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(I wrote this late last night, somewhere over the beautiful continent of North America.)
I am flying home from yet another amazing weekend teaching. Why amazing? Everyone present showed up as fully as was possible. Everyone present opened to a deeper part of self. Each person cracked open further to their longing to know. In our world, this is rare.
All of this occurred in a class that did not set out to be particularly personal. This was a class on building our astral temple, not on plumbing the psyche or wrestling with demons, yet things emerged anyway. Fears were faced and insights had. Temples were built and stories told. It was beautiful, and refreshing. You see, magic, and spiritual practice, and really, everything we do, is always personal.
Before I left, I loaded the movie “Redbelt” onto the iPad. It is a movie that teaches about honor. About clarity. About being as clean and strong and compassionate as possible, no matter what life throws our way. I have watched this movie more than once. Each time it reminds me that honor is worth living for.
The people in class this weekend? They all honored the work. I honored their process to the best of my ability. We honored and supported each other in cultivating skill and flexibility. We traversed the inner planes and returned to share what happened.
Did we save the world? Not yet. But who knows if the world even needs saving. We communed with this planet and with the spaces beyond it, places that our minds can barely touch. We met our inner spaces, too. People faced joy, hope, boredom, resistance and fear. We just kept trying.
The hero of Redbelt? He does the same, I think. He confronts himself, again and again, and helps others to do the same, whether they want to or not. He is present with what is in front of him and acts to the best of his skill and ability: emotionally, physically, mentally. He is challenged. He is strong. He is kind. He kicks ass.
What do you honor? What compels you to try harder, even in the face of resistance or great obstacles? What is worth standing for? Fighting for? Working for? Praying for? Living for?
What choices do we make, in ordinary space and time? Let us honor this moment. What we choose to do here, affects all the worlds.