During the month of February, the Golden Rosycross produced a series of events (some public, some private) that dealt with the subject of Egyptian gnosis. One topic that I found very appealing was a metaphor for life, as a desert and how our guidance can not come from the surrounding landmarks, as they shift and move with the winds of change.
A desert landscape can have sand dunes appear in one location, only to reappear in another overnight. Likewise the external (material) world goes through similar shifts. One moment we are taught to cheer some global leader, and the next moment we are told they are the villain. Or perhaps the shifting sands of our life are more appropriate to compare to our desires, constantly seeking something to generate happiness but always leaving us wanting something more.
The external world can not offer lasting peace, as it is constantly reinventing itself. It is a series of undulating movements that create more twists and turns than a good mystery. If we were to look externally to a guru, or spiritual teacher, they may take us some distance but given enough time we’d no doubt see the fault in their nature. They wouldn’t be the perfect being we thought they were, and we may hear of secret indiscretions, or misappropriation of money.
Suffice it to say, nothing in in this world is permanent – which creates problems if we set our navigation to any external or wordy context. Instead, we must find a guide that is unmovable. One such guide is within us. It is akin to having a compass in our hands. By tuning out the external storms, shifting sand dunes, or mirages, and focusing on the compass of our inner life, we will know the direction of each step.
This process, in real terms, is the result of tuning out the noise of the world. Being in a state of the present moment, with the intent of attunement unto the Greater One within. In the Golden Rosycross, we call this Greater Source Within, the Spirit Spark. The process of glimpsing this inner guidance is unique to each one. For one person it may be found through observing nature, for another observing their breath. In all cases it involves awareness of the moment as it is, and a release of conceptual thought. Worries, criticisms, desires and the like will fade from view, once the wall of boredom is overcome.
Once the process is realized, a true intent is felt. It is like the proverbial lightbulb over one’s head. It shines a new thought, a new pattern of behavior and most importantly it LIVES THROUGH US.
This is the Gnostic Path. It is trod alone. No one can explain it, or tell you or I what we must do. Each step is unique to the seeker, as only we have the compass that works within our sphere of influence. The answer to life is not more stuff, nor is it new philosophies/teachers/masters. The answer to life is within us already, our work is in the letting go of old strongholds, in order to see the truth – that guiding compass of Light.