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Puzzle Pieces of Life
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Thursday, October 23, 2014
The Caterpillar and the Butterfly: the Law of
Transformation
By Melody Larson
"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the
master calls a butterfly." --Richard Bach
This quote, despite its simplicity, is my favorite quote of all time because in its simplicity it expresses the complex cycle of all existence. Everything that can be called life continually, willingly, destroys itself in order to renew itself.
This quote, despite its simplicity, is my favorite quote of all time because in its simplicity it expresses the complex cycle of all existence. Everything that can be called life continually, willingly, destroys itself in order to renew itself.
We see this in physical terms when we observe the
processes of nature: from the cycle of the seasons, to natural "disasters," to
the evaporation of water. And yes, from the transformation of the caterpillar
into the butterfly. We see it in our own bodies too as our cells willingly die
in order to be replaced with new ones: we can scratch our heads and watch dead
skin cells fall to the ground and though we can't see it, the cells within us
die off too so that our organs are continuously regenerated.
Which leads me to pondering: since physical life is a
mirror of nonphysical life, wouldn't physical law provide a hint into universal
law? I believe it does. We see this Law of Transformation happening not only in
nature and in our bodies, but in spiritual and psychological terms as well.
In spiritual terms the Soul destroys and renews its
physical forms just as nature does. Those physical forms happen to be us. It
continually, willingly, creates and destroys various physical selves in an
eternal cycle in order to renew, expand, and grow.
As a human being we are born and we die much like the
leaf of a tree is born and dies. But we are the tree too. The tree part of us is
our inner being, the Soul. We are uncomfortable with this process when we do not
understand that we are the tree and that we live on even as we "die." If we look
upon death through the eyes of the caterpillar, we see the end of ourselves. But
if we look through the eyes of the Master within, the Soul, we see death as a
mere transition into more.
Psychologically the Law of Transformation is well
under operation too. Old beliefs must die and be replaced with new ones if we
want to grow--and if we don't replace them we remain stunted and lifeless in our
being. Since belief is cause it determines the circumstances we attract into our
lives and so it is natural and normal and healthy that circumstances also be
destroyed and created fresh: a marriage ends, we become ill, we lose our
job.
When we resist these little "deaths" we miss the
opportunity they provide for personal transformation. If that is the case, we
simply regenerate new circumstances that sadly mirror the old ones and nothing
in our lives appears to change. However, when we understand that these "end of
the world" moments are pivotal to our life purpose we can make the leap towards
knowing and fulfilling that purpose.
A caterpillar event occurs and we have the choice to
view it from the caterpillar's perspective (the limited view of the
ego/personality) or from the Master's perspective (the eternal view of the
Soul.) From the Master's perspective a disaster is not a disaster at all but the
necessary and wonderful adventure into a bigger life--the butterfly life.
But in order for that adventure to take place we must
develop such a deep level of trust and faith in the unknown that we leap into it
willingly and enthusiastically and tell our confidence and courage to simply
catch up with us later. That is the work we must do. It is rooted in alignment,
not struggle.
I believe that the Law of Transformation is at work
right now not only in the individual life, but in the collective life as well:
in humanity's collective Soul. All around us we see a world breaking
down--financial crisis, environmental crisis, political crisis, religious and
ethnic crisis in the forms of war and terrorism. Could it be that this is not
the end of the world, but the call to transition as a human race to the next
level of our evolution? Are we simply collectively transforming from the
caterpillar to the butterfly?
I believe we are. What a glorious time! To make this
leap successful requires every individuated aspect of the collective Soul--every
human being--to make a personal leap of faith in their own lives and to choose
to commit to finding and fulfilling their individual purpose for being here.
Instead of viewing the current circumstance of your life as disastrous, what if
you chose to view them as the bugle call to greater happiness, freedom, and a
more meaningful way of living?
Commit to get to know the Master within you. It is so
powerfully and patiently waiting to share with you its wisdom, humor, and
secrets. The Master, your own Soul, is a great magician who knows how to
manifest your every need so that you may fulfill your purpose. When you agree to
get on the path to purpose you will delightfully discover that freedom,
prosperity, health, love, creativity, wisdom and joy are your natural state of
being.
It is frightening to leave the
safe ground where the caterpillar dwells and to enter a cocoon of
unknowingness.
But the reward, the sweet reward...is to discover your capability for
flight.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Saturday, June 7, 2014
A note to myself, on how Gratitude has been the best Attitude.
I am so
grateful for this moment, for today, for my life. Every day is magical, and
every day a wonderful lesson. The biggest lesson I have learned is the gain and
the comfort of gratitude. Practicing gratefulness has given me such beautiful results,
and has opened my heart to cope so much better.
My latest practice has been to be grateful for my challenges.
When faced
with a challenge, I pray and say I am grateful, as I know I do not face this
alone, and the assistance of God, Angels and my guides are with me. I pray to
be alert to the answers as they are given to me so I can take the appropriate action.
I humbly testify , I am so grateful to see that my faith never fails me.
During
challenging times, I thank for this challenge as I know it is part of my karma,
to face it and dissolve it. I surrender to it, and by being grateful, it is
such a wonderful way to see it as growth, and not punishment.
I am
grateful that through this practice, I have been able to love myself, my inner
child, and continue to see the goodness in all relationships. I am so grateful
that I am aware of this gift, which has been a part of me since I was a young
girl. I am so grateful that I did try to rebel, and I am so grateful to have
experienced to go against myself is something that does not work.
I am
grateful that now I can feel anger, but not stay angry. I can see deceit, but
not be deceitful. I can see unfairness, but not been dragged down to do same. I am so grateful for the Love in my heart. I
am so grateful that I have been given the courage to accept it who I am, soft,
loving, accepting, and through all this to see when I am being manipulated, or
played, but not get involved in the game. I am grateful I have not allowed negative
comments to change me into a sour and bitter woman.
Most of all,
I have experienced that being grateful for the difficult times is a great
healer. For example when I am faced with
a manipulative situation, I say to myself, thank you Lord, for showing me this
situation, thank you for helping me not to allow myself to be dragged into this
drama, and thank you for showing me how to deal with and learn from it. Thank
you for teaching me detachment and surrendering to what is in the most loving
way. This is how I deal with all my challenges that appear to me. If I feel
challenged and the emotion is there, but it is not clear, once again, I will be
grateful, and ask that I am guided to deal with what I need to learn. I am
grateful that all the answers always appear.
I am so
grateful that right now, and for the past week, I have had to deal with
earache, and blocked ears. I know that
at this moment I am hearing things that I really do not want to. I know that a
lot of this is not loving and harmonious. I know what it is about. I know that
through all this noise there is lots of Love, and this Love once again will
bring healing not only to my physical ears but also to the relationships that
seek it so much.
I am and
remain grateful.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
THE BLACK DOOR OR THE FIRING SQUAD
There's a Middle Eastern story of a spy who had been captured and sentenced
to death by a general of the Persian army. The general had fallen upon a strange
and rather bizarre custom. He permitted the condemned person to make a choice.
He could either face the firing squad or pass through the black door.
As the moment of execution drew near, the general ordered the spy to be
brought before him for a short, final interview, the primary purpose of which
was to receive the answer of the doomed man to the question: "Which shall it be
- the firing squad or the black door?"
This was not an easy question, and the prisoner hesitated, but soon he made
it known that he much preferred the firing squad. Not long thereafter, a volley
of shots in the courtyard announced the grim sentence had been fulfilled. The
general, staring at his boots, turned to his aide and said, "You see how it is
with men; they will always prefer the known way to the unknown. It is
characteristic of people to be afraid of the undefined. And yet I gave him his
choice."
"What lies behind the black door?" asked the aide. "Freedom," replied the
general, "and I've known only a few men brave enough to take it."
Like so many stories out of the Middle East, this one carries a pretty hefty
message. The first is, of course, that we will often choose the familiar, even
if it's undesirable, over the unknown, which might be a wonderful opportunity.
And second, that few people are brave enough to choose freedom.
I'm not saying we should reject the familiar - not by any means. But we
should question the familiar. Just because it's familiar doesn't make it good,
best, or the best thing to do.
When you heard the story about the black door, you probably said to yourself,
"I would have chosen the black door. I would have had nothing to lose; the
firing squad was certain death." And most people would say the same thing. But
actually faced with the choice, would you? How many doors to freedom have we
passed up during our lives because we tend to cling so fiercely to the familiar?
How many times have events come about that we worried and stewed about, even
thought calamitous at the time, and that later proved to be blessings in
disguise? Each of them was a black door through which we passed to greater
freedom. But at the time, we would have chosen to keep things as they were if we
had been given the chance.
At any rate, it's one of those stories that makes for interesting discussion
at the dinner table, or with friends. Tell the story of the black door, and see
what sort of reaction you get.
It's good to remember, if we can, that it is often those things we worry
about and most fear that turn out to be blessings in disguise.
A short story by Paul J. Meyer
A short story by Paul J. Meyer
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