Chapter 3:
On a distant voyage, an explorer will always have a map for navigation. By comparing details of the physical world with the images upon the map, the explorer can determine if he or she is on the right heading, or in need of a course correction. A map is a micro-cosmic rendering of the known features of the world. A current map will show every detail of land and sea identified by previous exploration. It will also reflect the map maker’s best guesses, judgments, assumptions and interpretations, especially in areas where direct experience is lacking.
On the journey to Deep Freedom, we are exploring ideas and assumptions concerning the structure of our world, and the optimal ways to relate to it. In exploring the shape of one’s personal world-view, an individual navigates according to his or her ‘map of reality’. This map is drawn from one’s training, experience, and assumptions regarding the nature of existence in his or her world. However, a prudent explorer will be watchful during the voyage for signs of both what is accurately shown on the map, as well as, for the things that are new and unexpected. To believe that the personal ‘map of reality’ is entirely complete, is to assume that no important ideas remain to be discovered, and that the shape of the world, in every detail, is already known.
For the explorer, the ‘map of reality’ is always seen as a useful and necessary tool. However, he or she knows that no representation of reality can accurately contain every detail of the real world—no more than a cargo hold could contain the full content of any journey.
The explorer is a person who believes that hidden treasures still may be found, and that there are still unknown wonders to be discovered. In our journey, we are explorers seeking to authenticate a ‘map of reality’ that reveals abundance in all things—a view of life that allows us to know and live from the depths of our own hearts.
Making the ‘Map of Reality’
One’s ‘map of reality’ is constructed and modified through every experience of his or her life. It contains all the ideas, beliefs, and attitudes which have been important in life up to the present moment. Each new event will either agree with and confirm what is already recorded upon the map, or there will be some noticeable disparity between actual experience and what would be expected according to the map.
In the case where new, or anomalous, information is detected a person will either reject the new thing, or find a way to make it fit within one’s scheme of reality. Making a thing ‘fit’ is accomplished either by changing the anomaly in one’s mind to allow it to fit, or by adapting the map to accommodate the new variation. When the human mind encounters some new bit of information that cannot be ignored or forced into congruence with the existing ‘map of reality’, the mind must make space for this new information by re-making the existing map. The map must be re-drawn in a way that can accommodate the new information.
The process ‘re-making the map’ is illustrated well by Paul Spear PhD, a person with great insights on the subject of early childhood development. Dr. Spear once gave me the following example: Imagine a young child who has learned to recognize certain four-legged mammalian creatures and verbally identifies them with the excited utterance, “Bow-Wow!” This cognitive map of the animal kingdom will continue to serve the developing child until the day when some significant person points out a new and different four-legged thing, called a ‘Moo-Cow’. After the child recovers from the shock of having his view of physical reality challenged, the child will begin a process of re-shaping his ‘map of reality’ to include both ‘Bow-Wows’ and ‘Moo-Cows’ into his newly expanded understanding of earthly fauna.
Initially, much of the ‘map of reality’ is adopted wholesale from all of one’s various sources of social and familial influence. This is, of course, due to the heavy reliance upon others all through the developing years of childhood, adolescence, and early adult life. The adopted beliefs, ideas, and values from the years of one’s early development can remain forever the dominant shaper for the ‘map of reality’. The map’s basic shape will change only if, and when, the individual finds sufficient motivation and reason to explore a profoundly different perspective of life.
To further illustrate the cognitive development and growth process, it may help to think of the ‘map of reality’ as a three-dimensional structure; like a building with a foundation, walls, ceilings, floors, and furnishings. This ‘structure of reality’ is like a skyscraper with lots of levels and many different rooms. Each unique place in the structure contains different ideas and categories of experiences. The foundation and shape of the building are determined by all the individual’s ideas about life.
The bigger the one’s ‘structure of reality’ becomes, the harder it is to make major modifications. Alterations are possible at any time, however, the more complex the structure, the more energy it requires to make a big change. Changes that are profound—those most related to the foundation of the structure—can be very challenging. Imagine how much work is involved to change the foundation of a skyscraper after the upper floors are in place—the task is formidable (though, not at all impossible). Going back to the metaphor of the map, some changes are small enough they could be simply drawn in; others, however, require the entire map to be created anew.
Understanding the complexity in the making of the ‘map of reality’ helps to explain why we sometimes resist new ideas and challenges to our view of things. When making big changes in the ‘map of reality’, it can help to recall the type of openness and flexibility one had as a child. That might seem difficult to re-acquire. It includes a type of surrender. Children commit themselves fully (out of necessity) to acquiring whatever understanding is needed for their assimilation into the larger world. As children, we surrender to the larger will of family and society.
In making a shift to greater freedom a person is surrendering to the wisdom of the Larger Self, and to the things known intuitively, deep in one’s heart. Admittedly, this can be a great challenge, as it usually only occurs after a person has lived for a significant time guided by the priorities of survival. That perspective is not easily let go. Everything people know about living successfully seems to contradict such a letting go. Letting go of one’s resistance to growth is more easily accomplished when a person realizes that such surrender is not a mindless jump into oblivion, but a conscious movement toward what will ultimately give him or her the deepest fulfillment.
The process of moving toward greater personal freedom involves transforming the survivalistic ideas about life into concepts that have harmony with the sense of correctness that a person finds deep in one’s own heart. Sometimes there will be no other source of validation for what a person finds most personally important, except for what one feels to be correct deep inside. Such circumstances are not uncommon upon the path to greater freedom. Such situations require great courage and the deepest dedication to self-understanding. However, the only alternative path is to allow the restrictive ideas of scarcity consciousness to dominate the shape of our ‘map of reality’—a situation which will not only severely limit personal freedom, but also vastly restrict our experience of the opportunities which are potentially available in the world.
The Flat World
There was a time when most humans assumed that the shape of the world was flat. To most people the known world included only what was visible to the near horizon. For generations families stayed in the same local area, doing the same kind of work, contributing to the same community. Then, tradition was highly valued for the familiarity, and order, it provided. By necessity, creative energy that could have been invested in exploration and discovery was instead used to maintain the well-known traditions that predictably circumscribed the customary and predictable patterns of life.
The only seemingly safe place, in a ‘flat world’, was at home. The ‘flat world’ was perceived to have sharp boundaries, beyond which no one could hope to venture safely. People of the time believed that beyond some mysterious and dark point-of-no-return, monsters and marauders waited to destroy fool-hearty adventurers and hapless, lost voyagers. Anyone fortunate enough to evade the demons of the outer boundary would certainly perish in its dismal void. Everything beyond the safety of the familiar environment was seen as a doomy, gloomy netherworld. Such beliefs were very practical considering the social, political, and technological conditions of the time.
To be an explorer, in a ‘flat world’, was a very uncertain career. The perils of distant journeys were believed to be great; the unknowns too vast and terrifying. The imagined rewards of such travels were rarely believed to be worth the imagined risks; no good thing was believed to exist outside the known world and its short horizons. If the hazards of adventuring weren’t enough to discourage the explorer, the squelch of a tightly-knit community, and its dedication to traditional ideas, probably were.
The discoveries of the last 500 years have done much to dispel the idea that the world is limited to a tiny, flat area surrounded by demons and sharp edges. Flat images of the world have given way to globes. However, the deeper vestiges of the ‘flat world’ perspective remain alive and operate even in our present time. Let’s call it ‘flat-world consciousness.’
‘Flat-world consciousness’ believes it is always best to emphasize security. Keep the pantry always full. Be ever prepared to defend yourself and make sure everyone else knows you can. Find your place in life, and hold onto it. Know who your friends are, and just as important, who your enemies are.
‘Flat world’ existence requires one be able to make swift decisions about anything that appears new or different; it’s necessary to know quickly if a thing is beneficial or threatening. When living in a potentially hostile world it is ever important to be able to judge the favorability of every contingency. ‘Flat world’ discernment requires a person to be capable of speedily assigning every experience and person into one of several large and general categories that provide a means for determining if any situation is safe or potentially hazardous. Instead of having to expend precious time and energy to investigate and analyze new phenomena, ‘flat world’ priorities favor quick, simplistic and generalized conclusions that allow more of one’s time and resources to be dedicated to fulfilling the needs of survival.
Trust is recognized as a fine ideal by ‘flat world’ thinkers, but it isn’t very practical from a ‘flat-world’ perspective. The risks of being hurt by others is simply too great. ‘Flat-world’ relationships work better when people can maintain a slight advantage in their interactions. It helps to know more about other people than they know about you. ‘Flat-world consciousness’ believes that to reveal very much about yourself is almost always a bad idea. Letting on about what you know, and what you don’t know, is to show your weaknesses.
Strong institutions help to promote the atmosphere of security and predictability preferred by ‘flat-world’ society. Institutions easily take on hierarchical structure because ‘flat-world’ values favor clear and strong definitions for authority. The more complex the conditions of life become, the more rules are employed to ensure everyone’s proper and predictable conduct. The more rules that exist, the more executives, experts, and social structure are required to properly administer those rules. From a ‘flat world’ perspective, you can never have too many rules.
With ‘flat-world’ economics, the intrinsic value of anything is mostly ignored, rather, worth is always a function of the price that can be obtained for the thing on the open market. Everything is valued conditionally, depending upon the limits of what someone else is willing to pay for it. ‘Flat world consciousness’ suggests that the rarest things are the most valuable. Things which become endangered unto extinction get highest priority in the ‘flat world’ scheme; the more scarce something is the more attention it gets. In other words, ‘flat world consciousness’ values scarcity. The principles of competition, supply and demand, and the law of the jungle are all highly favored by ‘flat world’ values, and not surprisingly, they are all ideas that are founded in scarcity consciousness.
‘Flat-world consciousness’ and the scarcity perspective also value the idea that one must own and reap as much as possible from the bounty of the Earth. As with every other thing, scarcity discounts the intrinsic value of the Earth, allowing humans to treat their planet as an object which has worth only in a commercial and economic sense. A scarcity-oriented world-view mandates that humans strive to conquer, control, and utilize every resource available to support the priorities of physical survival. It is a perspective that causes humans to relate to the world in the same way that a hoard of parasites might relate to some anonymous biological host.
Through a perspective of scarcity, the world and life become viewed as being made up of many difficult and potentially painful challenges. With that, existence in our world can be experienced only as an endless series of obstacles to be overcome. The world is believed to be, not only a place of restricted opportunity, but a dangerous, unpredictable and threatening place. A place that can be survived only if it is thoroughly conquered and subdued.
A Larger Experience of the World
A perspective of abundance allows a very different view of the world than that of scarcity. Instead of placing highest priority upon what is most limited, abundance sees the greatest value in what is most commonly available in all places, and among all beings. An abundant perspective of the world sees the intrinsic value of even the smallest and most ordinary things.
With abundance, the value of any person, or thing, is never determined by whims of the marketplace, rather, the value of each thing, and every person, is determined only in knowing its most profound intrinsic qualities, its essence. Worth is no longer a function of survivalistic practicality. The priorities of abundance favor the highest levels of attainment for all of humanity, as well as the fulfillment of the most profound potentials for the world. While scarcity is concerned with the struggles of survival in a limited world, abundance is concerned with the celebration of the boundless plenty in All That Is.
The boundless plenty of the world can be experienced by any human who sincerely desires to know what is most essential in life. Abundance is a deeper reality than scarcity. It will begin to make itself known by simply acknowledging that it potentially exists, and then allowing it to become present in one’s experience. It can be found in every place. Abundance is simply a perspective that acknowledges the bountiful essence of everything. One place the essence of the world can most easily be observed is in the perceptions of the human beings who have always lived close to the Earth. In their rich relationship with the world, they embody the perspective of abundance. What follows is most instructive about such a view of our world.
“The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? The land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?
“Every part of this Earth is sacred to my people. Every single pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people.
“We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the Earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and man, all belong to the same family.“The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you our land, you must remember that it is sacred. Each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water’s murmur is the voice of my father’s father.
“The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give to the rivers the kindness you would give to any brother.“If we sell you our land, remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh. The wind also gives our children the spirit of life. So if we sell our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers.
“Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the Earth is our mother? What befalls the Earth befalls all the sons of the Earth.
“This we know: The Earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the Earth. All things are connected like the blood which unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.
“One thing we know: Our God is also your God. The Earth is precious to him and to harm the Earth is to heap contempt on its Creator.
“Your destiny is a mystery to us. What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted by talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is it to say good-bye to the swift pony and the hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival.
“When the last red man has vanished with his wilderness and his memory is only the shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, will these shores and forests still be here? Will there be any of the spirit of my people left?
“We love this Earth as a newborn loves its mother’s heartbeat. So, if we sell you our land, love it as we have loved it. Care for it as we have cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you receive it. Preserve the land for all children and love it, as God loves us all.
“As we are part of the land, you too are part of the land. This Earth is precious to us. It is also precious to you. One thing we know: There is only one God. No man, be he red man or white man can be apart. We are brothers after all.”
—Chief Seattle
Abundance consciousness is an affirmation of what is most precious, both within one’s experience of the self, and in one’s experience of the world. What is most precious in anything is what could be called its essence. The essence of something is much more profound than what is conveyed by its physical form. Physical form is only the visible expression of essence. For humans, essence is found in depths of the heart. Everything is, in its own unique way, an expression of essence. This essence is what every being has most in common with every other thing in Creation. Abundance places the highest value upon what we all share most in common.
Even if we were to limit our exploration to what is purely physical, a person quickly recognizes a profound connection between the individual and the world when one considers the material composition of a human body. All the various elements, minerals, and atoms that comprise both the full array of biological life, and the physical structure of the world, have one common source—the dust of stars. It is the fragments of a billion sun-bright lights which come together in the making of every tree, every rock, every world, and every living thing. Human beings and every other thing in Creation are composed of the dust of stars. Your body is made of those same fragments, and so it is with every other being who ever existed in the past, or who will ever exist in the future.
In terms of both our essential, and physical, composition all members of Creation share the most profound and fundamental of connections. Yet, when allowed, our concerns for survival cause us to concentrate our attention upon our most superficial differences as grounds for our separateness, distrust of others, and the exploitation of our world. An abundant world-view not only allows people to recognize their profound connections with all other things, but also allows every individual to interact in a bountiful way with every other aspect of Creation.
The Effect of World-View upon Experience
It may already be clear that the personal ‘map of reality’ is much more than just a reference to be used when one journeys beyond the familiar horizon. One’s view of the world is always being used by the individual to make sense out of the experiences of life. The significance of every event is determined by making a cognitive comparison between the happenings of life, and one’s expectations for such things based upon the map.
Our feelings about all our various experiences of the world are directly related to our map of the world, our expectations. Beliefs and expectations about what is good or bad, happy or sad, pleasant or uncomfortable, etc, determine how a person feels about every event of his or her existence. In other words, a person’s ideas about a particular thing will directly effect his or her emotional experience of that event. Concepts, attitudes, ideas, thoughts, and all processes of the mental type directly influence the resultant feelings and processes of the emotional type.
To demonstrate this relationship, imagine for a moment something that you find extremely pleasurable. Once you have the image in your mind, notice how you are feeling. Now, imagine for a moment something which you find very unpleasant, and notice the difference in your feelings. The more positively something is perceived, the more positive will be one’s emotional experience related to the event; the more negative the perception, the more unpleasant the experience.
Yet another way to describe the relationship is to say that the energy of life flows according to one’s thoughts to create a person’s emotional experiences. Thoughts and feelings always work together. The systems of the body and mind are all driven by the energy of millions of various biochemical and electromagnetic processes. Emotions are one expression of the movement of that energy. Changing one’s thoughts regarding any event will cause both a shift in the flow of the individual’s energy, and a corresponding change in one’s emotional experience.
A personal story may help to illustrate this idea. This is a true story about a real event which occurred in my life many years ago. At the time, I was feeling a lot of pressure—I was working a full-time job, and taking a full load of classes at the university. In addition, I was struggling with a couple of other difficult circumstances—experiencing the loss of a long-term relationship, and feeling lots of anxiety about how to start my professional life when shortly I would finish school. My outlook had become pessimistic. My thinking was very confused. I didn’t believe there was much to look forward to. Sometimes I thought the universe was actively working against me. I saw my world as an ominous and difficult place—a perspective that my experiences seemed to support.
I was an obsessive worrier in those days. If I ran out of personal concerns to worry over, I would just start thinking about other people’s problems. Somehow, I had come to believe that if I thought about, and worried over, a problem long enough I would eventually find a solution.
I believed I was coping well. However, in truth, I was totally exhausted, yet I had no idea just how worn out I had become. I was doing my best to manage with all my concerns, and working to overcome the barriers I seemed to encounter at every turn. I didn’t realize just how much I was struggling with so many things in my life, even struggling with myself. That pattern could not go on forever. Eventually, something was going to give. It was only a matter of time.
In the midst of all my struggling, during one particular day, I suddenly experienced a temporary period of what you might call ‘amnesia’. For several hours I lost all recognition of where I was, who I knew—and worst of all, I remembered nothing of my personal identity. I was not at all prepared for the experience. At first, I wondered if I had lost my mind, because I couldn’t find even one familiar point of reference. It seemed like my memory had been wiped clean. I couldn’t recognize any part of my surroundings, not even my personal possessions looked familiar.
At the moment when this condition commenced, fortunately, a good friend of mine was with me. I was unable to even recall his name. However, I intuitively understood he was a person I could rely upon. When I initially explained my surprising condition to him, he didn’t believe me. He assumed I was joking. After several minutes of sincere explanation, he started to take me more seriously. I had all of my usual mental capacities available, except for any recollection of the details of my personal life. I had no problem speaking, thinking, or understanding. I knew something very unusual had occurred to me.
I decided not to immediately see a doctor, partly because I felt embarrassed, and partly because I hoped the whole thing would resolve itself as quickly as it started. I didn’t panic, but I can’t say that I didn’t feel concerned over my condition.
In an attempt to trigger my memory, my friend and I set out in search of places and people that might seem familiar to me. No place we visited, no person, and no experience triggered any normal sense of recognition. After several hours, though my condition had not changed and I was still feeling concerned, I began to relax and allow myself to experience how different the world looked without all my usual judgments, associations, and worries. I felt a great sense of comfort and serene detachment; everything seemed to be strangely perfect, and in no need of correction.
When my friend had done all he could and I was feeling calmer, he left me safely back at my home. Sitting there, amidst my most familiar surroundings, I felt no sense of attachment or identity with any of those things. It wasn’t a cold feeling of detachment, however, more like a sense of complete contentment. I felt a great sense of peace and calm, the likes of which I had never known before.
I was actually starting to slightly enjoy my amnesic condition, when suddenly there came an even more extraordinary experience. I had a revelation which felt to me like someone was communicating with me from inside my own mind. The was a message which in effect said, “Please, now, observe and recognize how none of these possessions, and none of your usual priorities hold any lasting meaning in light of this larger view of the world, which you are now experiencing. Be aware, and remember, that your larger identity, and your own truer perspectives of reality, are infinitely more than what you are used to experiencing with your usual waking awareness.” I then knew there was much more to my condition than just some strange emotional or neurological glitch. At that point, I was exhausted from the hole chain of events, and soon fell fast asleep.
The next day, I awoke with my memory and usual sense of identity intact. I felt relieved. I also felt very grateful, because I knew I had been given a lesson which would permanently effect me. The message was unmistakable. It was simple, direct, and profound. It also took me years to fully understand. Over time, I recognized the source of that teaching as my own Larger Self.
What emerged from this revelation was the understanding that all of my experiences and my emotions are inextricably tied to my thinking, and my view of the world. I also learned that a larger experience of the world was possible only with a larger view of my identity. While I had been fixated upon worrying over all my personal woes, all I could see was a world full of limitation and painful challenges. It was only after my attention was shifted away from my fixation with restriction that I was able to experience the essential peacefulness and completeness of my world, and of my own larger being.
Exercise 3 Your own Larger Experience of the World
A larger experience of the world becomes a potential for any individual when he or she begins to know the larger aspects of the self. Taking a different view of life, and the self, naturally leads to a larger, more magical experience of the world. A larger experience of the world involves opening oneself to elements of the world which are always present, but rarely noticed when a person’s attention is immersed in the concerns of survival. This deeper level of experience does not require any special action on the part of the explorer—he or she need only make space for, and allow, the more subtle elements of the environment to emerge and make themselves known.
This exercise should be conducted outdoors, in a place where you feel very comfortable. Generally speaking, the more pristine and natural the location, the better. However, any setting will work, even one which is man-made. The key is that it should be a place where you can feel relaxed and serene. For some people water is an important element. For others a rooftop, or hilltop, will work best. Some people will find they feel most comfortable with a favorite rock, tree, meadow, or maybe just on a familiar patch of grass. It may be necessary to try several different places before you find one that works for you. Be your own expert, and allow yourself to investigate different possibilities until your own sense of comfort tells you what is best.
When you have found a good location, begin by getting into a comfortable position. You can stand, or sit, or lay down—whatever you feel is best. Next, relax your body and begin to pay attention to your breathing. Clear your mind of all thoughts. If that seems difficult, try counting the cycles of your breathing from one to ten (at ten, start the count over at one, and repeat until no longer necessary). Keep your mind clear and focused upon your breathing. Do this for about five minutes or until you feel you have become most relaxed and peaceful.
When ready to continue, gently enlarge your attention to include an awareness of your immediate surroundings. Continue to be mindful of your relaxed body and your breathing, but also notice what is around you. Notice the colors, the smells, the textures, the sounds. Consciously allow the your immediate environment to make an impression upon you. Notice whatever comes to your awareness. There may be feelings, or memories, or new experiences and insights that never occurred to you before. Try not to let anything carry you away, but intentionally allow yourself to notice whatever presents itself to your awareness.
This exercise is one which will develop your connection with your world, and at the same time, it will help you to increase your experience of your Larger Self. The two will always go together. As you develop your sensitivity to the self, and the world, the level of your experience will continually become larger and deeper. There is no limit to the largeness of this experience, except that which each individual places upon it.
When you are ready to complete your experience, quietly thank the place where you have been, and thank yourself for your own important investment of energy and attention. Then, take several slow, deep breaths and gently bring your awareness back to a normal focus. Be kind to your body, and give yourself at least two to three minutes to become consciously re-adjusted before making any quick or strenuous physical movements.
The World is a MirrorThe world, and our journey through it, reveal the shapes of all our ideas, assumptions, and beliefs. In other words, our experiences of the world will reflect the complete details of our own perspective. The outer world is a mirror for the inner world. The world is always reflecting back to the individual all the expectations that compose his or her personal outlook. When a person holds a perspective that includes expectations of restriction, limitation, and struggles to avoid pain, then those are the aspects of the world which will be most visible. By the same token, a personal perspective of abundance will allow the abundance of the world to become revealed.
In reality, no individual is capable of holding a perspective of pure scarcity. A person’s perspective includes one’s entire ‘map of reality’—one’s total sphere of consciousness. The entirety of one’s perspective will always include the contents of one’s heart, one’s essence. So, in truth, every individual’s perspective will always contain, at the very least, the seed of abundance consciousness. The journey to Deep Freedom allows a person to discover the true dimensions of the heart. That discovery presents the opportunity for a person to see the world through the eyes of his or her Larger Self and learn how to make the consciousness of abundance flourish everywhere within one’s perspective and experience.
To summarize our journey so far, our exploration has revealed that freedom is defined by acting only from the sense of what is right, as known within the depths of our own hearts. Such knowledge becomes available as each of us begins to discover a more abundant view of the self. Then, we discovered that by appreciating the vast dimensions of the Larger Self we may enter into whole new levels of experience within all of our interpersonal connections. And most recently, we have discovered that a direct relationship exists between our view of the world and our experiences in the world—and that an abundant perspective is necessary in order to have an experience of the larger and more abundant aspects of reality.
A growing appreciation of abundance has been an integral part of our journey in exploring how to most freely exist and experience the self, others, and the world. These are very important initiatory steps upon the journey to Deep Freedom. These steps create a foundation for the larger potentials of one’s life, and reveal a hint of what lays ahead.
Our next step is to explore how this information may be integrated into practice, and used to move us closer to the realization of abundance consciousness, and Deep Freedom. The work-place for the next step on our journey is the heart. The heart is the location of the fourth chakra, or the fourth of seven major energy centers of the human body. The heart is the home of one’s essence, but just as important, it is also where one finds the conscious connection with one’s Larger Self. The journey towards the heart brings a new and profound understanding of the relationship between the individual and everything in one’s experience. It creates for the person an opportunity to know, and live according to, the truest form of love. In knowing the wisdom of the heart one will come to know authentic compassion for every aspect of one’s life.
Learning what the heart has to teach will allow each of us to authentically appreciate all of what we see in the reflections of the ‘world mirror’. That appreciation will allow us to know and understand the shape of our own ‘maps of reality’. When allowed, the heart will gently reveal a truer image for the self, the world, and the best course for the adventures of one’s life.
Go to Chapter 4: A Trail to the Heart