Why I'm more interested in the Natural than the Supernatural
I want to think clearly, sleep deeply, and love fully
When I share with Western people that I’m in Bali on a ’Tirtha Yatra,’ the Balinese term for pilgrimage, the first question I often get is if I’ve encountered any supernatural powers here. It’s a curious question... our obsession with the supernatural, with stunts and tricks, seems rather odd given that we struggle with the natural.
We’re so caught up in our mind and addictions to our phones, emotional dramas, and other drugs that we’re unable to think clearly, sleep deeply, and love fully. But the basics are the most advanced.
When we seek out masters with special tricks, we’re actually looking away from what’s essential: from ourselves. We can manipulate ourselves, or be manipulated, into ‘seeing’ anything and following that (like on psychedelics). But to feel through our experiences and follow our deeper intuition, step by step, slowly and gradually, is another order entirely.
“How boring!“ I would’ve thought when I was younger. “Give me total enlightenment NOW!” following the hero stories I’ve been told. But now I learn to appreciate the journey as the destination (what a cliche, but true). I now feel every step as a gift that reveals the next step. Answers become available once I stop searching and start listening.
All this is not to deny the importance of guides, human or otherwise. They are essential. Without them, we are guaranteed to get lost. Though I particularly value those who don’t show us the way, but guide us in finding our own. It’s a simple dialogue, not a supreme direction.
This seems much harder, which is why most people are drawn in by those promising results rather than proposing a process. But by going through our own process and walking on our journey, the results will be ours, and we will be empowered.
Walking in this way, I find the supernatural hidden in plain sight, under the disguise of the natural. The question is, am I looking closely enough?
More articles
