The keynote speaker was in such a hurry to get to the venue that when he arrived and sat down at the head table, he suddenly realized that had forgotten his dentures. Turning to the man next to him, he whispered, “I forgot my teeth!”
The man said, “No problem.” With that he reached into his briefcase and pulled out a pair of dentures. “Try these,” he said.
The speaker tried them. “Too loose,” he said.
The man dug around in his briefcase again. “Here, try these.”
The speaker tried them and responded. “Too tight.”
The man didn’t seem taken aback at all. He dug around in his briefcase again. “Here. I have this pair. Give them a try.”
The speaker smiled. “They fit perfectly.” He ate his meal and gave his speech without any further troubles. After the event concluded, the speaker went over to thank his benefactor and return the spare parts. “I want to thank you for coming to my rescue. Where is your office? I’ve been looking for a good dentist.”
“Oh, I’m not a dentist,” the man replied. “I’m the local funeral director.”
What is the moral of the story? Before you borrow anybody’s dentures, make sure you know where they got them from! Come on!
Are you STILL talking about the void?
There it is, the collective conscious of our society today. These dark nights of the soul, this non-place, this neither land – it’s all part of the journey. Too often we travel, but we don’t embrace the journey. Robert Brumet says in Finding Yourself in Transition, “When traveling, we mechanically relocate from one place to another. When journeying, however, the journey itself is as important as the arrival at a destination. We are so changed by the journey itself that we arrive a different person than we were when we departed. And so it is with the transition process.” When we allow ourselves to pay attention as we take the journey, we always come out of it better, wiser, stronger, different than we went in!
Those of you who are in transition, have you noticed a difference in yourself?
- Are you a different person now?
- Are you becoming a different person now?
- Are you noticing the signs and wonders?
- Are you are taking this journey?
I’ve had the opportunity to do a little bit of traveling in my life. I have noticed, every time catch a flight, it doesn’t matter if it’s a quick flight to Atlanta or a long flight to Australia, people usually bring things with them on a flight to occupy their attention until they arrive at their destination. Newspapers, books, magazines, food, computer/phone games, movies, or a pillow in order to go to sleep until they arrive at their destination.
Often people will ask me, “How was your flight?” And I’ll say, “Good, uneventful, I was able to get a lot of work done, I slept most of the way, or it was a little turbulent at times or, I was able to watch 3 movies that I been dying to see!”
- But what do we notice about the journey?
- What are we noticing about our own journey?
- Are you taking the time to “feel” your way through it?
- Are you listening for God?
- Are you perceiving new things as you connect with the Universal Source of all knowing?
- Are you reaching for Spirit with all of your heart, all of your mind, and all of your soul?
The goal is to allow the Divine Presence to live fully in, as, and through us. So, I invite you to pay attention to every piece of this journey. During your transitional flight:
- Notice the sound of the cabin door as it closes its latch and prepares us for what is to come.
- Listen to the instructions that come your way. There are signs and messages all around us.
- Pay attention to any safety instructions regarding our journey.
- If your cabin loses pressure, your oxygen mask will fall!
- Remember to put the mask on yourself before you try to assist others.
- Sit back, buckle up, and enjoy the ride.
- Feel the power of the great machine of which you are now a part.
- Notice the feeling of the “wheels up!”
- Even though you’re not where you were and you’re not quite where you are going.
- But you are defying gravity nonetheless!
- Relax, and watch the clouds, think the highest thought.
- As you rise in elevation, feel the fear and do it anyway!
- You may feel a few bumps and turns. It’s okay. Just relax. Trust the process.
- You’re not there yet, but that’s okay. (Affirmation: It’s okay. I’m on my way.)
Departures are necessary. How will we ever get from one place to another without first departing? Physically, you cannot stay where you are AND get to where you’re going at the same time. By the same token, consciously, you cannot stay where you are AND expand in consciousness at the same time. You have got to move. Shift your consciousness. Allow yourself to be changed. If you’re ever going to get from where you are to your next destination. You have got to take the journey. Departures are necessary.
It wasn’t always bad. Often times we want to get upset with ourselves when we find ourselves in transition. We ask the futile questions of “What did I do to deserve this?” “Why me?” “Why is this happening to me again?” “How did I ever even get here to start with?” Oftentimes we forget, that the thing we’re now letting go, once served a beautiful purpose in our lives. Yeah, it’s possible to have experienced something extremely beautiful in the thing you must now let go. It wasn’t always bad, but now it’s time to leave it behind, and take a new flight.
Israel in Egypt
This was true for the children of Israel in Egypt. If you’ve ever watched the movie of “The Ten Commandments”, you’ll know the story. It’s the one where Moses leads his enslaved people out of Egypt. The one where he parts the Red Sea, and they build the Golden calf. And Moses get “highlights” as he comes down the mountain with lightening written tablets. The story begins with the children of Israel working as slaves for Pharaoh. Did you know? Egypt was not always a bad place for the children of Israel. As a matter of fact, the children of Israel landed in Egypt because they were facing a famine in their land. Their leaders were told that there was an abundance of food and water in Egypt. So, for more than hundreds of years, Egypt was a wealthy place for the children of Israel. But situations changed. The number of Israelites started to outnumber the population of Egyptians. So, out of fear, Pharaoh enslaved them and began to have the newborn male children thrown into the Nile. The situation changed.
What was the life-line for this people, now became the heavy weight, pulling them to the bottom of the river. God had a little chit chat with Moses, and said, “It’s time to go.” How many times has the Divine whispered in your ear and said, “It’s time to go!” How often have your friends looked you dead in the eye, and said, “Look. It’s time to go?” How many times have you felt the knowing, twist in your soul that said, “Wake up! It’s time to go.” We’re not necessarily transitioning away from things because they were NEVER good. But the truth is it’s no longer good for us. So it’s time to go. And so, after much ado, Moses led the people out beyond the Red Sea and into the wilderness which we will now call the void.
Understanding the Void
Brumet likens endings to tumultuous earthquakes, but the void is empty, flat, void of anything that seems solid or definite. Voids are like trying to defy gravity by walking on a bottomless floor. It is the time when we draw upon our deepest resources in order to survive. In the void, that when we empty ourselves in surrender. We release. We let go. We show up as empty vessels. You see, we’ve already tried everything we previously had. Nothing from your previous collection works anymore. Release them in the void. Let them go and embrace every part of the emptiness. This is the journey.
What to do in the void
If you’re like me, often we don’t embrace the journey. We busy ourselves up, and we aim for the destination. But the Void it to be experienced. So you may ask, “What should I do while in the Void?”
Robert Brumet, the author, offers several things that you can do while in the Void. I won’t mention them all, and I encourage you to get the book. But here are just a few:
- The way out is the way in.
- Don’t try to “push the river.”
- Pray and meditate for regular periods each day.
- Trust in God. Trust in your own inner Wisdom. Trust, even when you feel hopeless.
- Develop a support system. Choose someone with whom you feel safe.
The Closing
So, yeah, you’re probably tired of hearing me talk about The Void. You’re probably tired of being in the Void. But I invite you to embrace the journey. Let your soul feel every vibration along the way. Remember, it wasn’t always bad. At one point it served a wonderful purpose in your life. Now it’s time to let it go. There is a higher consciousness… a more expansive way of being… just waiting to be embraced. Do what you need to do in order to walk through the valley.
May it be so for each one of us today and in the days to come.