We Are All Seekers |
Taken from an article by Adam Pacino and butchered to my hearts content.
From time to time we are reminded that this is a Seeker's Path. It's hard to keep that in focus sometimes because we are certainly a rather wide-ranging assembly of witches and several Ceremonial Magicians thrown into the mix as well for good measure, plus Feri and many others who play on this Path and delve into any number of topics that many others would find tabu, or threatening. The average discourse traverses some pretty steep lines of inquiry which might hide the fact that yes, in reality, this is a Seeker's Path.
It might also give the false impression that there is anyone on this Path who is somehow -not- a Seeker. And that simply isn't so. From the Elders down to the people lurking who have no clue what Wicca is all about, and everyone in between, we are all of us Seekers. The term is used technically to indicate the difference between those of us who have already adopted a Path among the Traditions of Wicca, and those of us here who are solitary, wondering, and perhaps looking for a group or path to affiliate with. However, there is a spiritual undercurrent which is evoked by 'Seeker', and it's one which hasn't ceased to exert its influence over me, even though my days of being a 'Seeker' by the narrow definition are now done.
It's a tribute to the power of naming things that the new arrivals to this Path invariably claim "I'm not really a Seeker." And then invariably follow up with questions which act as karmic highlighter to everyone else. I think it's also a tribute to the networking power of our communitie as a whole that new arrivals hold off from declaring themselves Seeking, since to be so named usually means a very short wait before the start of training. We think of it as getting in line for a wild ride of some form or another. Accept the label and it's only a few turns through the queue's maze and bam, you're off for the ride of your life.
All of that is somewhat misleading though because honestly, if you've found your way to this Path, you're already on the ride. And believe it or not, you're driving. :-)
What is it about the world which leaves so many of us deeply dissatisfied? I grew up thinking that 'finding yourself' was a stupid quest because the truth at the time was pretty clear, the waters of my world and my emotions ran pretty shallow, and this was all that would ever have to be dealt with. Thankfully, things have changed, because now happiness is a beautiful, sparkling thing that's always in view if not always here, and it truly matters because there are indeed gaps and pauses between the good times. You can't attain to the heights of ecstasy without also having knowledge of the depths of despair. The farther you sink, the higher you can bounce. (Shady physics, but try and attain any height without first dropping like a stone and you won't necessarily stay there for long.)
There is a certain delicacy of the spirit that Campbell talks about, usually in reference to what makes a Shaman vs. one of the Normal, Hardworking tribal members. It's a sort of affliction that the Sensitive have, and it's not necessarily a Sensitivity to Psychic powers, either. Though it can. I would wager that each of us here is prodded by the universe through something that resembles very thin skin, a sort of vulnerability to emotion and circumstances that doesn't disappear no matter how jaded or gruff our exterior becomes. We are capable of being hurt, and we are hurt often in our lives by things which would not affect those we quaintly term 'the mundanes'. Perhaps it is an insight which has opened our eyes just a peek to the world of subtle energies, but as the heroine says in ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, "The problem is / Once you see/ You can't stay blind."
Whatever it is, the world and society of every technological level has been producing humans with the curse and gift of sensitivity. Our lives will not leave us alone, and the pressures on our spirit, the fiery drive of our soul to strive toward something that the masses do not sense... this drives us on. So that one day, be it through our choice or the circumstances of the world in which we think we live, our glass houses are shattered, the mirror is crack'd, and we are brought face to face with the knowledge, as sure in our soul as the knowledge that we exist, "THIS IS NOT ENOUGH."
It isn't greed or selfishness that drives us on, but from that one moment in which we glimpse only the possibility that there is indeed a world or a place for us where our lives can be lived in harmony to our own inner chorus, our own needs and our own sensitive natures... from that moment of blinding possibility from simply opening our eyes, we Seek. We cannot help but to Seek. To deny us the quest, that path leads to madness and despair without hope of emergence.
And from then on, we are Seekers. The mundane do not Seek, they dabble. They cannot hear the music, do not heed the siren's call, cannot sense being at odds with the world in which they live. Many good friends of mine are patently Mundanes, and they tolerate with rolled eyes the eccentricities of my own path, content to let well enough alone.
The path we are on is nothing less than the archetype's journey, the descent into the labyrinth of our own devices. We Seek because we have awakened to a world of new possibilities that will no longer allow us to sleep. And we are all on the path toward... ?
It is a tenet of Oriental beliefs that you cannot lead a person to Enlightenment, you may only show them the Path. It falls to ourselves to arrive at the point of mystical revelation, of personal empowerment, to light the Fire Within, to borrow our current Olympic slogan. It is not something that others can do for us. It is not a thing or a place which can be seen or known or arrived at by any means other than through the guidance of our own soul, and the evolution of our spirit to the point that it allows itself Fulfillment, Atonement, Is-ness.
The mystical point of arrival has no words, cannot be described, cannot be expressed. Imperfect understanding of a perfect ideal, the point towards which we as Seekers strive. It is a realization and a point which cannot be granted by the awarding of titles, or degrees, or any symbol of outward status. There are many steps along any mystical path which carry interesting trappings and excellent costumes and funky bits of supposed social 'status' and 'power'. But these are not the goal. We may feel called to the Craft, toward Wicca or OTO or Masonry or Feri for the outward expressions of internal understandings, but there is no Path on this Plane of Existence which can lead us anywhere but with.
The well-known Charge. "And this be the Mystery, that if what thou Seek thou findest it not within thee, thou shalt never find it without thee." And here be Adam's Addendum: "Know this... that if thou Seekest it not without thee, thou shalt NEVER find it within Thee."
Yes, we're all Seekers still. The Craft of our Choice, the Path of our Soul, all of this is the external manifestation, the mask of the Mystery that is our own Path. Seek thee the ways of the wise, for there shall you find nothing less than yourself. Communion, Atonement, Ephiphany shall be yours, if you but follow the Path of your heart. There is not a point of arrival, no point at which you will attain anything that can possibly compare to finding that connection in your heart, that internal combustion engine which rivals the brilliance of the Sun, from coming to grips with you yourself.
Seek, Seek! Continue to Seek! When you find yourself, you will know, and then, only then, will the true status be conferred upon you... and that Status shall look curiously like You, Yourself. Follow the paths of the ancients, follow the paths of the moderns, but follow the Paths! Follow! There is no riddle that can be solved, no Koan that can grant enlightenment, except that you Seek, and Search, and Strive.
There is no point at which our learning ceases. Even when we have attained Enlightenment, still the Path goes on, if only to tell you to Return to the Fold and bring back what you know. The Bodhisattva's vow, the Hero's Final Task... return and bring your enlightenment back to the fold. And as in the Tarot, when the World is yours, you are back once again on the great wheel at the very point you started at, a Fool once again, ready to begin the new quest, vibrating on the higher plane.
We are all Seekers. Some of us know it and others do not. This Path contains room for those who would Seek it. Abandon safety, rise above old hurts. Trust. Love. And above all else, Continue.
Continue. Continue. Continue. There is no point of arrival, nor of departure. What was Begun before Time continues now to this day. Continue on the Path.
We are all Seekers.
-Adam
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