Ideas of paradise ( whether attainable or already lost) are numerous throughout world mythology. What they have in common are the ideals of peaceful co-existence, non-violence, and amity in bucolic and often pastoral, garden environments. They represent archetypal patterns of simplicity and innocence.
So deep is our longing to recover these utopias, that history provides examples of planned missions to physically locate them, such as the search by Columbus to find the “Happy Isles”. Fictional accounts are countless attesting even more to the force of this archetype in imagination ( e. g. Tolkein’s Elfin Kingdom of Rivendel).
Whether we think of the “Garden of Eden” of the Abrahamic faith traditions, Shambala or the Himalayan Shangri-La of Tibetan Buddhism, Arcadia, or the enlightenment state of Nirvana ( Buddhism) or Moksha (Hinduism), the spiritual imperative is the same: idyllic living and imperturbable happiness.
In tapping into this pervasive archetype, how can I obtain citizenship as a Shangri-Larian right now, this very moment?
Shangi-La is all around me, just hiding behind the veil of preoccupations, mental obsessions, hang-ups, ruminations, fears and anxieties. It’s a bit like track 9 & 3/4 in Harry Potter.
All I need to do is say a loud “STOP” to my mental chatter and an equally loud “YES” to living there now.
- My cluttered office: look at the open space underneath if I stop adding new things, toss out things no longer needed, make a gift of books, and sell some other stuff.
- Wrinkled clothes: So what!!
- Car trip this morning to the airport on more business: More time with my son who drove me.
- A sincere smile from the agent at the bag drop: Goodness and blessing.
- A chatty pilot frequently pointing out landmarks on the ground: A joyful professional.
- Big puffy clouds outside my airplane window: Better than fiction, beautiful!
- Being overweight: See number 1 – the cluttered office.
I see it now!
“Let him with eyes to see, see. ”
May the dreamer awaken.
The Shangri-La of Now
© Brother Anthony Thomas and The Harried Mystic, 2009. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.
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