Greetings all,
I hope your transition from autumn into more wintery weather is going smoothly. I've been toying around with some things that have come up in conversation and discussion with folks and thought that it would make a good topic to write about.
In spiritual communities there is a great amount of attention given to the idea of mastery. I myself have been caught up in it from time to time. From a young age I wanted to achieve some form of spiritual mastery. I built up quite an identity around being the "spiritual" one in the group. I wanted to transcend all my limitations and break free of my circumstances. It's not that I don't still want some of that, but I have come to realize that the idea of mastery that most people are looking for or talking about is bull shit.
I wanted to become a Master of Metaphysics in order to escape my problems. I even was able to do that with a few of the minor issues. The fly in the ointment was that this search for mastery and perfection wasn't solving my big problems (it actually created a fair number of big ones on its own), it was just an avoidance scheme. I was wanting to magic my problems away. Real magic doesn't work that way. It takes work and the way it changes things is by first changing you. Wanting the world to change around you while you stay exactly the same is 'magical thinking' which is not the same thing as magic.
The other problem with wanting to achieve mastery is that when you state that to the Universe as your intended desire it will deliver onto you many teachable moments. If you survive those (I emphasize the if) it will continue to shower upon thou most holy one, more and more of these opportunities. Which is why several years ago I decided this whole mastery idea was crazy. Maybe some folks are called to it, but I sure as hell am not one of them. I have instead adopted the idea of growth. I am no longer striving for mastery, only to be better than I was. I no longer petition to be a master, just to be part of the solution.
Why am I telling you this? Well I have had clients come to me looking to do the same thing as I was (the thing that almost put me in the ground prematurely). What I discovered from a few quick questions is that what they wanted was a solution to their problematic situation. The mastery track just looked like the quick fix or it was the, "I'm tired of all this crap and don't want to have to deal with the hassles of life but don't want to die therefore I should become an incarnate all powerful being." It's a bit extreme if you ask me, and most folks in a society tend to respond with either strait jackets or torches to deal with folks approaching that level.
So how about you? Are you focusing on spiritual perfection when you should be focusing on learning a problem solving skillset? Are you turning inwards, only to tune out the world? Are you looking towards becoming a shining avatar, while your issues sit festering in your unloved and unacknowledged shadow? Well maybe you should throw out the idea of mastery with the fad diet books that promise quick results without effort. If you are truly called to ascend beyond the personal self, well then go for it. Just make sure you aren't doing it in a mad dash to outrun your issues. They will catch up to you. You can't outrun your shadow, and should the focus of the light change it will be before you larger than ever. You don't have to be perfect, to be of service, to be worthy of love, or to justify your life. You just have to be you in the best way you can manage right now. Take it from one mastery drop out to another. You matter, just as you are.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
