“The rose imparts its fragrance, not in many ways but only one. Those who have not the sense of smell will miss it. You cannot feel the fragrance through the tongue or the ear or the skin. So may you not receive spirituality except through the spiritual sense.”
… Gandhi
I am truly blessed to live a joyfully full life. The wonderful souls I have the honor to walk this journey with are life-giving and a true gift from Source—whether through my therapy, counselling, or coaching practice; through the many study and discussion groups I am grateful to facilitate; through public speaking; through chaplaincy/ministerial visitations; through daily contemplative sharing across many social media outlets; or through OM websites.
A common theme is rising to the surface in many of the holy encounters I share with these souls: the questioning of reality itself, the part we play in that reality, and the limits we place on our reality. All this thinking about reality got me thinking about my reality, how I see the world around me and what may exist beyond my bodily vision.
I want to invite you, right now—while you are reading this passage—to hold out one of your arms, and with the opposite hand give your forearm a gentle squeeze. You may notice that your forearm is pliable. It moves and gives way to the pressure you place upon your body as you gently squeeze it. You may be able to feel the muscles and tendons inside your arm. Science also informs us there are bones, tendons and other biological matter within our body, not to mention organs and extraordinarily complex networks for fibres and transmitters that allow our bodies to, hopefully, function synergistically.
Covering this masterful piece of art—our body—is an epidermis. This epidermis is what science calls ‘skin’. Actually, the epidermis is made up of many layers of skin, to create this coating that covers our entire body. Granted, there are openings in the body. Examples include our eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Occasionally, through these openings, body fluid is expelled. For example, if we accidentally cut ourselves, bodily fluid is expelled from the body. But for the most part, this epidermis we call skin encases us in what we call a body. This epidermis holds everything together. We can poke at our bodies; we can bend ourselves into contortions; we can even break an internal component of our body; but the epidermis holds everything together—in its rightful place.
Another interesting thought came to me about the body. I thought of my heart, my physical heart. I am told is resides in my chest cavity. I am told its only function is to pump and regulate the flow of blood throughout my body. As far as I am aware, the heart, or any other internal part of my body, is not aware of its existence outside of the physical body. That is, it is only aware of its existence within the context of where it is inside a physical space. It has no awareness of an existence outside of itself.
As I began to look at this concept of a body and its epidermis that holds everything together, I began to contemplate how arrogant I have been to think this concept of an epidermis over my body is the only example of this exquisite relationship in my life—in my reality. I began to ponder the possibilities of applying the physicality of my body—the epidermis holding my body together—to the world around me and my reality. “What if…?”, I asked myself. “What if, there is another layer of this exquisite relationship in life?”. I asked myself, “What if all that I see with my body’s eyes, all the people, all the things, all the interactions, everything, is merely another epidermis, the epidermis of my reality?!”
This epidermis of reality is merely another layer that holds everything together in an exquisite relationship. Just as I can with my physical body: I can ‘poke’ at my reality, as in have an experience in life; I can bend my reality into contortions, as in do something really different with my life; or I can even break an aspect of my reality, as in experience a crisis in my life that shocks me and forces me to see my life differently. But there is something that holds everything, every blessed element of it, together.
There are very few who ever move beyond their ego-centric, arrogant sense of self to become aware that everything that is their reality is merely a covering—an epidermis—over their physical sight. Even fewer have the awakening experience of actually peeking through that epidermis to realize our reality is merely a veil, a sheath, a thin curtain, that stands between us and true peace, joy, and love.
Ask yourself this… “What holds my reality together? Everything around me, the people, the places, the things I see, the interactions I experience on a daily basis? What keeps all of this is its rightful place? What holds all this together?”
I have found my answer. My wish for you is you find yours.
Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,
Rev. Robert Meagher
Photo Image Via: http://www.myyogaonline.com/healthy-living/personal-development/acceptance-the-key-to-living-a-joyful-life (No copyright infringement intended.)
About the Author:
Robert Meagher worked for almost 25 years in traditional corporate settings and acted in various management roles in the education, arts, financial, not-for-profit, government, consulting, and healthcare sectors. Along the way Robert earned bachelor and masters degrees and professional certifications. Robert left corporate Canada in 2009 to set himself adrift and explore a new way of living and seeing the world we live in. Robert is now an Interfaith Minister who embraces a spiritual life and now serves to guide all those who wish to accept the Divine into their lives. Through Spiritual Guidance, Robert’s ministry initiative, he embraces the opportunity to serve those who wish to explore their own spirituality and gain insight into who they are, their purpose here in this lifetime and existence, and their desire to grow in Spirit. Robert can be reached at 613-204-0299, [email protected], or through his website at www.servingyourjourney.com.
