Open Writing

I am fully aware that my story is mostly anecdotal and that the evidence would not stand up in a science lab or a court of law. However, it was never my intention to write a watertight, scientific document. I have chosen instead to share the truth as perceived, understood and gradually learned by my own consciousness.

There are certainly parts of this narrative which can be validated by others. Carolyn could tell you that I gave her advice as to where to find her parrot, my neighbour would be happy to substantiate my claim that I asked him to check the list of those killed in 9/11 and there are those who can vouch for the fact that I knew beforehand that they were about to visit Sydney even though I'd not seen or heard from them in years. I have kept the "Penny Black" poster, not so much as "proof" but rather as a gift from Pops and a memento from that wondrous day. Otherwise, much of what occurs takes place in my heart and my head and is therefore almost impossible to prove to others.

This is the difficulty with spirituality - it is largely based on emotions and intuition and, as a result, is all too easily dismissed by the intellect as poppycock. There exists in the modern, Western world a sort of intellectual arrogance where rapid technological developments, based mostly on the physical sciences, have alienated man from his biological and spiritual roots. Our capitalist society seethes with difference, indifference, enmity and unrelenting competition where the individual is paramount. With an environment and culture such as this, is it any wonder that so few of us are listening? The realm of spirituality requires the exact opposite sort of surroundings in order to flourish, one where ego, disconnection and disaffection are absent.

As I perceive it, human beings are composed of instinct, intellect and intuition. Instinct is fairly primitive and mostly reliant on hormones, such as the fight or flight reaction fuelled by the adrenal gland when we face a dangerous situation. We all have instincts, whether we like it or not.
Intellect is the information in our minds, gathered there through formal and informal education and experience. It is used to help us make day to day decisions, predominantly focused on physical survival. The brain acts as a filter, protecting our consciousness from being overwhelmed by excessive stimulation. Over the centuries, this external stimulation has become more and more frenetic to the point where we are currently surrounded by unrealistic demands, superficial entertainment and meaningless distractions. Some of us even use the constant noise of television, radios and iPods as a way of escaping from reality.

In order to cope, our brains have become trained in the art of automatic inhibition which is the ability to instantly cut out stimuli which have had no obvious consequence in the past. Our RAMs have become full and we are no longer listening to that inner voice called intuition. Our society has become filled with a climate of scepticism, dominated by the teachings of science and organised religion and dismissing the possibility of experiencing contact with the deceased as a mere superstition.

Intuition, on the other hand, is information which appears to come from nowhere yet is uncannily accurate. Intuition is the ability to make conscious in ourselves that which was previously unconscious. To reconnect with this ability requires a calmer, different way of thinking, listening and communicating. Telepathy and spirituality, like x-rays, microwaves and quanta, are all around us at every moment but at too high an intensity for us to readily notice them. Just because we can't physically see these phenomena does not mean that they do not exist. To me, spirituality can be likened to the light of a torch; either you can stand right up against the torch, blocking the light at the source and denying it the ability to shine, all the while saying, "See, it doesn't exist" or you can stand back and bask and delight in its illumination.

Here I must caution that this state of expanded perception cannot be persistently maintained as it would be exhausting and overwhelming. We need the checks and balances of intellect to anchor us so that we don't fall into the abyss of psychological frailties such as selective memory and wishful thinking. As with anything, obsession is not healthy and we must avoid becoming self deceived, spiritual junkies. The renowned French sculptor, Jean-Pierre Rives summarises it beautifully when he says, "We have to let the spirit make the rules, not the rules make the spirit."

We are not meant to be tormented by our spirituality. We are supposed to be encouraged by it, being drawn deeper and deeper into finding the truth. The truth can only be found within ourselves, with our defences down, our antennae up and by allowing all that we have learned to drift as a loose lattice in our minds, giving us checks against fallacy and deceit and allowing us to sift out the nuggets of reality from the liquidity of intuition.
We need to combine both faculties, so that each strengthens the other, and blend them for ourselves, within our minds, into a marvellous force called intuitive intelligence.

1) Meacham, S, 'A career forged with strength', Sydney Morning Herald, 17 November 2007