Fool(ish) Musings

Today we will take some time to think about “the fool’s” journey through life. This theme is represented in literature with works such as “the Epic of Gilgamesh” and ”Alice in Wonderland,” among many others. Joseph Campbell, an American writer and professor, described it as the archetypal hero story.
These themes are prevalent in our lives as we grow from child to adolescent to adult, gaining insight and experience along the way. We begin our journey as the uneducated novice (infant) bound in pure awareness, with no sense of self – hence, the fool.
Our modern language has negative connotations associated with the word FOOL; however, when examined through experience, we see that societal trappings and norms unencumber the fool. The fool experiences life in all its splendor, tasting experience for what it is. There is no shame, no guilt – only pure being.
As babies, we have no sense of self (as in self-consciousness); purely instinctual beings. Our whole experience is based upon survival- cry to be fed, changed, consoled. All our energy is concentrated in the root chakra. As we grow, we develop a sense of separation, of otherness. It is at this point our energy moves into the sacral chakra. We experience the partition based on sex and slowly become aware of the power sex and sexual identification has in our lives. Like the fool/hero on the journey, we must come to understand that power is limited, controlling, and lacking Love. If our karma in this life allows, we move into the third chakra, some of us developing a stable sense of self, or we become lost in the anxiety of trying to fit in. Most people are living through the energy of the lower 3 Chakras.
Progress moving the energy upwards becomes difficult due to our physical plane of existence constantly telling us we need more to be happy, loved, and fit in. Beings stuck here are trapped by instant gratification-always seeking outside of themselves.
The fool/hero, however, can move beyond the physical plane of power after some time. This shift can happen gradually, or some trauma can rend open the heart instantly, allowing the experience of the power of unconditional Love. This subtle energy will enable us to bridge the gap between the lower and upper chakras.
This Love can assist us further on our foolish yet heroic journey. It allows us to see the world for what is in pure Love. It invites gracious speech and action and opens our intuition to allow a depth of understanding: everything is exactly as it should be every moment.
This is the most difficult pill to swallow. War, greed, and suffering are all intrinsic parts of human existence, and they are the opposite side of the coin of Love, compassion, and empathy.
At a point in history, we began to see everything as duality (Eve eating the apple/Gilgamesh and Enkidu), and we lost the pure taste of awareness.
Those whose karma is ripening for awakening feel the “something not quite right” in how we are told to experience life.
The fool’s/hero’s journey is never straight, and it is a crooked path with many missteps and falls along the way.
Take time to look at your life from the perspective of storytelling. Can you identify early life moments where energy stagnated in the lower chakras?
In working with these ideas, we must remember that we are most likely not fully awakening in this go-round, and we are the fool – just beginning to open our eyes to the light of truth. This is a journey of many lifetimes, unpredictable and long.
With this realization, which cannot be intellectualized, we begin to see the face of god in everyone we meet. No one is better than us, no one less than us. All god, all one; All beings are moving toward the light in their way, in their own time.
The person that cut you off on the highway is god; the megalomaniac, hell-bent on persecuting other beings, is also god. It is all energy in form and all one. Ram Dass says, “ it is all grist for the mill.”
Everything we meet is the path.
Namaste

Beginnings

Where to start? How to begin? Questions we all have at some point or multiple points in our lives. They are exactly the questions I’ve been asking myself for the last hour. “How do I start this post? This litany of words that you may or may not find useful? How do I start? What do I write?”

I’m not new to blogs. I’ve used two other popular blog hosting sites, yet this is a challenge. Why? Yes, that is the correct question. Not how to begin, but why do we begin.

So why? Why start fresh. One word. Simplify.

It seems SIMPLIFY is the path I’ve been on for a while. A number of years ago, in addition to working a full time job, I was convinced I wanted to open my own business. I was encouraged by friends and family to sell my “artistic creations” that I would give as gifts. Jewelry, artwork, whatever; my creativity was unbounded as I was creating! Such joy the art of creation! I figured I’d test the waters of selling my art at craft fairs. Long story short, I loved the initial rush, but after a few years my creative flow felt stifled as I was taking too many custom orders. What I have loved became a chore. Simplify!

No more material goods. Better for me. Better for the planet. So better for you too, as a habitant of this glorious orb.

During this time, I was also a Reiki practitioner and Wellness Consultant at a local Yoga studio (in addition to my full time job). I taught wellness classes and assisted those searching for their path find their AUTHENTIC SELF over 21 days of guided soul work. In other words, I helped awesome people find their smile, their light, their truth! What’s better than making someone smile??

It brought me great joy to teach. I learned so much about myself in the process. It was an incredibly enriching experience. The catch? It was taking time away from my family, which is ALWAYS priority number one. SIMPLIFY.

My son became very involved in the drama program at his school and parents are the backbone of set work and construction. I was no longer teaching (in person), yet I had found and outlet for my creativity (set design) while helping family and community. Better for everyone.

Yet, through it all I maintained a website, social media presence, and virtual clients. …and here I am.

SIMPLIFY.

Why? Why exactly did I start a blog some ten years ago? Because I wanted to write. That simple.

But somewhere along the line, sharing of thoughts and art turned into first a dream, a goal; became a job, a chore; turned into teaching joy, demonstrating patience, building connections; became busy weekends and missing family experiences. Simplify.

Why? Simply for peace of mind. It took me a while to get here, to know what my values and priorities are right now, in this moment, this beginning.

I hope in this new beginning I am able to share ways of mindfully simplifying our lives in order to experience more joy, less stress and live AUTHENTICALLY.

Here is to new beginnings!

Peace & Light

Kristen