Question of the Month: “What Does It Mean to Defy Gravity?”
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Welcome Members to our January 2010 “Question of the Month.” I’m Kevin Schoeninger.
This month, we’ve been discussing material from Caroline Myss’s book, “Defying Gravity.” In our first Weekly Message, we explored how reason can support the ego’s fears and block us from tuning into soul guidance. In Week Two, we investigated the seven dark passions of the ego, the fears underlying those passions, and the seven graces we can cultivate to transform inner darkness into light.
This week, we ask “What does it mean to defy gravity?” Defying gravity is a fundamental shift in our way of being. It is the shift from egoic consciousness to soul consciousness. Can this shift usher in a whole new era of human being? Is this shift the key to our ability not only to survive but to thrive? If so, how do we make this shift?
Let’s begin with what Myss means by “gravity.” Gravity is the felt experience of over-seriousness and burden that characterizes egoic consciousness. Remember the ego views itself as an isolated being struggling to survive in a competitive and dangerous world.
The ego identifies itself with the body it lives in, the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs it has, the roles it plays, the positions of power it maintains, and the possessions it has. Since all of these things are transitory, the ego is constantly on guard to bolster and defend its existence. It does this by accumulating and securing its positions, possessions, and labels.
So the ego is oriented to what it has acquired. It is oriented toward past actions, experiences, and credits. It is primarily backward looking. The ego’s world is like a museum of monuments to what has happened to it. Have you ever spent hours in a museum? Maybe, for some, there is the exhilaration of discovery. Whenever I go to museums, I come out lethargic and drowsy. I can’t wait to get out in the open air and sunshine. I can’t wait to shed the gravity of the past.
The primary existential fear of the ego is loss, loss of what it has accumulated, loss of what it identifies with. As Alberto Villordo told us last month, the ego fears annihilation. This constant background fear gives life a feeling of dense, heavy, inescapable gravity.
To defy gravity is to let go of the past and open to the present, to the energetic dimension, to the intentional direction of the soul, and to your spiritual senses. As you become aware of the reasons that block your spiritual senses and the dark passions and fears that support those reasons, and as you cultivate the corresponding healing graces, you open to a lighter field of energy, love, and light. You open yourself to the field of grace and the mystical laws that govern that realm.
Not only is all of life energy, but it is conscious, sacred energy—an expression of the divine life force. We do not live in an impersonal universe, but one whose primary, essential nature is truth and love, light and grace.
This realm seems to be hidden underneath our ordinary, egoic consciousness. We must cultivate our spiritual senses to access it and live from it. When you do, you will make a fundamental shift, a shift that changes everything. I phrase this shift like this:
You can live in a world of fear or a field of grace. It’s your choice.
Rather than living life oriented to overcoming fear, or protecting yourself, or insuring your possessions, or healing your pain, you can live from your soul’s inspiration. The motive force in your life then becomes truth, love, beauty, purpose, service, and joy.
You are here to become conscious of “who you are” and “what you are here to do” in service of the common good. You are here to be a clear channel through which life energy flows. You are a node in the web of life, a pulsating point in the cosmic web of energy, love, and light. When you live from that understanding, you attune to a different dimension of support, guidance, and inspiration. This dimension is always here for you, but you may not have perceived it. When you tune into the field of grace, it shines forth and you feel its sacred quality.
What does grace feel like? Contact with grace feels light, fresh, positive, affirming, and forward flowing. Grace gives you an eternal unconditional calm, an inner strength that is not your own, and a connection to the essence of who you are and to all of Life. Through the lens of grace, life looks and feels different. You feel an unexplainable inspiration, optimism, and hope. You know that everything will be all right. You understand that Life is always conspiring in everyone’s favor.
As you cultivate the seven graces, you begin to feel them inside and recognize them around you. You take grace in through your pores, align your intention with it, and send it out through your thoughts, feelings, and actions. You and the field of grace are no longer separate—but One.
As this becomes a more and more common experience in your life, you come to see that besides the physical laws that govern life in time and space, there are mystical laws that underlie and give birth to all things, including time and space. Myss tells us that “The soul seeks to be in harmony with the mystical laws because creating in harmony with mystical consciousness results in a life that is governed by love and not fear, one in which your life’s work reflects your strengths and talents rather than your limitations.” (p.170, DG)
You are here, now, exactly as you are, in exactly this place, because this is who and where you are meant to be. Living in harmony with that realization is the key to your life. Understanding the mystical laws assists you in living that harmony. Myss shares Five Mystical Truths that orient your spiritual senses and guide you on the soul level.
THE FIVE MYSTICAL LAWS
1. There Is Only Now: You’ve undoubtedly learned the value of being present, so much so that you may be numb to the true impact this has in your life. In reality, there is only now. The past is a collection of associations that you paste together now. The future is a possibility that you imagine now. You heal from the past by letting it go, being in the present, and pointing toward the future.
You do not forget the past, but, when past wounds arise, you let them awaken you to what you can do now. The past is always with you, but you shift how you relate to it. The future is always ahead of you, but you move there by making conscious present choices. Now is where you experience the juice of life and where you have the power to transform the past and project the future. Be here now, sense the deeper meaning and purpose that is revealing itself in the present, make good choices, and let grace take care of the rest.
2. The Necessity of Forgiveness: Myss tells us that “Genuine forgiveness is a self-initiated mystical act that requires the assistance of grace to release you from the compulsive and often self-righteous chatter of the ego, which continually enforces a position of entitled anger or hurt.” (p.180, DG)
Forgiveness has more to do with you than the one you are forgiving. It is not about saying “What you did is OK.” It is about releasing the past so that all parties can move forward. It is about no longer holding onto your egoic need to be a victim and maintain your victim story of righteous indignation. It is about letting go of the idea that you are worthy or unworthy, that you are just or unjust in your judgments, that you are entitled to have reward for your pain, and that you can only be happy when justice is served. That is a lie. Let it go.
Forgiveness understands that grace is freely given to all. When you stop identifying with your story of trauma, hurt, and suffering, you open yourself to receive grace. Grace is always there to light your way and grant you the opportunities that you are here to fulfill. As long as you hold onto anger and suffering, you block yourself from receiving these greater possibilities. Forgiveness opens the door to soul consciousness which perceives perfect possibilities right here and now.
3. All Is Illusion: Reality is not an illusion, but our experience of reality, the egoic stories that we tell about it, are illusions. For example, as we discussed last month, pain is not an illusion, but the story that we wrap around our pain that creates suffering is an illusion. If you get hurt and have pain, you say, “This is what happened and this is what I can do to heal and move forward.” On the other hand, suffering says, “This or that hurt me because they don’t like me,” or because “I am not worthy,” or because “life just doesn’t work out for me,” or any other story that you can pile on top of pain. Pain is a transitory experience, suffering locks us in for the long haul.
Suffering always seeks to know why this happened to me and then fabricates a story about it. Your “why” story is an illusion. As Myss says, “The deeper truth is that there is not one reason why a particular thing happens as it does. Every event is the result of the compilation of hundreds, if not thousands or millions, of events that have been in motion for an unknowable length of time.” (p.189, DG)
The truth in all situations is that you have no idea “why” and you never will. What you can do is to become aware of your illusory stories so you can let them go. Be present and listen for the most salient meaning and purpose of present events and sense how you can move positively forward.
4. Trust In Divine Paradox, Irony, and Synchronicity: the paradoxical appearance of reality is rooted in the tug-of-war between your ego and your soul. What appears as a tragedy in the eyes of the ego is often a blessing on the soul level. “Tragedy” can awaken us to what is truly important. It can destroy something that needed to be cleared away so we can move forward. It can be a necessary cleansing of egoic attachments.
What appears unsafe from the grave outlook of ego, can be the light of grace shining on a new path. It can be the next step for the soul. The path to enlightenment always appears illogical and crazy to the fear-based ego that wants to remain anchored to what it already knows.
From a soul perspective, we are eternal beings secure in the care of grace. When we trust in what is beyond our five senses, when we trust the invisible, infinitely complex, and sacred web of grace, we let go of “why” and surrender to what is happening. We ask simply “What do I need to see, feel, and do to go with the flow?”
5. Maintain Spiritual Congruency: Myss says that, “Congruency can take many forms, but in essence you are congruent when your beliefs match up with your everyday actions and your spiritual practice. Say what you believe and believe what you say; act on your beliefs and follow through on guidance that comes from inner reflection. In this way, body, mind, and soul finally come into an alignment that allows for the harmony of the graces to flow through you as naturally as your breath.” (p.195, DG)
The basis of congruency is being able to relax your body, calm your emotions, quiet your mental chatter, and listen and feel deeply. Allow true inspiration to arise from the field of grace and follow through with effective action. You do all of this right here and now, moment by moment. There is nothing to wait for and nothing to regret—be present and open to receive each next opportunity that is revealed.
My suggestion for you this week is to practice experiencing life as a field of grace. Whenever your dark passions or fears arise, cultivate the corresponding grace to shift your inner state, and return to perceiving grace. Review the mystical laws to support the process. You might focus on one law per day. Use it to orient your awareness and focus your attention. Cultivate your spiritual senses.
On next Week’s Group Coaching Call, we’ll discuss the challenges to living in a field of grace and how to cultivate your spiritual senses so that they inform your five senses and become your dominant means of perception. We’ll practice living in a field of grace together.
Until next time,
Practice the shift from fear to grace,
Kevin