Riding Your Spiritual Bicycle
Imagine you had a desire to learn something new - to ride a bicycle. You might wander down to your alternative bookstore and buy a book about bicycles to explore your interests. Or you might get excited and just buy a bicycle and put it in your living room. But when we are thinking about spiritual exploration and not just bicycles, something interesting may happen next. You meet someone who tells you about a book on the right way to ride a bicycle. You buy and read it. A magazine article mentions famous bicycle riders - more books and maybe a study workshop to hear how they rode so well. And of course there are famous makes of bicycles which are much more interesting than just a clunker bike - their performance is almost miraculous! Maybe you can go to India for a factory tour. Meet the bicycle guru! Buy a famous bike. And many vigorous debates with acquaintances about which brand is best, who is the greatest rider of all time, the correct riding style and technique, etiquette on bicycle holy days. There can be only ONE right answer. And as you hear of more books, teachers, videos, etc., you read and study hard to find the answer.
So far this sounds like any hobby where a person goes a bit (maybe more than a bit) overboard. But with all this mental churning, notice that the bicycle is still in the living room, unridden (or perhaps not even bought yet). Bicycle riding is an experience. Spirituality is an on-going experience, not a goal or destination. Both are learned by trying and doing, feeling unsure in the beginning.
If you find yourself searching for the right answer but not trying to learn to ride, this may be the appropriate path for you at this moment. But see if you smile when you imagine learning to ride a real bicycle in this fashion. Until you start trying to experience something rather than just study it, you will not know it. Or embody it.
Perhaps one common reason for postponing direct experience is an expectation that something "really" spiritual must be big, awesome, wow. I would suggest that is not the case. Start in the small things. Foremost, look into your heart instead of your head. For the heart is our center where the spiritual and physical meet. The center of compassion. And the center for healing. And of acceptance.
Can't find your heart? Find a group experience that will give you some practice. Look for something with a warm and open face, not a high pressure message. Sometimes meditation, movement, music or other groups offer far more. Many of the groups you are looking for don't advertise so ask around and check bulletin boards. One public activity is Dances of Universal Peace which offers very simple dances and chants from around the world. Fun and no need to be anything of a dancer. The Dances are offered around the country and internationally.
And if you nurture a belief that spiritual "abilities" come directly from study (if I study hard enough, I should be able to achieve what someone else has achieved), then you might want to listen to the broader, challenging perspective offered on Caroline Myss's tape "Spiritual Madness". In putting restrictions on what we are willing to accept from the universe, we limit our true gifts.
Each person's path is unique so there are no one-size-fits-all magic answers here. But the next time someone is intense about the RIGHT answer, think about riding bicycles.
Copyright 1998 by Richard P. Andresen, a practitioner of spiritual and energy healing located in Hinesburg, Vermont, USA. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/energyhealing This article may be freely reproduced as long as the author's name, copyright notice and website address are included.