Portia 22 January 2025

Whether facing the metaphorical death of constant change or the profound death of this lifetime, there are hidden wellsprings of knowledge and practices that can support our spiritual resurrection.

Inevitably, the soul’s attempts to capture our attention grow more insistent. The call to action becomes louder, often demanding a radical shift. Accepting this call is where the reward lies. Our stasis becomes synonymous with death; embarking on a pilgrimage signifies new life.

We need not fear life’s challenges and transitions. Each can be an initiatory rite-of-passage as we journey through dissolution, into the great mystery, and back to the world, carrying the gift of eternal life for others.

Within the labyrinth of the mind, everything is interconnected. Our entire personality must be transformed, and death inevitably leads to a triumphant rebirth.

Living mindlessly, we allow our habits of thought, feeling, and behaviour to define and betray us. The masks we wear and the walls we build for protection become our cage. These must be dismantled and expanded to include and integrate the disavowed and lost parts of ourselves – not just our traumas, but our strengths as well. This includes not only personal aspects from childhood but also trans-generational and ancestral trauma and wisdom housed in the collective unconscious.

Like the universe, we are an ever-expanding mandala. 

Life doesn’t become easier or more forgiving; we become stronger and more resilient. 

Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. 

Perhaps it’s the fear of losing something precious or the need to face something terrifying that forces growth.

We philosophise and theologise; we stretch minds, language, and imagination, but when we come to the spiritual experience, we go beyond logic and intellectualism.  There is nothing misty or vague in spiritual experience; we don’t regress to a primitive, superstitious, credulous state of mind; rather, we enter a state of stunningly luminous clarity and peace that beckons us to go beyond even that blessed state.

Today we buried Portia. In the satsung area, just past the beautiful rosewood tree. I loved her from the first moment I met her, as did many others. She stayed with us as long as she possibly could. Soon she will be in transition between two worlds, on the verge of discovering a greater purpose, while I, on my soul’s pilgrimage, come to terms with reclaiming a lost part of myself.

A faint aroma tickles my senses and brings in a wave of nostalgia. Grateful for this aroma, I inhale deeply, acknowledging the sense of peace and belonging it brings. And in the silence, I hear the birds sing... melodious, unfettered...as we are called to be...

...and I am grateful... for this moment, for the present and the past... Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happy to awaken from the current trance and live every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.