Naba

There are few people with whom I can feel comfortable discussing spiritual matters. It seems over the years, through my reading and thinking about things, that my spirituality has grown quite far away from others.

This isn't to say I'm the only one who thinks what I think. It's just that there aren't many people I feel I can talk to about these things. I'm one of those people who has many friends on Facebook. People tend to like my high energy personality, my vibrant nature. But I'm not sure many know I believe in spiritual oneness, intuitive abilities, beings outside of earth (including what we call angels), and other dimensions. I'm not sure anyone would want to talk about this stuff with me.

"Here's your vodka and cranberry girl, now what do you think of being able to transport your soul nightly for personal transformation?"

It's really too much to get into with people you most often sit on patios and knock 'em back with. I do try to talk to others about it from time to time, but it's smart not to get too heavy. Most people, like my partner - a very very intelligent person - are much more linear. Without tangible proof, it's really just fanciful wondering.

According to the TaoTe Ching by Lao-tzu, there's no real reason to discuss this stuff anyway. On the nature of the Master, a fully realized person:

Because he believes in himself,
he doesn't try to convince others.
Because he is content with himself,
he doesn't need others' approval.
Because he accepts himself,
the whole world accepts him.
(v.30)

To a large degree, personal transformation is just that. Personal. But I'm not a Master and I'm interested in making discoveries about what *is* through reading and conversation with others. Since discussion necessitates basic agreement on certain topics, many of which some of my friends may not even care about, I risk coming out of the starting gate feeling like I have to convince them on the very truth of these basic concepts.

Which is why I turn to my other friends, with whom I have these basic agreements. That's when the conversation can begin.

But perhaps I'm not giving my FB buddies enough credit. I do like most of them because they're smart people. Why can't I philosophize with them? Would a true friend not at least humour another with her thoughts on how things might be?