The 'Gap'

I don't know why I was getting this Vision; maybe it was because I was thinking about finding my place in the Peace march. Or maybe it was just the preliminary excitement, I don't know.

Something happened to me while I was waiting for the march to begin. A song came into my head, not really a song, it was more like a Vision. It seemed to grow like an idea sometimes does. I soon realized that it was important for that day, something about decreeing honor to the march.

I 'saw' two arms and a dawning Horizon, which needed to be honored somehow, before the march could begin, blessed kind of ~ I was walking along thinking ~ I almost had the whole Vision in my mind, when I stumbled onto a man sitting in the middle of the lawn. His name was Manuel.

I unknowingly interrupted him in the middle of his meditation. I learned that he also believed in a God, and that he had a teacher. Manuel told me about his meditation and how it could help me. I thanked him, and proceeded to describe my God to him, but got all caught up in words. Manuel obviously had a much more practical understanding of God than I did, so I shut up. Suddenly it became very quiet, and a feeling of connectedness came over us. We were both aware that something Larger was present.

I whispered, "Manuel it is God, it is God". He said, "Yes, it is", and we sat silently, for what seemed like an Eternity. And then suddenly I saw it! I said. "Look Manuel! Look!" "The United Nations emblem on the building across the street, see the two arms".

Two people from opposite ends of the Earth, with two different views of God, able to share in their experience of God, and for a brief moment, are united in the presence of our Larger Being ~ Such a marvelous Lesson. I raised my arms, making the United Nations symbol, and in that brief instant, I suddenly 'saw' the rest of my Vision.

I realized that the two arms I was seeing in my Vision represent the two superpowers. I realized that when the two superpowers reach such a tension that they can no longer resist conflict, they do one of three things: They collide and disintegrate; they touch, fall back and collapse, ready to rise again. Or they wrap themselves around each other, develop a Power, and from this Power a flame springs up which gives birth to a New World.

Somehow the timing was just perfect ~ My vision, Manuel, and the Peace March. I had to get to the front of the March. I looked at my watch, it was ll:58, I started to hurry, saw Manuel and knew deep down that something was beginning to synchronize.

The squad car was announcing that the march was about to begin; I took the opportunity to slip in, and found the rhythm for my song ~ 50,00 people strong, marching for Peace!

I want to try and relate now, how this world tension is related to the tension within, and try to come up with a way in which we can transform that tension into a powerful force, a force that can transform our lives.

Tension is really a latent power that exists between opposites, a power that is pent up because of the opposing conditions in the world, and the opposing condition within. In a sense, the larger battle in the world is being fought by each of us. We gather up strength by learning to face our 'enemies' - There is a positive power that comes with that.

By bridging the gap that separates us, we can turn the tension between us into a powerful force that can come into our lives, make us whole, and raise us up out of our struggle. But in order to experience this conversion of power, a certain amount of risk is involved. Only through confronting our differences can we bridge the gap, and become empowered.

If we can begin to see those differences more clearly, perhaps we can begin to face and accept them as a condition of our makeup, rather than an enemy to avoid. If we can identify our defenses, perhaps we can learn to let them fall, and become more tolerant in dealing with the differences that separate us.

In our own life the tension might exist between the false “I” and the real 'me'. The false "I" is made up of all the wrong turns we have made away from our true center. It becomes the shadow of our life, and often brings on memories of having neglected or lost some part of our selves. Our true self is the ‘me’ who lives in the light of love and truth, whose warmth shines amongst the true friendships we have created. He or she is the one who gives us a feeling of warmth and connectedness with our self and our surroundings.

There is a unique interaction happening between these two aspects or sides of our selves. On certain occasions we become more aware of the gap that exists between these two sides, and we begin to recognize each for what it is. Sometimes this brings on guilt and sorrow, because we think we have failed somehow.

It becomes clear that we haven't been true to our self, and at some point, come to the realization that we have committed a crime against our true self, perhaps by not listening to our inner voice. If we persist in avoiding the voice from our true self, we eventually come to the point where we have to make a decision to change. We can no longer go on deceiving our self. Once we come to this recognition, we begin to realize that there is a gap in our life between the two sides of our self.

If we can see that the gap within us is also the gap that exists between us, and quite possibly is the same gap that exists between Nations, perhaps it would become apparent that gaps are separations that exist because of the split in our character - between our hearts and our minds - and our traditional and our modern cultures.

It is the interaction between our hearts and our minds that is responsible for heightening our awareness of the gap between us. It is because of the ongoing struggle between sides that our awareness becomes distinct and apparent.

However, as our awareness heightens, the gap between us also becomes more obvious. If we remain dominant in one side or the other we can become unbalanced, and eventually have to face our opposite side. We're not really supposed to be aware of the paradox between sides, however, once we do, our strategy for dealing with our life has to change.

The legend of The Woman and the Dogs provides us with a good example of what happens between the humans and the ‘dogs’, when they finally find themselves face to face with the same paradox.

At a very early period in history the Creator split humanity in two. One side was those who were human, represented by the Woman and her Children - those want to live in harmony with each other, and who are not ashamed to love and weep openly.

And the other side, those who are ‘dogs’ - those who fight against loving, who make arms to fight, because they cannot accept the responsibility of being truly human. It has been said that in the Last Days these two sides will once again come together and live side by side, each with their own unique attributes.

It is always the 'humans' who seek refuge in each other, because they are connected through cultural traditions, and the social paradigms that accompany those traditions. It is always the humans who seek a powerful leader when things begin to go wrong. But once they discover that their leader is only human they usually get rid of them.

This is the penalty for remaining in the Circle of agreement. There is no incentive to get out. The dogs, on the other hand, have fought hard for their independence, but have lost their humanity because of it.

Life is in constant struggle between these two 'sides' of our self. It is a struggle between two types of awareness on all three levels, the personal, the social, and the global. (The strong influence of the feminist movement, attests to the fact that tensions between genders is also increasing).

The enemy is within, but there is a Power that exists in the gap, that has the potential to stop and turn the world around, if we can come face to face with the moment of truth in our lives.

The world of Being and the world of seeing are very well developed in awareness, but there is something wrong with the door to our intuitive world. Our intuitive door is closed because society has created a condition within us whereby we no longer access the spirit. Our ego is blocking out the Light, because indirectly the world is blocking out the Light.

Objective thinking has truly opened the mind in one sense. On the other hand, it can become extremely structured. Rationality becomes the avenue of escape, when objective and traditional thinking become stuck, and don't include the heart in decision making.

Although the agreement of thought within each field is valid, in relation to historical research, it is not always acknowledged that many of our ideas come to us from our left-sided intuitive awareness. We need to be a little more humble in accepting our discoveries. They are not really ours; they come from our Ancestors - the Larger Being of the World.

What usually happens when we come up with an idea or a revelation is that we try to find a way in which we can fit it into our own realm of thinking. We take all the credit for it ourselves because the ego prefers it that way. Like the Raven, we have flown off with the gift, and lost the source of our illumination.

We've really done it to ourselves. Over the years we have all failed to take responsibility for Truth in our lives, and are now living in the pit of our iniquities. We have denied our true spirit expression, and we have avoided accepting responsibility for cleaning up our own mess. We have allowed 'them' to do it for us, and are now expecting 'them' to fix it.

And whereas the world is more powerful than ever, and our spirit is wide awake, we are more vulnerable than in any other period in history.

That's a dangerous position for us to be in. We try to avoid our problems, hoping that they will go away for good. However, problems have a way of accumulating if they aren't solved. What once was a slight misunderstanding can become a threat to the whole world. It is the accumulation of the original deed between Cain and Abel that has become the dark cloud that's hanging over the world today.

Something is happening in the world, which is going to affect us all in the near future. Our global differences are rapidly becoming apparent, and so is the gap between certain Nations. It could be easier to face those differences once we've learned to bridge that same gap on a personal level. There is a Power in the gap that can suspend us, raise us, and transform us.

The gap is really the opening to our Larger Being. Dealing with the gap in our lives helps us open the door to our hidden self - our intuition.

Here is a hypothetical example of how one might become more aware of that gap

Bridging the Gap ~

Since a great deal of strength is gained when people with differences resolve to face them openly, you will need to find a ‘worthy opponent’ to do this with. You have more than likely seen many such people in your life, but have managed to stay clear of them.

If you are a strong individual who has managed to get through life by excelling on your own, look for someone who is the opposite. (Usually you can find such humble people amongst the traditional Cultures - those who have not been destroyed by greed). If you yourself are such a member - a feeling person, who relies heavily on your friends for support, then choose some slick businessman, who looks like he's got the world by the balls - someone whose ego just burns you.

When you have found your opponent, here is what you must do. Step in front of him or her, and tell him that you would like to share a moment of Truth with him.

If you are a strong individual, you could talk about how you have become insensitive because of your aggressiveness. You could admit that you have been a jerk because you have not wanted to listen to others.

If you are a feeling person who has been hiding in the shadow of numbers, you could admit that you have avoided taking responsibility for yourself, and have neglected to acknowledge yourself for what you really are, by taking refuge in the crowd.

If you are honest in your confrontations, you will begin to feel the tension building up, and your differences will become obvious. Try to see how each is unique in its own way, and hold that tension. If you do this in all sincerity, you will begin to see your defenses melt, and your masks begin to fall.

Soon you will become aware of a river of differences between you. But you will not need to escape to the other side, because you have faced your differences openly. The power of Truth will give you strength and sustain you. There will be no need to sacrifice your own uniqueness because you have faced your opponent in truth. You are now ready to put your differences aside and cross the waters between you.

If you have let your shell fall completely, the power you have gained will be enough to raise you to a new level of awareness, and you will begin to see things in a state of wakefulness. You have divided the waters and put your differences aside. The power of Truth will sustain you.

This is standing at the center of the Cross, or in Native terminology, standing at the Center of the Universe. The Power, which sustains us, is the power of Christ, the Power that comes from being open and honest in our relationships. It is a universal force that opens us up to the doorway of Light. The Light is at the center of the Cross - the eternal Light. The door is being held open by two doves, the dove of Love and the dove of Peace. Beyond is an open road that leads to a life of unity in love and peace.

This is the story of how things could be, if we choose to confront our differences and learn to change. It is to the extent of the risks we take, which will determine the power we develop, and to the extent that we let our defenses fall, which will determine whether we will be raised onto the Light.

It is the best way to bridge the gap and become empowered. It is the best way to become free of the circle that entraps us. There is a power that exists in the heart of things, but sometimes it takes a real effort to reach it. The tension in the world can best be resolved through the power of Love and Truth. Our reward is an awakening of living life to the fullest.