Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Lighthouse - As A Symbol


The Lighthouse is a tall circular stone structure erected upon the
highest point of land that is closest to the sea and its potential
dangers. It notifies sailors that land is near and warns them that
they are approaching rocks, reefs and shallow waters which must
be navigated with caution. The Lighthouse is also a comforting
sign that the calm waters of a welcoming harbor are close at hand.

The Lighthouse stands alone and tall in both light and darkness
and it, along with its beacon, is a focal point which Symbolizes
strength, guidance and safe harbor; it is a Spiritual "Welcome Mat"
for all those who are traveling by sea.

Symbolically The Lighthouse is similar to the Star, and to the
Hermit of the Tarot Deck. However, as the Star serves as guidance
for all those who look to the heavens, or higher consciousness, and
the Hermit serves as a guide to all who wish to ascend the
mountaintop, or highest level of spiritual attainment here on earth,
the Lighthouse serves as a guide and beacon to all who are either
voyaging or adrift on Water.

Metaphorically, as the element of Water represents the emotions,
the Lighthouse is a Symbol for the Spiritual Strength and Emotional
Guidance which is available to us during the times we feel we are
being helplessly tossed around in a sea of inner turmoil.

With these thoughts in mind, let us now explore the metaphors
which are related to, and associated with, the Symbol of the
Lighthouse.

Storms consist of both wind (air) and rain (water). And as air is
the element representing the mind, and water is the element
representing the emotions, storms symbolize agitated thoughts
and emotions. Metaphorically, storms are our Inner Demons which
torment both our mind and our Subconscious.

The rocks, reefs and shallow waters symbolize the final
dangers and miseries which seem to accompany the end of any
turbulent voyage. Just as the saying, "its always darkest before the
dawn", things always seem the most dangerous and hopeless as we
reach the end of an emotional turmoil. This is the point when we
feel like tossing up our hands and giving up. However, it is just
after this point that our problems become solved, our crises wane
and we attain that new clarity and understanding which we have
been so desperately Seeking.

The Strength of the Lighthouse is Symbolized by its location.
It is erected at the highest point of land which is closest to the
sea and its dangers. Its circular construction makes it
impervious to the most bitter gales which time and nature can
hurl at it. As the Circle is a Symbol of Divinity, the circular
structure of the Lighthouse Symbolizes stable and reliable Spiritual
Guidance during our mental and emotional storms.

The Beacon is the Guiding Light, the Illuminated Eye, which shines
in all directions and enables all who are adrift at sea to use it as a
focal point in order to steer to the calm waters of the safe harbor
which the Lighthouse oversees.

Therefore the Symbol of the Lighthouse reminds us that, regardless
of how turbulent our emotional seas may become, we need only
focus on the Guiding Light of the Spiritual Lighthouse within us.
Our Inner Lighthouse is our inner strength; it is our God-within; it
is our Atman.

Our inner Lighthouse is also our spiritual guide which safely directs
us to that peaceful port-of-call which resides within each and every
one of us; a port-of-call that provides us with calm waters, safe
harbor and emotional tranquility from the turbulent seas which are
currently surrounding us.

Once we are safe within our Harbor of Tranquility we are better
able to evaluate the emotional tides and currents which are
temporarily disturbing our voyage. Then, once our emotional storm
finally passes, we can once again set out to sea and enjoy clear skies,
calm seas and prosperous Waters as we cheerfully sail toward new
Horizons and new Adventures.

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2010
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Sunday, January 24, 2010

The Circle - As A Symbol


"The beginning and the end are one."
- Heraclitus

The Circle is an unbroken line which has no beginning, no end and
no direction. Because of these attributes, The Circle represents a
completeness which encompasses all space and Time.

Symbolically, The Circle depicts the unending, the unknowable, the
un-measurable, the un-graspable and the indefinable aspects of
Eternity which surpass and baffle our rational minds. In other words,
The Circle is the Symbol of Divinity. And because The Circle is a
Symbol of Divinity it is also a Symbol of perfection, completeness
and Unity.

But why The Circle? What makes The Circle the most appropriate
Symbol to depict Divinity?

Just as Divinity is un-measurable, un-knowable, un-speakable and
indefinable, so too is The Circle. The only way we can attempt to
measure the area or circumference of a Circle is by way of the
arithmetical (rational) function of pi. Pi ( π ), or 22/7, is an irrational
(unending) number. An irrational number is any number whose final
decimal place can never be resolved. Regardless of how many
decimal places we carry pi out to, we can never resolve, or finalize,
its final decimal place. And although we can come closer and closer
to resolving pi, the Truth is, pi can never be resolved.

In the same way in which our rational measurements can bring us
closer and closer to resolving the final function of pi, and therefore
The Circle, so too can our rational minds bring us closer and closer
to understanding Divinity. In the end, however, regardless of how
close we come to getting an exact measurement of a Circle, or
to understanding Divinity, our rational minds can never fully resolve,
or understand either one of them; the Circle, and Divinity, are both
un-measurable, un-knowable, un-speakable and indefinable in
finite terms. This is why The Circle is the perfect Symbol for Divinity
and all of Its Eternal Aspects.

The Circle, in addition to being a Symbol of Divinity, is also a
reminder that we cannot resolve or understand infinite (spiritual)
Truths with our finite (rational) minds. We can only understand
Divinity through the spiritual aspects of Our Divine Nature. This
is accomplished through meditation and Prayer.

Meditation and Prayer are the Gnosis (insight, intuition, imagination
and Wisdom) through which we know and feel that we are part of
something more magical and Divine than our simple material "selfs";
that Divinity resides in us by way of our Atman; that we are
expansive spiritual beings; and that we can improve and perfect
ourselves, to any degree we desire, by way of the Spiritual,
un-measurable and infinite Powers which reside within us.

(See also: "The Dot Within A Circle")

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2010
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Sunday, January 17, 2010

Faith


"A wise man makes his own decisions,
an ignorant man follows public opinion."
-Chinese Proverb

When exploring the concept of Faith, we must first understand
that there are two types of Faith: True Faith and Blind Faith.

Blind Faith is when we trust and depend upon something
external to ourselves to "help", "guide" and "protect" us. These
external "somethings" can either be another person or it can be
any group, faction, or organization, in which we "blindly" place our
complete trust.

Blind Faith is the abdication of reason, Wisdom, individuality,
personal research, individual thought, and personal responsibility.
It is thoughtlessly trusting in the untrustable, unstable and
unreliable.

Political factions, organized religions, special interest groups, and
fanatical throngs all fall into this category; they all require a blind,
unquestioning, obedience to their "cause".

Another aspect of Blind Faith is that it must be continuously
enforced upon its followers through either guilt, ridicule, threat,
or force.

Blind Faith, it is interesting to note, is not embraced by children,
or even young adults. Children and young adults are continuously
using their imagination and asking "Why...Why...Why."

It is only when children and young adults become trained at being
"mature" and "sophisticated" grown-ups that they embrace and
accept the false doctrine of Blind Faith - only to eventually suffer,
and wallow in, its consequences. These persons then Become the
next generation of disillusioned adults who relinquish their
Sovereignty, sacrifice their freedom, and discard their Free Will,
all for the unrealizable False Hopes which Blind Faith teases them
with.

True Faith, on the other hand, is being True and faithful to
ourselves; it is complete Trust and Belief in our Divine Nature; it is
knowing that we can become anything we Choose to become; it is
knowing that we can do anything we Choose to do.

True Faith is having unwavering confidence in our skills, abilities,
reasoning, judgements, and Decisions. True Faith is Self-Honesty,
personal freedom, and self-reliance.

A Individual who possesses True Faith is a Lone Wolf; an
Independent Thinker who answers only to him (or her) self.
A person with True Faith has the self-confidence to personally
evaluate facts, anticipate Consequences, accept responsibility for
their Decisions, and follow their own Divine Path.

These are the Individuals who realize that before they can help
others they must first be able to help themselves; before they
can create a better world "out there", they must first create a
better world within themselves; before they can lead they must
first become a good example. And although these Lone Wolfs
encompass only a minority of society, even as a minority their
numbers are large. They are an elite group which, although they
do not openly recruit, are always ready to accept and embrace new
members. And the only "initiation fee" required to join this elite
group is the ability to Think independently and have True Faith
in oneself.

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2010
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Sunday, January 10, 2010

Forgiveness (Release and Acceptance)


"Do not judge your neighbor until you walk
two moons in his moccasins."

-Cheyenne Proverb

Words often have a funny way of playing tricks with our minds.
If we cannot fully grasp the meaning of a word we are unable to
understand the concept, or idea, which that word is designed to
describe. The word "Forgiveness" is one such Word.

But before we discuss the concept of Forgiveness, let us first
construct an avenue of Thought to help guide us to a satisfactory
understanding of what this word suggests.

Many spiritual texts teach us that we should be extremely cautious
of judging, criticizing or condemning others; that we should first walk
"two moons in their moccasins".

Each one of us is created different. There are no two people who
are alike. Some people are slightly different from us while others
are dramatically different from us; everyone else falls somewhere
in-between. We tend to Harmonize with (relate to) those individuals
who are similar to us and we tend to avoid those people who are
dramatically different from us.

Each one of us is a unique and Sovereign being who is solely
responsible for his, or her, Actions. Each person's Actions create
either a Karmic Debt, or a Karmic Reward. These Actions also
determine the Path which that person will Travel during his, or her,
Incarnation. If an individual performs Actions which are too far out
of line with the accepted "norms" of society, society will eventually
discipline or remove that person.

Because everyone is different, this means that each person is
acting out a different "role" during their Current Incarnation.
This, in and of itself, does not make that particular person either
"good" or "bad"; it simply means that everyone is different.
Once we accept this Universal Truth, it becomes a simple matter
of allowing only those persons, places, and things into our lives
which are Harmonious with our Divine Nature, and avoiding those
persons, places, and things which are not Harmonious with who
we are.

With our foundation now in place, let us now consider the concept
of Forgiveness.

Just as we must be extremely cautious of judging, condemning, or
criticizing others for being who they are in their Current Incarnation,
so, too, must we be extremely wary of imagining that we can
pompously "forgive" another person for being who they are; for
doing what they have done in the past; or, for doing what they will
do in the future.

Until we accept the Truth that each one of us is a different, unique ,
and Sovereign being, our ego will always find fault with others for
not being exactly like us; for not behaving exactly as we expect
them to behave; and for not doing the things we think they should
be doing. As long as we maintain an attitude of we are right and
everyone else is wrong we will continually feel that we we must
"forgive" others for every little bruise and "owie" they inflict upon
our precious and delicate ego.

To carry this concept of Forgiveness one step further, we may as
well forgive the trees for not coming over to us to provide us with
shade when we require it; we may as well forgive the chipmunk
for going into our picnic basket and feasting on one of our deserts;
heck, we may as well also forgive the sun for making us sweat.

If we carry this mis-understood, and mis-guided, concept of
Forgiveness to its extreme, we would spend our entire life forgiving
every person, animal, plant, place, and thing for being what they
were created to be and we would never accomplish anything for
ourselves.

When we break down the word Forgive we find that it consists of
the two Words "fore" and "give". Fore means beforehand and Give
means to bestow, to release, to understand. Therefore, the Word
Forgive can be translated to mean: to understand, or release,
beforehand
. When we accept people, places, animals, and things
for what they truly are beforehand, there is no need, whatsoever,
for us to be entrapped by this misguided concept of Forgiveness.
We now begin to see forgiveness as one big "guilt trip" laid upon
us by the various factions of society.

Furthermore, in order for us to feel that we must "forgive", we must
first hold a grudge or have a "score to settle". In effect, we are
chaining ourselves to - we are embracing and living in - The Past.
This holding on to The Past, whether it is a bitter Relationship, a
deep sorrow, or a festering wound, is in fact a mental continuation
of a Relationship or Event which no longer exists; we are binding
ourselves to a Self-Imposed Limitation of our own making.

When we Choose to Release, and no longer live in, The Past, it
becomes impossible for us to hold a "grudge". Once we no longer
hold a grudge, there is no longer anything for us to "forgive".
Upon reaching this level of Awareness we accept The Past for
what it truly is: a mental repository of experiences and Lessons,
a Wizard's Staff, which trains us on how to handle, and anticipate,
future situations.

By Accepting, and understanding, all persons, places, Events, and
things for what they truly are, and by Releasing all Past mental
miseries from our lives, we banish the specter of Forgiveness from
our egos. We rid ourselves of all false bonds and misguided guilts
which have deceptively gained access to our mind. We become free
to experience and enjoy our future without any mental shackles to
those Past persons, places, Events, and things which have been
hampering our physical, mental, and spiritual growth. It is at this
point that we are able to merrily prance into each new tomorrow
in pursuit of our dreams, ambitions, and personal Destiny.

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2010
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Sunday, January 3, 2010

Statues, Images and Idols
(Symbols For Prayer)


"Thou shalt not place false gods before me"
-Second Commandment

Since the dawn of the most remote beginnings of antiquity mankind
has artistically manufactured material images, such as statues,
idols, and various Symbols, to represent the many different aspects
of Divinity and Nature.

These statues, idols, and Symbols were crafted from either stone,
metal, wood, or precious gems. Images honoring Water or the sky
were painted blue. Images honoring fertility or growth were painted
green. Images honoring purity, enlightenment, or Divinity were
painted white. Images honoring an untarnishable or incorruptible
Truth, or Quest, were painted either Gold, or yellow.

The artisans, craftsmen, shamans, and high priests who created
these images were highly skilled in the use of the colors, materials,
shapes, and features required to represent the Divine Essences
which they wanted their images to portray.

However, although a spiritual essence, along with the effort and
intention of the craftsman, was contained within the final image,
this statue, idol, or Symbol was simply a sacred representation of
a much greater Divine Principle or Truth.

An image or idol, regardless of how well it is spiritually and
materially crafted and blessed, can never contain the entire
Essence of the Divine Principle for which it has been created
to represent.

For example, a painting or carving of a tree is not a tree. It is simply
a portrayal which represents all of the visible and invisible essences
which are contained within a tree.

With these Thoughts in mind, The Second Commandment:
"Thou shalt not place false gods before me", is not a warning or
condemnation regarding the worship of Idols and images. It is a
reminder that although we should respect the created, man-made,
images of Divinity, in all of Its Infinite Aspects, it is not the image
or idol that we should be focusing our Prayers upon. Instead, we
should be focusing our Prayers, Thoughts, invocations, and
intentions upon the Divine Essence which the image represents
and not upon the image, idol, or statue itself.

Images, statues, and idols are simply Symbols, archetypes and
expressions of Divine Truths and Essences. They are not Divine
Truths, Essences, and Aspects in and of themselves.

Prayer is a Spiritual Conversation. When we focus our Prayers
on something which is material, we are focusing our Prayers on
something which is external to us and occupies the world of matter.
This is why most Prayers go unanswered. For our Prayers to be
answered we must direct them to, and hold an inner conversation
with, the Spirit (the Atman) which dwells within us and has direct
access to all aspects of Divinity.

If we desire prosperity, we should focus our Prayers on the essence
of prosperity. If we desire peace, we should focus our Prayers on
the essence of peace. Whatever it is that we desire, that is the
Essence, or Aspect, of Divinity which we should be focusing our
Thoughts, Prayers, and Actions upon. And although we should
always respect and honor the statue, idol, image, or Symbol, we
should also keep in mind that these images are simply material
representations of the invisible Spiritual Essences, or Aspects, of
Divinity.

With this in mind, the next time we go to our favorite place of
worship, let us remember that no matter how powerful, sacred,
holy, or blessed the image is that we are praying before and
honoring, it represents a much more powerful, infinite, sacred,
and invisible Divine Aspect (Divine Principle) which is the true
recipient of our prayers.

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2010
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