How Long Is Now?

Painting by Linda Hofheinz

“My feelings of grief had become unbearable, and I attempted to pull off the road. But as suddenly as the wailing began, it ceased, and everything was transformed. Looking at the landscape around me through the window of my parked car, I wondered at first if I might be dreaming. Every rock, every sagebrush, every lofty pine and blazing aspen, as well as the mountain itself, was bathed in a yellowish-gold light connected to luminous threads.

“This is not a vision,” I said to myself. “I am seeing the world as it really is!”

…The mysterious glow surrounding everything seemed to emanate from within all things…more accurately, perhaps, from within the earth, herself. The threads of light were even more extraordinary. Unlike the visible spectrum of light, these felt alive. It seemed that each strand of this “living light” was self-aware and also aware of the whole. I felt that I perceived, on an energetic level, the very essence of the earth — perhaps the nature of Creation itself. I also felt that for a brief, timeless moment, I perceived the “flow” of things, for these luminous threads of light seemed fluid, shimmering, and eternal. These threads of light were connected to all things, thus forming the impression of a vast living web. There were also strands, which extended upward as if connecting this web to some greater whole. Perhaps they reached into Infinity itself. My heart wrenching anguish had been transformed into utter bliss. It was then that I heard an inner voice telling me that one must know the sufferings of the world before bliss is possible…

…For the first time I understood what these ancient people must have known through direct experience.

— Peter Calhoun, Soul on Fire

How many lifetimes must we have before we realize the purpose of life is more than securing a good situation? What must we have before we realize there’s more to existence than securing a “good situation?” A good job, house, car and retirement somehow don’t satisfy the soul. I think we instinctively know there’s more to see and understand, but we accept readymade answers too easily.

Looking at life with open and not easily answered questions at least leaves the mind open to deeper perceptions, if we’re ready for them. Some preliminary work is necessary, though. Seeing the travail and…