Hello, this is Rev. Dr. Trinity, With this month, December, we both start the month and close the year with the Happiness Path, the knowledge that IF YOU CHOOSE A DIFFERENT PATH, YOU WILL HAVE A DIFFERENT OUTCOME.

According to the ancient Hindu system of Chakras, there are 7 major chakras, or energy centers, throughout the body. These past many months, I have led you through monthly meditations going through each of the 7 chakras, one at a time. Having cleaned out and aligned all our chakras, 1st through 7th, from the base of our spine to the top of our head, we are ready now to CHOOSE A DIFFERENT PATH & HAVE A DIFFERENT OUTCOME.

Given this possibility — to choose a different path and have a different outcome — I bet you are asking yourself: how do I know which one path to choose? Yes, I know what I don’t want anymore, but what do I do next?

When you ARE grounded and connected to Mother Earth and the Cosmos, you automatically RECEIVE your information from the Universe and translate that into a material reality. When all your chakras, all your energy centers, are cleared out of blocks AND aligned you can:

• KNOW,
• SEE,
• HEAR & SPEAK your truth.
• Be guided by your HEART
• and ACT,
• FEEL accordingly
• & LIVE safe, secure and protected.

But sometimes, what bothers or confuses the most, however, is not which PATH to take, but WHY the JOURNEY itself? Life itself is so hard; so confusing; so exhausting and the world is full of fear, angry, ignorance and suffering . . . So why all this?

To help you answer this question for yourself, I am going to tell you a Taoist parable on “what is the true self?”

“Master,” the disciple asked, “what exactly is the true self?”

The sage replied, “Ultimately, your true self is the Tao and the Tao is you.”

“I find that hard to believe, Master. The Tao is great; I am insignificant. The Tao is powerful; I have but a little strength. The Tao is unlimited; I labor under many limitations. The Tao is everywhere; I can only be in one place at a time. As far as I can tell, the Tao and I are completely different. How can you say that I am ultimately the Tao and the Tao is me?”

Rather than to respond directly, the sage hands the disciple a bowl: “Go to the nearby river with this and use it to bring back some water, then we’ll continue the discussion.”

The disciple carried out the order, but when he came back, the sage looked at the bowl and frowned. “Didn’t I tell you to fetch the water from the river? This can’t be it.”

“But it is, Master,” the disciple was confused by the disapproval. “I collected the water by dipping the bowl into the river. I assure you that this water absolutely is from the river.”

“I know the river quite well,” the sage said. “All kinds of fish swim in it, but I don’t see any fish in this water. Numerous animals come to the river to drink from it, and yet I see no animals in this bowl. Many children from the village frolic in the shallows of the river. Well, I see no children here either. Therefore, this cannot be the water from the river.”

“Master, it is only a small amount of water, of course it cannot contain all those things!”

“Oh, I see,” said the sage. “Well, in that case, I want you to go pour the water back into the river.”

The disciple did so with a puzzled expression on his face. He couldn’t help but wonder what had possessed the sage to act so strangely. He completed his task and returned.

“Is the water back in the river?” the sage asked. The disciple nodded.

“Good,” said the sage. “That small amount of water you brought back is now the same water that touches the fish, the animals and the children. In fact, everything that the river is now applies to the water we were both looking at just a while ago.

“Think of the river as the Tao and the water in the bowl as your true self. From a limited point of view, that water seems very different from the river. It is understandable how one can be led to believe that the two are not the same and can never be the same. The river is far greater than the bowl of water, just as the Tao is far greater than an individual human being.

“Having carried water from the river, you can now see it from an expanded perspective. The river is the source of the water, just as the Tao is the source of our true inner selves. You saw this for yourself as you dipped the bowl into the river, so you insisted that the water was the same even when I tried to convince you it wasn’t.

“When you poured the water back, you saw that the separation of the water from the river was only temporary. It’s just like that for the true self. Our physical existence is only a temporary condition. The eternal truth is that our innermost nature comes from, and ultimately returns to, the Tao. When all is said and done, we and the Tao are one.”

Just as the bowl contains the water in this story, we have physical bodies that contain our true selves. Having a bowl is useful in that it allows one to carry water from one place to another. Similarly, having a body is useful in that it allows us to experience the physical realm as a part of it.

Sometimes we identify with the body so much, we become attached to it and think of it as the self. That’s like mistaking the bowl for the water. The water remains the same no matter what container it occupies. In the same way, your true self remains the essential “you” no matter how your body changes.

Just as the disciple learned a valuable lesson carrying water from the river and back to it again, we also learn from our experiences and various journeys through the material world. Just as the bowl of water is all by itself as it is being carried around, we can also feel alone and isolated as we move through life, working on our individual lesson plans. This feeling, reinforced by physical perceptions, can make us forget that we are all part of a greater self.

The bowl cannot hold water forever. It may be accidentally dropped and smashed to pieces one day, or it may develop cracks and break apart after years of use. Similarly, the physical body cannot last indefinitely. Accidents, injuries, illness or age will eventually render it unusable.

The water must return to the river. Even if the water isn’t poured back, but spilled somewhere, it will still flow or seep its way into the river. Similarly, when the body is no longer a suitable vessel, the true self it contains must return to the source. Religious people may call this source God; atheists may call it the laws of nature; we call it the Tao. Whatever its label, it is our point of origin as well as our ultimate destination.

Just as the water becomes one with the river, the true self merges with the Tao. That’s when we realize that the feelings of isolation and separation are illusory. You and I are never truly isolated or separated from the divine source of universal creation. We are never truly alone. Oneness, the Tao that unifies all, is the ultimate reality . . . of the true self.

Now, take a moment to see where YOU are, right now. Now look behind to see where you have come from. Now look ahead to see where you are going. NOW, this present moment, you are aware. You can both see and understand that all paths lead from and return back to YOU.

When all is said and done, our True Self is our point of origin as well as our ultimate destination. This is the eternal truth of it all. The Divine resides within and without. I and Thou Art One.

Where do YOU go from here?

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I hope you learned something of value today.

Blessings