How do we know exactly where we are along the path of eternal awareness? That would be a valuable thing to know.

An accurate understanding of where we are in this process is different than making a general statement like, “Well, I can tell you one thing - I am not all that eternally aware” or “I have some awareness, but I sure need more.” Such statements are vague and generally useless. Yet we often say them in a clubby or chummy sort of way, perpetuating the conspiracy of ignorance that occurs when we laugh and agree.

In striving for eternal awareness am I 1% aware? 10%? More? Knowing exactly where we are along the trail would give us a sense of how far we’ve come and how far we have to go.

One time I was backpacking with my brother and a couple of friends along the Appalachian Trail. The AT is a 2175 mile footpath that runs from Georgia to Maine. We were hiking over a section of ten mountains in New York state. Lugging a 55 pound backpack, I was coming down a small descent between mountains when I misstepped and my ankle twisted, folding under the full downhill weight of my right leg. Instantly collapsing, I had suffered severe ligament tears and could barely walk. We had topographic maps and it was easy to see that there was no quick way out. We were exactly half way, so I sucked it up and with the help of my trusty walking stick and sympathetic hiking companions, we climbed over the last five mountains for another day or two of painful hiking.

That map gave me get a better perspective of the length of the journey. Knowing that I was over a day away from relief kept me from whining about not being on the way home in an hour. I was able to develop a sense of timing which, together with a sense of the trail’s length, helped me overcome the excruciating pain. Whether we are in pain or not, whether our day is filled with light or darkness, shouldn’t we strive for a similar first rate sense of perspective along the path of eternal awareness?

If you knew exactly where you were along the awareness road, you could more clearly see the problems you are experiencing. Maybe you’d see that you aren’t even on the main road, but are on some side road, detouring for no good reason. Then again, if you knew there was a lot of road construction up ahead, perhaps a detour would be appropriate.

This precise sense of measurement is missing. Our current methodologies for determining our position are too vague. “All I know is that it just seems like the same thing keeps happening over and over,” laments one seeker. Another adds in frustration, “I just can’t get a clear sense of what I am supposed to do.” Another echos a common spiritual teaching, “It is all about Love,” while another says, “I am nothing and nothing matters.”

We read books, enroll in classes and surf the net, searching for answers and clarity, and our effort and progress often seems to be measured in inches not in miles. We convince ourselves that we are advancing because our friends act as though their meager progress is satisfying, so we agree and attempt to feel good about ourselves. The prevalence of this reinforcement conspires to convince us that we are making significant progress, but deep inside we know we aren’t.

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There are basically two kinds of project managers. The first type tends to have a more limited world view than the second type.

The first type of project manager (PM) believes they need to know how to do everything relative to their job. This PM may or may not be okay with delegating to others, but even if they delegate they always believe that they have to know how to do every job and task. Focusing on every detail can be a good and productive attribute, but it can create habits that get us lost in the details.

The second type of project manager tends to view the world from a higher perspective, an approach that allows them to delegate freely and quickly, giving them the space to step back to both monitor and adjust to the bigger picture. They may not know how to do every piece of their project, but that does not bother them. They see others as being valuable and necessary, and they are far more focused on getting the project completed than on who does what.

Sometimes, the first type of project manager will feel superior to the second type because, after all, they can do ‘everything.’ Judgemental approaches like this can limit the first project manager from growing, and confine them to a certain world view that is not as widely inclusive as it could grow to be. Such judgment also tends to make the first type of project manager resistant to the help and teachings of the second type of PM. Consequently, the second type of PM may eventually tire and move on, fatigued over others telling him or her that the better perspective is always the lower perspective.

These attitudes are also true in our own life and purpose. Lost in the details, the majority of us lose sight of the big picture. Yet there are experienced people who have the skills to step back and see the bigger picture, a picture that is inclusive of the continuity of eternity, inclusive that a bigger picture is, indeed, unfolding.

Spiritual seekers often lament that they don’t know where to turn. Turn toward the more seasoned teachers. If you can’t find them, search. If you seek, you will find. Be relentless, be demanding of your church, your minister, your instructor, teacher or guru. Don’t settle for the lower perspectives, but rather insist on your right to be taught how to connect to the very Center of all things, to the very Center of You.

If you haven’t had deep experiences it is because you are inexperienced. Demand the experience itself.

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