Many thousands of years ago, before the time of Christ, there was a great spiritual teacher in the land of Atlantis. His name was Hermes Trismegistus, the “Thrice Great”. Hermes foresaw the imminent fall of Atlantis, and led his followers to Egypt prior to its fall.
Here they flourished in their spiritual practises and were indeed responsible for the building of the great pyramids.
Hermes was said to have lived 300 years in the flesh, and after his passing he became deified as the Egyptian God “Thoth” (pronounced “Toth”).
Over the subsequent centuries, Hermes’ followers spread out across the globe and started the many great religions we know today. That’s why there are common seeds between all faiths.
So it’s no wonder that some of Hermes’ teachings have crept into our sayings of today. For example, you may have heard this saying before, but perhaps didn’t realise its origin: “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”
This saying comes directly from the teachings of Hermes. But a similar concept can also be found in A Course in Miracles (whose source is attributed to Jesus). In A Course in Miracles, students are encouraged to have “a tiny bit of willingness” to see things differently.
This concept is the foundation of miracles.
When we believe we are right, we are unteachable. But when we entertain the possibility that there is a higher or different perspective to our challenge, something we haven’t yet seen, then Spirit can work with us to heal our mind and our perception.
When our perception is healed, so is whatever challenging situation we find ourselves in. In this “holy instant” all things can change, and miraculous healing of mind, body and Spirit can occur.
The Major Arcana of the Tarot Deck were in fact was created by Hermes and his initiates as a way of hiding spiritual truths amidst symbols.
In those days, and even today, advanced spiritual knowledge is better to be hidden until the student is ready, as it is easily scorned by those who know no different.
The Witch Hunts of the Medieval times are a great example, where many a wise woman was persecuted by those who needed to control others, and who therefore feared that innate embodied wisdom that doesn’t require an “intermediary” to go directly to Source.
Knowing that the Major Arcana map out our journey to spiritual enlightenment, it’s no wonder that the very first card is “The Fool”.
“The Fool” has nothing to do with being foolish.
It represents the innocence of a child embarking on an amazing journey, full of wonder and spontaneity, treating each day as a new beginning.
Children live in the present moment, with little care for the past and future. This is what we are encouraged to also embody.
It’s this approach that my own teacher refers to as “Free Falling”
When we free fall, we have no attachment to the outcome. Instead of living in our head and planning and strategizing our life from there, or living in the wounds and joys of our past, when we are in the present moment we are able to fluidly move with the nudges from our Spiritual Elders (our “Spirit Guides”). We become the sponge, ready to soak up the wisdom from every situation in which we find ourselves.
We don’t compare, because there is nothing to compare to when we are living in the moment. We don’t hold a fixed perspective, because we have an open mind. This gives us that “tiny bit of willingness” so that Spirit can more easily correct our perceptions and lead us on our path.
Last month I spent 5 days on retreat in Bali. I visited Fuller Life Bali, a beautiful retreat centre outside of Ubud. This retreat centre is devoted to offering healing modalities and essential oil treatments to guests, combined with quiet “Zen” surroundings and healthy food.
Knowing I was going on retreat, I reflected on my life.
As I mentioned in “The Tidal Wave”, the recent months have been challenging for sure. Yet if I rise above those “ripples” in my life’s energy field, I see just one area where I have a deep curiosity and a lack of clarity, and that’s the arena of romantic relationships.
I’ve been single for the better part of 8 years, and despite getting out more and having a profile on a dating site, I haven’t met anyone who sparks my interest….or if they do, I don’t spark theirs.
My spiritual journey has been deep and incredible through this time of being single, and I fully accept that this may be the plan for my life. It certainly means I have a lot of energy to give to others.
But what if that’s not the plan? What if there is something in me that is carrying a wound and blocking me from meeting a man who would enrich my life, as I would enrich his?
If I am the block, then I would love to know that so that I can have the ability to transform.
It was my first day on retreat, when I received an unexpected vision. I was walking from the treatment rooms back to my villa, and I saw something in the sky above me. I knew it wasn’t my physical eyes seeing this – but I had no doubt that what I was seeing was real.
There was a woman floating in the sky above me, the size of a house. She was beautiful, and dressed in an intricate white flowing dress. The vision I had of her was so clear that I could easily have drawn her.
As I checked her out, she was also checking me out.
I “knew” that she was a Balinese deity who was protecting the land where I was staying.
She was not an Earth Spirit, but a “Sky Spirit”.
And she was observing me with engaged curiosity. I wasn’t friend, I wasn’t foe – she was “feeling into me” because I had entered her domain, and the domain of her people.
That afternoon I was privileged to receive a healing session from Frances Fuller, the founder of Fuller Life Bali. I put forth the “intention” of the session to have clarity around romantic relationships, and as I lay on the treatment table a powerful awareness came to me.
I saw that my whole question (and the impulse behind asking it) has no meaning. It is a question from my head, designed to receive an answer that my head can then plan around. It has no bearing on the present moment.
In that instant, my perception shifted. I knew my answer.
Live each day in a free fall state. Do the things I love. Embrace life as if each day is my only day on Earth. This will put me in the perfect situations for my life, for the greatest growth.
The whole concept of “will I meet my soul mate?” is such a human question, and it comes pre-coded with an unconscious attachment. If I meet my “soul mate”, that already has a whole host of implications on how we are meant to enhance each other’s lives, how we will live “happily ever after” for an extended and expected amount of time.
I know that I’m being encouraged to practise free-falling in every aspect of my life. When I free fall, I always find myself in the right situations at the right times. The right teachers are there. The right messages appear. I’m in flow.
So why would I not just trust that I will be given exactly what I most need for growth? Why do I place my mind into a possible future, rather than trusting in this present moment, knowing that all things that are “right” will come to me in their own perfect timing. That may involve a partner, that may not. But whatever happens will be “right” for me.
I was walking to my next session when I passed a fountain with a statue in it. I stopped in my tracks, staring at the statue. It was a woman dressed in white. Her robes were flowing as if she was about to fly. She was surrounded by water lilies, with a duck at her feet.
My jaw dropped. I had absolutely no doubt. I was staring at a statue of the Balinese Deity I’d met earlier.
“Who is she?” I asked the staff.
“That is Dewi Sri”, they answered. “She’s one of three Balinese Goddesses. She’s the Goddess of the Rice Paddies.”
This made sense, because the land where the retreat centre was built was originally all rice paddies. There are rice paddies on the grounds where they grow rice for our meals, and all the villas look out onto surrounding rice paddies.
But as I spoke to another Balinese woman, she gave me more information. It became clear that Dewi Sri is also the protector of women.
“We never know what tomorrow will bring,” she said to me. “Dewi Sri teaches us that as women, we can do anything! When we wake up each morning, we want to wake with gratitude, knowing we are here for one more day, to make a difference.”
When we are ready, the teacher appears. Sometimes that teacher is a wise Being to gift us knowledge. But sometimes our teachings come through synchronous conversations and meetings.
This was my confirmation. Awake to each day as if it’s my last. Live life in the moment, being present with myself and others. Trust my instincts and the nudges I receive and follow them.
By living life with this level of freedom and inner connection, I will always be in the right place for my own growth, and to meet others. If it is right for me to meet a life partner in my journey, I will. But placing my mind in the future and worrying about this is a waste of energy.
Life is here now. It’s the only moment there is. So be “The Fool” and approach each day with wonder and newness. It doesn’t mean we can’t take action steps for the future, but we take these because we are guided and prompted, not because our head tells us we “should”.
