Keeping the Flame Alive

 Deep within each of us is the flame of our own uniqueness, what Renaissance neoplatonists saw as a spark of the eternal flame, the divine light of inspiration. It inspires us to make our own creative contribution to the world—writing poetry, books, and articles; composing music; creating visual arts; making scientific discoveries; coming up with new insights, new solutions to life’s daily dilemmas and challenges, large and small.

As we’ve seen in previous posts, too much clutter in our lives snuffs out the flame, as do the incessant demands of “drama queens,” and conformity, which smothers our spirit. Sadly, today too many companies treat their employees like replaceable parts, valuing profit over persons. Obsessed with the bottom line, they downsize to increase “productivity,” squeezing more work out of a smaller work force, demanding that 40 people do the work of 60. In a desperate drive for innovation, one Silicon Valley corporation has even deprived employees of their offices. Removing all their personal effects—staplers, family photos, and coffee mugs—each day these people must find a new work space.  Difficult external conditions can snuff out the flame, make us feel like victims of circumstance, with no control of our lives, not only destroying our creativity but making us doubt our sanity.

Yet as the Buddha realized, although painful conditions arise, suffering is optional. The power of mindful awareness can reignite the flame, transforming oppressive circumstance into liberation, creating new possibilities not only for ourselves but for all beings. Viktor Frankl discovered this power of the mind in a Nazi concentration camp, surviving to inspire millions with his book, Man’s Search for Meaning. Nelson Mandela emerged from 27 years in prison with a vision of the new South Africa, and Aung San Suu Kyi has kept the flame alive for democracy in Burma.

Like Frankl, Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, and centuries of other creative men and women, we are each keepers of the flame, the sacred source of our inspiration. Who knows the power and possibilities that lie within you?
Take a moment now to connect with this source. Focusing on your heart, ask yourself:

• What in my life snuffs out the flame? These are situations to avoid or transcend.
• What ignites and strengthens the flame? For many people it is contemplation, beauty, play, time spent in nature.
• Focus on your heart, feeling the flame burn brightly as you visualize what nurtures you.
• Feel this creative energy warm your heart, healing, nurturing, inspiring, flowing through your body and out your fingertips, preparing you to make your own creative contribution to the world.

Right here, right now.
Namaste,
Diane

What is Your Journey?

My friend Juan Velasco has said that writing and “reflecting on the different stages of your life, can dramatically improve your understanding of yourself and others.”

From earliest human history, throughout all world cultures, we have told our stories. Huddled around the campfire or sleeping under the stars, our ancestors passed down the stories that define us as human beings.

Joseph Campbell (1968) traced the mythic pattern of the hero’s journey—the courageous individual who leaves the known world for the great unknown, returning with a treasure to share with the larger community. Although some scholars see this as a masculine model of self-definition, I see the hero’s journey repeated in each of our lives. From the journeys of Odysseus to Dante’s Divine Comedy, the vision quests of Native Americans, to Thoreau living “deliberately” at Walden Pond to courageous individuals in recent times—Jacques Cousteau’s journeys to the ocean depths, Margaret Mead’s research in Samoa, Jane Goodall’s discoveries among the chimps in Africa—these journeys give us all a greater understanding of ourselves and our world.

The journey is ever present, yours and mine. Whenever we venture from the known to the great unknown—whether facing a new challenge or reaching out to explore a new opportunity, we take the hero’s journey, discovering valuable treasures along the way.

Take a few moments now to reflect on your own journey.

• When did you last leave your familiar path to enter the great unknown?
• What challenge did you face?
• What treasure did you discover?
• What did you learn about yourself?

Take a deep breath. Pause to give thanks for this experience as you recognize the deeper patterns of meaning in the ongoing journey of your life.

Reference

Campbell, J. (1968). The hero with a thousand faces. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. (Originally published 1949).