Serving Understanding to Ourselves and Others, Scott Walter, Sensei
I view people as eternal beings living in a state where we don't typically even remember our reasons for being here, both as individuals and as an entire race. To me, this causes the majority of our confusion, or at least this form of confusion is the reason for the majority of our difficulties in understanding ourselves and each other. So, I focus my understanding on appreciating that we have reasons for being here and that we suffer from a lack of understanding regarding that. This helps me deal more easily with many of life's conflicts.
I feel that until we are able to see beyond our current limitations, we will be forever held to those limitations. And because I see people as already being eternal, I focus my attention on supporting the idea of us each having purpose and reasons for being here. This also makes it much easier for me to be forgiving and supportive, since I can see most people have no idea why they are here or where they were before. If you don't know why you are here, or where you were before, it becomes much harder to know where you are going and what you should be doing now, in a practical sense.
I realize our religions are providing basic guidelines to aim us into eternal awareness, and that we do in fact need that form of awareness. But I also see too many people putting their efforts to become aware sometime in the future… beyond this lifetime. They propose to become aware in their afterlife. Well, I am in my afterlife, so I am now living in the commitment and focus I made before.
I suppose I have made repeated efforts over time, because I can now see the souls of people shining through from under the surface of their physical features. It becomes very tangible to me. So much so, I don't have to wonder about being eternal... only the particulars unique to each one us and to the moment. And even these open to become more revealed when we are open to the values they represent.
I find this fascinating and yet it is a very natural feeling. I don't have to pretend or force my faith. I have the evidence constantly in my view. This and other strongly intuitive experiences have brought me into an eternal awareness where I can see the spiritual working through the mental, emotional and physical aspects, or dimensionality of our being human.
I have also come to see that talents and natural abilities are things we have developed at some point in our eternal lives. It’s our choices and experiences that make us different. I feel that as people come to understand this better, they will take more time to develop the skills they want to be part of their future. If someone really understands they are already eternal, they will assess themselves differently. Their choices will become more supportive of that aspect of themselves and of the on-going qualities of life.
When I look inside, I see that we have access to unlimited potential, but our access is limited to our acceptance of those inner areas and the conductivity they represent. I see spiritual practice as something that helps facilitate that conductivity and access. And I see that when we aim that practice in line with our reason for being, it becomes a more purposeful application.
Serving understanding is an important practice to me. Since we are all here in service to something, why not practice serving understanding? Who would not benefit from having better understanding or from being better understood? I can more easily open my mind and heart when I am willing to be more understanding. And as my mind and heart open, my soul and other souls are more easily able to shine through to the surface, sharing the understandings that carry value over time.
