What if you went to a theater to watch a movie* and, instead of sitting in their seats, you brought your own chair and sat directly in front of the screen? You might block the projector and cast your own shadow; you surely would not see the entire picture. It sounds foolish, yet that is the way many people view this life: separate and too close. Cinerama is useless when looked at with myopic eyes.
We often bring our own baggage to this life’s experiences and are so concerned with how we appear that we cannot clearly observe what is directly in front of us, nor what is happening all around us. Some call this tunnel vision; mystics call it ignorance. When you gaze at life with dark glasses of your self, through lenses that are clouded with your ego and individuality, you confuse the apparent with the real. You must remove those glasses to see this life as it is.
We are so close to our subjective impressions that we frequently imagine them to be reality. We must stand back and look at the big picture to understand things as they truly relate to one another, not solely as they relate to “me.” Most people have doors between “me” and “them.” Some open them wide so that others are welcome in, many crack them barely enough so they can step out briefly, while a few keep their doors shut and just peek at life through a peep hole.
Psychiatrists have terms for these personality types, yet we might notice them daily...except, perhaps, our own. We each erect many emotional, mental and/or physical barriers to help protect us from unwanted guests. Some mystics say that you should not only keep those doors open, you should remove them from their hinges and throw them away! The divine essence is just outside your door, but when you keep it closed it cannot come in to transform your life.
“Wait a minute! Mystics say that the divine is already in my soul.” True, but where is your soul? It is not isolated in that little room you call your self; it is not subsisting on feeding your ego and drunk with your individuality. It is the divine essence waiting outside your own barriers, present presently in this place at this moment. Clean up the mess you made with I, me and my and let it in. It is not your soul until you allow it to join your self as an honored guest in your home.
When you observe the big picture you can see this life as it is here and now, not only with respect to your past or how it could possibly influence your future. There are, of course, wider screens for you to consider. Will what is happening here affect those you love? Might it impact the people of your community or nation? Can it bring you and them closer to the divine? A disturbance in the ocean now can cause waves crashing on distant shores. Here and now is important.
Stare into an observatory telescope; you can then glimpse the immensity of this Universe. Peer through an electron microscope; you will marvel at the miracle of life. Simply seeing without any aids can be quite deceptive. The sun seems to rise in the East and set in the West, prior to studying astronomy. Earth looks flat, without the lessons of geography. Lightning appears close, until you later hear thunder. In darkness, a rope could be confused with