The Art of Questing

Each of us is on a quest in life seeking or searching for something we want. It may be a change in our circumstances – or it could be something we want to add to our life. Our quest from time to time can be for something material or it can be that intangible or essence we sense is missing within. There is also the quest seeking our spiritual self. The following is what I have learned and experienced. We are each different and to compare our successes, our lives, or our accomplishments to another is an obstacle to finding out what we are and the reason for our quest.

Shakespeare, in his play As You Like It, wrote All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; and one man (woman) in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.

The stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are about one or more knights going on a quest for the Holy Grail. These are of legend, and what was the Holy Grail they were seeking?

In 1937, Hal Foster at the request of Randolph Hearst created Prince Valiant, a syndicated adventure strip. This is set in the days of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and this adventure strip is still in existence today with the good having virtues and the bad having flaws.

There is also the story of Don Quixote, a supposedly comedy/satire by Miguel Cervantes. It speaks to many people—each with her or his own interpretation and sadly, there are those who think Don Quixote was mentally ill or insane. However, most of society thinks that when one thinks or behaves in a different way than what is socially accepted or not acceptable to family members that they are weird.

We also have a method of the American Indians called the Vision Quest where the quester goes out into the wilderness and contemplates for days until a vision is received and the quester is seeking spiritual empowerment and a guardian spirit in most cases.

A quest can be for a myriad of things. For many the first stages are to seek a satisfying relationship with a member of the opposite sex and in some cases, it is with one of the same sex. This relationship may be exactly what the quester has been seeking and for those who finds that their relationship has soured, they continue with their quest to seek another who will fulfill his or her needs. On the other hand, one can remain in an unhappy relationship that becomes bitter and play the role of the victim.

Others seek material things and think that all they need is a new house, a new car, a new wardrobe, a facelift or a nose job and perhaps a new job. There may come a time when the house is old or too small and there must be a new house. The same goes for an automobile and the wardrobe. The facelift or nose job may make the individual feel better about her or his looks, but it does not satisfy that unnamed need within and dissatisfaction sets in. The new job may be just great in the beginning and again it may not be. This is not to say that these are bad things. These could all be steps in questing. Nicholas Roerich, a famous artist and writer in the early part of the last century – 1924-1925, went to India, Tibet and the Himalayas and had this to say in his book Altai Mountain, Himalaya - Every obstacle must be the birth of possibilities.

There is the side effect and that is one can become anesthetized with television, entertainment, sports and other sidelines and the handicap is that one forgets to quest unless it is for material things.

There is another form of questing and this is alchemy, which comes from the Arabian phrase al-kima and its origin from the Egyptian Coptic kehm. There are many forms of alchemy, one being turning base metals into gold. There is also the alchemy of Nature that changes a seed into a plant or a tree. The alchemy I am writing about is the alchemy of the human mind. Physically we change over the years as we physically grow. Our maturation is nourished by our thoughts, our beliefs, our words and our actions.

In the alchemy of changing base lead into gold, there are stages. Books and stories are about this and there have been seekers over the hundreds of years who have strived to interpret the alchemical texts to change lead into gold – a metal. There are supposedly seven stages such as lead, iron, tin, mercury as well as sulfur, copper, silver and finally gold.

However, there is also another form of alchemy and this is what I am writing about. I can only share my experiences and my knowledge. Everything is according to interpretation and what I am writing about is personal transformation or personal evolution.

Most of us do not know what we are questing for. We only know there is a dissatisfaction or a longing for something unseen and unknown. For me it began with a prickle--a sense that there had to be more to life than what I was experiencing. It was very subtle in one sense. When I was forty a thought flitted through my mind, by the time you are fifty your life will be changed. Frankly, I did not know what that meant and let it go. Off and on for the next ten years, the thought would return and I still did not know what it meant.

My mother died in 1976 and when I reflected on her life, I came to my realization that her life appeared to be unfulfilled and I did not want my life to be that way. My children were of the age where they were leaving home and some would say I was experiencing the ‘empty nest’ syndrome. Perhaps, however there was a yearning within me to have more satisfaction with life. I was married and had a well-paying job, lived in a beautiful house and drove a late model automobile. My relationship with my husband was one of superficiality because there was no depth. There had never been any real communication on a deep personal level.

I began searching for some meaning to my life. A friend loaned me a book that talked about the intimacy of a relationship and it moved me tremendously. It was a Friday evening and I attempted to share with my husband the yearning I had for intimacy that we had never shared. He looked at me and asked, “Do you want a divorce?” I immediately said, “Yes” and that was the end of that marriage. This was my unexpected propulsion. When we parted, I never looked back.

The prickle followed by the propulsion was the beginning of my Quest for personal transformation although I did not call it at that time. I only knew that I felt propelled to seek something more in my life. I was seeking and questioning.

My childhood had been one being at the mercy of a verbally and psychological abusive father and a mother who also was the subject of his abuse. In retrospect, I learned something very important and that was to pretend. Pretend can be two sides of a coin. On the one side, we put forth a face that everything is just peaches and cream when beneath the veneer the foundation is of another sort.

The other side of pretend is what some people call a dream. This can lead to some wonderful changes in our lives. As a small little girl I played the make-believe game with others, which was actually pretending to be someone other than who I was. The idea of traveling the world began a dream. I began pouring over travel brochures while dreaming I was traveling. I call this practice. The next step utilized patience. I did not begin thinking that it would never happen and soon the dream slipped into a subconscious state and germinated. When I was age 23, a chance reading of a small article in a newspaper stating there were recruiters for the U.S. State Department interviewing for clerical help in the Foreign Service. Those selected would work in embassies and consulates around the world. This was an opportunity and I grabbed it. I went to work in the Foreign Service branch of the U.S. State Department and my first posting was the embassy in Paris followed by the embassy in Tokyo.

This was a major change for me and I accepted it wholeheartedly. Being born in Texas and growing up there during the time of segregation, I experienced that along with the bigotry and prejudice of my father. When I left Texas, I was what one might call a greenhorn and very naïve. Paris was my uncommon education and gave me the beginnings of my quest.

Shakespeare wrote that the world is a stage and we are the players on it. In our questing, we have choices. We can never change, or we can quest to seek something unknown. We may play many different roles. I have been a college student, a code clerk, a wife, mother, government worker, holistic center program director, minister and now a writer-author. From each of these roles, I gained experience and wisdom.

What I have learned about the art of questing is first there must be a propulsion—an urge or a dream to have or to experience something. The second stage is to pretend—plan--some call this 'make-believe.' The third stage is to live life with passion and not to let go of one's plan or dream. It may sit in the back of the closet of our mind and that is okay because it is incubating. The fourth stage is to persist in doing what you enjoy and the fifth stage is to participate in whatever brings you happiness. The sixth stage is to never give up. It is to have patience. The seventh stage is the manifestation of the dream and gives praise or gratitude. What happens after we have moved through the seven stages of questing? Begin another quest. It is a never-ending journey.

MY NEW SHOES ~ A Praise Poem – Part 6
In Praise of Praise

Who says God is dead?
How can that be?
God is Life for all to see
Yeah, God is Life in all people,
All creatures – all things.
God is Life!

Not a judging being out there or up there.
I touch my chest and feel my heart beating
I give thanks and praise my Life
I praise my parents from whom I sprang
I praise my parents for providing me with necessary things.
God is Life!

I give thanks and praise my Life
For all my ups and downs.
I praise my adversities and all the
Pearls of wisdom I have gained.
I praise my God for giving me Life.
God is Life!

I praise the sadness I have felt
For how else could I know the meaning of joy?
I praise the disappointments I have had,
They really weren't so bad
For how else could I understand the accomplishments I have done?
God is Life!

I praise my eyes that I see the blue of the sky,
the sun shining down on me.
I praise the rain
I praise the night
Filled with stars, planets and UFO's
God is Life!

I praise my body – fat or thin.
When I praise all pains dissipate
Into a blessed peace.
I praise my laughter and that of others
It lightens my spirit and dissolves my load of cares.
God is Life!

I laugh with glee when the essence in me
Kicks my butt
To move me out of my rut
Telling me Change, Change, Change!
Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!

Each morn when I awaken
I praise the God I Am
I give thanks for this beautiful day
I give thanks for my Life.
Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!

"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives." Henry David Thoreau

EASTER - HAVE YOU RISEN?

In the Christian world, we celebrate Good Friday – the day that Jesus supposedly was crucified and then the following Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead. I find it interesting that the two events never are celebrated on the same day of the month as we do Christmas, Thanksgiving and Presidents' Day. Easter Sunday is the day when many deck themselves out in new clothes and go to church even though they rarely go throughout the year.

When a lie is told enough times, and accepted, then it becomes a truth. Later when facts and truth are revealed, the believers cry blasphemy! This is not saying that Jesus did not die or that he ascended. It is possible. When I headed this article "Easter – Have You Risen?" – it is in the context that have you taken responsibility for your past mistakes, errors and sins?

From the Christian pulpits, it is reiterated over-and-over that Christ died for our sins. I do not accept that, because Jesus came in as a mortal man and when he died, it was some years later that the Apostle Paul labeled him Christ. No one at the time of his death accepted that he was a divine being. It was a mortal man that gave Jesus the label of Christ. Mortal men wrote and preached this unproven story. I cannot accept that one man could die for the sins of the world. One only has to look at the turmoil in the world today.

For centuries this story has been perpetuated from the pulpits and in the Catholic Church. It is a rule in the Catholic Church that people must go to confession and confess their sins to a priest who is also a mortal man. After confessing, the person(s) leave and go out and repeat their actions again. It does not make sense to place the burden of forgiveness and atonement to one man. Isn't it time that everyone took responsibility for his or her actions and their sins?

Isn't it time we took Jesus down from the cross and placed him in a position where we apply what he taught in our lives? It would appear that from the pulpits that Satan took over and we hear more about Satan or the Devil than we hear the teaching of "Do unto others as you would have them to unto you." Another great teaching is "Love your neighbor as yourself." Both of these great statements are in the Sermon of the Mount – the 5th, 6th and 7th chapters of the Book of Matthew.
From the pulpits, rarely is it taught to not discriminate against people or their beliefs. Nor is it taught to allow others their beliefs and life styles. Instead, each sect of Christianity thinks their particular peephole of the whole is the only way and that if others do not believe as they do, then it is a sin and these disbelievers are of the devil. Where does love come in? Where does treating others the way one wants to be treated come in? Where does the freedom for women enter?
Shakespeare wrote in his play Julius Caesar, "The evil men do lives after them, and the good is oft interred in their bones." The evil men do leaves a trail – a wreckage of lives and we cannot blame it on the Devil or Satan. As Harry Truman said, "The buck stops here."

The celebration of Easter originally come from the pagans who revered life, the earth and celebrated it at the vernal equinox in honor of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eastre or Eostre. She was the goddess of fertility and life in all things. Yes, she represents the feminine aspect of life and fertility. The early Christian fathers hi-jacked this sacred event for their own purposes.

Now, more than ever is the time we each take responsibility for our own life and actions. We cannot respect or love another until we love our self and respect who we are. Life is an inward journey looking out. What do we see? What we see in another is something that is within self. Why not look for the god in everyone? Why not look for something beautiful in another? Why not do random acts of kindness? Whatever we do, will lift us and return to us a thousand fold. Then we can say, "I have risen."

JOIN ME IN BEING A SHIFT-CHANGER

Yes, I have created the For Freedom Now Project and what does that have to do with being a Shift-Changer? Everything. I have long had a love affair with words and during my lifetime, I have come to understand the power of words. Some words are weak such as 'maybe' because in indicates indecision. Two words that I have used in the past and I know others use it constantly are 'cannot' or 'can't'. Cannot or can't indicate that something will not happen or will not be done. I recently heard someone speak about someone out of work and the statement made was "he can't get a job." Well, as long as 'can't' is used, he won't.

So, how can we change bad or unhappy situations around? It only takes two words to change anything as long as these words are spoke or thought sincerely. These two words are the foundation of the For Freedom Now Project. The first word is love or LOVE and it carries within it a powerful frequency when said with sincerity. Masaru Emoto has proven through his experiments that by placing the word Love on the outside of a bottle of polluted water, that after a short period of time the water will become clean. Now that is power! Love is Source power or as some will say God-power.

Gratitude is another powerful word. Gratitude goes hand-in-hand with 'thank you' and especially when spoke or thought of with sincerity. Gratitude carries a frequency that can also change many things. The ancients knew the power of gratitude and this is why blessing our food and blessing others was handed down through the ages. Gratitude or thank you when spoken over a meal or a glass of water or wine, can change the molecular structure.

The Freedom Now Project is very simple and all that is required is a commitment to focus or pray once a day (or more) using the words love and gratitude and encompass the world with these two words. These two words will link us mind-to-mind and when done with thoughtfulness and intent, we can shift the awareness of the world from abuse, poverty, war, enslavement, bigotry, prejudice, rape, and enable the world to evolve into something greater. This is the time to heal our woundedness. Now is the opportunity to heal and give to the world a shift that will lift it up into something evolutionary.

Again, please join me in this project. For more information: http://www.forfreedomnow.weebly.com/

Bettye Johnson

LOVE AND GRATITUDE

I have written about love and gratitude in previous articles, and I cannot stress the importance of creating our life with the powerful frequency of Love and Gratitude. It can override any situation when evoked sincerely. We are living in trying times on this planet and societies have become steeped with fears, judgments, prejudices and control. Where did these beliefs/attitudes come from? There really is not any one culprit, however various religions have done much to perpetuate these and it is time for us to look at our religious beliefs. Religion and spirituality is not the same thing. Religion is man-made while spirituality comes within with a direct connection to that which created us. Some may call this connection God, Allah, Buddha or whatever name one wants to place on it. All plants, animals and water respond to love and gratitude. Even the earth responds to love and gratitude. This is ancient knowledge.

I have gone through a period of my life where I was judgmental, had prejudices , thought I was a victim, anger, jealousy, and I realized that those emotions and attitudes did not serve me. No, they made me sick and miserable. This is when I began my awakening as described in my book Awakening the Genie Within. I have discovered that to live a balanced life that my main tools are observation, love and gratitude.

We can change our lives by observing our beliefs, attitudes and emotions and discarding those that no longer contribute to our well-being or happiness. In speaking about love, I am not addressing romantic love, or parental love. I am writing about universal love and when we can place a non-biased love as a blessing on people, places, events, our food, our drink, our animals, plants and this Earth, we have altered the frequencies and a blossoming occurs not only in our self but also in others.

Love has many attributes such as kindness, acceptance, understanding, allowing, with no judgments or prejudices. I have learned that the more I put into action these attributes that my life has less chaos. I have learned for myself to mentally stand back, observe my reactions, and then choose to change them. It is a challenge at times to observe situations, which spawns herd mentality. It takes courage to step out of the box, but it can be done. Complacency stagnates love. It lulls one into a false sense of security. I have realized that there are times to speak out on issues, but there is also a time when to keep silent and observe until I realize that something wonderful may come from this.

Gratitude is a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation. It is also acknowledgement of a benefit received or will receive. I grew up in a household where we said a blessing for our food at every meal. I never understood why and it appeared to be a rote action. A true blessing is one said silently or vocally with focused intent. The blessing of food, drink or anything is also ancient knowledge. The pagans used blessings and gratitude long before the Christians. There are many stories of people who gave a blessing, a prayer of thanks for something they knew they would receive.

From my perspective if more people would begin blessing their lives and the people in their lives along with their possessions, jobs, the problems would fade away because showing gratitude for everything opens doors to new possibilities. Margaret Cho stated it quite well, "Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone's life forever."