There is an adage in the spiritual world declaring that life has a perfectly unfolding divine plan, and that one’s happiness is dependent upon knowing this, and somehow tapping into that flow. On the other side of this equation is the recognition that life is chaotic, random, and meaningless. Of course, it is both, in a complex and profound contradiction at the center of which is a level of ecstasy that is beyond the words we might seek to describe it. But I get ahead of myself.
I have spent my lifetime as someone who identifies as half scientist/half mystic, attempting to navigate the incongruity in this at every turn. In this way, the problem described in the paragraph above is something I am quite comfortable with. And you find me here because I have been asked this question: “What is the meaning of life?” However, in order to provide my particular version of an answer to this question, we have to go back a bit to what happens to me when I am asked a question; any question.
At some point in my early forties, I noticed there was phenomena in my body when I was stopped in the street and asked directions. I just loved when this happened. I’d feel a sort of spin inside me and connecting with a stranger was intimate and beautiful. Being of service was also juicy. Sending them on their way having had an impact on their journey was completely satisfying. The whole experience always just felt so good. As I pondered this, I noticed how odd it was that this occurred to me constantly. And I live in Los Angeles, the land of cars. But this has happened often enough that I can say that the number of times I have been asked directions over the past 54 years of my life so far probably numbers in the hundreds, a few times over. But the most prominent thought that felt important while I was making this observation was that buzz in my energy when simply asked a question.
I pondered this, and it landed in my work with clients. I recognized that the way I work with Divine Wisdom – whether writing, speaking to a crowd, or with someone one-on-one — it all boils down to me saying (or it being implied) “Ask me a question,” and waiting for that buzzing to start. And then I speak, and information that I truly have no ownership to flows through me with ease. The weird phenomena of being asked directions was simply a reflection of my Dharma being shown to me, and once I truly took that on in a significant way as a Spiritual Teacher, the phenomena has all but stopped in the world outside of my work.
To deepen my own practice a few years ago, I began to do some shamanic journeying with a powerful teacher and a circle of extraordinary humans in the desert outside of Tucson. During one particular meditation, I had the astonishing experience of the notion of “Ask me a question,” and “There is no answer,” colliding into each other over and over again until I exploded into a blissful state of utter ecstasy. The literal answer to the question is always, “there is no answer,” and yet we are driven to continue asking.
It suddenly dawned on me, everything in consciousness expresses as continuums that contain a tension of opposites. Night; day. Birth; death. In breath; out breath. Sleeping; waking. Ones; zeroes. And yes, question; answer. This goes back to the very beginning of our embodiment. There is no eggness in sperm, and the egg has no spermness contained within it. When they collide, there is a flash of zinc-induced light, and consciousness is born.
In this way, every seeming contradiction is in fact the possibility of an explosion of each into the other, out of which something ecstatic emerges. In integration, we go from opposites that are linear, into suddenly becoming spherical and whole. We replicate that same collision with every breath we take. In our limited bodies, we must divide it into in-breath and out-breath, which we segregate into two, very distinct sensations. When we recognize that there is only Breath, we find ourselves on the true path to freedom.
And so, I am asked what is the meaning of life. The answer is, there is no meaning to the question itself; there is no answer. And yet, we are compelled to ask, must ask, must never stop asking. At the center of this paradox of asking the question that has no answer, is the flash of zinc. The bright light of ecstasy. At very center of this ever exploding creative/destructive impulse that is fully known to me and completely mysterious, I realize, every once in a while and sometimes only for the briefest of milliseconds, that I AM. Don’t know what that is, exactly. But when it happens, time and identity cease to exist, and I know that I am home, and the meaning/meaninglessness of infinite life fills me with bliss and joy.
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~Dr. Michael Lennox, is a Psychologist, Astrologer and Dream Expert. Dr. Michael Lennox has been helping people have a deeper understanding of their unconscious mind for almost twenty years. In workshops, in the media, for private clientele and on the internet via his popular website www.michaellennox.com, Lennox guides people through life’s mysteries with a deep and profound wisdom delivered through a humorous and extemporaneous style that has become his trademark.
A highly sought-after media expert, Dr. Lennox has been seen internationally on many television shows, beginning with the Sci Fi Network’s The Dream Team with Annabelle and Michael, in January 2003. Since then he has also been featured on numerous network and cable television venues including NBC’s Emmy award winning Starting Over, Soap Talk, The Wayne Brady show and many others. His radio appearances talking about the power of dreams number in the hundreds.
Lennox obtained his Masters and Doctorate in Psychology from The Chicago School. Astrology and Personality, his Doctoral Dissertation, is published by Lambert Academic Publishing out of Germany. Lennox is the author of two books on dreams, Dream Sight: A Dictionary & Guide for Interpreting Any Dream was published by Llewellyn Worldwide Press in 2011 and is now available in five languages. His second book, Llewellyn’s Complete Dream Dictionary came out in May of 2015. The Little Book of Dreams was released in September of 2017. Dr. Lennox leads workshops and retreats all over the United States and conducts a worldwide private practice based in Southern California.
www.MichaelLennox.com
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Categories: Awakening, Psychology, Therapy