The Eternal Perspective
A new friend asked me to write a short bio. She was making a flier for a yoga class we are doing with singing bowls. I put the project off for a few days, not sure what to say. I finally decided it wasn’t going to get done at all if I didn’t start. I was feeling a little cheeky and silly. I wrote the following:
“Kelly MacInnis is a member of an elite group of about 8 billion beings of light that volunteered to enter the theater of physical creation. Our purpose is the expansion of that creation through experiential exploration of the work in progress. Kelly maintains his focus on the eternal aspect of his service. He stands as a constant reminder that each of us is the master of our lives (art). We can, at any time, extend our awareness into the atmosphere of wellbeing, safety, and support that has always been our calling. Kelly’s primary interest is in deepening personal relationships on all levels through trust and love.”
It was early in the morning and I was still feeling playful so I sent it, along with a link to my regular bio so she could opt to throw out the silliness and get down to business. To my surprise, she liked it. I talked to her a few hours later and told her that while I believed what I had written, I was not sure it would inspire people to come to our class. She thought it would and she used it.
Something happened to me that day. I started viewing my life through the eyes of one who was larger than my physical body and older than my lifetime here. I started taking the incidents of my daily life with the stride of someone eternal that was having a human experience. I did not intend specifically to do this nor was I trying to. It just started happening. Something about writing that bio and then saying I believed it, brought the experience of it into my awareness.
In case you are wondering, taking this perspective changes everything! When you see yourself, and everyone else, as eternal, you don’t get very invested in, well, anything. It is like being an actor in a play. Playing your part as best you can, but still remembering that you are an actor playing a part. It is strange how many people are so invested in their role that they forget the larger, brighter, older, wiser part of themselves. It is such a relief to remember!
I remember listening to Allen Watts saying that we are all playing parts in a grand game. I liked the idea of it but without an eternal perspective I just couldn’t see how that information was of any use. Somehow seeing yourself as that angel of your dreams, as the eternal soul that you sometimes remember you have, makes it real. It is like doing a handstand. Suddenly everything is upside down. Instead of being a body that may have a soul, you are a soul that has a body.
After being upside down for a little while, it starts to seem normal. It has only been 4 days but am not sure I could go back to seeing myself, or you, as a human that “could” have an eternal part somewhere. My life has this spark to it now. Cleaning toilets seems like an adventure. I feel kind and brave and true. I feel like I am in love with everyone and I have the daring to say so. I feel safe and supported and free to explore whatever I want, including my love for you.
Anyone want to dance?
[…] This post is not about that but it is just as upside down, from a US cultural prospective. This post is about Puritan ethics and the resulting twisted ideas we have about love, beauty, touching (yes, including sex), and personal relationships in general. If you are wondering where the information came from, it came from a combination of handstands, singing bowls and The Eternal Perspective. […]