The Burning Light

Somewhere deep in the recesses of my consciousness is a permanent, unchangeable, powerful guiding light. I am inexplicably aware that it has always been there. It's burning away right now as I write. It permeates every thought I have, every stroke of my fingers on the keyboard. It illuminates the meanderings of my mind and touches every facet of every thought process I have..

I don't yet know how to understand its functioning, at least, with any degree of certainty that the convenience of mere explanation will suffice. When did this feeling - the growing awareness of this light - become so instinctive, or has it always been so? How did I go from just being aware of the existence of the light, to being fully conscious of the interweaving blanket effect it has on my whole life? When does intuition become greater than, and take over from, the words and figures of science and maths and logic and reason?

I'm trying to convey the enormity of this mysterious force, which I experience with a certainty that both greatly comforts me, and paradoxically, greatly disturbs me in pretty much equal measure. It is a huge, daunting and often overwhelming burden, yet simultaneously it lightens my load in life, brightens my days and guides me towards ever more positive outcomes.

I speak of the light that is truth... Truth that burns brighter within the soul than the glaring sun stared upon directly by naked eyes. Truth that is far, far more than just the mere absence of lies. Truth that flows around and through my conscious awareness like engine oil, collecting in between the gaps in my knowledge and reasoning to grease the cogs in my brain, keeping things moving and ensuring I am always ready for the constant work of expanding my mind. Truth that exposes the fallacies, biases, falsehoods and weak links that pockmark my thinking, enabling self-analysis that leads to self-improvement, and gradual evolution to better ways of thinking. Truth that liberates, illuminates, energises, rejuvenates and revolutionises..

But what is this light, this truth, if not something sacred - something considered too pure and too good to possibly come from within this frail human being? Well, I don't believe that it comes from any source other than this human one. I believe it to be something which lives within me, existing in every part of the entity that I know as me - in everything that constitutes my conscious mind, which I experience through thought, and in all that which is unconscious, for which I know of no better term to use than my soul.

What of belief, then? Oh, so many frames of reference. So many apt ways to frame the picture, so many suitable quotations and references. They all present themselves because they are true; I know them to be true because of a combination of the sum total of my life's experience, literature that I read, theories that I learn of, anecdotal evidence and stories told by others, and a generous sprinkling of educated guesswork. It's not about absolutes. It's about only ever really being certain on one thing - that there are no certainties, that placing complete faith in anything is almost always very dangerous, and that all beliefs must always be balanced by a dedication to reality that requires openness to constant challenge of said beliefs.

"In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes true." - John Lilly

Wow. Does your brain hurt a little? Mine does! It's a good thing, you know. After all, no pain no gain, right? If you are one who finds comfort in religion, no doubt all this talk of truth and light probably makes perfect sense, and you perhaps find my further contemplation and explanation-seeking unnecessary. I understand, and I do sometimes kind of envy the comfort you find in your faith.

That wonderfully-pervasive, omnipresent light of truth once again looms up into my train of thought, reminding me to point out that I'm just waxing lyrical on where I'm at on my journey so far. My opinions, views, beliefs, whatever - all of it could change tomorrow if sufficient new information presents itself. I have not a single moment to waste on the folly of proving myself right or other people wrong, for that is just the human ego playing ping-pong. There simply is very little, if anything, that is set in stone, so I choose to go with the flow of the energy that emanates from the guiding light..

Wherever this light takes me, I know from everything I have learned of its nature thus far that only good will come from following the path it illuminates. As long as I'm dedicated to reality, the truth will out. The truth will set me free, heck, it already has! And, cherry on the proverbial cake, there is even a reward beyond the positive transformation of my inner world. I get to share the truth with you, dear readers. I get to share all this with the world!

As a certain fellow in a certain part of a certain book once said, "I come to bring you good news.."


Copyright ©2018 Richard C. Greenlow. All rights reserved.