The Artistry of LIFE: Knocking on the WHITE DOOR

Chapter 11: The Power of Irreverence

11 - The Power of Irreverence

Trauma causes fear. So if you still have a trauma that you have not gotten over, this will be a contributing factor to your fears. Ask yourself how long have I felt this way? How long have I been afraid of this particular situation? What is the root of this problem? When did it start? If you need help overcoming an issue, there is no shame in that. There is great shame in knowing you have an issue and taking no steps to resolve it.

I asked my friend how to lessen my fears so that I may more easily overcome them. The answer shocked me.

"That's easy. Stop being such a damned expert on everything."

"I don't think I am an expert on everything!"

"I didn't say you thought so, you don't trust your own judgment one bit. LOLOL. I said you acted like it."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you unthinkingly act like you know the way that things are supposed to be."

"I know more than I used to by listening to you."

"Don't go blaming me! LOL. Life is a very difficult balance, not only do we have to guard against being too lazy and too petty, we have to guard against being too serious and trying too hard to be good."

"Wait! You are confusing me. How can we be too serious or try too hard to be good?"

"The reason we try to be good in the first place is not for the sake of being good, but rather to save energy. By being good we do not waste energy on cross-purposes. Yet, the biggest waste of energy is always obsession. All human obsession is bad, even obsession for good. We must remain light to see truth. Becoming heavy bogs us down in one area. Seriousness and obsession with goodness and beauty will also bog us down and waste our energy. To keep the speed necessary to see truth and to listen to the spirit, we must never believe we know 'good' well enough to indulge in it. If you are indulging, then you think you understand it too well. I do not know the ways of good well enough to corner the market on it. Do you?"

"No. Certainly not."

"If you are not an expert on good, how can you obsess and devote your life to it? To do so is another way of second-guessing the spirit. We must doubly guard against believing we are agents of good and important in this universe. We have two alternatives for this. One, we can completely embrace humility and understand our place in the universe or; two, we can embrace irreverence and laugh our way to lightness."

The Power of Irreverence

"What do you mean by irreverence?"

"I mean make fun of, mock, take totally un-seriously. The ancient story goes that Buddha was sitting in utter poverty fasting and contemplating his spiritual life. A group of girls went by dancing and playing their lutes. Buddha enjoyed their music immensely. He pondered the beautiful music of the lute and wondered how we, like the lute, could make beautiful music of our lives. He hit upon the thought that if the strings of the lute are too tight they will break. If they are too loose they will not play. The strings need to be exactly the right tightness to play properly. At that moment  Buddha realized that like the string, if his body was too anxious from striving obsessively for a particular lifestyle he would not play beautifully, but by the same logic, if he was starving and isolated and unconcerned about lifestyle, he would also fail to make beautiful music. It is the middle road that is most healthy. Buddha renounced his vow of poverty and began a new life of balance and happiness. Only by floating in the middle area can we remain light enough to hear the edicts of spirit."

The stronger you become in listening to the Spirit the stronger your powers will be. Yet, you cannot make them stronger by your own goodness. We must constantly struggle to be humble and irreverent at the same time we are loving and concerned. The key to everything is balance.

So when a panic attack comes or just some plain old anxiety, laugh, sing a song, dance around with joy! My favorite thing to do is sing a song. Chose a verse: What do you like? What particular tune makes you happy? Hey the more happiness you

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show the farther away evil goes! Here’s one that my mother told me today and it goes like this;

‘I have no power of my own. It’s flowing to me and through me’

Sing that if you wish! This is a great line to call the spirit to fight off evil!

Tell that nasty evil you are not afraid. Laugh at the silliness of evil. How empowering is that? C’mon now! Just do something that a fearful person would not do. Evil will be scared of joyful songs and grateful dancing. Evil will cower at the face of joy like a child that is caught red handed with a forbidden cookie would hang its head and hope for forgiveness. Put evil on the defensive with irreverent laughter and ironic humility.