Knowledge and Experience
Watching my five-year-old
son unfold is like watching a butterfly struggle out of a cocoon.
The struggle is heart-rending, but the promise of the beauty to
come keeps me riveted. He tries so hard to be "cool",
my little human, and all the while he's reminding us of what it's
like to be Divine.
Sometimes I wish I could
go back to that place where experience is everything and there's
no such thing as "over-analyzing". I think this is what
Jesus meant when he said that in order to enter the Kingdom we
must become like little children.
You see, Knowledge is an
illusion of the mind, created by man. What is it that we seek
knowledge of? Ultimately what we seek is God, and we can never
Know God. We will never understand God - it's just too big! We
can only experience God. I say "only" as if it's less
than! It's not less than, it's All There Is!
There is a Hindu tradition
(excuse me while I paraphrase here) that says that God and his
wife were hanging out one day and He said, "Honey (Don't
you think God would call his wife "Honey?!), I am All Wise."
God's wife said, "Dear One, if you think you're so smart,
I have a challenge for you." And with that she cut Him up
into 6 billion pieces and said, "If you're so smart, go put
yourself back together again!"
The obvious meaning of
this story is that we are All little pieces of God, just trying
to re-unite with Himself. But I think there's another level to
this story: When we place our value on Knowledge alone we create separation.
I love the analogy that
we are to God like drops are to the ocean. We can experience the
greatness in many different, wonderful ways, but we can never
comprehend the magnitude of the whole.
So I'll take my little
butterfly to the ocean and witness the joy, the very magnificence,
of Experience for the sake of Experience. I'll forget to gather
knowledge for a time and I'll just Be, with God, the Ocean, my child and
pure, pure Love. What could be better than that?
If you're ready for a challenge, ask yourself these questions :
1. What blocks do I create
for myself by saying "I don't understand why!"? Do I
use this phrase as an excuse for not moving forward?
2. What is one area of
my life where I would like to experience God in a different way?
Is it in the area of physical, emotional, financial, spiritual,
or creative health? Or is there a way for me to experience God
more fully in all of these areas?
3. How can I experience
God in a different way?
If you are having trouble with
this one, I would suggest lifting your mind in prayer and allowing
your Higher Self some space to come through. Be willing to feel the sqeeze as your turn from a grubby catarpillar to a beautiful butterfly!
©
Copyright 2004-2006 Shelly Walker, All Rights Reserved