Fairy tales ... myths ... epic sagas of feats performed by brave adventurers ...
These familiar and dear stories, with all their fantastic details, exert spells on us again and again, generation after generation. Regardless of the circumstances of our life, they talk to us, they attract us, they drag us because they really are our own history. Through symbolic metaphors, they describe you, me and our heroic deed: a journey in which we are separated from our Source and forced to expand through experience, overcome temptations, clear deception and master the defects of our character, until we return home, clarified.
These stories usually begin by presenting a common boy, perhaps something silly or a noble young man who, however, must demonstrate his temper. Very often he is the youngest of three brothers and, therefore, the most innocent, naive and full of optimism. Our protagonist leaves home to break through the world and seek fortune.
Many times he begins his deed in order to give some help to the father, just as we incarnate to help the expansion of the soul.
In "The bird of fire", the favorite story of the Russians, Prince Ivan, youngest son of the king, leaves in search of the Firebird, who has stolen golden apples from his father's garden. Like almost all the protagonists of these stories (and almost all incarnated beings), the search begins quite simply, but soon their actions involve him in a series of dangerous adventures. The prince arrives at a crossroads indicated by a stone, whose inscription reads: "Forward to look for a wife, to the left to be killed and to the right to lose your horse." Thinking that it is not yet time to look for a wife and with no desire to die, turn right.
Later, upon waking from a nap, he discovers that his horse has disappeared. A gray wolf admits of having devoured his horse, but offers to take his place, take the prince on his back and act as a faithful servant.
The wolf takes the prince to the Firebird and warns him that he should only take the bird, but not his golden cage. Prince Ivan cannot resist the temptation to take the cage; an alarm sounds and they catch it. The king, owner of the Firebird, demands that the prince bring, in exchange for his freedom, the bird and the cage, to the horse of golden mane.
The prince's dilemma runs parallel to what happens when the soul makes its way through the dangers of the incarnation. Each necessary experience inevitably creates consequences or karma that must be resolved; for a long and tiring time there are furious battles in dangerous regions and difficulties appear that must be mastered so that the incarnated part of the soul, like the wanderer of the story, can return home.
Prince Ivan leaves, then, in search of the horse, not his harnesses of gold. But the prince cannot resist the temptation to take the hardships, an alarm sounds and the furious king, owner of the horse, demands that the prince, in exchange for his freedom, the horse and his golden harness, Ivan bring him the Beautiful Helena to marry her
Each of these challenges equals the high price paid for the experiences of the soul on the earth plane. These experiences produce consequences, karma that, like the task facing our prince, must be faced and overcome, under penalty of interrupting all progress. Many attempts by Prince Ivén, many lives by the soul, may be necessary to overcome these challenges.
In most of the mythical stories, our protagonist is tempted, caught, challenged; He faces and overcomes various difficulties and, therefore, he is gaining experience, confidence and maturity, until he becomes a hero, a true superman.
But increasing his powers also increases his reckless arrogance. At the top of his strength he falls into a trap or suffers a wound such that his immense strength and courage to save him are not enough. He has achieved so much and overcome so many things, to finally find himself completely unarmed. This is the case with Prince Iv n.
After having stolen not only the Firebird, but also the horse and the Beautiful Helena, thanks the wolf for all his help, without paying attention to his warnings that he can still ransfotar help. Ufano in his confidence, on the way back home he decides to stop to rest. While he and Bella Helena sleep, his two brothers pass by and, seeing him with the Firebird, the golden horsehair horse and the Bella Helena, they decide to kill him; one seizes the horse and the bird; the other, from Bella Helena.
Prince Ivan lies dead on the plain for ninety days, until the wolf sees his corpse and bribes a raven to bring him the waters of death and life. With the waters of death heals the wounds of the prince. With the waters of life, revive him.
"If not for me, " says the wolf, "you would have slept forever."
And so the wolf, that powerful being who has accompanied the hero from the beginning of his journey to the end, watching him, guiding him, allowing him to be punished and tempered by defeat To finally restore his health, he takes him to his father's house and to the treasures that are the gift of his deed.
All these stories describe our journey through incarnation on the earth plane, under the guidance of the soul. Esoterically and msthetically, the soul is considered feminine. The marriage of the hero with the beautiful maiden or princess represents the closing of the cycle, by uniting the seeker with the soul.
From naive innocence, through tests of courage, to wisdom and perfection, the hero's journey is our journey. It is understood, then, that we never tire of these ancient legends of the brave traveler who, after dangerous expeditions in distant lands, where he faced enemies, losing and winning battles, returns home victorious.
THE PURPOSE OF UNCERTAINTY
While we are incarnated, one of the great challenges is not knowing where we are going, much less if we will arrive or not. At this point of critical juncture in which we are more introspective and more sensitive to our own and others' sufferings, we must constantly fight, not only with those difficult external conditions we face, but also with all our inner doubts and fears.
You may wonder why everything should be so difficult. The process would be much more efficient if the tasks were assigned to us and we could fulfill them directly. Why add to our burdens the mystery, the blind search for direction? Why are we not allowed to know?
In such periods many of us seek the advice of psychics, astrologers and skilled people in the art of divination. Whether or not these consultations are correct and useful depends on several factors: the psychic's ability and the degree of refinement he achieves that day; of the energetic understanding between our Guides and those of the psychic (because in a good reading, what our Guides can communicate to those of the psychic is what this translates to us); that the spiritual development of the psychic can be adapted to the spiritual material that is communicated to us; that some part of the reading makes us feel threatened to the point of distorting or ignoring it, and finally, whether or not it is the right time for us to know more, to comfort ourselves with the promise of better things to come, or that we should Continue in the dark for some more time.
When we seek a clearer understanding of the plans our soul has for our current incarnation, when we want to better understand and collaborate with the will of God, we are exercising the only valid reason to study the occult sciences or to consult those who do. But when we try to use psychic gifts and hidden powers, our own or others, to allow ourselves a whim, we are using black magic and we risk delaying our illumination, instead of facilitating it. And we must remember, of course, that the ability and ethics of psychics varies greatly, as among members of any other profession.
In this aspect of life, as in all others, we must use discernment when we consult someone about our destiny and future. But we must also recognize that there are times when no one, no matter how gifted he may be, can help us see what is coming, because the hopes and fears that operate upon us and deepen our character and deepen our consciousness are needed.
If you eliminate the anxiety caused by not knowing the result of a certain situation, all your motivation also disappears. We pay a very high price in the emotional aspect by not knowing if a given situation will end as we wish or as we fear. But knowing it in advance also costs a price: the leveling of our emotions, since the euphoria of hope, expectation and the strong impulse of desire lose their importance. When we already know the result of any challenging situation, nothing spurs us to strive and grow. In reality, that can no longer be considered a challenge. It is simply a fact to live.
Now imagine that, in addition to knowing the outcome of the game, you also know if you will get the scholarship and what your life will be like in future, in every detail, including the circumstances of your death. Your whole life is like a book already read. Thus there will be no unpleasant blows, but no happy surprises: only a display of events in sequence, over the years ...
Do you perceive the weight of that knowledge? Do you see how it would deprive all joyful occasions of effervescence to know, in advance, that after that twinkling step it would be your turn to trample the next misfortune?
No: we must move forward through life blindly or not move forward at all, because if we knew we would resist. We would try to avoid painful episodes, avoid difficult relationships, prevent catastrophes. And that would be tantamount to dodging, avoiding and preventing our own evolution, caused precisely by those experiences and the changes that we should assume to accommodate them.
Every hero is because he faces the unknown with courage until, after great efforts, it ends up prevailing. Sometimes he has a magic sword or a fabulous steed that gives him extra help in his battle against ogres and dragons. We can also use all the useful tools we find to gain strength: prayer and meditation, a spiritual discipline, inspirational literature, the support of a group of peers who are dealing with problems similar to ours.
And we can remember that, in all our struggles with life, in all our battles with doubts and fear, even when we believe we are failing, every attempt to find the way makes us grow spiritually and proves our heroism.
THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT OF BIRTH TO DEATH
The whole process of moving forward and returning home is demonstrated, in the micro-cosmos, in the development of the human being during a single life.
We are born and spend the first period of life focused mainly on mastering our physical vehicle. As we gain greater skill, we transfer our attention to the wider world, with its temptations, opportunities and challenges. We feel the power of our developing personality and begin to make decisions, to act. With the development of the consequences we gain experience.
However, the process leaves its mark. Along the way we suffer bumps, cardinals and also some deep wounds, both in the physical body and (most importantly) in the deep levels, where emotions and thoughts dwell. These bumps, cardinals and wounds are an inevitable and even necessary part of the experience of life, a rich source of learning, understanding and growth.
But the pain and the scars that accompany them always cause some degree of deterioration and even paralysis of the affected areas. Any deterioration suffered, whether physical, emotional or mental, unless it is cured, tends to last a lifetime, often becoming more rigid, fixed and petrified over time.
At a later stage of life comes a point of reorientation. As our physical body begins to fail, the attraction of the outside world to us decreases. Every time we turn more inwards or, if you prefer, upwards. We begin to deal with what we usually call spiritual interests.
Often there is a deep need to find meaning in life and also to tie up some loose ends, heal old gaps and enmities, discard old grudges and seek reconciliations. To replace our previous appetite for more numerous and extensive experiences is a desire for peace, both internal and external, and to eliminate everything that prevents that peace, including finally the physical body.
HOW DO WE DESIGN AN INCARNATION?
Every incarnation has roots in what has happened in the past, but especially in the immediately preceding episode in earthly life. Through our countless early incarnations, the main purpose of our existence here is to accumulate experience of the physical plane. Later we assume incarnations in order to understand and, if necessary, cure what has been experienced.
Every time, when we die, we leave the physical body, there is a review of the life just finished. Those who have experienced momentary death experiences describe this review of life as an objective review, free from the dictates of personality. In this way, we can identify with the help of our Guides, who are generally our own incarnations finished acting under the direction of our soul, what we will have to devote ourselves to next.
It helps us to isolate the three main conditioning factors that will define the essence of our next incarnation. We establish the necessary circumstances for the next mission and conceive the design of the physical, astral and mental vehicle with which we will execute it. This is like deciding, at the end of a school year, what courses we will choose when we return to studies and make sure we have the necessary equipment.
The first of these conditioning factors is the nature of the physical environment in which we will incarnate below. We all recognize that the general culture, the social environment and the position, hobbies and activities of the family in which we are born exert a powerful influence on our development. Also, if we understand that this field of experience is chosen before the incarnation, because it provides the required foundation for the tasks we have set ourselves, we will understand that we have not been victims or favorites of Destiny. On the contrary, we are in the medium required to address the goals of this incarnation.
The second determining factor is the degree of refinement and the strong and weak points of the physical body. Esoterically it was taught that the physical factor of every incarnation is the physical body, its nervous system. We choose the body that best suits the work of each life. The nervous system of each one, which makes us interpret the world in a proper and ransforstic way, deeply structures each one of our experiences and, therefore, our general vision of life. Natural skills determine our line of least resistance, leading us to accentuate the activities and hobbies that are easy for us, while our weak points impede other companies.
The third factor is the composition of the astral or emotional body, which determines what and who is going to attract us and, at the same time, who and what we will attract. This emotional body is linked to our perceptions of the world around us through the nervous system. The physical senses of touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight interpenetrate the environment in a way conditioned and tightened by the emotional body.
In the same way that the emotional body affects, by way of the nervous system, the way we experience each dimension of fear, in turn the environment is affected by each dimension of our being in its totality Although we are not aware of the fact, human beings perceive each other as complete packages of energy. Each plane of our aura, each one of our subtle bodies, responds to the corresponding energy dimension of another person. And these answers are emotional.
Through the attractions governed by the emotional body we seek and are sought by those with whom we have matters pending of certain existence or, perhaps, from life to life: they are those who form our karmic group. This group may or may not include our family of origin, but always includes people with whom we have important links, capable of changing our lives.
THE EXERCISE OF THE FREE WILL
Thus we come into existence on the physical level with something similar to an agenda, for which we have prepared through previous experiences in previous stocks. This agenda is expressed in our environment and our physical, emotional and mental equipment. Actually, it is during the period between two incarnations that we most exercise our free will, because that is when we determine, with the help of our Guides, the conditions and areas of accentuation. n for our next stay on Earth.
Throughout a given existence, each of our available choices exists within these previously determined parameters, which, in turn, result from the history of our past incarnations. We must always work with what we have been, as we evolve into what we yearn to be.
MORPHOGENETIC RESONANCE AND CURE CYCLES
When the time comes to return to the earth plane, the soul composes the mental and emotional bodies for the next incarnation, from a matter that expresses the vibratory gradations present in those bodies at the end of the last incarnation.
As it is very rare that we do not learn something from each stay here and as we always carry with us everything achieved, it is certain that we will evolve instead of getting involved. What has improved has its energetic components in those emotional and mental bodies, as well as everything that remained blocked or distorted at the time of death.
Again, the situation looks like a school. Everything we have already learned is automatically part of us and we must concentrate on what we must learn next. We literally embody our following lessons, for everything that must heal in the past has its energy equivalent in one or the other of our present bodies. Moreover, everything that remains distorted in us will attract more of the same. This occurs because similar energy fields attract each other, using a principle that Rupert Sheldrake called “ransform resonance. cas ”.
To express this in another way: we attract our karma and our karma attracts us. Automatically the people, the facts and the circumstances that are adapted or reflect our distortions, are attracted to our energy field and, thus, shape our life experience. Through these transactions, called “healing cycles, ” we are given the opportunity to improve or, if we resist, to get worse.
HOW CURE CYCLES WORK
Let's get better, let's get worse, each of these transactions constitutes a healing cycle, as it drives us through our distortion. And entering deeper into the distortion increases the possibility that we end up giving up and emerging.
This applies to all of us. During an incarnation, life is like a train on its tracks. We can decide when to stop, where and for how long. We can even choose to go back. But the direction our trip will take is fixed. The only real question is how quickly we will reach our destination.
Resisting healing is one of the few important free will options we have in an incarnation. While we resist, distortion or blockage will continue to grow, as it accumulates more and more energy linked with more and more experience.
With the passage of time (this sometimes requires entire lives, but the soul has all eternity) the same weight or mass of the distortion comes to apply enough pressure to force a change. We are finally exhausted and our obsession with money, material goods, power, fame, pride, vanity, victimization or whatever defeats us. When we collapse under the weight of obsession or deception, we are paradoxically returned to integrity, once we recognize ourselves defeated.
FALSE GODS AND HEALING CYCLES
The biblical exhortation "You will not worship other gods but me" refers to our relationship with our own soul. Everything that stands in the way of that relationship, everything we worship in its place, is a false god, an image that we generally drag from life to life and that has separated us from our higher nature, therefore, late or soon it must be destroyed.
Our emotional body will attract us, from a vast sea of strangers, to the most appropriate people and situations to help us move forward through our distortions.
Healing cycles reintroduce unresolved issues in previous lives, again and again, until discovery occurs. When consciousness is complete, it is no longer necessary to continue the healing cycles in a given direction.
Through the principle of attraction between peers in the energy plane, we have a basic exposition of personal, family and group karma in action.
WHAT DOES THE PAIN SERVE?
The soul gives us an alternative, knows what we need to experience and designs the physical, emotional and mental bodies that, together, will form our next vehicle for existence on the earth plane. These bodies make us attract the necessary experiences without conscious consent.
The soul also knows that, in the final analysis, although it may demand many lives, the value of the lessons we have learned and the awareness reached will far exceed the suffering suffered. In addition, suffering vanishes from memory, such as labor pains once the baby is born; otherwise, its lasting effects can be elaborated later, through healing cycles.
But, every progress of consciousness achieved during existence on the earth plane passes from incarnation to incarnation, for it accumulates in our subtle bodies. It can be easily re-stimulated in a subsequent incarnation, once we reach sufficient physical, emotional and mental maturity. This explains why much of our subjective learning contains a “! Aja!”: It is that we bring back to consciousness some truth that was already stored deep within oneself.
WHAT ARE THE INJURIES OF EVOLUTION?
Sometimes the wounds push us towards the path that the soul wants to make us take and that the personality resists. Another way of saying this is that a wound can create the pressure necessary for us to advance in a healing cycle.
In the current era, which confers so much attractiveness to psychic gifts, we tend to assume that any person endowed with these abilities must have a very high conscience. This is no more accurate than attributing a great spiritual evolution to those who have an innate gift for music, painting or higher mathematics. Any gift that makes us stand out (great beauty, talent, intelligence, athletic strength or whatever) is really a test. The greater the gift, the greater the challenge of using it responsibly, despite the opportunities and temptations to do otherwise.
ATTEND DEFECTS OF CHARACTER THROUGH THE WOUNDS
Wounds and character defects are closely related. Sometimes we suffer an injury due to a defect in character that brings us a certain type of people and facts. In other cases, the wound may not result from a character defect, but it is still a means of addressing and overcoming similar failures.
Let us analyze for a moment the opportunities provided by the various wounds to address particular character defects. If we feel lacking in love, for example, the real problem may be in our self-centered obsession, our demand that they pay attention to us. If we are disfigured, we may be learning to base our worth on something other than the physical aspect. If we suffer an economic disadvantage, we may be attending a deep-rooted habit of greed. Our lesson is, therefore, to learn to share what little we have, because sharing is the basis of healthy prosperity.
All these examples are simplified. In most cases, both the expression of our defects and the situations for which we must address them are very little personal. Do not go to think, for example, that all the poor are to be cured of greed. After all, judging others is also a character defect.
Since character defects develop and deepen over many lives, several incarnations may be necessary to make them virtues. But with the cultivation of each of these virtues our egocentrism is replaced by an attitude that takes into account the well-being of others. Developing this group conscience is one of the basic tasks faced by, sooner or later, every soul in individual incarnation. We inevitably attract the pressure and opportunities that allow us to do so.
DISCOVER THE TRUTH THROUGH TRAUMA
With regard to past lives, we must always remember that our only interstate valid is that of our current life. It contains everything that should interest us. Finding revelations about lives passed out of pure curiosity is, at least, a whimsical and totally unhealthy taste. It is necessary to deal with the issues, pressures and defects of character that one has in the present. Only when we have overcome character defects to some extent can it be useful for us to know the details of past lives that come to the case. Otherwise, it will serve no more than to distract us from our current challenges or as an excuse not to face them.
A pertinent spiritual law establishes that, when the right moment arrives, what we meditate we must know will be revealed without any effort on our part. It is prudent to trust that the soul will know how to choose the time and method to make these revelations. Much of what we attribute to chance, at random, is really the subtle work of the soul. Sometimes our recruitment comes from something as simple as a conversation between two strangers heard by chance. Other times we are reading a book or watching a movie and suddenly we see, we know. It may happen that, while we are dreaming, something moves in us and a grasp emerges that we could not express in words. But we are changed in some deep and irrevocable way.
Everything happens by chance, then? Is there nothing we can do to facilitate an essentially divine process?
We can ask, we can pray asking to understand our wound, its purpose, its lesson. We can pray for strength not to resist their teachings, because each time we refuse to deal with our character defects, they get worse instead of disappearing. Then another healing cycle is necessary.
Asking does not ensure that we receive an immediate response that is understandable to us. Nor is it a promise that the pain of the wound will disappear immediately. But if we ask humbly and seriously, we move towards the gift of our wound and our own enlightenment.
OUR SOUL
ADVERSITY ACCORDING TO THE VISION OF THE SOUL
Wherever we see adversity, the soul sees the opportunity for healing, expansion and enlightenment.
Carl Jung made a penetrating observation: The life of a person is characteristic of that person . Our dilemmas, our difficulties and problems, together with our way of dealing with them and solving them, define who we are, why we are here and what we are trying to achieve through existence on the earth plane.
Too often, personality judges individual value by social position, security and external signs of material triumph; The soul, on the other hand, provides clues to the individual's tempering through the tasks and challenges assigned to him.
We mistakenly believe that the goal is constituted by happiness, comfort, security and social position, but the soul has very different plans. She does not care about the suffering of the personality, but there is refining, strengthening and purification, so that the personality is worthy of fulfilling the purposes of the soul.
Every time we ask ourselves: "Why does this happen to me?", We must remember that happiness, comfort, security and social position do not purify, strengthen or refine.
Pero ser templado en el fuego a golpes de martillo, eso sí.
COMO SIRVE EL CUERPO A LA CONCIENCIA
Carl Jung presentó el principio de la sincronicidad para explicar las causas ocultas tras la coincidencia, el motivo de sucesos que, por lo general, atribuimos al azar, pero que parecen predestinados por su importancia. Con frecuencia experimentamos esos sucesos como hallazgos fortuitos: un acontecimiento casual que nos pone en contacto con oscuras fuentes de una información que necesitábamos mucho, por ejemplo, o el encontrar un viejo amigo después de años de separación.
Esotéricamente se enseña que toda enfermedad, toda herida, toda experiencia de sufri-miento sirve, en último término, para limpiar y purificar. Aunque no siempre entendamos con exactitud cómo se produce esto, si recordamos siempre esta enseñanza podremos comenzar a discernir algunos de los valiosos servicios que nos prestan nuestras dificultades.
Por ejemplo: una enfermedad o una lesión pueden proporcionar una puerta a la ransform.mación. En segundo término, el alma puede elegir una enfermedad o una lesión, no solo para curar algunos aspectos de la conciencia individual, sino para curar también un aspecto de la conciencia grupal más amplia. Cuando ocurre esto, lo que opera es lo que se conoce esotéricamente como ley del sacrificio. Cuando el sufrimiento de unos pocos sirve al bienestar oa la mayor conciencia de los más, opera la ley del sacrificio. Una enfermedad como el Sida es, por cierto, una demostración de cómo opera esta ley. Creo que toda víctima del Sida se puede ver desde esta perspectiva, como parte de un gran grupo de almas dedicadas, en esta encarnación, a expresar la ley del sacrificio, sufriendo a fin que avance la conciencia humana.
Un tercer modo por el que podemos beneficiarnos con una enfermedad, una lesión o un malestar físico se presenta cuando, faltos de sinceridad con nosotros mismos, tratamos de ignorar una circunstancia penosa en nuestra existencia. Los problemas del cuerpo pueden actuar como indicadores de nuestras evasiones psicológicas.
Toda situación difícil es una prueba; a medida que evolucionamos, lo mismo ocurre con nuestras pruebas: de situaciones que desafían nuestro valor físico pasamos a aquellas que someten a examen el valor moral, la integridad personal y la sinceridad con uno mismo. Ninguna de estas pruebas es fácil. Como preferiríamos ignorarlas o evitarlas, el malestar físico cumple dos propósitos: nos advierte que hay un problema sin resolver y hace que, si intentamos desoír la advertencia, las consecuencias sean lo bastante dolorosas como para contemporizar. Mediante los mismos síntomas que manifiesta, el cuerpo puede señalar lo que estamos tratando de negar.
COMO EL CUERPO SIRVE AL ALMA
La vida, nuestra vida, la que elegimos y diseñamos desde la perspectiva y la sabiduría del alma, nos planta en un rincón, y nos obliga a elegir, por ejemplo, que una mujer se entregue por entero a la profesión, o que renuncie para dedicarse a su familia, aunque su cuerpo corra peligro de no sobrevivir la decisión. La vida nos planta en un rincón y fija apuestas muy, pero muy altas: vida y muerte, amor y respeto, nuestros amados hijos o la profunda vocación; luego nos obliga a elegir.
¿ Y con qué contamos para que nos guíe en nuestra elección ¿ Por una parte está la presión de las normas sociales y las propias conformadas por la necesidad y los tiempos en que vivimos. Por la otra, nuestro corazón nos exhorta:”Esto por sobre todas las cosas: se leal a ti mismo “.
Esta prueba es la esencia misma de la existencia en el plano terrestre. Estos aprietos y dilemas, que los esoteristas llaman “fuego por fricción”, crean presiones con las cuales pulen nuestros puntos toscos para dejarnos, por fin, puros y brillantes, aunque no necesariamente en el curso de una sola vida. Se trata de un proceso largo, muy largo, y mientras nos encontramos inmersos, rara vez apreciamos sus efectos refinantes. Sólo sabemos que estamos sufriendo y envidiamos a los que no padecen así, pensando que, de algún modo. Deben de llevar una vida más correcta, y, por lo tanto, reciben más bendiciones. Tanto en lo individual como en lo social, ¿no tendemos acaso a reconocer más crédito espiritual a quienes viven en forma pulcra y ordenada, y los creemos mejores que nosotros que luchamos con nuestras diversas aflicciones?
Nos acercaríamos más a la verdad de la situación si recordáramos que la vida, en este plano terrestre, es un aula; a medida que uno avanza en la escuela, las tareas se tornan más complicadas. Todos los grados son necesarios para nuestro desarrollo último. Cada uno es un desafío cuando estamos en este nivel, pero en cuanto lo dominamos, debemos pasar al siguiente. Ninguno de nosotros querría permanecer en segundo grado, una vez aprendido todo lo que tenía para enseñar. Más tarde, en medio de cada nuevo desafío, olvidamos que nosotros mismos lo elegimos así.
Tal vez el cuerpo está más en sintonía que nosotros mismos con nuestras elecciones. Se rebela cuando nos alejamos demasiado de lo que nos conviene. Y paga el precio por las tensiones que nuestras elecciones engendran. Al hacer lo que le exigimos y, paradójicamente, aun en sus rebeldías, el cuerpo es el sirviente del alma.
Cuando no pude recuperar la movilidad, después de mi operación de rodilla, aprendí una nueva manera de relacionarme con mi cuerpo. Como los ejercicios recomendados no me servían de nada, decidí en cambio tratar mi cuerpo como a un caballo querido: con suavidad, amabilidad y reconfortándolo. Interrumpí todos los tratamientos que me resultaban dolorosos, me liberé del enojo y la impaciencia por el hecho que mi cuerpo no respondía como yo deseaba y lo toqué sólo con amor. Todo esto requería una disciplina constante, pues yo siempre había contado con él sin darle importancia, muchas veces lo obligaba a hacer mi voluntad, aunque respondiera con dolor. Según adquiría un nuevo respeto y apreciación, tanto por mi cuerpo como por lo que me enseñaba esa lesión, la rodilla comenzó a curar lentamente.
En San Francisco, el libro de Kazantzakis, el santo considera el cuerpo físico como un animal de carga que, no obstante, tiene necesidades propias. Cuando Leo, su compañero, se avergüenza de admitir que tiene hambre, Francisco lo insta gentilmente a comer:” Alimenta a tu borrico”.
Alimenta a tu borrico con la comida adecuada y buen descanso. Trátalo con respeto. Ofrécele amor y gratitud por todos los servicios que te presta. Y no olvides escuchar con sabiduría.
ALMAS JÓVENES Y ALMAS VIEJAS
El viaje que nos aleja y nos regresa a nuestra Fuente es un largo proceso de etapas y ciclos, cado uno diferente de los otros.
Así como una persona joven y otra madura asumirán, sin duda, enfoques diferentes del mismo problema, también el alma que llamamos “joven”, en el Camino hacia fuera, y el “alma vieja” en el Camino de Retorno, reaccionarán ante situaciones y condiciones similares de manera notablemente distinta.
Como alma joven que busca la experiencia necesaria, con frecuencia tendemos a iniciar y perpetuar las dificultades, mediante una postura combativa o una empecinada determinación de imponernos. Así debe ser, pues estamos desarrollando el valor físico y la integridad personal que ejercitamos por su propio valor, y aprendiendo a defendernos solos.
Ponemos un fuerte acento en las palabras “yo”, “mío”, “a mí”. Lo que tratamos de alcanzar es, ante todo, para nuestro yo personal; más tarde esta esfera puede extenderse a “mi” esposa, “mis” hijos, ”mi” familia, “mi“ comunidad, ”mi” país. Ejercemos el poder por el poder mismo y en beneficio personal. Podemos actuar como soldados heroicamente valerosos, pero como civiles nos enredamos en problemas con la autoridad, por nuestras reacciones agresivas ante quien se nos oponga.
Esta perspectiva egocéntrica de lo que afecta a nuestra vida personal, ya sea el armamento nuclear o el ladrido del perro vecino, es en un todo adecuada para el Camino hacia fuera y abre paso al desarrollo subsiguiente. Después de todo, a fin de practicar la verdadera valentía moral debemos haber desarrollado primero la valentía física. Y en términos de desarrollo psicológico, debe existir un yo para poder trascender el yo.
Cuando estamos en el Camino hacia fuera la vida es muy diferente de cuando nos acercamos al Punto de Integración, más diferente aun, cuando avanzamos por el Camino de Retorno. Cualesquiera sean las circunstancias exteriores, en las primeras etapas del viaje la vida es una aventura caótica y dramática, que evoca fuertes reacciones físicas y emocionales de todo tipo. Dominar el cuerpo físico, aumentando su fuerza y perfeccionando sus habilidades, es una preocupación común. Pero nuestro dominio consciente de las emociones es muy inferior al que tendremos en un punto posterior del Camino. Como aún no hemos desarrollado bien las habilidades mentales, generalmente nos sentimos más felices dedicados a las tareas físicas que a los emprendimientos intelectuales.
Cuando se llega al Punto de Integración, ya no se vive mediante la reacción, sino mediante la acción lograda utilizando el pensamiento racional y el control consciente. Hemos desarrollado la capacidad de concebir metas y llevarlas a cabo mediante un planeamiento deliberado. Estamos logrando ascendiente en la vida, percibimos nuestro poder y eso nos intoxica.
En esta etapa de la evoluci n, el reconocimiento nos resulta muy importante. Es en el Punto de Integraci n donde tenemos m s probabilidades de ser reconocidos por nuestro poder, logros e influencia. La mayor a de quienes aparecen en los diarios (pol ticos, gente de la industria del espect culo, l deres de movimientos) est n en el Punto de integraci ny ejercen su gran poder para el bien o para el mal. En la fuerte personalidad que caracteriza a quien est en el Punto de Integraci n hay siempre dos rasgos presentes. La obstinaci ny el egocentrismo.
La obstinaci n es el convencimiento de que nuestro punto de vista es el adecuado, junto con una gran decisi n de alcanzar nuestros fines. El egocentrismo es la preocupaci n por nuestra condici n de inigualables y la exigencia de que otros noten y aprecien esa condici n. Con frecuencia, esta exigencia de ser reconocidos como personas especiales es lo que, tarde o temprano, provoca las pruebas y las dificultades que acaban por reconciliarnos con nuestra alma. Y a medida que renunciamos poco a poco a la obstinaci ny el egocentrismo, giramos en la esquina de la evoluci ny comenzamos a recorrer el Camino de Retorno.
Una vez que se escucha y atiende la llamada del alma, cambian todas las reglas para vivir. Tras haber internalizado, con gran esfuerzo, normas y gu as para vivir efectivamente, ahora descubrimos que ya no nos sirven. Esto se debe a que, en el Camino de Retorno, nuestra tarea ya no es desarrollar la valent af sica, como lo era en el Camino de Afuera, ni pensar, planificar y ejercer el poder, como en el Punto de Integraci n. En vez de trabajar para lograr las metas de la personalidad, debemos utilizar nuestro poder, valerosa y reflexivamente, para servir al grupo, gui ndonos por el contacto consciente con un Poder Superior.
En el Camino de Retorno enfrentamos igual n mero de desaf os, tanto externos como internos; pero ahora todo problema requiere una soluci n que tome en cuenta el bienestar de todos, no s lo el propio bienestar o el de nuestro grupo personal. Al identificarnos con toda la humanidad, el acento supone un abarcamiento mayor, que comprende todos los aspectos y no adopte posiciones dogm ticas a favor ni en contra, por muy noble que pueda ser la causa. Ahora estamos dispuestos a ceder, a comprender, a perdonar y, por encima de todo, a servir. Son m s importantes las metas del alma que las de la personalidad.
Desde el Camino hacia fuera hasta el Punto de Integraci ny por el Camino de Retorno, la f rmula de todo el proceso de la evoluci n humana se podr a expresar as :
Falta de Control Control Consciente Rendici n Consciente
Reaccionar ante la vida Actuar en la vida Servir a la vida
Para quien est en un punto del Camino, los valores, creencias y actos de otra persona que esté en un punto diferente pueden parecer incomprensibles y hasta insostenibles. Sin embargo, una vez que el individuo ha avanzado lo suficiente por el Camino de Retorno (punto que muy pocos han alcanzado) se logra la verdadera tolerancia. Así como el adulto acepta que el niño tiene una comprensión y una capacidad limitadas por su falta de desarrollo, así la persona que está en un punto avanzado del Camino de Retorno respeta y honra las actitudes y conductas de otros viajeros, que aún no han avanzado tanto a través de tantas vidas.
¿A dónde voy y cuando llegaré?, El poder del karma por Alexiis Salvador
