The meditation of 11-11-11 brought a nice calmness. But most of all, the discussion that ensued afterwards was exactly the answer to my year old question. The question arose out of meeting a woman, actually a few women who were so evolved and inspiring that I could not believe I was in the right place at the right time to meet them. Such grace was bestowed upon me.
One woman in particular, had grown up in horrendous military circumstances that left her terrorized every day and every breath. Her terrorizer literally bugged her home, so that her family could not dare speak badly about the man who called himself their Uncle and was known to the world as a ruthless dictator. No interactions were allowed to happen that the dictator did not approve of and her small family was merged into his. She grew up in his inner circle and was so ashamed of their relationship while pretending to agree to it. Amazingly, she survived his torture. She even escaped when she became of age to be married or worse. She lost her homeland and her parents, but she gained the safety of distance and freedom of speech. Years later, she disguised her roots and became an activist for women's rights. Her concern was for women who were caught in the middle of war zones trying to survive or raise families or rebuild their economies. She became enthralled with helping women grapple with the daily problems that these devastated war zones created. This single woman took on the many problems and found ways to help the many women. She created a foundation which has grown into a movement.
Then one day she made an ominous trip to the Congo, known as "hell on earth". And she listened to another woman tell her personal story about the horrors of the war she survived. Something in her clicked and she could no longer stay anonymous, she cried for 3 full days and slowly came to terms with her hiding behind a cause. Within the woman's story from the Congo, her story was also revealed and irrevocably entwined. It also began the next phase of her life's story as she moved from rebel to activists to advocate.
Her story is a marvelous story to hear. I was totally captivated to learn how she had transformed, transmuted all her horrible past into a positive action to help who find themselves in inescapable terror. But the fact that she has created something beautiful out of something so awful is not what is so incredible to me. Yes, it is amazing that she was able to survive and escape and go on through her life to create such a powerful organization that in turn helps so many more women. But what I find to be the most important part of the story is the part of the story that isn't directly told. Yes, there have been books written and many many public speeches about this woman, but the part that is not written is what I find the most fascinating. How did she grow from being a rebel to activist to advocate to transcended? When she speaks now about her past, she is not caught in it or petrified by reliving it to the point that she can't admit her early experiences. The fear does not appear to grip her in the same old strangle hold it had while she was growing up, beautifully she speaks and smiles broadly and pervades grace and precision. I notice none of the raw rebellion or righteous advocacy that would keep her locked in the battle. Her entire presence is one of transcended purpose. She is so filled with joy and light that it reminds me never to give up and that anything is possible. She doesn't relate from hatred or disdain , instead she encourages us to be the best we can be and to treat each other with grace. I find her presence to be such a breath of fresh air because so many times we are bombarded by the media portraying humans devoid of ethics or substance. Then on the other hand, we have the Dali Lama and Jesus Christ which makes it seem like we mere mortals can not reach for such heights because we have no special vestments. Transcendence is only for the most holy, or so I thought. I had never considered it for myself, unless I'm dead.
After our mediation we sat around discussing the world's issues and what the urgencies were for us to act on. A whole list was typed on a paper and handed out to everyone to read about ways to become involved. Ways to become involved in fixing the earth, the economy, the health, the media, etc. were all discussed. I have heard a lot of this sort of talk lately, which is good that people are waking up to asking important questions, I'm not suggesting otherwise. But my burning question is how do we move from being aware to being an activist to being an advocate and is it possible for us to become transcended when we continue to reach for more? I believe it is. I believe it is very possible to become transcended about our issues only because I have witnessed it in others in my lifetime. This is the missing part that I couldn't quite figure out
because I identified so strongly with my story and I couldn't understand what this other quality was that I sensed in these amazing women. I am so grateful to have met them and I am so grateful that they have continued to reach. The context in which I met these women is also a very big clue because I met them while doing their healing work. I witnessed how deeply they connected to their own essence and Mother Earth and all Divinity and now I have an answer. We reach our greatest heights of Divinity when we have sunk our roots deeply into our natures and been nurtured from the richness of our experiences. Integrating expereinces is the beginning and as we go deeper into understanding ourselves and our wounds we free ourselves to live beyond the perimiders of memory and into pure essence and connection to all that is. Learning to not get stuck in the story by coming back to our essence, we move past single and into Oneness. This is where the art of transendence seems to flow.
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