No More Soup
By Michael Levy
There is an old folklore story that goes something like this...
One day a student heard of a great wise master. After many trials and tribulations on his journey, he located the wise sage. He went down on his hands and knees and begged,
"Master please teach me enlightenment." The master replied,
"Go into the kitchen where you will find angry cooks and fetch me a bowl of soup"
He went into the kitchen and was badly beaten for asking for soup but he persisted and fetched the master the soup. The student continued to ask the master for enlightenment and the master would only ask for more soup. This practice went on every day for ten years. Then on the tenth anniversary, the student all battered and bruised brought the master a bowl of soup. The master stood up, took off his shoe and slapped the student in the face with it and walked out the room...At last the student became enlightened.
This may seem like a cruel story on the surface and when we look a little deeper we find how cruel it really is and in the cruelty, an awareness of wisdom's light shines through the gloom.
We can view the story in a simple way of not following a demanding boss who we work for or a demanding close relative or friend. However, there is a deeper significance to the story... You see, we all have an ego that we believe to be that master of our domain. This is our "real identity."... This is who we think we are.
The ego-master holds many negative emotions in its memory banks. It sends us out in the world with anger, hatred, fear, jealousy, worry, anxiety, etc. When it asks for new possession and we do not obtain them, we may experience disappointment and resentment. Perhaps we have a belief system we live by, if we induce the wrong reaction from people who do not believe the way we do, then we may feel rejected. Sometimes contradictory beliefs can turn a small difference of principles into a major war.
We beat ourselves up with the negative emotions from other people and our own response. We keep going back in our memory to the person we think we are and that identity builds more power and demands more things. It wants its demands satisfied. Unfortunately, it can never be satisfied ... Then one day as we fetch our master its continuous undermining demands, it slaps us in the face with a debilitating illness.
If we do not wake up and become aware of the monster we have innocently created, it will not stop its commands. It will still persist with its requirements with no mercy, even though we have a disease, until we get the final slap in the face, which is a premature death, before our actual life-span was due to expire.
Human beings cannot live outside Universal laws. Mortal beings cannot live independent of the laws of nature. Everyone on earth is dependent on earths food, water and air. Every person on earth knows that, but most people have forgotten to be dependent on the human inner spirit that created/evolved them and thus suffers a life filled with disappointments and torments.
Much of humanity today is allowing ego's will power to take over from the soul's silent wisdom. More and more people are becoming distant and independent of spirits will. Not only in the scientific world, media or academia, but also many religions have distanced themselves from an authentic spirit and replaced it with a macho God that demands we follow "Him" or else all hell will break loose.
When they do follow "him" many fear living in hells kitchen asking for more soup. If religions are so cool, why are most followers still beaten up by their own guilt complex?
Maybe it is be-cause life that is viewed from a predisposed yesteryear script and expectant joyful coming once they get to heaven, only leads to an unsatisfactory, untruthful, present day existence.
We are all particles of vibrational strings that sail around the universe humming de-lightful melodies. If we live as happy musical notes, we will sing our songs wherever we go. All the birds and bees will be delighted to join in the chorus. Now take a pen and write these words and practice them as your Mantra ...
Joy... Joy... Joy
Silent... Silent... Silent
Vacant...Vacant...Vacant
After a while, you may desire to keep a journal of daily events. It is great fun to enjoy observing ... de-pen-dance in-spirit.
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