Often, that leads to the realization of a bit of change. Other times it makes clear how much you’ve stagnated and really do need to push forward.

When you need to push forward, you need to re-connect with your foundation.

Since I’m embarking on a bit of a push forward, let’s look at some of my foundation.

Basic Beliefs

I try to keep the basics true to their classification. There’s no mythology here, just what I know deep down to be the way things work. This knowledge has been gained through feeling out my place in the world and through personal experience. I never expect others to buy in to these beliefs, but the form the core for everything that comes after. A handful listed here, in no particular order:

• We are part of a greater whole, all interconnected in ways we can, at best, barely discern.
• We are beings of duality and dichotomy: matter and energy, Good and Evil, Light and Darkness.
• We have been here before and will be here again. Reincarnation, the Universe recycles.
• Religion begins where Science ends, the two are not mutually exclusive and can fuel one another.
• Blind faith is a dangerous thing. Belief (subjective) and Knowledge (objective) are both important components to a healthy whole.
• Free will exists, but so does Fate. Both are optional. Opting out of one is easy, the other is not.

Personal Mythology

Through a number of methods, I have explored my own past lives. Through a bit of reading and research, I’ve explored a lot of classic stories. I’ve been living this life for a number of decades now. These things intersect in patterns that I choose to recognize as important. All of my personal mythology is based on the basic principles applied to a greater story that seeks to encompass more than just my own experience.

For me, the core of that mythology lies in the story of a group tentatively called The Crossers (would very much like a better sounding name, but that’s what I’ve got). The ideas are part gnosis and part synthesis.

I firmly believe that looking at our lives as a narrative can help us keep things in perspective and better appreciate both the highs and the lows.

The Path

Unlike many, I am not really dedicated to one particular path. My practices run the gamut from shamanic to Hermetic. I am dedicated to no master short of the Universe itself and myself. I am willing to take knowledge and wisdom where I can get it.

Basically, I poke badgers with sticks.

The closest I have seen described by others is The Way of the Fool. That’s from the wonderful book The Zelator by Mark Hedsel.

The Future

Now that I’ll be back to writing regularly here, I’m sure these will be expanded upon… or changed completely as I discover new things about myself and the world around me.

If at all possible, being there alone is preferable.

In that time, before the rolling froth of individuals churns through the aether, I can get what I like to consider a baseline reading of the location.

It’s nothing too fancy or complex… just a feeling for the default state of things.

Why? Because then, when things get wild and crazy later on, I have an anchor point–somewhere to link my own personal balance to, somewhere to retreat to if I need to let a storm pass.

Sure, without that baseline reading, I can still go by my own tried and true baseline, my personal Universal anchor point. But that leaves me feeling very disconnected from the world around me and truly reduces my effectiveness in restoring balance to a situation (if such action is needed).

It’s been my experience that most people–especially those who are just starting to get the feel for the deeper energies of the world around and within them–just go bobbing along with the tide or spend all their energy fighting the direction of the current. Neither of these reactions is exceptionally conducive to creating change or encouraging personal growth.

By finding an anchor point in the regional baseline–in the raw egregore of the location–you share a connection with everyone else there. The difference is, you have a solid reference point from which to judge how things are going. You can differentiate between “This isn’t what I like” and “This is actually going in a bad direction.” More importantly, because of that connection to the location and the masses that inhabit it, you can serve as a pivot-point to help redirect negative energy and assist in avoiding unnecessary conflict.

How do I do it? Mostly just be quietly opening myself up to the energies of an area. Deep breathing, an open mind, and being aware of my own personal center all help. When the connection with the local baseline is made, I feel a distinct “thunk” of things falling into place. Like the dropping of a metaphysical anchor. From that point on, I can take better control of my own motions through the environment–either letting that anchor skitter along that baseline or dropping it full down to let me hold my position.

Of course, totally pulling up (or cutting loose) that anchor is also an option. If you’re going to do that, though, you better have a quick exit strategy planned or be ready to bob around a bit violently if you’re in stormy weather.

Between knowing your personal baseline and being familiar with where you are, you’re automatically in a better position to deal with whatever comes along–be it good or bad.

“I know you,” she said.

“From where?” I was curious as I had noticed her a little while earlier and couldn’t shake the feeling that she seemed a little familiar.

“Probably from another lifetime,” she said, not the slightest bit unsure of herself.

“I’d accept that,” I said with a smile, wishing that I wasn’t already running a little late for the next place I had to be. Giving her my contact information I said, “Please be sure to find me again. I’d like that.”

And off I went to next stop for the night.

But that moment has stuck with me.

Those moments always stick with me.

And there have been a good number of them over the years.

I do most definitely believe in reincarnation of one flavor or another. I’ve had enough personal experiences to make that belief unshakable. As is the case with most metaphysical things, though, I don’t ever expect anyone else to buy into the idea. So it’s always something a little special when someone broaches the subject right off the top. Even more special when there’s a chance our paths have crossed before.

This sort of thing really came into focus for me when I hit college. Very quickly, as I met many new people, some resonated with me more than others. As we discovered more about each other, we found not only a number of common interests but some very unusual commonalities as well. Key among those strange overlaps were memories of things neither of us had done in this lifetime.

My first reaction is usually to write it off as overactive imagination–gleaned bits of insight from regular interaction percolating through the subconscious and presenting imagination dressed as memory. That got more difficult as the details got more specific. Even more so when we’d get together and compare notes we’d written before we knew each other and find the same striking similarities of vision.

The Universe does not waste anything. Everything changes, is taken apart, reformed, reused. Science tells us that matter and energy are at least somewhat interchangeable, that there is a conservation of mass, that matter (in the broadest sense) cannot be created or destroyed.

If we hold that to be true, than our physical bodies alone are made of bits that have been used before. All of our base material was once part of something–or someone–else. We are star stuff.

And if our physical bodies can lay claim to such a vast and impressive pedigree, why not the non-physical parts of us as well?

There is currently no reliable way to measure those ethereal bits that may or may not make us who we are–that whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. But for those of us who have been touched by insight into the cycles we all go through, lifetime after lifetime, the value of that quantity becomes clear.

Without a doubt, I can say we all go around and eventually come back again. Our paths cross the same people again and again, each time letting us play different parts for one another. Sometimes we’re lucky enough to realize those deep connections and work through to something greater. Sometimes its only long after the fact that we realize how far back a love or friendship can be traced.

I don’t know if the girl from the party will ever cross my path again in this lifetime, but I’d like it to happen. Not because she was attractive or because I think its a novel way to make new friends, but because exploring those possible connections brings all involved closer to being more complete.

Have you ever felt that kind of deja vu when meeting someone for the first time? Have you ever compared notes with a friend and discovered you share a secret history?

In fact, I kind of count on it to keep my life interesting.

So far, I haven’t been disappointed.

I’ve stumbled into most of the great things in my life–my relationships, my jobs, my most interesting ideas and experiences–almost always while looking for something that, at best, was only vaguely related.

Being able to accept the kinds of happy accidents that serendipity provides is a key part of being a Searcher. If you are too focused on the goal you have set out after, you miss out on the added benefits of the journey. Very often it is those side discoveries that provide what is really needed… even if you don’t know you need it before it is found.

Serendipity sometimes has odd sense of humor about it, leading you to find something quite the opposite of what you were expecting. That kind of whiplash can lead to a whole cascade of realizations all its own. Sometimes it can even change you (often for the better) to the core of your being.

You can open yourself up to serendipitous experiences by being observant in your daily life. It’s the signs and portents around us that let the subconscious play and connect random dots into strange pictures. You also have to be secure enough in your ability to adapt to deep changes in your situation–otherwise your natural psychological defense mechanisms kick in and suppress the realization of the new information added, potentially prolonging your arriving at both your intended destination and the (potentially more important) one serendipity has placed along your path.

A second way to open yourself up to serendipity is to be slightly vague in your stated goals from time to time. Doing so allows both your mind and the Universe to be flexible with how ultimate solutions are reached. It may take a little longer–but, again, the journey is a learning experience all its own and may be more important than the destination.

For those needing a third way to encourage serendipitous happenings, I offer this simple idea: Chase the White Rabbit. It worked for Alice. Something odd caught her eye and, diverging from the path she had been on, she followed it. Her adventures are something we’re all familiar with and, if nothing else, a study in stumbling along into interesting things. If we put the energy into exploring the tangents that appear around us, we become accustom to shifting our focus and accepting new ideas and directions.

Our mundane day to day lives can be tedious and boring. They can sap us of our creativity and active energy. Even worse, they can strip from us the vitality we need to thrive and live the life we deserve. Being open to the serendipitous, being flexible and aware enough to notice is and being brave enough to follow bits of it, can revive our joy in life.

Or, at least, keep us distracted and entertained until enlightenment kicks in.

What kinds of serendipitous experiences have you had? How open are you to randomness in your life?

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a man of science as well as a man of faith. One foot in each world, as firmly planted as I can manage. That’s how it’s always been and that’s how I’m hoping to keep it until either I’m forced to pick just one side or until the world catches up and can hold both ideas in the popular consciousness without serious dissonnance. (I’m hoping for the latter.)

Over the years, I’ve read more than a little on the physiological, chemical and psychological intricacies of brain/body/world interaction. The main conclusion I’ve come to is: it’s some pretty darn complex stuff that we’re not even close to fully understanding just yet.

The secondary conclusion is that, once we do understand all the science behind it, we’ll be able to do the most amazing things. Or, at least, the people who understand the science will.

That’ll leave a whole lot of people out of the loop.

This is where the Metaphysical Framework comes in.

Over the course of human history, non-scientists have come up with a whole lot of little things that echo, in one way or another, a lot of the science we’re just getting to now (mostly thanks to wonderful new imaging technologies that let us spy on the inner workings of our brain). Through the metaphores and imaginings that have come about from observation and trial and error, our ancestors managed amazing things.

Perhaps one of the most amazing was working out their own mental well-being. What we do now with therapists and big name drugs, they did with their religious leaders and natures bountiful psychotropic crops. Long before modern psychotherapy developed, the faithful worked through their problems from within the framework of their religious beliefes.

It seems that the trend toward beliving in the metaphysical is an intrinsic part of what we are as humans. And, this is the important part, it’s helped us make due in an unkind world for millennia.

None of this is to say that we should eschew science and focus on metaphysics. Quite the contrary–I think we should work harder at understanding the classic metaphysical remedies through our modern science.

But when it comes down to it, it is infinitely easier to get your average person on the street to help themselves via some well worded metaphors, internal visualizations and repeated mantras than it is to get them to understand that the root of their problem is some mis-firing neurons that, with the proper bio-feebdack equipment, they could re-train to work correctly.

Why a metaphysical framework for development? Because the entry bar is lower and the return on effort is quicker (if applied correctly).

Yes, there have been many, many people who’ve taken advantage of that, causing all sorts of grief for those who sought their help. But even the medical profession and the world of hard science are riddled with charlatans.

No way is exempt from abuse… but no way is also the only way to solve problems.

The metaphysical framework is a tool. When wielded with skill and morality, it can do much to make life better for others. When brought to bear along with more modern techniques (like modern medicine), the benefit to body and soul (or, if you must, percieved mental well-being) is more amazing than anything else out there.

Some are drawn to it by life events and an innate craving for something more. Others stumble upon it, not fully aware that they’ve even begun until they look back on the lessons they’ve learned.

Among those myrid reasons, there are some that seem more common than others. This is a partial list.

1. Knowledge

The arcane world claims many secrets that even modern science can’t quite grasp. Perhaps it is ancient knowledge, long forgotten or kept secret by mysterious powers. Perhaps it is nothing more than misrepresented folklore. Those on this path tend to be methodical and willing to put in long hours learning obscure languages and traveling in search of rare manuscripts. Regardless of where the search takes them, Initiates who begin their path looking for this hidden knowledge take more pleasure in the journey than the destination. They may be laughed at by their more conventionally scientific compatriots, but they are no less thorough or meticulous in their work.

2. Wisdom

Very similar to those who seek Knowledge, those who seek Wisdom may forgo logic and sensibility all together, instead relying entirely on intuition and “gifted” messages from the world around them. This path has the added pitfall of often leading quite close to what outsiders would percieve as insanity. The rewards, if and when they are realized, are hard to deny–a lasting sense of inner peace and understanding.

3. Power

Many are the stories of powerful sorceres who do good or ill in the world around them. Those who feel trod upon may begin their path to power in order to assert themselves more fully on the circumstances or people who push them around. Others may see it as a venue for righting other wrongs. Ego can be a dangerous pitfall for those who come to the mystical arts seeking only power. They can become disheartened and bitter when they discover it doesn’t work like in the fairy tales or movies. They can also discover the strength within themselves to manifest their will in the real world. Hopefully, they will also discover the Wisdom to use whatever power they gain in a reasonable and beneficial manner.

4. Control

Much like the motivation of Power, the impetus of Control can be the seeking of an internal or external influence. Esoteric forces can be used to help the individual control his or her own mind better, leading to better focus and productivity. Meditation and phsycial exercises are often a big part of the pathwork those seeking control utilize. But control can also be sought over others, learning the lessons of manipulation and subterfuge, toying with the energies of those around you for your own benefit–or the benefit of others. Anyone who walks the path toward control will find it in their best interesst to do so with the goal of wisdom in their perfiery.

5. Enlightenment

The loftiest of all goals, Enlightenment is about transcendence and evolution of the spirit. Those who come to a path seeking enlightenment will undoubtedly find themselves delving into all schools and being tested by many forces, both physical and metaphysical.  There is no One Way to journey to the pinnacle and beyond, and none of the ways that exist are quick or easy.

I originally came to my path seeking knowledge, then wisdom. Now, I hope to dedicate myself more fully to a path that will enlighten me and better allow me to help ease the transitions of those around me.

For me, the number represented an amazing change in being. A freeing from many of the things that held me back from knowing–let alone being–who I could be. It was a year that led me to realize just how interconnected all things are. A year when I learned what real Friendship was all about (and how I had been thinking of it wrong in the past).

In a way, it all falls in nicely with the meaning held in high regard by those who walk the path of Thelema. It serves as the numerical representation for both of their key concepts: Love and Will.

Right now, the more relevant of those concepts is Love.

Agape, the Greek work for the particular kind of love spoken of in most religions (or, at least, the Greek word for Love that was appropriated by early Christians and serves quite well to differentiate). It is a pure and complete Love–the basis for everything that is.

Over the years, I’ve found it quite useful to begin from that point and, based on individual experience, dial back that “free and clear” love. Part of me remains vigilant, aware and waiting for the betrayal of trust, but another part always remains open to that free flowing positive influence of unconditional Love.

By no means does that make me some sort of bunny and marshmallow squishy New Age stereotype. On the contrary, it makes me all the more aware of how nasty and separated from one another we humans have let ourselves become.

Suspicion, duplicity as the norm, self-centered thinking to the detriment of all–things like that run rampant when we don’t realize that we’re all in this life together (and none of us are making it out any more alive than anyone else). There are near infinite examples of a lack of Love that we’re exposed to day in and day out. Even in our own lives, we’re more often than not left doubting whether anyone really cares about us.

Starting from the negative, it’s almost impossible to work our way to the positive side of acceptance.

But if you accept, even for a moment, that there may be an equal possibility of some unconditional positive force, filling the gaps among the dark bits we see all the time, there is hope for us all.

And if you start from that high point–that Agape position of genuinely Loving yourself and the world you exist in–a whole new dimension of interaction opens to you.

It doesn’t matter if anyone else cares. You care. And you express that to others. You let them know that they are not alone in the Dark.

In the fall and winter of 93, I learned that first hand. It’s something that’s kept me going ever since.

These deaths I speak of are not a physical death. No, they are more of a metaphorical death followed by a glorious return to a whole new life. It is the death of one version of “I” and the beginning of a new “I”.

As I learned more about who I actually was, I discovered a great number of things I didn’t like about myself. More importantly, I began to develop a sense of who I could be.

Back when I was a miserable, isolated and lonely high school student, I made a lot of excuses for why I was the way I was. “I’m just different than everyone else,” I would tell myself. “It’s their loss for not taking the time to get to understand me.” I let my hopes become expectations and my personal delusions become my reality. I was depressed, constantly, and, to a lesser extent, angry with the world.

At the time, I didn’t know it, but that was all holding me back. Keeping me in my rut, steeped in an unhealthy darkness of mood and mind–blind to the similarities I shared with those around me.

That’s when I got my first glimpse of my Adversary… and of the beauty of the Universe.

In the gloom of my darkest hours, I began to notice things. I began to notice patterns in my life. To see that every time my life just plain sucked in one way, some other area would open up and be better than ever. Now, that other area wasn’t always my area of choice–which is why it was so hard to see back then–but when I did finally realize how interconnected everything was, the final pieces fell into place.

Before those pieces fell into place, though, they had to be shaken loose from the pile of crap they had been mixed in with.

In order to “deal” with all the pain and suffering of my middle school and high school experience, I had built up walls around myself. That’s a common defense against The Adversary that many use. The “Strange Me” I had cultivated was insulation against some of the suffering I felt I was subjected to. It was also a prison of my own creation.

The simple fact is, any construct–be it physical, emotional, mental or spiritual–that keeps something out also keeps something in.

As my walls built up, things piled up inside them. By the time I was graduating high school, I was up to my neck in crap. Crap that I had generated in my own mind. Crap that society had thrown on me (just high enough to get over the top of my wall). Crap that was very soon going to blot out any view I had of anything good in the world. Crap that began, in my internal wanderings, to take on a life of its own.

Without knowing it, I had given my Adversary the most fertile ground to thrive on it could ever hope for.

Within weeks of discovering the wonderful world of “not the place I grew up in” (also known as college), I had made some real friends and found a level of acceptance that I had never before known. I shared those first few weeks with a number of great people–most of whom had been outcasts in high school.

But inside, I was still the high school me. I was still almost over my head in crap, trapped inside the walls I had built. I could feel those walls becoming weak, being pressed well beyond their limits from both sides. I could feel the separation those walls were creating between the people I now cared about and myself. And on an even more terrifying level, I could feel something else within those walls struggling to get the best of me.

Like it or not, those walls were going to come down.

That’s when I got my first full view of my Adversary.

It was more than I could really handle on my own.

And so, a tentatively asked my new friends Chris and Sarah if I could talk to them for a bit.

They got to hear about everything that had been going on in my head. About all the dark things I knew I had running around inside me. About the little bits of Divinity I had glimpsed and the connections I felt among events.

I talked a lot.

To their credit, they managed to not look too freaked out. (I know I must have worried them a bit, though… it was pretty intense, even by my own standards.)

Suddenly, the world was a different place.

I was a different person.

Through telling the story–through sharing my burden–I dragged my Adversary out into the light. It was difficult to do. The thing wanted me to keep quiet about it, it’s power was mostly in getting me to isolate myself. Alone, it could taunt and tear one little bit at a time from my self control and happiness. The Adversary is always cunning and for a while I had been playing right into its twisted hands.

Once I got a good look at it, though, I could see how familiar it was. I could see that it was me.

In that moment of realization, I accepted it as a vital part of myself. My Adversary lost a lot of power that day… and I came out of the meeting a different person.

The old “I” was dead and gone. In his place was a completely different individual.

The walls that had been built up had collapsed and their rubble had settled into a new foundation. The useless, broken pieces were easy to discard after that break. I was able, for the first time since a weekend long hike in the mountains a couple of years earlier, to feel part of the Universe.

I had finally found stable, permanent happiness.

It lasted for a year and a half.

Nothing can mess with us more than our own mind. And here it is important to note that the mind is different from the brain in this context. The brain is the functional part, the mind is the thing that gets in the way. It drifts, it becomes fixated on certain ideas, it chatters incessantly about nothing, it jumps from idea to idea (generated by the brain or inspired by spirit). All in all, it’s more often than not just a whole lot of noise that needs to be filtered.

For most people, it doesn’t get much more serious than that.

For some, it gets a bit worse. Not only does the mind chatter incessantly, that chatter takes on a sinister tone. It becomes that voice in your head telling you you’re not good enough, the one that erodes your confidence by reminding you of all the times you’ve failed, by dredging up the most tenuous supporting “evidence” as to why you’ll fail again. Maybe that’s tone is being caused by a short in the brain (which can be treated in most cases). Maybe it’s being caused by a broken shard of your mind from past traumatic experience (which can also be treated, though not as surely as a physical or chemical problem).

For those who choose a spiritual path, things can go one step further.

As an initiate makes his way down the road of self-discovery, that voice can become personified. It can take on shapes and forms in visions. It can be reflected in those we interact with. And all the while it seeks only to undermine that desired progress.

It becomes The Adversary.

It can take many forms, an annoying trickster, a fickle ally, that dark voice in the back of your head telling you you’re not good enough. It can even show up as the main Big Bad who seems to be behind all things unpleasant. The Adversary is as cunning as it is insidious. It knows your every move, sometimes before you do. Always, it is there, waiting for a chance to muck things up. A chance to set you back.

The Adversary is everywhere at once. It lashes back at us when dealing with others who share our strengths and weaknesses. Using them, it reflects and amplifies everything we dislike about ourselves… and then clouds the actual source of the annoyance we feel at others.

It distracts us from our actual goals–by making us chase it, by presenting challenges that pique our interest more than the task we should be doing, by outright opposing us.

But there is no “us” against “them” here. The Adversary is a part of our whole self. It’s that dark part that we try to hide–and hide from. It’s those deep rumblings of untapped power and knowledge, looking to get out on their own.

It is an integral part of not just who we are, but who we could be.

For better, or for worse.

How we deal with our Adversaries can determine a lot. The natural reaction is to fight. To fight long and hard, expending tremendous amounts of energy trying to beat them into submission or to outright destroy them. Neither of those options is possible. The more you fight it, the more powerful The Adversary becomes.

The best you can do is use The Adversary as a guide. See it for what it is–a deep source of knowledge and insight into yourself. It can even be an ally, once you understand what it wants. Knowing it is part of you, you can assert some control over it. You can negotiate with it.

Encountering The Adversary for the first time during pathwork can be disconcerting. That encounter often happens unexpectedly and, sometimes, violently. If any encounter with The Adversary in the metaphysical realm goes poorly, things in the real world can also take a nasty turn. Because it is such a vital sub-section of ourselves–and because it so hates being hidden and suppressed in the background–it can sometimes “bleed through” into our own behavior, often without us realizing.

We become sullen, angry, quick to lash out. We lie, cheat and steal–sometimes going out of our way to hurt those around us. If that’s not what we normally do, it very well could be The Adversary’s influence coming through.

This is why we need to be cognizant of our actions, why we need to understand our patters. With that knowledge, we can spot changes in them. If those changes are taking a toll on our ability to function in the “real world”, then action must be taken.

What kind of action? It depends. For some, a deeper dedication to their spiritual path–more encounters and interaction with The Adversary as a separate entity–can help. For others, more “mundane” paths of analysis like therapists can help sort out the different threads that make us up.

The simple fact is, we all have a dark side… and even the most vile human out there has at least some small spark of light. The Adversary is always a twisted reflection of the person, the other part of the whole. Yin to Yang, Light to Darkness, when it comes down to it, The Adversary completes us. Balances us.

When we take control of that balance–when we accept the fact that there is no mythical purity within us–we have the power in the relationship with the Adversary. By accepting our faults and fears, we gain control over them. We become, consciously, a more whole person.

And The Adversary… becomes an ally.

I’m not talking physical parts here–I’m talking the ethereal parts that are just as, if not more, important than our physical base. We have different moods, different hopes, different fears and different attitudes. And we don’t always want or need to share all of them with everyone.

And so we segment. And hide. And choose what we will reveal to whom and when we will reveal it.

We put on masks, adopt airs and do whatever we deem appropriate to present what we want to who we want when we want.

There’s really nothing wrong with that. It’s human nature. In fact, it’s even pretty darn sensible and makes “polite society” possible. After all, everyone doesn’t need to know about the results of Aunt Mabel’s colonoscopy. I think we can all agree that most people wouldn’t even want to know.

There are also things we hide not because we want to, but because we are not aware of them ourselves. These are natural and ensure that we always have more to learn about ourselves. (Anyone who thinks they know everything about themselves is either lying, misguided or incredibly enlightened—and I don’t know anyone that incredibly enlightened.)

Then, and this is the most annoying part for most people, there are the things we don’t know about ourselves—but everyone else does. Or at least they think they do.

This is all basic communication theory. So basic, in fact, it has made it’s way into a bunch of management texts, workshops and pop psychology as the Johari Window. It is a simplistic, though eerily accurate, overview of how much we disclose to ourselves and others.

Dealing the the disparity between what we know about ourselves and what we show to others is a big part of spiritual development and, more generally, growth as a person. Delving into our own blind spots and taking in what others think they know about us—both very difficult things in their own right—require us to come to terms with unpleasant surprises about ourselves and how people see us.

And then we have to decide what to do with all that information.

This is where the idea of Reconciliation comes in. The particular type of Reconciliation I’m talking about isn’t the kind that occurs between oneself and others—it is an entirely internal thing. Until we can resolve, or at least quiet, the disparity inside ourselves, there isn’t much we’re good for when it comes to other people.

Three Big Questions

For those who have chosen to live to serve others and those walking a spiritual path, attaining a decent amount of Reconciliation is incredibly important.

We have to know three things:

1. Who were you?
2. Who do you want to become?
3. And most importantly, who are you now?

Who we were will always be important. Our past serves as either the foundation or the fertilizer for who we are and who will become. There is nothing about who we were that we should ever be ashamed of. After all, we are not that person any more. We learned from those situations (be they good or bad) and made choices to either continue on the same path or to change our direction.

Who we want to become is important only in that it give us a goal to reach for, a light to shine on the path we walk. Without an idea of who we want to become, we can very easily get distracted and end up walking in circles through the forest of confusion.

Who we are now is by far the most important thing to know. If we do not know who we are now, we can not put into perspective who we were and we do not know how far we have to go to become who we want to be. Who we are now is who we have to live our day to day lives as. It is who other people have to interact with.

If we are fractured and fragmented, bent, broken and twisted, we may not have a clear picture of who we are. It takes time to put the pieces together. It takes courage to ask the hard questions. And it takes balls of steel to own up to the stupid things we all do.

But if we want to find real, deep and enduring happiness, we have to do it.

Along that path, though, there is something waiting for you in the shadows. It will try to stop you, scare you, misdirect you or otherwise prevent you from reaching your goal. It is the most difficult enemy you will ever face. It knows everything you know about yourself—and more.

It is The Adversary and it is something that many people don’t know much about until they face it in their quest for reconciliation.