| I used the sea of consciousness and the spiritual | | | | moment. You are on your own bottom rung. You are |
| mountain metaphor in earlier articles in this series on | | | | enough awake at this point to start your climb. As you |
| spiritual growth. Now I want to add another metaphor, | | | | rub your sleepy, puzzled eyes, ou may not be aware |
| one that can also give a visual reference to my words, | | | | that you have earned that position while asleep in |
| a ladder. The Sea of Consciousness is the universal | | | | matter. |
| un-manifested potential. The Spiritual Mountain reflects | | | | Company As you look around you may make contact |
| the manifesting of that universal potential which does | | | | with some of other awakened sleepers and you can |
| exist on the physical plane but has no realization of its | | | | share in a common experience, like classmates. |
| own inherent spirituality. The ground on which the | | | | Occasionally you will be guided or taught by someone |
| ladder stands is that base, the virtual sea of humanity | | | | on a higher rung. You will start to build your awareness, |
| in physical incarnation but mostly unaware that there is | | | | perhaps singly, perhaps collectively. Personal effort and |
| more to life than the dense physical. | | | | experience will help you strengthen the bottom rung of |
| I have previously described the awakening process as | | | | that ladder. You would not want to climb a very tall |
| very slow, an emerging from a cocoon of denseness | | | | ladder with a weak bottom rung would you? It is |
| that takes many prods and tickles from the universe. | | | | important that you take your time to learn those initial |
| Once we have metaphorically sat up, rubbed our eyes | | | | lessons thoroughly, to strengthen that ladder of |
| and realized more is possible, the ladder then comes | | | | consciousness and to build toward the moment when |
| into play. There are no free rides from the universe. | | | | you can climb one more rung. There is no hurry. The |
| You build your own ladder through your total | | | | universe exists in timelessness. You can use all the |
| experience. You will have earned the right to the | | | | time you need. |
| ladder that leads you from the dense physical to full | | | | There are no real mistakes here. If you make what |
| consciousness. You just did not realize you were | | | | you or some other well-intentioned person thinks is a |
| building that ladder while you were asleep in matter or | | | | mistake, it is not a mistake. It is more a lesson for |
| beginning to wake up. Each experience contributes to | | | | where you do and do not belong in your journey. Not |
| the overall whole of the experience. | | | | everyone "succeeds" at every lesson at any level but |
| The moment you realize in the smallest possible way | | | | particularly this can be particularly true for this first rung. |
| that there is or can be more, you move out of that | | | | Suspected failure cannot be such because the |
| dense base layer and step up to the first rung on an | | | | universe discards nothing. It merely transforms it into |
| incredibly tall ladder. I hope you built your ladder strong, | | | | some other use, such as matter to energy and energy |
| sturdy and level while you were asleep in matter | | | | to matter. Not everyone you meet will succeed with |
| because you are going to use that ladder to climb level | | | | their initial attempt. It is important only that you try and |
| by level into the heights of spiritual consciousness. | | | | that you learn from that trying. Not everyone slowly |
| As you climb onto that first rung, you can see that | | | | awakening can make the whole journey with you as |
| there is more than you realized, more possibility, more | | | | each journey is individual and personal. Some of these |
| development, more use of yourself. You can also see | | | | companions will still be visible from the next rung, some |
| others climbing on a similar journey up their own | | | | will not. |
| individual ladders. You are not alone. There are | | | | This is your personal ladder and each rung must be |
| companions. Obviously there are not as many others | | | | earned and reinforced to strengthen the whole of your |
| as in the sea of humanity in which you shared that | | | | spiritual ladder. Your entire ladder and each succeeding |
| former sleep. The masses are still asleep in matter and | | | | run will only be as strong as your best efforts on each |
| the experience of spirit. But now your awareness | | | | rung. Companions may come and go as pieces of |
| knows that is not all there is to life and living. What is | | | | each journey match up, but companions can also |
| the good news? You do have company. | | | | change from level to level. Your job is to do your |
| You may struggle with your first few experiences. | | | | personal journey to the best of your ability, learning as |
| Some may even drop back into that sea because | | | | you go, climbing each ladder rung as you are able, |
| they need a few more tickles from the universe to | | | | repeating as necessary, recognizing "failure" for what it |
| wake up enough to recognize the ladder they | | | | is - a different path, and rejoicing in each obvious |
| themselves are building. Eventually all will awaken, but | | | | victory. |
| we are only concerned with your awakening at the | | | | |