Finding the Dove in the Stone

[feranaja]

I'm struggling a bit with how to phrase this, so if I need some focusing feel free to step in.

One of the leading concepts that guides my life is the concept of "the Little Way" - a life wherein the sacred is found in everyday, commonplace things and just living consciously is an act of spirit... and I think this is an aspect of the Perennial Philosophy, because I see traces of it everywhere, from the so-called Gnostic Gospels to the popular New Age books, like the one I took the name of this thread from, and many others. Here is a quote which expresses the idea nicely :

"What we are looking for on earth and in earth and in our lives is the process that can unlock for us the mystery of meaningfulness in our daily lives," writes Alice O. Howell. "It is the best-kept secret down through the ages because it is so simple. Truly, the last place it would ever occur for us to find the sacred would be in the commonplace of our everyday lives and all about us in nature and in simple things."


Alice Howell is a Jungian analyst and author of the Dove in the Stone, a beautiful little book that expresses the idea that everydaylife is filled with the numinous, in nature and in our lives, if only we train - allow? ourselves to see it. Over the past year, I began more and more to reflect on the times I was - not perhpas "happiest" in a mundane sense, but when my life was at it's spiritually richest, and not surprisingly it came to me that my time in Nova Scotia was probably it. NOw on a miundane level that was a terrible time - no money, one disaster after another and total isolation - so I can hardly say I was "happy"...yet looking back, the sheer simplicity of life, the gift of living in a rhythm with the elements, of just working, eating sleeping and contemplation - it was a beautiful experience in spite of its many difficulties, and my soul longs to return there and concentrate on art, magic, learning - life.

So here again is this tension between what we think will make us happy, what we believe will bring fulfillment - and what the soul really wants.

I'm reminded of a Quote from the Gospel of Thomas:

His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?" [Jesus said,] "It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying 'here it is' or 'there it is.' Rather, the kingdom of the father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it."


Again I see much in neo-Paganism that reflects this philosophy, that life itself is sacred, the earth and seasonal changes and phases of our lives should be re-sacralized and brought into attunement; this can be interpreted in a grandiose way or insuch a fashion as to promote the deep humility and gratitude that I think is at the heart of The Little Way...that releases the dove from the stone. So I'm not suggesting this idea is peculiar to any particular religion; I think it's part of the perennial philosop[y, and I can say for myself that the all achievements of the my mundane life have not brought me as much joy nor inisght as one day at the ocean, listening to the wind and waves, and being able to fully participate in the wonder of being alive.

It's important as we're discussing in the Solitude thread, that we who think this way don't use reclusiveness to avoid the challenges of human community. BUt the way things are it seems unavoidable, the Seeker can't really "fit in" but life becomes so difficult materially for those who need to live outside the box, many simply cannot manage it. WE all need resources to become who we want to, yet we also need - or at least many do - to live a more natural and spiritual life.

This is a link to a succinct description of The Little Way, which I have adapted to my own Paganism and whihc I feel offers a profound message and a lovely counterbalance to the inflation and grandiosity I once fell pray to in my Golden Dawn days.
http://therese.kashalinka.com/littleway/
The important thing here is not to equate this approach to spirituality with Catholicism, it's about simplicity, grace and awareness, at least that's how I see it...my own spiritual alchemy, releasing the dove from the stone..
feranaja

[m1thr0s]

There's actually a number of hexagrams that hit upon this theme.
In particular Hexagram #9 The Taming Power of the Small comes to mind:

http://www.cfcl.com/ching/ics/73.gif (http://www.cfcl.com/ching/P/09.73.shtml)

I understand all of this in principle, yet in practise it seems to be right next to impossible for me personally to let up on the struggle of life really. I think perhaps it is simply not my nature. I'm just not a "zen" personality type or something.

Even so, the whole idea can still be applied in other ways, by more or less aknowledging that every "little" thing matters in life...there is no such thing as an inconsequential part of anything really.

In this way you can at least attempt to integrate it all together...the small and the large...the simple and the grandiose. Life itself, afterall, builds from the very simple to the infinitely complex. How in that case can the simple be unimportant?

I think we tend to focus on that which we need the most. I am personally distrustful of philosophies of "surrender" on any level...so I don't buy all this best-kept-secret of the ages stuff so much...that all just sounds like a lot of marketing hype to me. But there is a balance in things that we all need to find, whether warrior spirits or not. Even warriors know the importance of maintaining a balanced perspective...at least the survivors among them do...

There's a kind of parallel in the game of chess that sort of applies to all of this. The most common error that amateur chess players make is "overextension" which has to do with getting fixated on the "grandiose" and neglecting to attend to the simple basics of proper positional play. More experienced chess masters all know that every little pawn move is vital to the "endgame" and there is no such thing as an isolated piece or action. To excel at whole-systems thinking, you must assign an equal value to everything.

m1thr0s

[feranaja]

You've expressed exactly what I'm aiming at here - I too am uncomfortable with surrender but the practise of awareness and attention are what enrich my life no matter what is going on externally.. this si what tends to be overlooked if one tends to focus on the future or on larger goals entirely...it's your phrase "keeping a balanced perspective" that I think is perfect, and I also suspect that my personal longing for a simpler life etc CAN be a bit of a cop-out, for many people looking to the New Age for answers or spiritual support I suspect it's the hype that attracts, when in fact the idea of paying attention and cultivating awareness is an old and quite straightforward one.


I think I just like the poetry of it, lol..
this is one of those books I keep by my bedside and opening it is like wrapping myself in a warm woolen shawl and curling up by a fire. I think the whole idea is so comforting becasue it provides a corrective to the prevailing notion that anything spiritual has to involve kundalini, trumpets or several months in a psych ward recovering from hallucenogenic mushrooms. It can be found more simply and with less upheaval.

fera

[m1thr0s]

You've expressed exactly what I'm aiming at hereoh good...I was afraid we might be at cross-purposes on this one. also it was very late and I was feeling very agitated when I wrote that for some reason not at all related to what you had written...

In principle you know the simple is a very alchemical sort of focus...kind of extrapolating the essence of things as much as you can in every little moment and situation etc. We know from life experience (if nothing else) that tremendous clues lay before us in the most unexpected of places and very often right before our eyes...if our eyes and ears weren't glued to some ridiculous "projection" of reality instead of seeing things "such as they are"...

m1thr0s