digging a deep well...
What an amazing age to be alive, where it seems all teachings, all teachers, all paths are but one computer click away, one workshop away. Is there such a thing any more as esoteric teachings? With all that’s available, we can find ourselves pulled in many directions. If we don’t sample the spiritual smorgasbord, we worry we may miss some special opportunity. Just as we don’t want to miss any text, e-mail, believing we must be connected at all times, to all people, we can feel we must learn about every spiritual practice that is now available to us. It can give us the illusion that we are indeed doing our inner work, living from our soul. The newness and early stages of learning any teaching can be full of excitement and hope...yup, I’ve found it, this is it. Then, after a time, as the practice deepens and becomes more difficult and challenging, we grow uncomfortable, even accusing it of becoming boring and to find relief...off we go to the next workshop, only to have the cycle of the ‘honeymoon stage’ repeat itself. It must be common as there are teachings that speak to this…
It is better to dig one well deeply than many shallow wells.
There are many boats along the shore; pick one...it will take you to the other shore.
The Dalai Lama has said that we don’t need to become Buddhists.
If, for example, one is a Lutheran, then truly be a Lutheran.
This applies to all religious faiths and spiritual practices.
To learn about and understand different teachings and practices is important and can enrich our own work. For example, many people have integrated meditation, yoga, tai chi, reiki, etc., into their existent practice and find it helps them follow and understand their chosen path more deeply. The mistake we make is that we can let that surface learning substitute for depth of practice. When we do, we’ll never have a well deep enough to connect us to the waters we desire. We’ll never stay in one boat long enough to reach the other shore. We’ll never have taken our spiritual practice all the way through to its heart. Another saying…
"There are many paths up the Mountain, and the view from the top is the same."
What does this have to do with dreams? For me, working with my dreams, and all the challenging and supportive material they bring into my consciousness, is the deep well I am digging. It is not the only well out there...but it is my chosen one. I trust that when my deep digging brings me through to Source I will be delighted to be joined by those who have followed their chosen path all the way through.
Mary Jo Heyen is a Natural Dreamwork Practitioner working with dream clients in person, phone or Skype. Learn more about her work with dreams at her website: http://maryjoheyen.com/.