Breadcrumbs: A Collection of Spiritual and Philosophical Essays, Francis J. Shaw [little readers .TXT] 📗

illuminated another path— one that could lead us to a theory of spiritual relativity?

History and the present, has given us many spiritual guides: Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed and many others. We don’t use the word expert to describe them. We use: the Awakened One, Teacher, Prophet and we continue to talk about them hundreds of years after they died because they touch in us something deep inside—questions we want to answer. Their words and actions help us to consider different possibilities, offering guidance on various paths to follow. They share commonalities that very much fit the list of trusted professions—caring, loving, healing, and learning, and perhaps the greatest gift we have been given is the free will to choose the way that’s right for us. It may or may not following the teachings of one of the few I listed, because we are a world full of uniqueness—of different races, colors, and cultures, speaking 6,500 languages—one of 8.7 million species inhabiting the earth.

It would appear that the God or Creator of our understanding has created a variety and richness in our world, and would be pleased that we choose to undertake a spiritual journey at all, rather than decide only one way is correct. Many spiritual experts have appeared over the years. Some have added to the light of their guides, but others have used beliefs as a weapon and created rules and structures which must be followed. How teachings have been interpreted lies at the heart of much of the discord that has followed. Insistence that only one path is correct blinds us to the beauty found in all. Just as it would foolish to be immersed in nature and judge each flower and tree for being different. They are all beautiful.

Einstein faced a similar crossroads in his world of physics. His theories pushing against the status quo of commonly held beliefs of his contemporaries. Worse, just as we encounter the different versions of God in various belief systems, he had to face his own nemesis, who although long since dead, held power in the court of physics, mathematics, and astronomy—Sir Isaac Newton. It was Newton’s laws of motion and universal gravitation that shaped the fundamental principles of understanding the invisible forces that fascinated Einstein. Taking on Newton and his fellow physicists would be akin to saying religious belief systems were all missing something important about spirituality that makes all the difference.

In a quest to develop a Theory of Spiritual Relativity caution is needed. Although Einstein is viewed as a radical thinker, who shook up the physics world, his theories were securely based on the work previously done by others. Ours should be the same, for there is so much we have learned from the great spiritual teachers about love, faith, hope, and trust. At its core, Einstein’s gift to the world was defining the link between various elements—unlocking the mysteries about space and time and proving their relationship.

We have our own mystery to solve. It also revolves around invisible connections and a desire for understanding and growing our relationship with our creator. We feel forces around us—in nature—and inside us—in our spirit or soul, and if “Genius is the fusion of an adult’s rational will with the innocent perceptions of a child,”25 Einstein gave us a place to start. We expect the great ones to have intellects the size of elephants and certainly Einstein was not a slouch in that department, but he valued other concepts, which included “intuition, inspiration, and imagination,” ranking the last above abilities we would normally associate with very smart successful people.

It didn’t sound very scientific. He was known for his Gedankenexperiments (thought experiments) and I needed to test out his statement on imagination using something similar. I knew I couldn’t think like him, but my own intuition led me to the novel I was working on. In the story, there is scene where the young protagonist opens a last letter from his best friend, whose grave he stands beside. It’s a highly-charged emotional few minutes and is important it conveys all the pain, fear, and despair he feels. I read through my written words, closed my eyes, and pictured the scene. It was unnerving as it unraveled before me, just like watching a movie on a big screen. It would have been easy to dismiss it as purely a rendition of what I had written, but, my words had focused on the emotion and had little detail about the actual scene location. Somehow, my brain had instantly built all of it…in detail—what the cemetery looked like; the trees; the bridge; the river. Even the weather.

Imagination is not frivolous daydreaming and by touching the emotional heart, everything else fell into place. It was, perhaps, a small window to what Einstein experienced and I wondered, if we were able to imagine how much we are loved, what it might change in us and in our world. How much do we listen to others who tell us we are wrong? How often do we embrace the thoughts of experts? How frequently do we convince ourselves we are not smart enough? But, love, faith, hope, and trust have no need for experts—only our willingness to connect to our spiritual center and be open to what happens next. With acceptance of the possibilities, who knows what missing details will be revealed.

Interestingly Einstein didn’t see himself as being particularly talented. Most would disagree, but we have to ask, why did he discover a new theory and not his contemporaries? There were some very capable physicists at that time, but many were not so willing to give up the previous conclusions of others or themselves. How often do we cling onto old thoughts and ideas? How often do they stop us from moving forward? Being open to change lets the new, enter. When we say, ‘I don’t know,’ we give permission for a spark to start a new fire of discovery in ourselves. Einstein peeled away the layers of complexity which he saw as barriers to understanding. Looking at every problem simply, cleared his mind of unnecessary clutter.

In our spiritual lives we can benefit from doing the same. We place so much between us and our God, it’s no wonder it’s a struggle to feel the full light of love that’s offered. The more time we give to fighting over whose version is correct; the more time we spend in judging and not accepting; the more time we decide what is a sin and what is not—it’s all wasted time.

With his endless curiosity, Einstein added another powerful supporter in his search to find answers. Both curious and cure have their roots in the Latin word, ‘cura’—care. Perhaps it’s another reminder. An echo of what we value in trusted professions, nurses and doctors—what we can achieve when we care for each other, ourselves, and our spiritual journey.

There comes a time when the outward focus on life, work, family, and career, turn in a new direction. It’s this inward glance that opens a creaking door to a sleeping mystery, bringing a desire to be alone in a place, lacking the teaching voices or rules, imposed. Nature summons us to her court of non-judgmental beauty, where thoughts find meaning and the quiet speaks until we listen. Maybe, it was when sailing his boat, the final pieces of his theory of relativity fell into place or in a melody, he played on his violin, which created another path to the mystery.

We don’t have to find all our answers and nor should we try, because complication is the enemy of simplicity, but now and again they come our way, as a reminder that holding onto the past doesn’t serve us well; when we allow experts or ourselves to be convinced of truths we label as knowledge. My elderly mother loves to reminisce. On a recent visit, she described how she used to help at my primary school, but wasn’t always popular with the Headmistress with her forward thinking ideas. Then it slipped out. “I wasn’t happy that you missed a year of mathematics, because the teacher forgot to teach it,” she said. I had no recollection of it. How long I had believed it was all a lacking in me causing my problems with numbers. A few months before, I had another one of those moments. Reading, while my wife sat next to me studying a text book, I asked her what she was doing. She explained she was starting a 3-step process: “First I highlight, then, I make notes in the margin, and for the last step I write a summary.” I asked her why she does it that way. “Because it’s how I learn,” she said. It hit me right away. One of those aha moments—all those years at school and no one taught me how to learn. I just didn’t know how and still don’t.

In 1983, alas, after I finished school, American developmental psychologist, Howard Gardener, theorized 9 types of intelligence. No doubt, there will be other experts who may disagree. As for me, I am happy with my ‘conscientious.’ I smile that its roots lie in ‘conscience’—which means, ‘with knowledge.’ I forgot my school education long ago and as the years pass, I embrace all I can learn. I may not have got better at learning complex things, but in practicing simple acts of forgiveness, kindness, and compassion, I feel the simplicity of our call to love with all our passion filling me completely.

A question still remains. Is there a Special Theory of Spiritual Relatively? I don’t think so. I believe there are many, because we are all unique: all special. Einstein was on a constant mission to seek unifying theories and this is my unifying theory for all of us—the human race—so much more alike than we are different. The theory is based upon the following principles:

The principle of spiritual relativity: The laws of love don’t change, even for people moving at variable speeds in different spiritual directions The principle of the power of love: The power of love has the same value for all observers regardless of their motion relative to the love source, without the need for uniform agreement on where the love comes from Love is constant, but relative. The faster we move toward it, the slower time passes and the ability to love, increases According to the Theory of Spiritual Relativity when we are open to giving and receiving love, with kindness and compassion and without judgment, we are all right—we all belong here; no exceptions

It’s a beautiful day. I can’t play the violin; I don’t have a boat to sail, but mounting my bike, it’s not Einstein’s words, but Mark Twain’s that come to mind - “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” Leaving home, I wonder if that’s the key. Seeking balance brings everything we need in our lives, in the right measures at the right time. Balancing all our ‘I’s:’ Intelligence, intellect, intuition, inspiration, and imagination opens us up to all the possibilities. Within moments, I am through the park and down at the water’s edge,