All Systems Go – I Believe In You

The following lead-in is not a final word, a definitive conclusion, or a higher ground. It is a perspective that may undo the need for personal investment in debates on the subject, while acknowledging the necessity of that debate to occur wherever it may arise.

So many religions, so many philosophies. Who’s right, who’s full of shit?

Confirmation bias is a mighty complication. Subjectivity makes one person’s savant another person’s idiot. How are we to know which ideas to follow and which to leave by the wayside?

I’m going to steal one of Matt Kahn’s riffs here. He says one of the games universe plays is “I Told You So.” You start with a belief, and universe plays it out for you on the screen of your reality: affirmation, confirmation. Then you, the center of your subjective universe, can have the satisfaction of saying, “See? I told you so!”

It’s easy to see how this lends itself to self-reinforcing, stagnant, mutually incompatible belief systems. Fortunately for those who get tired of the strife that that engenders, universe has an antidote: another game called “Hmm, Now That’s Interesting.” Letting crisis catalyze the needed shifts within you, you change your stance toward new information, get past the identification with particular beliefs, and become open to new ideas, at best without even a need to prematurely adopt or reject them. You go from rigid pedantry to an adventure of discovery.

But old habits die hard. We can still get caught up in the “who’s right, who’s full of shit” dichotomy, keep trading up to newer and better beliefs to confirm and defend, or finding thought leaders to raise up and tear down, publicly or privately.

The realization that each one of us is on a unique, tailor-made journey – intertwined with the journeys of all those with whom we come into contact – takes a lot of the pressure off: there’s less of a proselytizing / condemning savior complex and more of a mutual respect and support dynamic. What works fine and appears true for the other person right now may not be at all what you need or see at the moment and vice versa, in which case simple recognition of that fact can suffice. If you do engage in discussion, then regardless of the similarities or differences in your viewpoints, you can help the other person to correct or expand or balance their view, and they can do the same for you – provided there is a common ground of respect and openness.

All lines of inquiry lead to truth. All paths of development bring fruition.

I love encountering new ways of being, new viewpoints and information. All of it simply adds to the delightful richness of my experience, and some of it is even practically useful for me. As much as the heart revolution reveals the rightness of our path and every other path, the following of that singular, silky thread of the personal path is still a matter of honest effort and discernment, in which any and all of our faculties of mind, body, spirit and soul can and will be called forth and tested.

I often recall the message in the words of Polonius: “This above all: to thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

All systems go. All roads lead home. Systems come and go. Home is where the heart is.

Dvaita, advaita. Paradox. No contradiction – only complement.

Form glorifies the formless. The One sanctifies the all. The transcendent truth informs and contextualizes the cosmic dance of thought, providing sanity to the sensual and making sense of insanity.

We do what life calls us to do, no more and no less. The role we play, whether as pawns or conscious participants, in the dance of life, is our raison d’être. When our being embodies the causeless nature of the Now, we can call upon and partake of the power of intent, the eternal first cause: the Will of the I Am presence. That should be incentive enough for anyone experiencing divine discontent to strive forward in the earnest pursuit and application of perennial wisdom.

All systems go. You are the thread you must follow. Go, and don’t look back. It’s a heck of a ride, but you’ll make it through. There is no other possibility. So: choose peace, choose certainty. Choose Love, and it will thrill instead of terrify. Feel fully and you will give the greatest gift – appreciation and abandon – to the infinite aspect of your being that made it all just for you.

“You can’t go wrong, you must go right – it’s Willy Wonka’s Wonkavite!” The fountain of youth is your willingness to take each moment as it comes, your ability to bring forth the freedom contained in your innermost being.

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the essence of things not seen.” Even if you feel inadequate to the task, fear not. Your infinite aspect has it all in hand and is even now guiding your every thought, feeling, and movement.

These are reminders, gently appearing before you, inviting you to take them into your awareness. It is good that you read these words. It is impeccably sublime, imperative, and inevitable that they henceforth become part of the path that lies behind you, so that you can face whatever lies ahead of you. Remember if you wish, forget if you must, but know that you always have what you need.

I believe in you. How about you?