And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! (Genesis 28:12)
As we climb the Jacob's Ladder that we are, we move from the lower impulses to the higher. We open to the shining crown, the irruption and irradiation of God, of the Divine, into this world. As the ladder, we have our feet firmly planted on the ground, this ground of existence in the flesh, this world now. We do not dissolve into the great harmonious hum, pulling the ladder of existence up after ourselves and sitting in our little cubbyhole of nirvana, mindful of nothing except our little cleared and empty space. We stay messy, dealing with all the poop and pee of life -- this great nursing home of human souls. We are the whole ladder. The angel energies ascend and descend in constant round.
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It was actually comforting to me to slowly realize that hey! maybe i don't need to, and perhaps won't ever be able to (for god only knows what reason!) experience the shining lights, the glorious hum, the know all and be all, while i am yet here on my ladder.
ReplyDeleteThomas Merton was succinct in shedding light on the "hope so nirvana:"
"Place no hope in the feeling of assurance, of spiritual comfort. You may well have to get along without this. Place no hope in the inspirational preachers of Christian sunshine, who are able to pick you up and set you back on your feet and make you feel good for three or four days-until you fold up and collapse into despair.
There is no hope more cruel than the vain hope for a supreme fulfillment that is so misunderstood as to be utterly impossible. There is no defeat more terrible than the defeat of the human heart driven wild by its desire of a mystical mirage."
I have personally wailed in that defeat for so long, until I finally found that for this moment, maybe just knowing I am on the ladder is where I am.
Wise, wise, wise! Thank you, ablecutegem, for YOU and for the Merton quote.
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