for me to look back at what I just wrote in early May. So many changes have occurred since then. I have now started down the path of becoming an initiate in selfsame tradition I complained about before.

*Shakes head, with amused chuckle*

I can’t say that anything changed in a logical manner or even that a specific sequence of events led me here. I honestly can’t even remember when everything shifted, but I don’t think it was actually too long after those posts. I believe I knew by June or July, at the latest, that I wanted to ask for initiation.

It was as if a switch had suddenly flipped. I was in the dark and didn’t get it or want it, and then, suddenly, I did. I began to understand and accept things I didn’t connect with at all before. And it was an entirely inner process of change; no one sat me down and tried to “convince me” or “make me understand” anything. Of course, that’s really not the way of this group anyway. If you don’t truly desire to participate or learn, why would they chase you down?

I do remember that around the time of my last dedicate’s class, which I think was in late July or August (?)–I’ll have to check on the date–I began to feel a pressure. I felt something inside my belly and chest throbbing, almost a heat, whenever I thought about or heard someone mention initiation or being an initiate. A few times I felt it at the back of my head, too. I also once heard someone repeat, in a whisper, but a powerfully compelling one, “Initiate. Initiate.” And, of course, I myself began to want it. I began to finally feel a part of this group, the teaching grove I was in as well as the “mother coven.” I began to feel proud to be associated with them, to be proud of them and their integrity and power. I had always referred to them as “the group I’m studying with,”  and said “in their tradition.” The first time I caught myself calling it “my tradition,” I was a little surprised, but decided there might be something there to look at more closely.

Another part of it may have been the work that began with A New Earth earlier in the year. My ego and pride definitely began to break apart from assimilating that material, and I think I had a lot of prideful reactions to things I experienced in the Grove. My main pain and fear was feeling left out, slighted, or being disliked/unimportant. It’s amazing how much you can mistakenly read into conversations or situations when you approach everything from that place of pain and fear, even without knowing you’re doing so. I’d say a lot, if not all, of that has completely dissolved for me, which is quite freeing and illuminating.

So far, it has been a slow process, probably exacerbated because I am so stubborn when it comes to someone else telling me what to do. (I have a strong intuitive sense of what is right and wrong for me and am more mystic than ritualist, which makes for an interesting interaction with traditionalists. I have found, however, that personal practice [vs. while one is together "in circle"] is an entirely different matter and much more eclectic). I’ve also recently been ill, which disabled me from actively doing anything for a while. I’m excited to finally be well again and able to participate in living life.

I’d love to hear about related experiences, if anyone cares to share. Have you ever been so convinced something is not right for you, but then have some kind of breakthrough/revelation/shift and realize you were wrong–that thing is, in fact, exactly what you need?

Sometimes you have to stop fighting and just trust and submit, in order to get where you’re going.

So now that I’ve finished A New Earth, as has my spiritual book club, we’ve decided to start again from the beginning. Although some of what Eckhart Tolle has to say about spiritual enlightenment, or Awakening, has been said many times before, for some reason, his specific words and the way he phrases them connect on a deeper level for many. I have definitely felt the “shift” in consciousness he speaks of. After absorbing the material this first time around, I am now ready to re-read the chapters and focus more on the questions in the workbook Oprah has made available. I am ready to examine my experiences and my little self more fully.

Have you read this yet? Why not?

If you’re looking for a new spiritually-focused, self-help type book, try Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth–it’s seriously the most helpful book I think I’ve ever read. Even though I don’t usually like using this term, I feel like it’s my new ‘Bible’–there are so many useful applications to daily life and how to make it better.
 
The author’s basic premise is that the reason people feel unhappy in life is because they are trapped in a cycle of repetitive thought and emotion, and, therefore, aren’t really experiencing life, as in your creative life-force. You are not your thoughts, emotions, sensory perceptions, or even your life experiences. You are the awareness behind all of this, the space in which all of this occurs. Your true essence is consciousness–awareness–Presence. If one awakens to this and is able to recognize themselves as awareness, everything which ‘happens’ becomes much more easy to deal with.

This may sound a little conceptual or not practical at all, but believe me, read the book until at least the end of chapter 2. It really does become applicable and practical in one’s life. To me, it feels almost like a form of meditation which has instant effects on your ability to remain calm in tense or annoying situations. It also, almost more importantly, helps people deal with their own suffering, a lot of which is self-imposed by repetitive negative thoughts and emotions.
 
He uses quite a few quotes or examples from both Buddhist and Christian sources; to me, it feels more in alignment with certain Buddhist concepts. In any case, it’s not a religious book–it’s a spiritual one, and I don’t think anyone, except maybe the most fundamentalist of people, wouldn’t be able to use it to improve their lives and themselves.
 
I’ve really been transformed by this book and hope you give it a chance, too. If you’re curious but uncertain, there are free webcast discussions about each chapter between Oprah and the author, Eckhart Tolle (with people calling or skyping in with questions) here:

Webcasts  

Download Discussions as Video, Audio, or Transcripts
These will give you a good feel for if it’s something you actually want to read.