Choosing
a Path with Heart
“Look
at every path closely and deliberately.
Try
it as many times as you think necessary.
Then
ask yourself, and yourself alone...
Does
this path have a heart? If it does, the
path
is good. If it doesn't, it is of no use.”
Carlos
Castaneda
Many
years ago, I studied Native American spirituality. Having been born
in Cherokee County, North Carolina, not far from the reservation, I
was interested in the organic way of life lived by most tribal
people, respectful of the earth, taking no more than was needed,
supporting one another. I studied with a Lakota teacher whose method
of instruction was shamanic journeying. I liked the gathering of
women, the way that information obtained by journey, as well as by
dreams, was taken seriously. But after a while, I decided that
particular path was not the right one for me. I need a strong
foothold in this world. I need wisdom gained and shared in ordinary
ways. But I still value the experience. It taught me a wider
perspective and an appreciation for gaining answers by going within,
rather than by seeking them outside myself.
I
have some friends who are Taoists. They meditate every day and
observe particular days of fasting and restraint. They study with a
Chinese teacher, and host several other itinerant teachers in the
tradition. I have attended some of those gatherings, and have
meditated with them many times. I like the people. I appreciate their
devotion to the principles of the Tao. But that, too, is not the path
for me.
It
is important, I believe, to open one's mind to other ways of faith.
It is in narrowing our perspective that enmity for 'the other' finds
fertile ground. Such tunnel vision produces the waspish mentality we
see too much of today; the one that says, 'there is only one true
path, and that path is mine'. This way of thinking divides human from
human, and provides a context for strife and, as we know all too
well, for war.
There
is value in all faith traditions. It is important to learn something
about them before hurling stones, or dismissing them as false
religions. Only you can decide which path has heart for you. Others
have that right, too.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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