U02-04: MoL-9; Awakening to Sacred Wisdomaka Perennial Philosophy, Perennial Wisdom, Sophia Perennis

9. AWAKENING (to Sacred Wisdom)
By the grace of all that is ultimately unknowable in the universe, that breath may arrive at any time, in any guise, to once again continue the evolution of consciousness, now utililizing that human being's cognizant abilities in a self-awareness of its own consciousness, in perception that it is spirit in union with the universe.

There are as many ways as there are grains of sand blowing in the wind for this breath to appear. For me, it began with the loving voice of a woman who introduced me to the world of the heart. Later, in the midst of unemployment, I discovered that coincidence is really synchronicity, that the universe has ways of speaking to us if we open our hearts to listen. Then a trip to the American Southwest and a mystical experience in the Canyon del Muerto, rushing waters in the Arizona desert, and thousand year old ruins of an Anasazi settlement, revealed time to be a story.

Soon the study began. Looking for an understanding of my Meso-American incident, I came upon the Toltec philosophy of Don Miguel Ruiz in his book, The Four Agreements. His is a simple but loving wisdom (a childlike primer in some ways and an ancient book of wisdom in others), that I now believe came from his study of the perennial philosophy as much as from his Toltec heritage. It spoke to my depths as nothing I had read before, and told me truths that I knew but had not been able to express. That and his masterpiece, The Voice of Knowledge, explained the lies we've come to believe, the dreaming nightmare of a planet, and the possibility to create one's own dream out of love.

Later, in discussing these things with a cousin, she mentioned that Miguel Ruiz sounded similar to Eckhart Tolle, and his book, The Power of Now. A few months later, I saw his latest book, The New Earth, in the bargain books section, and remembering that discussion, purchased the book. Again, words spoke to depths. Via an Amazon list of Tolle's recommended reading, I went on to Cynthia Bourgeault (The Wisdom Way of Knowing), whose book was a revelation of Sacred Wisdom, the currents of which have been running for thousands of years. Her annotated bibliography was itself a revelation and a map.

Soon I was reading Jacob Needleman (Lost Christianity), Huston Smith (The World's Relgions), Kinney and Smoley (Hidden Wisdom), P.D. Ouspensky (In Search of the Miraculous), Gurdjieff (Meetings with Remarkable Men), Nasr (Knowledge and the Sacred), Schuon (The Essential...), Tomberg (known only as Anonymous in his amazing Meditations on the Tarot), Helminski (Living Presence), and others. (Hoping that some day I will climb the more daunting works of Meister Eckhart, St. John of the Cross, and The Cloud of Unknowing.) So far still to go.

Like the first glimmer of waking after a deep sleep of dreaming when that long drowsiness is still caught in consciousness like cobwebs in a dawning dusty room, the heartbeat is returning.

They say that heart disease is the leading cause of death. Sacred Wisdom, then, is the leading cause of life, rediscovery of spirit, and infinite consciousness. So much time, effort, and money, will be spent to attempt to cure heart disease. And that is a good thing. Yet almost nothing will be spent on behalf of sacred wisdom. But the little that is, will be enough. Because it will find you if you want it. And if you don't, it won't. Although if you do, but haven't yet, start with any of the above. It's found you.