Master: You’re getting stronger. Soon I’ll be able to open the door for you while you’re still a block away.
Student: Don’t worry. I’ll take a shower before then.
thoughts on spiritual awakening in today's world
thoughts on spiritual awakening in today's world
Master: You’re getting stronger. Soon I’ll be able to open the door for you while you’re still a block away.
Student: Don’t worry. I’ll take a shower before then.
Umm…
Well, you had to be there, Julie.
Yea, it makes a bit more sense if you hear the whole story.
What is the whole story? It sounds interesting
OK, here’s the context. I was at satsang with my teacher, and after he finished speaking, he sat playing with a Japanese fan. I had a strong sense that he was about to throw it unexpectedly toward me, to test my readiness and reflexes. I sat and locked my eyes on him, with full concentration. Finally, after several minutes, he broke the silence with an all-too-innocent “What?”
I answered, “You’re up to something.”
He replied, “Very good. I am up to something. You’re getting stronger. Soon I’ll be able to open the door for you while you?re still a block away.”
What he meant by “stronger,” was, to put it in Jedi terms, that I picked up on “the disturbance in the Force,” and that I’m becoming more “attuned” to his spirit. By “soon I?ll be able to open the door for you while you?re still a block away,” he was referring to his own ability to sense my spirit as the attunement deepens.
While knowing full well what he meant, I decided to turn it into a joke. I played on the fact that being able to sense someone who’s “getting stronger” before they arrive might sound like they stink, and said, “Don?t worry. I?ll take a shower before then.”
This is a wonderful story, Jon. It is so difficult to convey that this ‘stuff’ is truly real, secondly, that it has value, and third that we aren’t just supposed to look at the value and then do nothing more than go ‘duh.’
Funny how we are so easily convinced of deeper truths, particularly when told through the distance of a centuries old fable. In those cases, we are able to intellectualize an understanding, often accepting it more readily than if it was standing right in front of our eyes.
But, as my teacher said today, “Verbalizing and thinking about it is not the best way to get it. In fact, you aren’t going to get it that way. The best way to get it is through experiencing it, learning how to run the ‘circuit’ of it, and integrating it into your everyday life.”
Jon,
Thanks for posting the entire story. I really enjoyed it.