There are people all around us who think that what they see is what is real, who forget that they are beings of light, embodiments of divine energy. Forgetting is easy, it seems, but it hurts so much that once the truth comes to your attention, it becomes harder to ignore. At least, it does for me.
I have long been struggling with what I can only describe as a resistance to accepting this incarnation. For a long time, for example, I had no interest in food. I’d wait until the body started complaining, then eat whatever was closest, easiest, to quiet it, and then move on. That didn’t result in a very health-promoting diet, I’ll tell you.
I want to float effortlessly through the spirit world, listen for the voice of god, meditate. But I am taking a new approach these days.
I am a householder. I am incarnate, and that is a gift, an experience I chose, and can enjoy. I choose to experience life, grow food, dig in the earth. I choose to engage with other incarnate beings and talk politics, to carve a piece of wood into a tool I can use, to build fire and to extinguish it. I choose to earn money and spend it.
As I study, I see that there have been many seekers and masters who have suggested that the path is only open to those who renounce their home, family, business and other concerns. A householder is seen (with a few exceptions) as someone who chooses earthly experience over spiritual work.
For me, though, I know that it would be easy to walk away, to begin walking and not stop. I have chosen to embrace being a householder, and embrace the path at the same time. I will blend the two, and learn something I can’t gain from any book or guru.
Here I go.
One Comment on “On being a householder”
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This world is our playground. To me, the point here is to learn to infuse every thought, action, and deed with spirit. Make love with God, as God. Spend money as God, for God’s enjoyment. Eat to feed the body of God. Delight and find great joy in the physical and the mundane.
To me renunciation of all things material has never felt necessary. I don’t think we should have attachment to our things, but to deny ourselves seems counter-intuitive to why we chose to incarnate (for many of us, anyway). Does God really wish us to suffer to prove our devotion? I don’t think so.
There is nowhere else in creation where I can bite into a crisp, juicy orange or eat ice cream, or have pizza, or broccoli, or experience the particular gravity we have here, or drive a car, or feel a massage – so for me, I am here to experience myself as God in a body. Enjoy the pleasure and the pain, as both are fleeting.
On the other hand, those who renunciate often completely rely on the Universe to supply for them, providing another type of testimonial for God, so I can’t say it’s silly or anything, just not necessary for all of us. We just need to learn to be unattached and not be distracted by our things.
My teacher is an enlightened master who very much enjoys the material world, so I know you can have both! :)
Posted on March 12, 2010 at 10:39 am.