who am i, why am i here? where am i going?

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A question arose recently about spiritual 'practice' and what that meant for me.

I am inclined to believe that we are as spiritual as our life story reveals it to be. Spiritual intentions, thoughts, ideas, understanding mean very little if  they are not  in action.

At the end of the day it comes down to how well we've lived our lives and how present we are within that process.

And the measure of ‘how well' is not necessarily something others can see or measure (yet they can!) but ultimately the point is to know that we know when we are *not doing so.

We are constantly given flags when we go 'astray'. .. through our relationships with others. engagement with family, friends strangers. Worldviews. Citizenry. through our jobs or interests or school. through art and music and books.

The constant hallmark is how we respond. We begin seeing that in essence, life doesn't change but our relationship to is does. We don't have to be perfect at anything .. but it is essential we view our relationship to the elements life reveal to us and how we respond. Choice is more about responding than observing. It's an action.

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A conversation with a friend lead me to want to do an exercise of listing out some insights that came together after the I Ching entered my life.

To understand that spiritual development and light-bearing has no end point and is by nature in constant evolution, answers questions of:

1) Who am I?
- a manifestation of god/consciousness in material form

2) Why am I here?
- to know myself as consciousness through my material being. i recently heard someone say "we are god having a human experience, not man haveing a god experience". how does that change our framework?

3) What must I do? & why was I placed in a cognitive, acting, feeling, moving mind-body organism?
- to live life knowing my nature and tune in to my evolving nature & creative impulse as i participate in life. (in whatever form that manifests).

4) Where am I going?
- have no clue and it doesn't matter. :-).  if I stay at the edge of that awake, aware, open place of constant development and awareness, I know I am at the edge of that forward momentum.

And that space of ‘constant development' is not burdensome or heavy or concrete. It is ever-new. It is liberating. It is not hyper - just expansive and 'light'.  It is equally still and silent as it is active or sound.

5) How do I know when I am not in alignment with my truest nature?
- The signals of life indicate it clearly. Our ‘emotional' responses indicate it clearly.

The very nature of consciousness is ‘positive', ‘regenerative' and 'good' - (not about being happy ..or peaceful - see the difference?). It is abundant and awake and aware. It is unceasing humility yet deeply open to infusing all of life with movement and energy. (even in perfect stillness).

We have all tasted what this is like, mistaking that moment of perfect knowing with the activity we were engaging in at the time we recognized it.. then becoming disappointed when that moment no longer provided that high.

To know who we are and why we are here adds an important framework to relating to life.

The I Ching helps me refine my relationship to that framework each day. Meditation & contemplation are tools I use to connect my relationship to my nature (pure consciousness). But to know my nature is but one step in a huge symphony still in process.

To then infuse all of life (the mundane and extraordinary, the sacred and secular) with this. To stay true to it, is a birthright. Why else are we here as sentient beings in manifest form?

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