May 2017 

Having recently participated in a weeklong gathering to explore the Enneagram in Motion, I have been pondering the nature of soul, transformation, and the interdependence necessarily at the heart of the evolution of human consciousness.  Russ Hudson describes the inner work of the Enneagram as profoundly different from working on our “issues” so that we can become a better caterpillar.   A caterpillar perseverates on devouring leaves and molting into a bigger, yet still identical, version of itself.  One cannot grow wings and fly, however, without first entering a chrysalis and allowing the known self to dissolve into something new, capable of participating in the complex web of interrelationships at the heart of the cycle of life.  Yet how much difference can our tiny, individual metamorphoses really make?  I cannot begin to fathom how the beating of one butterfly’s wings could possibly cause even a whisper of a ripple on the other side of the globe.  But we are not just individuals; we are part of a whole stream of life.  As we awaken to our true self, we discover communion with the luminous web and begin to take our place in the cosmic dance.

Only through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength to fight vigorously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit.

~  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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We are like songbirds.  When one of us gives voice to our true nature, it is contagious and others soon give tongue as well.  We do not live or create in isolation.  Each of us is part of a greater whole and, as we agree to express ourselves, we agree to express the larger self that moves through us all.

~ from WALKING IN THIS WORLD by Julia Cameron

Photo Sam Kumar s14

Crack yourself open!
What use is it to continue to hide
behind your facades and roles?
Why waste your energy playing games?
Isn’t it time to cry your tears;
to shout your passion;
to dance like Zorba;
and to let your soul touch
the Soul of the world?

~ from THE SAGE’S TAO TE CHING by William Martin