Two Ways of Seeing

 One of the proverbs of Solomon, in the Hebrew Bible, reads, "In the mirror of the water, you can see your face, and in the mirror of your thoughts, you can see yourself."

There are two ways of seeing - the literal way, with our eyes, the the spiritual way, with our hearts. I think these words are inviting us to see beyond the obvious - to use our deeper senses to look past the surface of our lives and perceive the deeper truths. 

This is neither an easy nor a comfortable process. It can be very tempting to skate along the surface of our lives and persuade ourselves that we are okay. It takes discipline and courage to delve deeper, to catch sight of the shadows lurking in our hearts and minds, acting on us without our conscious knowledge. 

I'm no psychologist, but I am only too aware that when someone does something that presses my buttons, I need to look inside myself to understand why, before lashing out blindly in reaction. Each one of us is unique and what bothers me, may not worry you at all, but you may get wound up by something that I am happy to let pass unremarked.

So I think that this proverb is a warning to think before we act, and to definitely take the time to think before we re-act to what is happening in our world. Because we are all at the centre of our own stories, and see things from our own unique viewpoint. It takes courage and compassion to make the effort to walk in another's shoes, and to see things from their viewpoint. Which may be very different from ours.

The Doors of Perception

Such a poetic quotation this week, from William Blake, "If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is: infinite."

When I googled it to get the exact quote, I found that The Doors of Perception is also a book by Aldous Huxley, published in 1954, which explains his psychedelic experiences under the influence of mescaline in May 1953. According to Wikipedia, "Huxley recalls the insights he experienced, ranging from the 'purely aesthetic' to 'sacramental vision'."

But I do not believe that you need to be under the influence of dangerous drugs to experience the possibility of infinity in the everyday world. The "doors of perception" - our senses - may be cleansed through spiritual awareness and through moments of grace.  At such times, you may experience the ordinary world, everyday events, with a heightened awareness and infinite gratitude.

Such an experience might occur when you are out in that natural world, and are brought up standing by the singular beauty of a sunrise, or a waterfall, or a single flower in all its wondrous complexity, or a mountain. Or the sight of a star bearing bright witness in the darkening sky.

Or the sound of a beautiful song or piece of music. Pilgrim by Enya has been doing this to me, the past few days.

Or bending over your sleeping child and being filled with so much love, that you feel your heart might burst.

Gratitude and an awareness of grace can transform our world, if we let it. We just have to be awake to the possibilities and aware when the moments come. Because come they will. And they are a blessing. Sacramental vision is available to all of us.