The Gatekeeper

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 01:57:32 -0700

Human beings straddle two worlds, the Physical and the Spiritual. These worlds are as different as our notions of Heaven and Hell - literally. The deep and pervasive challenge that we eagerly accept in each lifetime is to create within ourselves, as Humans, acceptance of this seeming conflict. This challenge has been expressed in different ways by many cultures, and I would like to offer it to you as it was offered to me by one of my teachers.
The Kabbalistic tradition tells of the Archangel Uriel who guards the gate to Paradise: a fearsome specter emerging from a whirlwind of flame, ever vigilant and instantly defeating all trespassers with a single, precise and effortless stroke of his sword.
Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow
The Hollow Men, T. S. EliotHow then can you defeat this Angel and pass through the gate to Paradise? This is an especially perplexing question since Paradise is already within us, as our basic Spiritual nature. Yet as Humans, caught in the grip of the Physical world, all our best efforts to find that Paradise fall short. Often we forget that it exists.
Traditionally, the student is left to ponder this question for many years. It forms a framework, or context, for the training that follows. But, I will tell you the nature of the answer as a preview of what you may experience on your Path back to Paradise. This, in the hope that you may be inspired to pursue and endure that Path.
The “answer,” like so many answers on the Path, is to realize that the question is misleading. Although the question pertains to the Spiritual world, it is asked from the paradigm of a culture rooted in the Physical world. As the student’s awareness evolves, so does his/her viewpoint, or world paradigm. Ultimately, the “answer” is to adopt, to own, to live an expanded paradigm harmonious with both worlds.
Paradigm mismatch is probably the primary cause of distrust and miscommunication between individuals, cultures and Spiritual levels.
The question is misleading in two ways. First, the angel cannot be “defeated,” that is not a concept in the Spiritual paradigm. The angel does not know about win or loose (defeat) - it only knows about “what is,” and love. Second, Paradise is within you as your basic Spiritual nature, not outside of you, so the angel is also within you.
There is only one way to pass through the Gate: become one with the Angel; become the Gatekeeper. Or, stated more effectively, you must become aware that you are in fact the Angel, and knowing the Law of Paradise, you will diligently keep yourself outside until you are truly ready to enter. Stated more accurately, the Law of Paradise, like the law of gravity, is automatic and absolute: there is no judgment or negotiation; it just is.
As we learn, grow, evolve and allow our life paradigm to expand the world does not change, but our perception of it does. We shift to a new paradigm, a new viewpoint, a new awareness of that which is. We don’t find answers to yesterday’s questions. The questions change and eventually dissolve into the expanded paradigm.
You are both the Seeker and the Gatekeeper. If you choose to allow your inner Gatekeeper to be your guide on your Path to Paradise, you will often feel the Angel’s fire and the touch of his sword as you experience the unexpected, joyous sparks of awakening.
I hope to be of service in assisting you to know all this as your own truth. Enjoy your journey back to Paradise, back to your Authentic Self.

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The Gatekeeper