Sacred Pause: On Truth, Gurus, Detours and Ruby Slippers

by Lisa Olson

This spiritual path you are traveling is exactly the one you are meant to travel. All of it is part of the journey. All of it is sacred. Yes, all of it.

Often we feel we are on the "right" spiritual path until things go "wrong," and we get bamboozled or sidetracked or take a detour to become an addict or develop a compulsion for shopping or shoplifting or get fired or get divorced or get drunk or forget who we are or take up sleeping pills or sleeping around or sleeping all day and then we’ve blown it- we're "off" the spiritual path.

Way back in my church days, we called that "backsliding." It was all very black and white- you were either right with God or going to Hell. You were either saved or damned. you were either washed in the Blood or a back-slidden sinner. So of course, we were set up to be in constant struggle, anytime our humanity showed up and we found ourselves less than "Godly." And so began the split, the rejection of selves, the self-hatred and self-condemnation.

I can't believe that to be true anymore.

The addictions, the shoplifting, the eating disorders, the failed marriages, the broken hearts, the affairs, the distractions, the detours, the pain we face in our very complicated, very human lives- it's all part of the spiritual path. It's all an essential part of the journey.

Of course, these aren't the highest, brightest manifestations of our lives. I'm not saying go out, get wasted, rob a convenience store and sleep with your sister's husband just to write it off as part of your spiritual journey. That would be way too easy, and way too careless. Plus, our actions catch up with us: karma can be a bitch.

But I don't think there are any "detours" on the spiritual path, and I don't think we can ever leave it. The only danger to the spiritual path is unawareness.

But you know what? Funny thing is, even unawareness is part of the spiritual path! Atheism? Part of the spiritual path. Suicide? Part of the spiritual path. Cursing God? Despair? Yep. Part of the path. All of it.

All of it, meaning everything.

Your spiritual journey is all your own. It's meant to be exciting and adventurous. Think of Dorothy on the way to the land of Oz. She had to leave home to find home, just like we do. She thought she needed something outside of herself to get to where she wanted to be. Just like we do. She ends up going through all kinds of crazy shit to find her “guru” - the wizard. Just like we do. Only to find out she had what she needed all along, those ruby slippers, coveted by witches everywhere, to get back to where she wanted to be, just like we do.

As you continue on your spiritual path, I implore you to be as gentle and as compassionate toward yourself as you can possibly be. Keep in mind that it’s pretty normal and human and again, part of the spiritual journey, to at times be detached from your own inner voice, to not “feel” spiritual, to be completely disconnected from your soul’s language.

Even this disconnect is sacred!

We disconnect in order to feel separation. Without separation, we would not recognize connection. We must experience darkness in order to define the light. Without winter, how would we define spring? Without hot, how would we define cold? It's all part of the great and perfect totality.

If you are looking for a spiritual path, look to the ground. You're already on it.

If you’re looking for a guru, look in the mirror. You are what you’ve been looking for.

If you're looking for your sacred text, look within. You already are holy truth.

You're looking for your way back home? Guess what? You're already wearing the ruby slippers.

(c)2008 Written by Lisa Olson

Upcoming Sacred in the City events:
Sun., 10/5, Mon., 10/6: Sacred Start "Walking Prayer" Gatherings: 9-10am, Sun., Mon., Behind the Bath House, White Rock Lake, Dallas. More Info.
Fri. 10/24: Monthly "A Different Kind of Happy Hour" Group Gathering: 6-8:30p, More Info to come