Perseus’s Shield

The Greek story of Perseus is good to keep in mind in difficult times. When fighting the snake-haired Gorgon Medusa, with whom eye contact was fatal as it turned the onlooker to stone, he realised that he could fight her by looking at her reflection in his shield.

All problems can be approached the same way; viewed at an alternative angle rather than head on, many useful insights present themselves.

Fruitful Mistakes

There is an old saying that ‘a person who’s never made a mistake has never made anything’. Contemplate the fruitfulness of your past errors. What did you learn and how have these lessons shaped your life since?

Not Knowing

In life nothing is certain – we forever fall through the emptiness of not knowing. Unable to feel comfortable with such uncertainty, we may close our eyes to the full potential of our lives, clinging to the illusions of safety offered by habit and routine. However, to life fully we must open our eyes and accept our fears of the unknown. We must allow chance to play its part. We must take risks from time to time.

This is intrinsic to a lot of what Geoff Thompson says about life and fear, as you can see in this video:

Know Fear – Geoff Thompson on YouTube.com

Questions of Destiny

When we make a choice, is there a sense in which we are also chosen by our destiny? What is destiny, if not the choices we make? Meditate on this question, as on a Japanese koan – that is, a paradoxical question.

Personally I don’t believe in destiny or fate, as if that exists then free will can’t. However, it’s interesting to wonder.

Maybe I’m just destined to think so…

Reading the Signs

This is a kind of dual-post. There’s one way of looking at it for the perhaps more religiously inclined, and my way. I’ll provide both!

The more ‘traditional’, religious first:

Every event that occurs and every person you connect with, does so for a reason. It is great to meditate in the evenings on the events of the day, and replay everything that happened. Meditate upon the significance of things like the person who smiled to you on the bus, or the one who you held the door for. What links, reasons, wider significances, lessons can we learn, etc from each of these? Allow all the dots to join before moving onto another. I like doing this before I sleep. Let this deeper understanding of life inform your choices.

My way is only a slight difference. I do not believe that there is an inherent reason behind all things, but I do believe that something can be learnt from everything in life. Literally, everything. You make your own meanings.

Just a thought :)

A Path to be Proud Of

Always remember that everything you do has effects on the rest of the world – I always envision them as ripples of a sort spreading outwards into everything. However solitary or private our actions, these ripples are created. It is akin to trying to swim in a pool without affecting anyone else. It’s impossible not to have an effect on the water around you, however slight. Visualise this and try to live your life in such a way that whenever you stop and look at the ripples going out from you (or the footsteps you’ve left behind, etc etc) you see only things that you’re proud to call yours, and one that others might have benefited from following or pulling up alongside.

At a Crossroads

You cannot know where you are going unless you know the path that brought you to where you are now. Imagine yourself at a crossroads. Trace in your mind’s eye the path that you have taken to bring you here. Consider that path in a neutral light, neither understating nor exaggerating its hardships and wrong turnings. The important thing here is that you shouldn’t judge yourself, your thoughts or your actions. Not at this stage, anyway. You cannot unwind the path of the past but you can change direction now. Choose your route and travel on in confidence.

A Map of the Future

Perform this meditation to help you negotiate your way through various options. First, sketch a map of the paths available to you, and the potential paths these may lead to in the future. Illustrate each path with relevant images of symbols. Meditate on the map. Notice whether particular images draw your attention, or new images occur to you, suggesting alternative courses of action. Allow your inner sense of direction to speak to you. This visual and also physical (the act of drawing/writing) aspects can really help you go through things in your mind. Some people also like to use collages and stuff like that too, so see what works for you! Just another idea that might be useful, but also might not.

Work your Loom; Choose your Threads

We weave our destiny on the loom of our best actions. Value this loom and keep it in good repair. Be sure that every false thread is thrown aside and not woven into the tapestry of the self.

Overcoming Fear

As the Russian novelist Dostoyevsky wrote, ‘[t]aking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.’ If you find yourself in this position, quailing on the threshold of something new, take heart, for you are not alone in your fear. Be inspired by the knowledge that others have conquered fears before you. Venture bravely into the unknown.