| It’s All Happening!— the Quieting of Spiritual Madness | 1 comment |
 10 Apr 2008 @ 17:13, by David Bartholomew[excerpted from DoingIt!, August, 2006] I happened to watch “Almost Famous” a couple weeks ago-- for the first time since I saw it in the theatre-- and have had this nebulous phrase from the rock movie swirling around my head ever since— “It’s All Happening!” Then I got involved in this curveball of a friend’s temporary life-trauma. Add in some residual effects of recent conversations with Joan on the subject of spiritual madness… and some great and soothing synchronicity has congealed from the ethers. Joan and I speak regularly about this weird place we are in-- where we do all of this soul/energy/spirit work on behalf of ourselves, others, carnate and discarnate souls who might need it in whatever disjointed world they might be occupying… but may never know whether any of it might be having any effect. Maybe you can relate to this phenomenon of being called to pray, meditate, contemplate, send your love and your best to people and areas crying out for healing… and those tugs of the heart that question whether any of it is doing any good? How do you prove a negative? How do you know what might have happened had you not involved yourself, your thoughts and prayers? We have written a smidge about it within these pages and have commented on the delicate balance between thinking we are doing too much or not enough, and the quandaries that sometimes stem from the not knowing Spiritual madness, to whatever degree, kicks in as we work to strike that balance. Opening ourselves in faith to the following of guidance that has us doing all kinds of well-intentioned oddball stuff, and having to release any promise of feedback on, or reward from, what we are doing… can be a thankless proposition if that faith gets shaken the tiniest bit. Duh!-- It is exactly the not knowing that defines these as acts of faith. That is not to say that we can’t receive a little clue here or there to fortify our confidence in taking larger and larger leaps into the breach. An immense gift I received out of a friend’s dire situation recently, as well as another confirmation of-late, have my spiritual madness in check for the time being. I feel I have been fortified out of situations where I have been so within circumstances, and constantly being made aware of correlations between prayers and good intentions and their direct effects, that I hope the sharing of it all gives us each a greater foundation on which to build even greater spiritual successes. Common to these was that each person in need asked for help on his/her behalf. That is, each recipient was open to a challenge being eased. The most dramatic instance was of a dear friend, sober for 18 years and the most solid of an amazing group of healers I am privileged to be associated with, who for reasons still mystifying to himself, found himself at the dangerous end of a crack pipe for two weeks. From top of the world to the basement in no seconds flat. No rhyme or reason to it; no discernible trigger; just an area in which he has worked out things before, and apparently needed to resolve deeper layers at this time. He later explained the battle he felt raging between whatever got him there and the part preserving his essence… and the intangible that tipped the scales in his favor. In healing work on his behalf by this committed group, and with prayers and phone calls coming in from around the country and beyond, he was able to corroborate—in the third of these works at which he was in attendance, and from which he has gone on to the additional help he needs to put this behind—the power of the love and prayers he felt at each crucial passage. “There I was, among these guys, smoking every 15 minutes, for days straight. No food, no sleep. And, I don’t know what possessed me to leave my phone on! It was on vibrate. And I would listen to these calls… save them… replay them. Without them I would have still been down there.” “I am a testament to the power of love--your love-- and will remain an example of what is possible.” I have no doubt that this episode was contractual— contractually signed onto by all: this man, his wife, his family, and all those affected. It was intended that many rise and step past and through their greatest fears so that this healing could be achieved. I witnessed so many acts of strength and faith and honor and compassion through this protracted two weeks that I will not forget. Certain of these pivotal acts on his behalf got relayed to my friend, and these I truly believe made the difference. Courage is truly moving beyond one’s own fears… on behalf of another. And these courageous acts fueled his own. I know, from all this man has done in service for so many up to this point, and all I expect he will do beyond this upon his full recovery, that we were blessed to store his trial in memory for future reference. Although our challenges and dark nights of the soul may look different (and many of us who are working to invoke our light may experience tests of just how deeply we have anchored it within us), the recording of such heroic acts and rising above may well be our saving grace. Our own hand- or foot-hold to latch onto and pull ourselves out of our own mire. Another instance involved near miraculous recovery by the loved one of a member of a circle of shamans I have worked with over recent years. No less dramatic. Equal commitment on the part of well-wishers and the one in need; equal healing in the way it needed to play out. Hopefully such true tales can be retrieved now from your minds as you need the occasional reminder that… It’s All Happening! And you are DoingIt! as you allow that what you are doing… is it. |