Saturday, May 19, 2007

The Self


Taken from The Book of Runes


The starting point is the self. Its essence is water. Only clarity, willingness to change, is effective now. A correct relationship to your self is primary, for from it flow all possible correct relationships with others and with the Divine.

Remain modest--that is the Oracle's counsel. Regardless of how great may be your merit, be yielding, devoted and moderate, for then you have a true direction for your way of life.

Be in the world but not of it, that is implicit here. And yet do not be closed, narrow, or judging, but remain receptive to impulses flowing from Divine within and without. Strive to live the ordinary life in a non-ordinary way. Remember at all times what is coming to be and passing away, and focus on that which abides. Nothing less is called for from you now.

This is a time of major growth and rectification and, as a rule, rectification must come before progress. The field is tilled before the seed is planted, the garden is weeded before the flower blooms, and the self must know stillness before it can discover its true song.

This is not a time to seek credit for accomplishments or to focus on results. Rather, be content to do your task for the task's sake. This is more a problem for those whose eyes are always on the goal than for those who have not forgotten how to play and can more easily find themselves in doing the work for its own sake. Herein lies the secret of experiencing a true present.

If you take the Rune of the Self and cut it down the middle, you will see the Rune for Joy with its mirror image. There is a subtle caution here against carelessness. The dancing acrobatic energy of balancing is called for now--the Self is required to balance the self. Nothing in excess was the second phrase written over the gateway to the temple of Delphi. The first counsel was Know thyself.

REVERSED: If you feel blocked, do not turn to others, but look inside, in silence, for the enemy of your progress. No matter what area of your life seems to be impeded, stop and consider: You will recognize the outer "enemy" as but a reflection of what you have not, until now, been able or willing to recognize as coming from within.

Above all do not give yourself airs. Breaking the momentum of past habits is the challenge here: In the life of the Spirit you are always at the beginning.