The Path to Truth
Episode 6 - Perils on the Spiritual Path
Greetings,
Now that we’ve dipped our toes into some myth, I wanted to use this week’s post to update you on where I am at the moment, psychologically and spiritually. Frankly, I have no idea but I’m discovering some very interesting things.
I’ve been on the so-called ‘spiritual path’ for over a decade now. I remember I first discovered it right at the onset of a very particular voyage I undertook at the beginning of my twenties, a decade ago. I didn’t know about ‘spirituality’ really, but I’d always had an interested in the fantastical, esoteric and magical.
And so it all started with the discovery of esoteric mysticism, lucid dreaming and astral projection. When I discovered that one could, apparently, detach oneself from the physical body and take flight into ethereal realms something just clicked for me. Something that said that there’s more to this world than meets the eye.
Fast-forward a decade of inner exploration, meditation, yoga and intense study of ALL possible Scriptures and self-help books that came my way (and the best literally came and were not sought), and I’ve realised that none of that actually mattered.
The Rites of Passage
It is said, in various traditions, both old and new, that there will come a point on anyone’s spiritual path when they must undergo a ‘rite of passage’. When the accumulated knowledge must be finally put into practice. By that point, it is said, you’ll likely be in freefall. As in, there won’t be a possibility of going back to a pre-spiritual mindset and, at the same time, the path forward leans dangerously close to insanity. To the loss of everything you thought you and the world are.
Saints and mystics have defines this time as ‘The Dark Night of the Soul’. Characterised by a period of intense agony and psychological pain unlike anything one could imagine.
I wrote more on this topic Here, if you’re curious.
I’ve been in that period for a long time now; it’s difficult to pinpoint when exactly did it start. But now, over the past week or so, I’ve been gaining a peculiar, powerful clarity. The pain isn’t gone and I’ve not achieved any sort of Nirvana, but the context of Reality itself is shifting.
And this shift is so massive, so unprecedented, that it completely turns everything on its head.
The Spiritual Path, above everything else, is not about lucid dreaming, mystical powers, channelling, gods&aliens or whatever. No, it’s about a relentless pursuit of Truth. Biblically, we could say that it’s a relentless pursuit of God in the sense that the two words are one and the same. In my understanding, they likely are, but ‘God’ is not some invisible entity you find, but a perspective. A realisation. A becoming.
In the past few months, this pursuit of Truth has taken centre-stage in my psyche. Nothing else comes close.
What I found
I will share some of what I find as we go along on this journey, but one thing that stands out is the insistence (in all major traditions, actually) that what is True is what is ultimately Good and also Real.
Untruth is falsehood, basically. Illusion. But what the hell does that even mean?
Practically, I think it means that if you pay close attention to whatever it is you feel within your body you’ll gain the clarity to make that distinction. Everything that is untrue will manifest as pain. And the more you cling to judging (and thereby running around like a monkey trying to fix it), the more you’ll suffer. Buddhism does state that all suffering comes from resistance, but it’s very difficult to practice that on a daily basis.
So the gist of it is: if you suffer or are dissatisfied with yourself or life in any way, you are grasping at something that isn’t True. You believe something, either about yourself or about the world, that isn’t True.
The more you dig into this, the more you’ll have to let go of concepts and beliefs about yourself and the world. The ones I’m facing now are foundational: that there is such a thing as a ‘you’ and a ‘world’. That the world is physical or material.
And lastly, that you are not already in Heaven.
Artist Spotlight
“The music it fades
The violin slows
The darkness it rises
As the sun goes
Love is a distant aroma at best
A withering smile that's stuck deep in your vest
At night air it wraps its fingers around
Your body it shakes from the now distant sound
Of the sound of her voice:
A sweet symphony
Played over and over until you are free.Well we shall not stumble, no we shall not fall
We shall not crumble, no we shall stand tall.
With death it will come as sure as the night
But we will not run, no we live but to fight.
Oh with blood on our hands and dirt on our knees
We'll tear at the ones who brought the disease.”
These wonderful lyrics are from a song called ‘Honor for All’, by Daniel Licht. This track is used as the credits theme for the end of the videogame Dishonored (2012).
That game is a masterpiece. One of the best I’ve experienced, and its themes, vibe and mood have greatly influenced and inspired my art. Mr. Licht has done an amazing job in creating a moody soundtrack that elevates the atmosphere of the game world and makes it distinct.
I like to think games, like movies and books, are basically trips. Like an invisible psychedelic trip without the psychedelic. Dishonored was one of the most memorable one I’ve had.
What good trips have you had?
More soon.
Blessings,
