Today is good day to clear up hindrances. There are of course many varying levels to that call: obstacles to your physical movements, emotional stumbling blocks, the barriers to the fields of ideas and relationships. Intense attachments in all those arenas are likely to entangle our energy in ways that siphon our resolve to live from our highest values that fulfill our deepest needs. That is why spiritual teachings bring our attachments into focus, to be considered in spiritual practice and day to day living. Ultimately, the intent is to acquire the freedom to listen and respond to the promptings of our own inner guiding Intelligence and overseeing Love, accessible to each of us. We can call that God, Spirit, Higher Power, Transcendence--what we call it is not the point; the point is our receptivity and response, that which aligns us with the Good and the unfathomable Whole.
Earlier this week, I ran into what seemed like a critical obstacle in daily life--my internet shut down! All the standard procedures of rebooting and resetting failed. A phone call to the provider did give me the clarity that the modem was working fine, but offered no further help other than through email, which of course I could not access. A quick trip to the local library gave me public access (an essential service for any urban center!). There I was able to discern that my wifi was also fine, but while I could use the public access, my personal internet service was not connecting with my computer. I went home. None of the possible "fixes" I had found worked. My frustration level finally led me back to meditation.
In meditation I realized that there would be a solution, but now it was evening and all of this could wait another day. Contrary to the habitual power of daily routine and rhythm, life really does not depend on the internet, nor on completing my work as planned. I would start again tomorrow. At that moment, a friend texted and I told her of my day of obstacles. Though we do not have the same OS, she shared a similar recent experience, offering what had been her solution: clear the browser history, then restart. And it worked! I had to 'clear the field' of weeks and weeks and weeks of accumulated data. Somewhere, something in that pile had triggered the glitch. Are human minds and personal habits that different?
We have no choice but to trust the way our brains sort and file and connect accumulated bits of information and experiences, retrieving them as necessary. The quiet practice of meditation (as well as natural sleep) allows that process to work more efficiently. But meditation is also a process where we disentangle ourselves from emotional obstacles and false ideas. We see our accumulated history in a new light. We forgive. We let go. And the Light turns back on...(Susan Nettleton)
"You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?" Galatians 5:7