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Creating Bridges: Spirituality & Philosophy:
The Conscious Column
Great Wall
by David Ault |
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Boarding the plane, I felt an ambiguous mix of elation and anxiety. I have worked in the field of self-empowerment for many years, using storytelling, ceremony, workshops, and music to create an atmosphere of safety and love. All of it is designed to nudge people gently back to a place of remembering their personal divinity and purpose. But, this was a totally new arena. Now I was beginning a flight to Beijing.
All that gentle nudging was to take place on foreign soil away from the comforts and venues that I had previously worked. With 25 other travelers in tow, I was facilitating a 12-day excursion through the majestic land of China. We would, of course, have English-speaking guides in each of the three cities we were visiting; Beijing, Xian and Shanghai; but my duty, as host/facilitator, was to be the glue that held this trip together.
Saying yes to this opportunity seemed like a natural progression in the continual reinvention of my ministry. Yet, as the roar of the engines announced our ascent, something else announced its presence as well; the voice of self-imposed limitation.
What do you think you' re doing? it taunted, and for the many traveling hours that carried me over the International Date Line, I could not seem to come up with a reasonable answer.
How many times had I been at this you can do it/no, you can1t crossroads in my life? Truthfully, more times than I could give a number to.
There is that space in thought, after the idea has been presented and before its implementation that can be sheer terror. The fear of the unknown and what-ifs creates a battle of worry that leave their mental affliction. Becoming paralyzed by the fear deepens the wound. Facing the fear sheds light on its illusional hold and bit by bit, the sores of inadequacy get bathed by times healing ointment.
Marilyn Ferguson, best-selling author of The Aquarian Conspiracy once wrote, "It's not so much that we're afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it's that place in between that we fear. It's like being between trapezes. It's Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There's nothing to hold on to."
Trying something totally new can feel like grasping for an invisible trapeze without a safety net. With this trip, the weight of responsibility and possibility of failure loomed large. I needed to face my fear.
I got out of my seat and paced the aisles of the airplane. I began to pick out, one by one, those who were part of my tour ; their big yellow buttons with the imprinted China logo helped me identify them. They all seemed so peaceful as they slept.
Then I saw Angela. Several months before the trip, she called me from Albuquerque. She said she was definitely joining the tour and was wondering if she could bring a friend along - a friend who is blind.
I did not know how to answer her and decided to check in with the tour agency to see if they had any restrictions."No, there are not any restrictions, but why would a blind person want to go on a sightseeing tour?" they asked.
I admit the same question crossed my mind.
Angela had assured me that she would be with her friend every step of the way so there would be no interruptions for the rest of the group. It seemed a bit crazy, but with her encouragement I was willing to try it.
Now, here they sat next to one another - Angela and her friend Christine. Both women were wide-awake, chatting with radiant smiles. Their enthusiasm made them look uncharacteristically youthful under the glare of airline lighting."Thank you for this opportunity!" Christine said as she held out her hand toward the sound of my hello.
"Glad to have you along, "
Shaking her hand, I muttered, "See you when we land."
She smiled. Her cordial response simply, "See you then."
I walked down the aisle momentarily embarrassed. Should I have chosen my words more carefully? How could I have used the word see?
I had visions of the special effects from the movie The Mask starring Jim Carrey taking over, my tongue uncoiling in an embarrassing twisted heap on the floor.I returned to my seat, my cheeks stinging a bit from the faux pas.
My mind drifted as I thought about Christine. She did not seem to let her blindness limit her. Why was I limiting myself?I remembered a passage from the Science of Mind® textbook written by the wonderful metaphysician, Ernest Holmes, that said: "Spirit never fails." Never being the key word here; yet I could list column after column of experiences where I had felt failure.
Staring out into the night sky, I was confident that the pilots would navigate us toward our desired destination. Could God's loving guidance be any less accurate? I began to get clear on the difference between Spirit and being human.
Our humanness, as the small self, experiences or creates the negative mental dance that comes with failure because oftentimes we believe in it ; we expect it. Our Spirit ; our divine nature or big Self never fails because It knows of the constancy of creation. So with my mental, divine tracing paper, I set out to redraw and replace my belief about my capabilities, moving from human frailty back to spiritual invincibility.
We may go through mountains of tracing paper if we've believed in failure as a given. How many sheets had Christine gone through to get to where she was now? How much mental retraining did it take for her to set her sights grander than what the world told her she was capable of?
I breathed in and focused on the loyalty of Spirit and invited Truth to take over. The possibilities of what this trip could bring began to pulsate within me. Inexplicably, I knew something great was at work, that we had all been assembled like an exuberant marching band led by a synchronistic wave of Spirit's baton. And, I could trust indwelling Spirit not to disappoint or fail.
What had been Christine's response? "See, you then?" Layers of meaning in so few words. Resting my forehead on the airplane window, I searched through the blanket of darkness for a sign. There was no angelic presence straddling the wing of the plane, smiling broadly, and giving me a thumbs up; no cloud formations spelling out the words "atta boy." My physical eyes saw only darkness yet I began to sense an inner vision begging to paint a different landscape. Trust was a muscle I had often neglected. Now, I understood that by letting trust support me, I could strengthen that muscle. I could see a trip filled with happy people.
After nine hours of flying, we arrived and crossing the International Dateline, we arrived. The people of China rolled out their gracious welcome mat and we entered into the enchantment. We witnessed the remarkable culture and explored firsthand the diversity of this historic terrain. We experienced the magical odyssey of 5000 years of recorded history in a vast and stunning landscape that beckoned us to stroll across its many wonders.
From the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, to the Ming Dynasty Tombs, meditating in Buddhist and Taoist temples, viewing the extraordinary Terracotta Warriors of Xian, cruising down Lake Kunming and the waterways of Shanghai, our senses were filled with joy and awe.
There was much to see and experience and we moved seamlessly as a group. Truly, Spirit never failed. In fact, Spirit soared! Reconnecting with trust was like a reunion with an old friend who never left my side. Each day, the group began with a prayer and mindfulness affirmation to center and focus us on all the things to celebrate in our lives. With our guides Yin and Jinyuang, we gathered on the bus, merging both our physical presence and our cultural differences by staring in each other's eyes and praying:
Let all things be healthy.
Let all things be peaceful.
Be sure to count your blessings at least once a day.
Forgive those who have hurt you,
And those who have offended you.
But first forgive yourself for what you have done,
And what you have failed to do.
That which is done there1s no need to speak of,
That which is past there1s no need to blame.
Have self-control, self-knowledge, self-respect,
The courage to dare.
Be tranquil, the light of intelligence will shine.
Strive to make the spot where you stand beautiful.
Then the beauty and harmony will follow you in all your ways
And through all your days
On this splendid land of China. Amen.
The noise of excited conversation blended with the rhythmic thumping of the tires as the bus navigated the mountain. We were less than an hour outside of Beijing and there was reason for the heightened chatter; it was the day to visit and climb The Great Wall.
As we approached the entrance, clanging cymbals and music wafted through the windows of our bus. Vendors begged for our attention and the air was sweet smelling and thin from the altitude. Climbing The Great Wall was what I had looked forward to the most.
Before us lay massive steps that seemed to disappear into the clouds. It was humbling to scale one of the greatest accomplishments of the ancient world, something that took millions of people through three dynasties to construct and was estimated to be over 6000 miles long. Stretching from the mountains of Korea to the Gobi Desert, it was still hard to imagine that radar images of this incredible structure could be detectable from space.
Exhilarated, I began climbing the uneven, steep steps. There were times when I was thankful for the rail to hold onto. With knees burning, I kept going. I considered myself a decent hiker, but this was far more strenuous than expected. Undaunted, I advanced until a posted guard silently stood signaling that further climbing was unsafe due to crumbling stone.
I turned around. What a spectacular view! Only a panoramic camera could do this justice. From this vantage point, I could barely make out the ant-sized tour bus that belonged to my group. I marveled at the snake-like structure that had been my heavenly stairway as my lungs stung from the cool air.
Our guide explained that during the Qin Dynasty, China's first self-appointed emperor Shi Huang Ti, gave the orders for the start of the walls construction. It was initially designed to protect the empire from marauding tribes from the north. As a ruler, Shi Huang Ti abhorred deviation, fearing his empire would become unmanageable. He oversaw the burning of precious texts and the execution of many of his countries educators. During his rule, he sent countless tribes of free thinkers to work and often to die on his wall. Some estimates tell of more than a million people dying as laborers in one 3,000 mile section alone. The last thing our guide said was that the dead were simply buried among the brick and granite.
I stopped as these words echoed back in my thoughts. Humbled by my privileges, I ceremoniously rubbed the toe of my shoe through the mortared dust underfoot. More than just a wall, it was a tomb, housing the memories of ambition and longing of individuals that could well match my own. There was much to consider about the sacredness of life, as I stood high above the land.
Confucius once taught that every drop of water forms the ocean. Yet, is the ocean ever complete? Drops are consistently being added and evaporated. The people who gave their lives for this structure were drops in my ocean. Regardless of the centuries between us, their work and sacrifice were influencing this personal moment. Would this drop called David be of any measurable influence to someone else?
I began my descent, realizing this would take some time and careful calculation for the good of my knees. About halfway down, I happened upon Angela and Christine. Yes, Christine was climbing! And, not just a little bit, she had made it further than most in our group. Angela wanted to climb to the top, and Christine asked if I would do the honors of escorting her back down."Certainly," I replied.
I counted each section of steps below us saying "high" or "low" according to their height. Our pace allowed us both to discover the carvings and inlaid stone that lined the interior. Running my finger across a circular indentation, I realized I had missed such things on my haste to ascend.
We took our time. Christine was unaware of the amazed looks of fellow climbers, who noticing her white cane, did double takes."Can you smell that?" she would ask and my eyes would search for the vendor roasting something undiscernible over coals. There, two landings and a considerable distance below us, sat an elderly Chinese man, his make shift grill emitting faint trails of scented smoke.
"Chestnuts?" I questioned.
"Nah," she said, "then I'd think I was in Rockefeller Plaza."
Switching senses, she announced, "sounds Portuguese," picking out one of the many varying languages that blanketed our ears.
Turning on a tape recorder looped around her fanny-pack, Christine documented every auditory stimulus from the bustling wind to the conversations of climbers made choppy by their breathing. She captured the music still discernible from our place of origin, a sort of mandolin and cymbals combo reminiscent of a John Philip Souza march. I didn1t remember any of this on the way up. I must have zoned out, letting my legs do all the work. A flash of realization went through me. Christine was my escort, not the other way around. She was leading me through an entirely new, all-sensory experience, one where I was required to be fully present.
When I questioned her about the recording, she said it helped with her presentations.
"Presentations?" I asked.
"Yes, I often travel and then share my experiences with organizations for the disabled. It1s my way of letting my audience know there's a whole world out there just waiting to be explored."
Lao Tse, the Chinese philosopher once taught, "If you tell me, I will listen. If you show me, I will see. But, if you let me experience, I will learn."
Christine seemed more than just a drop in my ocean, she felt like a wave. Her influence came crashing into my awareness through telling, showing and experiencing life in a whole new way.
Why would a blind person want to go on a sightseeing tour? I think the more pertinent question is on the tour of life, why would we choose to close our eyes, our hearts to any part of the adventure? Why let fear override the greater possibility?Robert Jacques Turgot, France's Minister of Finance under Louis the XVI once expressed, "What I admire in Columbus is not his having discovered a world but his having gone to search for it on the faith of an opinion."
To be in Christine's world, one must not only have faith in the opinion but faith in the discovery. Her lens to this world is filtered through the description given by others. Yet, at no time did she seem to consider her life less because of it. In fact, her remaining physical senses aligned with an intuitive sense far more advanced than most.
On the bus that afternoon, no one complained of an ache or pain. I suspect it was because seated among us was someone who, without physical sight, had guided us to a higher place of human expression, a place where limitation has no hold, and we are free to climb the stars.
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David Ault
Visionary Vocalist, Author & Motivational Speaker
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David Ault is highly regarded as one of the finest visionary vocalists and motivational speakers within the New Thought/transformational movement.
His focus on remembering the Divine within and reclaiming that connection has empowered hundreds of thousands on their spiritual journey. The union of David’s charismatic message and heartfelt singing has elevated him to guest speaker of choice in many nationwide churches and global organizations.
As a licensed minister and practitioner through Religious Science International, as well as author, songwriter/recording artist, David has traveled and shared his gifts for well over fifteen years.
Working closely with notables Louise Hay and Marianne Williamson and sharing the stage with many cherished mentors ranging from the late Og Mandino to Dr. Barbara King, Jerald Jampolsky, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, Father Leo Booth and Mary Manin-Morrisey, David harvested that experience and developed his own unique style of teaching. His compassionate presence, warmth and humor continue to be an unforgettable guidepost for audiences as they rediscover and reawaken to their personal magnificence.
Starting out as a professional actor and singer, David worked extensively in Broadway tour shows, film and television winning critics awards in both New York and Los Angeles.
Throughout the 1980’s, David, along with the late Jerry Florence and Keith Kimberlin made their mark in New thought history by helping pioneer an unexplored musical genre—visionary vocal music. Known as Alliance, their remarkable blend became legendary, helping establish them as one of the most successful vocal groups in the Spiritual recording field.
David continues this musical path with the release of his critically acclaimed recordings, The Healing Bridge, Travelin’ With The Angels, All Is Calm, All Is Bright, And Then It Is Morning, all distributed through his Los Angeles based organization, The Conscious Company. Now, his highly anticipated literary debut, Where Regret Cannot Find Me, is heralded as “a fresh and exciting discovery in Spiritual literature ... a work of pure heart!”
“I feel extremely blessed and grateful in following this path”, says David. “It is my ongoing intention to create a message in word and music that assists us all in reawakening to our personal magnificence!”
www.davidault.com
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