Gaining Direct Access to the Divine
The great philosopher Socrates taught a very important lesson to the Greeks before they poisoned him. He showed them that there are two kinds of knowledge: that which can be learned and that which must be remembered. The latter is called "Socratic wisdom" and is based on one’s own natural knowing. Remembering your inner wisdom is a powerful way of drawing out your innate spiritual strength and personal confidence. (Perhaps Socrates should have remembered that powerful teachers are usually done away with by jealous rivals!) On a more serious note, when we can rely on our own inner resources and be open to external sources, we have the best of both worlds. Where, then, within us is this innate wisdom located? Using the Socratic method, let me ask you a question. Do you have a sense of, or have you ever accessed, a place within you that holds such wisdom? If you have, where was it located? In your heart of hearts? Just beyond the confines of pride and arrogance, perhaps? Or maybe within the midst of your intuition? Many find their inner wisdom through dreams or creative venues. Others locate it through love, joy, faith, or worship. We are often delivered to its doorstep when we experience painful lessons of loss, grief, or devastation. No matter how we arrive, there is within us a place I call the altar within. It resides in a secret chamber buried deep within the landscape of our psyches. It’s a kind of ethereal hall or gallery where the many faces of life converge like a cadre of old souls. Imagine for a moment that such a place exists within you. Create it however you like, but in the center of the gallery, imagine your own altar within. It is here, in this sacred space, that the two dimensions of body and spirit unite. The altar within is a kind of portal between our individual selves and the unbounded domain of the divine. It’s the bridging point where we can gain direct access to Spirit. In order to provide us with direct access to the divine, the altar within must posses a paradoxical nature. It has both mortal and immortal characteristics at the same time, a kind of ethereal interface between the realms of the finite and the infinite. The closest concept we have to this phenomenon is the word "soul." Where the definition breaks down, however, is in how religious institutions of the past have characterized it. Rather than promoting the soul as a dynamic passageway that is both mortal and immortal, they deemed it only mortal, and thus it became known as a vulnerable possession that needed protection from the evils of the world. Extracting the immortal aspect of the soul rendered it useless as a way to directly access the divine. This redefinition cut off the flow of inner wisdom and forced the bearer to seek external access. It’s like removing the nozzle on the end of a garden hose so it can’t be attached to the spigot: no connection, no water flow. It’s as simple as that. Religious orders of old were not the only entities bent on directing us to look outside ourselves for salvation. Our current-day education systems, government, institutions, and family dynamics all reinforce the notion of complying with external authority. We are much more likely to be told what to think than we are to be taught to think for ourselves. It’s important for a society to have compliance and regulations, but when it’s the only means of instruction, its members tend to lose their ability to rely on themselves for strength and guidance. Not only does our society avoid teaching us the value of seeking wisdom within, it subtly condemns it. Expressions of inner wisdom such as intuition, spontaneity, and spiritual inspiration are mocked in media-based commercials and dismissed as psychic mumbo-jumbo by most of the academic community. It’s not solely the fault of societal structures that shape our need to externalize, however. A large portion of the general public has the need to be told what to do; they prefer to follow others than to lead the way in their own lives. Spiritual teachers and many progressive spiritual movements of the day are supporting people in locating the origins of the divine within, yet many congregations still opt for worshiping the messenger rather than heeding the message. Thankfully, there are a growing number of individuals and organizations committed to discovering direct access to the divine. People on the path of spiritual enrichment are learning how to rely on their own resources to make contact. Contrary to popular belief, the advancement of technology may actually support this trend. The accelerated rate of change in our lives is forcing us to find new ways within ourselves to cope with the barrage of demands that hit us. Most people today don’t have the time or the patience to comply with complicated daily rituals or lengthy disciplines. What we need is user-friendly, DSL-speed access to the divine. This kind of rapid access is only possible through establishing it within ourselves. We must shift our attention away from those who are telling us what to believe and toward the interior pathway that leads to the altar within. Gaining direct access to the divine requires three simple — but not easy — steps. First, you must do the journeywork needed to locate the sacred chamber hidden deep inside you. This can be accomplished through dream interpretation, creative storytelling, exploring intuitive road signs, or embracing emotions such as sadness or loss until they lead you to humility. Once you find your way there, the sacred chamber is but a mere step away. Second, you enter the sacred chamber by surrendering your willfulness and need for control. (I told you it wasn’t going to be easy.) You can do this by opening your heart and realizing that you don’t have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. It requires an admission that there is a power greater than you that can help you deal with the challenges of living your life. Third, you enter the sacred chamber and step up to the altar within and actually offer your burdens to the divine. It is here that you engage in communion and allow the divine to work through you. The divine is designed to take your burdens of pain, judgment, sorrow, and resentment and give you in return grace, joy, and resilience. All you need do is be willing to give up what you’ve been carrying so you may be filled newly over and over again. Traveling the path to the altar within again and again throughout your life ensures that you remain unburdened, enlightened, and spacious. What if gaining direct access to the divine were actually as easy as I am suggesting? All you have to do is find the altar within and try it out for yourself. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed. And even if you are, well then, just let that be the first burden you offer to the divine! Val Jon Farris is the award-winning author of Inca Fire! Light of the Masters, a true and inspiring spiritual adventure story. For event details in your area, or to purchase the book, go to <http://incafire.com/> or call toll-free (877) 462-2347. |
When you need spiritual guidance or become confused about your life path, where do you turn? If you are like me, you probably seek support from your circle of friends, your community, church, or support networks. Relying on these external sources is a blessing, yet there is an important caveat to keep in mind. If you want counsel, there are many who can offer it, but if you seek the truth of your own inner wisdom, you won’t find it outside of yourself. The most an external source can do is provide you with a mirror, a reflection of your inner landscape, so you can better find your own way to the wisdom that resides within you.