This article was published in Living Now magazine in January 2005.
“Every treasure is guarded by dragons,” says an ancient Chinese proverb, and our inner spiritual treasure seems to be no exception!Whilst we may know that we have an abundance of light, love and peace somewhere deep inside us, at times the journey to find it seems impossibly arduous and the dragons guarding it exceedingly fierce! The energy of the New Year though, offers us the opportunity to rededicate ourself to our spiritual quest with new enthusiasm.
The chance for a fresh start may give rise to a plethora of New Years resolutions, but unless we pay careful attention to finding practical methods of implementing these changes, we may never reap the results of our good intentions. Outlined below are some suggestions for fighting our inner dragons and achieving spiritual and psychological transformation. No, they are not quick fixes (don’t we love those!) but techniques, which, if practiced consistently over time, will yield profound results. Many of these techniques are drawn from Sri Chinmoy’s book “Wings of Joy”; others have been picked up from years of study and practice of both spirituality and psychology in various traditions.
One of the first ‘dragons’ guarding our inner spiritual treasure, which we must face if we are to transform, is the fear of truly knowing ourself. Paradoxically, it is best to begin our journey of change by first acknowledging and accepting both ourself, and the world, as they are right now – warts and all! A good way of doing this is to allocate time for quiet reflection or meditation on the past year, and allow ourself to acknowledge, with out judgement, aspects of ourself with which we are not satisfied. Sometimes the use of a journal can be effective at this point – we find that if we simply start to write about our year, themes of future transformation will emerge. It is important to have a loving and accepting attitude to our imperfections during this period of reflection.
This step forms the foundation of our journey of transformation and is neglected at our peril. If, instead of allowing ourself to spend time “sitting with” the discomfort of our imperfections, we flee from this knowledge and rush prematurely into change, we may find to our dismay that the change is short lived. When transformation is really ‘running away from our self’ in disguise, our fear and lack of self-acceptance impels us to simply imitate the qualities we want, rather than actually work on developing them within us. Then, not only do we come across as inauthentic, but down the track a little, our unacknowledged tendencies will come forward again and trip us up, making us feel we have ‘failed’.
How many of us, for instance, have sworn never to behave like our mother or father, and embracing the opposite behaviour, are mortified to find ourself, a little while later, embodying those rejected parental qualities! Again, we all come across people who assert a philosophy of peace and yet whose interactions with others are filled with a subtle aggression and desire for power. In Wings of Joy, Sri Chinmoy uses the analogy of a potter “If we do not accept something, how are we going to transform it? If the potter does not touch the lump of clay, how is he going to shape it into a pot? If his aim is to make a pot or pitcher, he has to touch the clay.”
Secondly, no matter what kind of changes we want to make, we need to do more than idly ‘wish’ for transformation. Creating change usually requires an intense investment of energy, and the mobilisation of what Sri Chinmoy refers to as the ‘Divine Warrior’ within us. In short we actually need to go into battle against those parts of ourself, which resist change. Once we acknowledge that some aspects of our being are likely to dig in their heels, and we start thinking in terms of ‘fighting’ our own negative tendencies, we do away with that subtle expectation that change should be a push over – an expectation that often leads to failure.
In my experience it is extremely helpful to have a visual image of this “Divine Warrior” aspect of our self. The image needs to represent the absolute highest potential in us, and be filled with qualities such as wisdom, inner strength, purity, discrimination and light. We could use for this purpose is an image from one of the major religions with which we have an affinity, for example a picture of the Buddha or the Christ, or an aspect of God represented by the Hindu pantheon. Alternatively we may wish to draw an image of our own higher self, or search for non-traditional archetypal images representing the above qualities.
Just as a teenager might put up a poster of a sporting hero in his or her bedroom as a role modal, so we can use our Divine Warrior image for inspiration. Spending time each day meditating on this image will help to remind us of our goal, and bring forward within us the qualities we need to achieve it. Some people are hesitant to meditate on ‘someone else’, even if it is a very spiritual someone, however it is important to remember that what we are doing with this technique is using the image as a representation of our own highest potential.
Another dragon guarding our inner treasure, one that is familiar to most of us, comes in the form of thoughts and feelings from the past, which vigorously reassert themselves when threatened by change. Unless we tackle this dragon head on, we can find we lose faith in our capacity and then lose enthusiasm for our goals. Whilst we know on one level that the past no longer exists, and that all we have is the present moment, it can be difficult to expel the thoughts which act to keep the past alive within us, and which result in us feeling ‘as though’ the past is still with us. Repetition of mantras or affirmations can be very effective here. One of my favourites is “The past is dust”. Saying this phrase over and over, out loud and with determination is a very effective tool in transforming the mind from one that holds onto the past, to one that accepts the present and is open to the future. Alternatively, the combination of mantra with a visualisation or meditation can also be highly effective. For instance, repeating the phrase “Exhale the dust of the path, inhale the fragrance of the future”, whilst focussing on letting go of the past on the out breath and breathing in new life energy and new possibilities on the in breath.
Sometimes, during our struggle for transformation, the dragon of envy or jealousy arises. We see another person, who already embodies the qualities we wish for, or whose struggle to attain them seems to have been blessingfully short, and we are over come with a sense of unfairness, and of envying their success. At this point, bitterness and a sense of failure can threaten to overwhelm us. This dragon, too, must be fought, and here we can bring forward the spiritual weapon of “oneness”.
If we can learn to truly identify with the whole of creation or with the Creator, however we conceive of Her/Him, then another person’s success becomes our own success in and through another body. An effective way of achieving this is to feel that each person is simply an instrument of God (or the Creative Principle). Then try to change your sense of “I” from the individual self to the Source, which acts through us all.
Eyes open meditation on the ocean can be helpful at this point – first focus on one tiny drop of water as it bounces through the waves, and then after a while change your focus to the whole of the ocean. Try to feel that the consciousness of the drop has merged and become one with the consciousness of the ocean. Once we really feel that we are all part of the same entity, then jealousy no longer arises. Just as our left hand does not become jealous of our right hand when it does something, so the part of the whole I think of as “me” will not become jealous of the part of the whole called “you”.
Lastly, in our inner treasure hunt, we need to overcome the impatience–dragon! So often we underestimate the time and level of persistence required in order to achieve our goals. I find it helpful to think of patience not as a passive quality, but as a dynamic yet poised movement towards a goal. If we meditate on a tiny seed lying in the ground, it can help us develop enough patience to keep persisting when progress seems unbearably slow!
Good luck and Happy New Year to you all!
