibility of integration, within and without.  

Each yoga teacher possesses these enumerated qualities in differing degrees.  We all have our particular weaknesses and strengths.  Even after a thorough teacher training, many teachers must apply more effort to their practice and hone their skills before they can teach professionally.  The teaching becomes part of the practice, and we teach to learn.  Personally, on some level, I do possess each of the criteria I listed: connection, discipline, precision and humility.  In any given month or on any given day, I am more or less connected, disciplined, precise or humble.  Humility is the most natural of these qualities for me.  Discipline is the least natural.  The more disciplined I become, the more time I will be able to devote to my practice, which will in turn help me with the connection and precision.  The way I maintain my connection to myself, to God, and to others, is through my asana and meditation practice, through prayer, and through study of scriptures.  All of these take time and discipline, and with each, humility is also nourished.  The more disciplined and connected I am, the more precise I will become as well.  I know that if I work on becoming more disciplined, I can become a good yoga teacher.  

Being in the World, but not of the World

What does it mean to be in the world, but not of it? To me, it means transcendence.  To be in the world, but not of it, we must transcend the world.  The word “transcend” means to rise above; to go beyond the limits of; to overcome. Yesterday in church, on the eve of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, many of us sang, “We shall overcome.” I have a dream to overcome the world, to be in the world but not of it. 

This concept runs through all religions.  In both Eastern and Western spiritual traditions, from the Abrahamic faiths to Buddhism to Taoism, everyone seeks freedom.  Anyone on a spiritual path seeks freedom from the snares of desire and material entrapments. What if our bodies and the world around us could ultimately lead us to the Divine, rather than distracting us from our spiritual goal?  We could enjoy the freedom to feel good and to do good, acting through and enjoying our physical bodies, without getting entangled and bogged down.  How do we reach such a state of detachment?

I looked up some Bible verses on this process of transcending the world, and saw that it was Jesus who said of himself and his disciples, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:16).  And then I read about the process of transforming our minds, something we do through spiritual practice and study: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). 

My spiritual practice and study are not only based in the Bible and Christianity, but also in yoga. In the book, The Heart of Yoga, there is a chapter entitled, “The World Exists to Set us Free.”  The author, T.K.V. Desikachar, describes a state of being called kaivalya, which is usually translated as isolation or detachment, a state freedom from worldly entanglements.  He calls it the ultimate goal of yoga, and the “inner state of freedom that yoga strives for” (pg. 111).  Reading about kaivalya, I thought immediately of the Christian concept of being in the world but not of it.  I then made the connection with the Buddhist concept of detachment.  I also thought of the Way of the Tao, and the transcendent nature of the spiritual path of Taoism.

All of these are ideas, intellectual constructs.  How do we reach the experience of transcendence?  There are many practices prescribed in yoga, and I do some of them, but what is most helpful for me as a Christian is to look at the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” so he not only talked about the Way, Jesus embodied the Way.  Jesus is the embodiment of transcendence.  He came to the world to show us how to be in it, but not of it. 

From the interfaith perspective, the truths taught by Jesus are universal.  His examples of humility, service and dying to the self are the essence of the spiritual life.  The goal of transcendence is consistent in every tradition: we must let go of earthly attachments, embrace humility, die to the egoic self and detach from the physical realm to gain mastery over it.  All paths describe the Way.  Jesus embodied it; many say that Buddha did as well, and Mohammed, and Krishna.  The distinguishing feature of Jesus’ embodiment was his literal death and resurrection.  How did he transcend the world? He died. Then he came back with complete mastery over the physical world and the body.  We are called to do the same if we follow his Way. 

Christians speak of the “sinful nature” we have as humans.  I think of it as the nature of our mind and body without the light of the soul.  This is how we speak of “sin” in yoga, though the words we use are different.  In yoga we think more in terms of obstacles to our mental clarity and spiritual connection. When we are deluded by our limited thoughts and the egoic self, our actions become unwholesome, or “sinful.”  To remedy this, we uncover the light of the soul through daily practice. 

In Christianity, we are also called to live out our faith day to day.  It is a faith of action, not simply the profession of a belief.  Our Christian faith, like all faith traditions, has transformation as an aim.  This is what it means to be born again, to become a new creature.  It is not an intellectual belief or confession of faith that saves us.  I can repeat that Jesus is my Savior until I am blue in the face, but saying it won’t transform me or anyone else.  Jesus didn’t say, “To be born again, say that I am Lord, and you’re good to go.” Instead he said, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life,” and “no one comes unto the Father but by me,” (John 14:6) and I understand that to mean, “You need to get on my path and walk it yourselves if you want to transcend this world and unite with the Divine.”  As Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Yogis or whatever we are, we need to get on the path and go, not looking back.  It is not in finding the Way that we transcend; we have to be the Way, ingest the Way, incorporate the Way, embody the Way… like Jesus.  We can do that while we are alive in this world; then we will truly be in the world, but not of it.

When we begin to transcend this worldly experience, we’ll know it.  We’ll feel lighter, freer, reaching the yogic state of kaivalya; a weight will be lifted off of us: “People in kaivalya behave like normal people, but they do not carry the burden of the world on their shoulders.  They live in the world, but they are not subject to it” (id.). This may be what Jesus meant when he said, “my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). He was probably not intimating that the effort it takes to follow his Way is easy, but instead that the fruits of that effort are lightness of being, peace of mind, and ease of existence.  When the veil is lifted, the burden is also lifted.  The heaviness of our egos, our limited selves and the constraints of the material world will no longer weigh us down once we transcend by dying to the temporal and awakening to the Eternal. 

When we are of the world, we hang onto the beliefs, behaviors and attitudes of the world, like “I, Me, Mine,” and “I am right and you are wrong.”  If we hold onto this way of thinking, we know we have not been transformed.  Many devout, religious people are living this way, simply hanging onto the old Way and repackaging it.  We can recognize this behavior in ourselves when we say things like, “ours is the only Way.”  This attitude originates from the old, egoic self, born of the world.  Jesus said we cannot come unto to the Father unless we follow his Way, integrating his Truth and imitating his Life.  He didn’t defeat death by saying, “I am the Lord.” He defeated death by dying and transcending.  The Resurrection is not about the distant hope of resurrecting in a new body after a simple, physical death.  It is about learning to do what Jesus did, and following his Way, now.  It is about letting go of old ways, now.  That is how we are born again, still living in this world, but no longer bound by it. 

I have a dream, to live in the world, transformed.  I want to be in the world but not of it.  I want to embody the Way.