With our imagination as our guide we step on to
THE SIXTH STEP TO SOUL
She waited a very long time before she even attempted to climb the stair to the sixth pillar. Something about it was foreboding. Probably, it was the Power. The Power of it was so intense that it frightened her. But she knew that she couldn’t resist it any longer. It was time now to make the single step that she so deeply believed would change her life forever. She had felt the change coming for quite some time. Something inside was going away to be replaced by something else that had not yet been born. The something that was going away was FEAR.
As she prepared to take this simple step which would complicate every area of her life, she reflected upon all that had happened. Like the moment before death, her entire life flashed before her. There was, of course, too much to consciously register, but there was a general theme that seemed to be replaying in drama after drama.
The theme was personal inadequacy. With that thought, she stopped suddenly—foot raised in midair in preparation of the step. Was she inadequate? Had she had been avoiding this step knowing that, if she took it, she would realize that for her entire lifetime she had secretly felt inadequate?
If that was so, once the step was taken, she would have to drop that modes operandi forever. She would have to accept that she WAS adequate. She would have to accept and love herself exactly as she was in every moment, through every emotion and with every thought. No wonder she had avoided this pillar so long.
She wondered why she had clung so ardently to a negative self-image. What could be the possible profit? Of course, with the question came the answer. Fear of judgment! If she knew, first, that she was inadequate, then maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much when THEY told her so! Of course, THEY were seldom rude enough to come right out with it. THEY were nicer than that. THEY told her with a look, with a pat, or with their eyes.
If only she hadn’t been so sensitive. If only she had been able to believe their hollow words of praise. However, the praises were short and very far apart, whereas the criticisms were constant and covered every area of her life. Worst of all, the ones who criticized her most were the very ones who professed to love her. And now, unfortunately, much of the criticism came from her self.
Could she take this step? Was she “adequate” to the task? A battle began to wage deep within her. Who was right, the outsiders who now secretly lived in her head, or the small voice inside who whispered, “You can do it”?
She could do it, she would do … she did it!
She did it quickly, like jumping into a cold pond. She chose to lower her raised foot, not on the step that she was on, but instead on the next step, the step just above her.
Quickly, she had to shift her weight to the foot on the higher step. She knew that if she hesitated she would stop her forward motion. With a leap of faith, she planted her other foot firmly on the sixth step, just feet away from the pillar.
Now she would have to look inside the pillar’s crystal to see what was there. She inched forward. She had to stretch her body to its tallest self because this pillar was much taller than the others. Quickly, before she lost her nerve, she looked into the crystal. Initially, she could see only swirling Golden Light that was more beautiful than anything she could imagine. It moved in clockwise circles as if it followed a plan. Yes, something was taking shape. Something was being created within the Golden Light.
It was a face. No, wait, it was HER face. But the face was perfect. Not perfect in its shape, age, expression, or any other gauge of perfection that had been offered in the past. The face was perfect because it was the Face of Soul. It was perfect because it was the archetype of everyone and everything she had ever attempted to be in all of her lives. It was perfect because it was SOUL! And being Soul, it was above judgments or polarities. It wasn’t good, bad, beautiful, or ugly. IT SIMPLY WAS, therefore, it was PERFECT!
The face didn’t have to be changed, improved, or altered. It only had to be accepted and cherished. It was beyond time and space. Therefore, it had no age or definite form. It existed because it was Truth. And, she could see it because she had been brave enough to look. She had been brave enough to face her sense of personal inadequacy and to choose not to allow it to hold her back any longer. She had chosen to move on to the next step knowing that her life would be inalterably changed.
She didn’t know how life would be now, although, she was certain that it would be different. She had looked into the face of Soul, and in doing so, she had changed her self image for all of eternity.
She no longer had to fear judgment. Therefore, she no longer had to judge. Of course, there was habit. Habit could make her forget who she was. Habit could duplicate old behaviors that were now dead.
Therefore, she would have to look into the Face of Soul every day and in every way. She would have to first find the Face of Soul in the crystal, in the mirror, and in the faces of others. She would find the Face of Soul in trees, rocks, birds, insects, fish, and in all of the creatures of life. The Face of Soul was everywhere and in everything.
Could she remember to see it? Could she remember to be who she was and not who she used to be?
Yes! She would remember to remember. And when she forgot, she would look into the Face of Soul and forgive herself. She would not judge herself for forgetting, but rather move on and remember to NOT forget again.
All she had to do was take that one step and look into her own Face of Soul. Then everywhere, in everyone and in everything, she could see their Face of Soul. In that face was complete acceptance and therefore, complete love.
For love without acceptance is like a face without a Soul.
And, that acceptance must begin with her self!
