As spring approaches, I have found myself daydreaming about hiking through the mountains. Decades ago I was always grateful to have a trail guide, USGS topographic map and compass so I could easily choose a destination, track my progress along the trail, and make the best decision at a fork in the trail. When the trail seemed to follow an annoyingly long out-of-the way detour, the topo map revealed that the existing trail wisely avoided a deep ravine or went around a high peak not obvious from the trail. Nowadays GPS and cellphones provide additional assistance as we navigate the mountain trails.
But what do we do when we don’t have a trail map or Google maps to guide us? What if we don’t even know where we want to go? This is often the case when we are feeling that it is time to make a career change, move to a new town, seek or begin a new relationship or leave an existing relationship. How can we find peace and harmony in the midst of a seemingly endless conflict? How do we find a path to health and wholeness?
As we age, we gain life experience that helps us recognize signposts and navigate familiar territories. That worldly experience is helpful, but it can also trap us in a vicious circle of repeating the past and fearing going beyond what we already know. Sometimes the idealism of youth is the impetus to push beyond what has always been; sometimes we just get fed up with our current life experience. Even so, how do we learn to handle the unexpected obstacles and unforeseen opportunities along any new path?
What if there is another way besides sticking with what we already know? What gives us the courage and vision to venture out into the unknown? What if we could rise to the 30,000 foot level and see the whole landscape, all the peaks and valleys and the pathways around them? What if we could see all the options available to us? What if we could live our life with the benefit of hindsight and foresight even before we choose our destination? What if we could access the Wisdom of the Divine?
Visioning is a process of first aligning our consciousness with the One Infinite Life that is expressing Itself as us and as all people and all of creation. From this consciousness of Unity, we ask the question, “What is Spirit’s Highest Idea of Itself as my life?” The answers are amazing, often beyond our wildest dreams. Are you willing to listen and live in the question?
Love and light,
Rev. Pam Cosby Brandman
