The Beginning of a New Year
A Journey into the Unknown
By Stephen Thomson
"A man may fulfill the object of his existence by asking a question he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannot achieve." — Oliver Wendell Holmes
We live in a time of great abundance. Our world holds more material, as well as spiritual opportunities, than ever before in recorded history. It's as if anything we could hope for is within our reach, combined with a cultural sense that we can have it as well. Our consciousness reflects these beliefs in the ways we create our everyday life. We have exactly what we are capable of believing possible and then creating. Yet, even with this sense of personal power and freedom, most of us continue to live within a range of comfort that rarely moves beyond what we know, into the unknown. A partial understanding of our reaction is based in our soul personality.
There are the factors of pre-natal influence to be taken into consideration. The fear of the unknown can be deeply imbedded in our subconscious, having been carried over from another lifetime. Through the vehicle of the soul personality, we enter into our present incarnation with programming in place that can override the knowledge and experiences gained in this lifetime. Certain behavior seems to be ingrained and defies understanding. With an awareness of this as a possibility, though having no specific memories associated to it, we can start to understand the content of our spiritual journey and life experience. Our thoughts will help to show us the way — where we are to put our efforts and what we are here to overcome.
On a personal level, the unknown seems to encompass a range of energy that is chaotic and beyond the bounds of our ability to be in control. We shy away from creating any discord in our orderly lives and world. While in contrast, looms the objective of our spiritual path, to grow beyond the "illusions" of earthly life. In response to this paradox, we embrace the fear of the unknown by creating a life built around safety and security. We remain in a place we believe represents a way of living that is in balance and peace filled.
Most of the training and events in the early years of our lives are intended to teach us how to organize our lives, create a plan and reinforce that we should know where we are going and what to doing with our lives. Even the most simple and childish event being supervised by an adult can be directional, focused on an outcome and followed by a reward. In time, as we figure out what is being asked of us and how to win the prize, we continue to follow the same path time-and-again. It's just easier that way. The other option, beginning anew, starting at the beginning and doing something completely different, holds little appeal or interest in our time ridden world. The demands of everyday living leave us with very little free time. Yet, in this age of time speeding up and changes occurring with greater frequency, being responsive to the changing times is what our world is all about. In contrast, we continue to fear the unknown and repeat our life pattern day after day.
Once we set about to create a life that is skewed more toward the material end of life experience, we lose our freedom and nerve to journey into the unknown. It is as though our material desires take root in the form of possessions which act as hooks, closing the door to easily move forward into the unknown. The very act of taking on more and more material responsibility begins to extinguish the creative, universal light within which we live. In place, we find ourselves focused on maintaining our lives, as we have created them. In most cases with little wiggle room to venture into the unknown, in a child-like way, as we did when we were young. The evolving complexity of life takes this gift away from us and then bleeds over into our ability to easily and confidently move forward into new and unknown territory as adults.
For many of us, the idea of the unknown holds a lot of questions along with uncertainty and fear. Who will we become if we move beyond what we now know about ourselves and our life? What will we have to give up or even sacrifice if we take the step into the unknown? Even in normal waking consciousness, the echoing vibrations of the unknown can create some major discomfort inside of us. This would be contrary to the most effort we put forth in life; creating a comfortable and safe life. If we journey into the unknown, how will find the same peace of mind?
Fear of unknown is one of the greatest obstacles on the path. How we train ourselves and the degree to which we are willing to journey into the unknown becomes a fairly good predictor of how the soul personality will unfold, how much our path will deepen and the amount of growth we will experience in this lifetime. As we deepen the commitment to our journey, our lives move farther and farther away from the visible, to inclusion of the invisible world of the unseen.
Changing beliefs and spiritual practices move us beyond the physical world, where we come into contact with a range of energy that exists beyond anything physical. For the first time since we were children, we are asked to believe in what exists beyond the physical senses, and discover that it has substance and purpose to the unfolding nature of our being. As spiritual people, our objective is to continuously abandon what we know, in favor of recreating our lives and the purpose for our being. This step and the ones that follow require determination, patience and a high degree of inner-strength. This is why people who are willing to journey on a Spiritual path are brave.
One of the reasons we turn to a more spiritual approach toward life is based on a sense that our lives no longer brining fulfillment or satisfaction to us. The crossroad becomes clear. Stay the way we are or be brave and step into the unknown. Whether we are conscious of it or not, the normal steps of our path become about the journey into the unknown. This is the constant rather than being a source of anxiety and frustration. And in time, the fear and hesitation leave us and we come to know that the true journey is into the unknown and the path of enlightenment.
An important step on the spiritual journey and for the unfolding of the soul is a willingness, combined with a conscious effort to move again and again into the unknown. This can take form in the physical, as well as in the psychic parts of our world. There needs to be a willingness to observe the patterns we have created and then to break down the mental barriers that arise to create stagnation. The content of our belief structure, the motivating force behind all of our action, needs to be continually challenged, discarded and replaced by what comes to us as from the next journey into the unknown. How else could we expect to honor our personal obligation to grow, and in that growth experience, personal expansion and an expanded vision and knowing of the God of our Hearts?
How do we journey into the unknown without fear? One way is to create a spiritual method intended to help us along the way. This may be through a daily journal, combined with meditation and purposeful prayer, for example. What we are looking to identify are those things that exist in our consciousness and subconscious that trigger our fear reaction. Since there is such a thing as constructive fear, it is logical to conclude that we will never be completely without fear. Once we make a commitment to identify our fear of the unknown, we can be confident that our minds will start to show us what we need to know. Armed with that knowledge and understanding, the steps we need to take for our own spiritual growth will become clearer.
Yet, there is the ever present issue of free will. We always have a choice of either taking action or remaining unchanged. The emotional response within us, that we come to identify as the fear of the unknown, comes from a knowing on some level that there is a need for change. Our response to this energy can create a whole range of uncomfortable responses. What is important to remember is that we don't always have to take action. We can journey into the unknown by accumulating information and knowledge from whatever sources are available. From there we can evaluate the value of the information in relationship to who we are and the content of our spiritual journey. But in the end, it is important to remember that we don't have to make any changes. That is free will.
This simple step gives us time to assimilate what is unfolding in our consciousness and coming into our lives. The assimilation gives us the opportunity to transform what is unknown to what is known.
Sometimes, we need a period of adjustment to better understand what we are starting to see and coming to know about the unknown elements of life. The very essence and constant element of the spiritual journey, beginning to know the God of our Hearts, will always include an element of the unknown. This is the source of the unfolding nature of our soul personality. To reconcile our thinking, and by avoiding the emotional roller coaster that comes with fear, we can find ourselves moving deeper into our path without the hesitation and delay that comes from the fear of the unknown.
When we regard and associate with the fear of unknown as our ally, the spiritual path truly begins to unfold before us. Then, we come to understand that the true path of our spiritual journey is embodied in our ability to embrace our fear and move into the unknown. The second part of our association is logical and based on our instinct to remain safe. An important step in understanding fear is knowing that in part, our very life depends upon it to maintain our physical body, the vehicle for continuously evolving our nature of being.
If you have questions or comments, please email me at steve@stephenthomson.net.
PS. A great source for understanding these changing times is Cal Garrison's new book, The Astrology of 2012 and Beyond. Be sure to buy it at the Ma'at Bookstore.
About Stephen Thomson
Steve Thomson is a writer, teacher, and psychic, well-known throughout the United States. He leads workshops about metaphysical practices, including meditation, expansion of the psychic senses, spiritual magic, the Tarot, and the Kabbala. He also guides journeys to sacred sites around the world. For over 20 years, Steve has been a member of the Rosicrucian Order AMORC and he has been a student of Paramahansa Yogananda's, Self-Realization Fellowship for over 10 years. His book entitled The Secret Key is available through our website. He is currently working on a new book entitled Discovering Your Spiritual Truth — A Primer for the Path — Things to Think About, Meditate On and Journal, which will be available by the end of 2009.
You may write Steven personally at Steve@stephenthomson.net
or visit his website: www.stephenthomson.net
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