The Nature of Your Destiny
It is seldom noticed that we have two destinies in life, and while both are inextricably linked, one is fixed and the other is flexible. One is temporary and the other is always permanent. One is based in the world ‘out there’ while the other is already set in ‘your’ world in the ‘in here’.
For most people destiny is a mysterious and often mystical notion that is pregnant with possibility. While many consult astrologers and clairvoyants, others gaze into crystal balls or turn a deck of cards with the most bizarre images, all seeking a glimpse of what the future may bring. Some will speculate on the configuration of the lines on the palms of their hands, while others will read their future fortune from leaves at the bottom of their tea cup. But this fascination with fate only strengthens the illusion that our destiny is in the hands of others and is shaped by random events and unseen forces. This is the first of three errors that we make around the notion of personal destiny.
The second error is to think that our destiny is only an ‘outer condition’ defined by location, wealth and relationships. It isn’t, and that’s because our primary reality, as we have been exploring these last few weeks, is the universe within, our consciousness. And in this reality our destiny is fixed and cannot be altered in any way. But it won’t show up in your tea leaves!
The third error is to project destiny into some future moment of arrival at ‘the destination’. In truth there is no arrival simply because we/you/I i.e. the self, never actually goes anywhere in the real world of our consciousness. We may take our vehicle i.e. our body, for journeys around the three dimensions of the world out there, but you/I/we will remain absolutely stationary at the wheel, otherwise known as the ‘throne of consciousness’. No harm in enjoying the passing scenery, referred to as life on planet earth, but believing we are a part of the scenery is a grave error that may take our vehicle to an early grave … so to speak!
It is these three errors of understanding that serve to induce the feeling that we are victims of circumstances, enslaved today to what we desire to acquire tomorrow, and trapped in an idealistic notion of what our destiny ‘could’ be like. All compounded by the feeling we have no control on how our life will unfold. It all results in ‘absence’, as we become busy in our imagination, speculating about some distant future, so that we are seldom fully present in the moment now.
Curiosity and hope lie at the heart of the question, “I wonder what my destiny is/will be”? But they only signify that misery is present at worst, or quiet desperation at best. Or a sense that our life is not making sense… somewhere in the middle.
So let’s do destiny!
One Self Two Destinies As you look out at the immediate world around you right now you will see your ‘destiny of today’ in the world. Where you are, who is in your life, what you are doing and even your personality, are all aspects of your ‘destiny of today’. In essence your decisions yesterday determine your destiny of today. The ‘creative process’ reminds us that there is no such thing as random fate but that your destiny in the world is your creation and therefore in your hands. Thoughts trigger feelings and sometimes the other way round, but both will shape and be shaped by your decisions. Thoughts feelings and decisions will define your attitude and altogether they shape your action as behavior. And behavior is an ‘expression’ which will shape relationships and therefore circumstances. We are all 100% responsible for this process by which we create our responses. And the outcomes in our life are dependent on our responses to events. It’s not winning the lottery that defines your destiny, it’s what you do with the money, and how you deal with the attention it attracts, that will shape your future.
All of which raises the question, “What is informing our decision making?” Is it the beliefs we have learned or the wisdom that we have cultivated? For most people it’s their learned beliefs and consequent experiences which automatically inform their decision making. It’s now easy to see how a ‘learned belief’ that if we spend money that we have not yet earned it is likely to result in a destiny that for some borders on destitution. It’s now easy to see that a collectively inherited belief that nature will supply unlimited energy is likely to result in a slightly damp environment for millions of people in the future. It’s easy to see the connections between belief and destiny when we blindly believe that our inner happiness can only be stimulated by some external sources. As a result each new generation becomes more agitated and addicted than the last. Just a few of the illusions we allow to inform our decisions and therefore shape our destiny. We all carry hundreds of such beliefs but tend to remain asleep to their influence on our decisions and directions.
This is why if we are to restore our destiny in the world to our own enlightened hands it is rather important we break our blind acceptance of what we are taught and question absolutely everything. Not in a frenzy of frustrated doubting, or even just the desire to ensure our own desires are fulfilled, but out of recognition that only the truth can generate the wisdom to shape the decisions and actions that will create a destiny that brings benefit to all. Because one thing is for sure in the world ‘out there’, our individual destiny cannot be separated from the collective. Seriously asking and enquiring into what is meant exactly by ‘brings benefit to all’ is as good a place as any to begin an earnest conversation.
Answers to such questions do not come easily to intellects that have grown accustomed to receiving and accepting the beliefs of others. Our intellects have atrophied, having done little such inner work, and now tend to be a little lazy and somewhat fuzzy. Until the value is seen of a clear and discerning intellect, able to generate and use wisdom to inform our decision making, we will always feel that our future fortune is at the mercy of others. Even though we may ‘appear’ to be making our own decisions there is the subtle and gnawing underlying feeling that they are being hijacked by a programmed set of inherited beliefs, some of which we intuitively sense cannot be true. Awakening, strengthening and refining our intellect in order to see this clearly for our self is the domain of meditation, contemplation and reflection. These three ‘inner exercises’ are in themselves wisdom in action, but only once their value is realised.
If you do spend such quality time on cultivating your wisdom from inside out you will begin to rediscover a universe where your destiny is fixed and immutable. This is the territory of your nature. The plant and animal kingdoms of the natural world around us have no concerns about their destiny. They largely live by their nature from day to day and moment to moment. We do the same when we are reconnected with our true nature as human beings. When we know our self as beings of peace, at peace with ourselves and the world, when we know ourselves as sources of love, with the intention to connect harmoniously with others, when we know our self as a joyful being, allowing that joy unobstructed passage from our heart to the world, we are being our natural self, we are residing in our true nature. That’s when all thoughts of what our future may hold become irrelevant. It is this truth of our nature, the fixed, immutable and unstealable attributes of our natural inner state, which then supply the wisdom to create the quality of decisions that meet events in the world in the right way, at the right time. Only then can we watch our own wisdom overpower our inherited beliefs. Only then can we see how our awareness of our true nature will affect and reflect in the outer circumstances of our life.
Living naturally, living according to our nature begins when we use the power of our peace wisely, staying calm and stable when all around us panic and worry. Only then can we use the power of our love wisely, being of service to others when most others are focused only on personal survival. Only then can we use the infectious power of our joy wisely, lifting the spirits of others in their sadness and sorrow. Such is the power of our true nature, which we can never lose, because we cannot lose our self. There is only a temporary loss of self awareness.
Restoring our awareness of our true nature requires three realisations. First, that our nature cannot be found ‘in’ the world or acquired ‘from’ the world. Love, peace and joy lie not in our material surroundings. They lie only at the core of our being. Only then can our meditations and contemplations induce the second realisation that such attributes of the self are not one dimensional states, but multidimensional and multifaceted, with many applications. And then there will come a moment when we realise that it is how we apply our natural inner resources to the creation of our responses ‘to’ the world that will shape our destiny ‘in’ the world. Notice how the kind, the compassionate and the selfless easily attract to themselves rewards that are not sought. Notice your own level of contentment when you use your own nature in such wise ways.
When we know our nature as stillness in a moving world, as silence in a noisy world, as love in a fear filled world, then our nature is able to bring light into an endarkened world. When we know our true nature, the mystery of our destiny disappears, speculation ends and hope becomes a stranger in the presence of a growing wisdom. When we know the true nature of our self we will know the exact nature of our destiny. This is why nature is destiny.
All that remains is to remove what is unreal between you and your nature.
Question: What does it mean exactly ‘to know your nature is to know your destiny’ (make some notes).
Reflection: ‘Your fate is your destiny and there is no such thing as luck’ – discuss with your self!
Action: Look for signs this week for the connections between your decisions yesterday and your destiny of today and between your decisions today and your destiny of tomorrow.
© Mike George 2009
