TRUTH

    Truth

    In the midst of all actions, all feelings and thought
    There is but one thing to prevail,
    The many twists and turns, a step at a time
    Life's sole purpose, is this to unveil.

    Removing the blanket that covers true Being
    Age-long passage, from time of eternal youth,
    In good times and bad, in knowing or not
    What is sought-is simply the truth.

    Many times afraid- of that which is real
    We burrow and hide in deceit,
    Consciously unaware in current presence
    True knowledge, is that which we cheat.

    Peeling away the many layers of illusion
    Through experience, one layer at a time,
    No certitude of that right or wrong
    On the unequivocal, true upward climb.

    Perpetual change in earthly understanding
    Until the ripples of judgment subside,
    This stirring moment does wait for us all
    And then, the truth cannot hide.

    Truth now exposed, a cleansing of apparition
    We experience each moment nonaligned,
    Accepting the now, the instant, the present
    Is our enchanting, everlasting true find.

Truth is a single, simple word that all of us have heard from our earliest days of comprehension. From the days of our childhood, we were always told to tell the truth, that telling the truth was the right thing to do and would make us good people. Of course, this was positive, constructive direction from our parents, loved ones, teachers, and the like. In reality, it helped meld us with positive character traits and attributes in our human growth and development.

But as young children, we were continually conditioned, continually bombarded with what society considered to be the truth, what society considered to be the way of the world, what society considered to be right or wrong. This idea of truth led us to believe that when we, or others, were not acting, speaking, or directing our lives in a certain fashion, we were treading down the wrong path. "Conform to the norm" would be an appropriate description of this paradigm, and history has shown that this way of thinking has continued from generation to generation. Truths, attitudes, and behaviour pass from parent to child — with good intent in most circumstances. And, of course, the best intention directs the next generation to know the way to happiness and to being a good, upstanding member of society and a good human being. Yes, there are obvious changes in traditions from several generations long past, but the core impression of the ways of the world has remained constant, and for the most part, they have been shared with an "earthly" understanding of love.

This earthly understanding of love is experienced with those close to us, both family and friends and others in our close circle of life. Many claim they love unconditionally; many believe in their own minds they love unconditionally — but in reality, when the people they love stop conforming to direction, guidance, or the attitude of others, those who thought they loved unconditionally begin to judge them and take on other attitudes that ultimately affect their relationships. Our upset or discontent with the actions, behaviour, or attitudes of others eventually goes against the grain of the universal heart. This is the way of the world as we know it, but there is good news, great news, in fact! It is exactly this process that each and every human being needs to pass through to experience and ultimately learn to love in accord with the universal heart.

Learning the truth, learning love — this is our ultimate destiny in the game that we all know as life. And how does this happen? How does this occur for each and every one of us? Ultimately, with one interaction with another person, one new conscious thought, one experience at a time. Each and every experience does not lead us toward the truth, but it eventually carries us away from what is not true, what is not real, what is not relevant in our journey as eternal beings. In many ways, it goes against the grain of what we learned in our youth as the truth — the truth we learned to carry us through life as our predecessors displayed in their actions, thoughts, and words. It peels away the many illusions that block us from knowing real love, Universal Love. In a sense, we have to unlearn that which has established our foundation as human beings, from time of birth to our present moment.

"We continually need to unlearn, and by doing this, we learn to be"

We tread down the path of life trying to conform to the wishes and directions of those who came before us. We follow our loved ones' guidance and wisdom, typically trying to conform to societal norms and lead a good, upstanding life. These loved ones typically profess that we can do anything we set our minds to with dedication and commitment. This may include following in our families' footsteps — attending certain academic institutions or taking particular career paths, or often following our parents' dreams and aspirations for us, aspirations that we make better lives for ourselves than what they themselves experienced. Again, it's all done with good intent. But imminently, we tread off this course to varying degrees, and ultimately, we develop mental images of ourselves in accordance with our nonconformance to the expectations set before us. This process typically begins at a very young age — and our conscious and subconscious positions continuously evolve. Yes, in a lot of cases, life plays out and follows the map put forth in front of us with great precision, but if the map outlined was not in accordance with universal love, it can then repeat itself and continue to elude the truth.

So how do we migrate toward the truth by either staying on or stepping off the path in front of us? Ultimately, we go where the winds of change carry us; we each trek upon our own path one step at a time, one rung on the ladder at a time, to discover who we really are at the core of our being. There are an infinite number of paths, but all eventually lead to the same destination, the same divine Truth!

Every path has many twists and turns; there's no doubt whatsoever! We experience many, many periods in our lives of happiness, sorrow, confusion, anger, intolerance, and every other emotion known to humankind. Typically, we discover what brings us happiness, what brings us pleasure, and what brings us purpose- and repeat these experiences to return to our sense of pleasure, happiness, or purpose. This becomes our perceived truth, often the same truth that has been shared by our predecessors. It can be in our choice of employment, our pleasure in any type of activity, our lifetime partner, or a group or club we associate ourselves with. We return to our passions, day in and day out, and continually chase the feelings we initially experienced upon discovering our happiness or pleasure. Many times, our experiences pan out well with what we make a part of us, sometimes for the remainder of our lives. But all too many times, the tides of change wash in, and discontent, sorrow, and a multitude of other personal disturbances are a prominent feature of their unwanted arrival.

We see this truth in personal relationships all the time, where love flourishes and happily ever after is the reference point on the ladder of life. Physical and emotional attraction permeates the essence of the new relationship, and the lovers are lenient toward each other's undesirable characteristics or personality traits. As we have heard a thousand times and we all recognize, the relationship is in the honeymoon stage. In this day and age, "until death do us part" is falling by the wayside as separation and divorce rates steadily increase from only a few decades ago.

Of course, one can ponder the possibility of many relationships in the past that may have been severely strained- as one or both participants lived or simply existed in pain and turmoil. But the pain or strain of any relationship only makes us stronger in our known or unknown quest for the truth. As people weather the storms of adversity in a loving relationship, the waves of turmoil can and do subside, one storm at a time, and peace and happiness can result if both participants maintain their hearts' targets.

But in many circumstances in this day and age, when the honeymoon is over and leniency toward undesirable characteristics or behaviours of the significant other reaches a certain level of intolerance, relationships often dissolve. One or both participants in the relationship can no longer bear the unwanted hurt, the sense of loss of the elation once felt, or the overall decline in the state of well-being. The answer? Don't accept any more pain, discontent, or suffering, and find the elation you once felt in a new, exciting relationship! Find a new source of truth! This can occur rapidly, sometimes while the old relationship still exists to some degree.

The new relationship rapidly removes the pain and discontent of the old, and pleasure, happiness, and excitement return with a huge sigh of relief. Life resonates with a new vibrancy, and once again, the horizon appears amazingly bright! In some cases, this works out well for the remainder of the journey if other segments of the truth are coming to light. But for many, the cycle repeats itself to a point of another separation or a settling for what is. Life once again loses its lustre, and we step once again onto the plane of simple existence- and off the plane of happiness and contentment.

This cycle, the experience of a personal relationship described above, can pertain not only to intimacy but to any other personal relationship as well. This could include a friendship or a relationship in business or the workplace or with any sibling or other relative. Depending on the circumstance or type of personal relationship, separation, avoidance, or a discontented existence evolve as the result, unless one has the perseverance to move through the pain.

When we experience the decline or strain in a friendship, many times the relationship simply folds, and we move on to new friends or acquaintances to replace our loss. The wrong things may have been said, intolerable actions may have taken place, or any other occurrence that creates emotional pain may push our acceptance level to the point of no return. We feel we are no longer in the emotional position to accept the situation, and we depart with varying degrees of scarring upon our soul, depending upon the level of the relationship. So much like the intimate relationships described earlier, friendships dissolve without commitment to work through the discrepancies or issues, as in many cases, the participants feel that parting ways is the easier, softer route. Either route we take — committing to resolve or parting ways — we continue to evolve toward the next removal of the un-truth and peel back one more layer of illusion!

We have touched upon the experiences of many personal relationships, but we can experience and move through many of the same frustrations, emotions, and pain in our work and working relationships as well. In many circumstances, our workplace or place of employment demands us to remain constant, and we have to tolerate and work through the many unsettling circumstances. As we grow through adolescence into adulthood, enter intimate relationships, have children, and have to support or contribute to the family unit, picking up and leaving for bigger and better things or a better working environment is many times not an option with the resources, opportunities, training, or education we may happen to possess. We remain in undesirable situations out of sheer necessity to feed our families, pay our bills, or maintain whatever lifestyle we may have developed.

Many look upon this type of work or working experience as an inescapable trap. People experience it oftentimes as a ball-and-chain existence that perpetuates day in, day out, year after year, while those involved are ever growing in frustration, discontent, and emotional torment. There is no escape, as there are mouths to feed, bills to pay, education funds to generate, and so on. Oftentimes the individual or collective discontent strikes out verbally, physically, or in other destructive manners against "the man," the company, or the known managers or leaders of such organizations. The hard truth of discontent in our livelihood is often the result, and without a positive balance of other external activity, personal fulfilment and an overall sense of well-being continue to elude us. The truth, again, is nowhere to be found.

On the other side of the coin, many do pursue their own truth through several jobs or even several career paths. Whether an individual goes out on a limb to leave a job in hopes of something better or their education, training, or experience permit this activity, the pot of gold at the end of a new rainbow becomes the next employment experience. Oftentimes the promise of more money, better opportunities, or better working conditions lure individuals to make the move toward a new road to happiness, a new road to truth. Once again, sometimes fulfilment is a result of the changes we have made, but many times, the grass is not any greener and the search for the truth trudges on to the next pasture.

So inevitably, we pursue the truth through finding happiness, finding purpose, finding fulfilment — being a good neighbour, being a good family member, being a good employee, or being a good partner. We can follow the many paths that our predecessors instructed us to take in the quest for happiness and in the quest for the truth, but an emptiness often remains. We still do not know who we are, and we still experience frustration, confusion, and judgment with ourselves and others within and outside our circle of life. We still experience a hole in our hearts to one degree or another.

It is only when we realize we must dispel our expectations, dispel judgment of our circumstances, and dispel judgment of ourselves and others that we can really begin to know the truth. And as guidance by our predecessors outlined what was right or wrong and good or bad, this leads us to a rung on the ladder of utmost confusion. How can all those before us be so certain, so steadfast in their convictions of the ways of the world, and we as individuals now question all we have learned and absorbed from youth? How do we move forward, seeing life with a different set of eyes? At this point of our journey, on this rung of the ladder, we begin to rely on the Unseen energy, the divine guidance around and within, as our level of awareness now permits.

We can begin to really comprehend and appreciate the multitude of circumstances, experiences, and outcomes for ourselves and others around us to be of divine purpose and not a simple roll of the dice. We now know that at the core of our being there is a perfect order, and we all play an intricate part each and every moment! This is when we begin to know the truth; this is when we do begin to see the world through a different set of eyes! Our new sense of being allows us to understand the multitude of paths to the truth for ourselves and all others and dispels the notion of right and wrong, good and bad, black and white. Another progressive rock band that I have grown to love is the Moody Blues. In their song "Late Lament," they describe this so well, as follows:

Cold-hearted orb that rules the night,
Remove the colours from our sight,
For red is grey-yellow-white,
But we decide which is right —
And which is an illusion. 3

No good or bad, right or wrong, black or white? Impossible, in the eyes of the material world as we know it. We have developed systems and been conditioned in every area of life to evaluate, study, grade, judge, categorize, and so on. These systems tell us what is right or wrong, according to the collective body at the helm, the powers that be. Systems created out of necessity for justice and order that ultimately reinforce our separation and individuality. It is only when we experience the universal energy at the core of our being that the labels of judgment begin to fall by the wayside and the miracle of the eternal ladder is recognized.

And just how do we arrive at this point of recognition, this point of awareness? Only when the ever-so-stubborn shell of the ego is compromised and cracked wide open do we get a glance at who we really are. We are now aware that we are not our incessant thoughts; we are not a small, singular entity walking the face of the earth, scratching out a meagre existence. We are in fact a crucial segment of the entire universe, the entire cosmos, and we are loved beyond our wildest dreams! Without each and every one of us, life as it is known would not exist. This is the key to our entire existence, the rung of the ladder that holds our eyes wide open to the truth. This is the key to our new reality — heaven on earth! Heaven on earth is the point in time when we comprehend our innermost self to be so much more than we could have ever imagined, not in the light of the ego, but in the light of Love!