SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

One morning, a young man came to the Master saying, "Master,
I wish to understand my path on earth better.
I wish to know why it is that I seem to carry
my past and re-live it again and again.
Why is it that I cannot get past my past?"
The Master smiled at the young man who seemed to be
earnestness itself.
"Go forward into the Maze in the garden,
but carry this backpack as you walk the maze.
It will help you stay focused and balanced.
Be careful as it is quite heavy though," the Master said.

The young man took the backpack from the Master
who handed it over quite easily,
but when the young man had it firmly in his grasp
he was astonished at how heavy it really was!
Placing the shoulder straps over his arms and
bent over from the sheer weight of the pack,
he strode toward the Maze.
He was surprised to see it was not a garden maze but
was built of silk panels that were nearly translucent.

The young man paused before entering the maze and
then stood and walked into it.
Immediately he found himself facing a solid wall of silk, however,
he could see just enough through the silk to other areas of
the maze to make out others there at the same time.
He could "see" them and hear them but
they were not part of his path.

The weight upon his shoulders reminded him of why he was there,
so he put the thoughts of the others out of his head.
Walking forward, he found himself hopelessly trapped.
It seemed that no matter which direction he walked,
there was no way to proceed forward.
Baffled, the young man sat down
and pondered his situation.

The Master told me to walk the maze but it seems unwalkable,
yet, there are others ahead of me.
They must have figured out a way to get through this section.
How did they do that?
Are they smarter than I am?
Did they cheat?
Did they crawl under the silk as that would be really
a simple matter and who would ever know?

The young man weighed his options and then rose,
deciding to not sneak under the silk.
As he stood and turned, an opening appeared before him
as though by magic and he moved forward.
Soon, he faced another series of solid silk panels and
could see no opening or direction to walk
other than the one he had come from.
Again, he sat down and thought of his situation.
He had gotten through the first test he felt by reflecting upon his
options and then choosing to take the one that was for his highest good.
Stating again his affirmation that he would desire to walk the maze
only with positive intent he stood,
ready to face his opening, but none was there.
He still faced a blank series of panels.

The young man was baffled.
He had felt that surely he would be rewarded as
before for his desire to proceed only within his highest good.
The weight of his backpack cut into his shoulders,
bringing him sharply back to reality.
What was it that weighed so much?
What had the Master placed in it to weigh it down?
Rocks? Bricks?
It did not feel hard and unforgiving
like those items, it felt soft, yet heavy.
What could possibly be soft and yielding
yet heavy enough to weigh him down like this?

Pulling the backpack off his shoulders, he opened it and peeked inside.
'The Master did not tell me to not look,' he reasoned.
It was EMPTY!
Yet, it had weight! 'How could this be?' he wondered.
Picking it back up,
he again felt how heavy it was - yet, it was empty!
Again, he glanced inside and this time felt with his hands.
Empty! But the weight!!!
Placing it upon his shoulders he stood.
He asked himself what it was that he had just learned from this experience.
He heard a voice clearly say,
'Look inside of you, young man,
for the weight lies there'.

As he walked, he looked at his life and his path.
He thought of his childhood and the friends and enemies who
had caused him harm.
He thought of how stuck he had been by their feelings of
him and their attitudes toward him.
He remembered how angry he was with one particular boy who had
taunted him unmercifully.
The boy was hated to this day by the young man.
The pack became even heavier as the student re-created and
re-lived the experience within his mind and heart.

'Ahhh! I understand now.
I carry the weight of that which burdens me.
I am the weight!
I therefore have it within me to unburden myself as well.'
The student was joyous with this insight and then saw and
walked his way through a series of panels of silk.
He thought of how he could unburden the weight of those
he still despised and resented for their treatment of him.
He knew that they were not there with him in the maze,
so he could not expect them to say,
"I am sorry,"
and thus lessen the weight and allow him to go forward easily.

"I forgive you, wherever you are,"
he found himself saying to his own amazement.
The weight of the pack lessened immediately and he was able to
walk without bending forward at the waist.
"Ah ha!" The young man exclaimed.
"Through my intent to forgive,
I unburden myself of this weight which hinders my journey.
But how can this be?
For they were the ones who wronged me.
Yet my forgiving of them unweights me?"

The young man's head swum with the implications and
just then another series of openings appeared
before him in the panels of silk.
His pack was considerably lighter,
but still weighed enough for his mind to stay focused upon it.
"Oh, Great Spirit, I ask you to help me see
what it is that you are showing me here.
How do I make my way through this maze?
How do I release myself of the full weight that I carry with me?"
It was at this moment that a beam of sunlight
hit him squarely the face, warming him.
He suddenly realized that his pack had lightened
again with the warmth of the sun!
"What does this mean, God?
Why do you lighten my pack with sunlight?
What are you showing me?"

It was then that he found himself remembering
a "woman" that he had kissed when he was thirteen.
It was his first kiss of adulthood and he remembered her clearly.
His heart raced with the remembrance of her
taste upon his lips and his love for her.
His pack lightened considerably this time.
"Thank you, God, for your considerable wisdom in this.
I see now how I am to unburden myself completely.
It is through loving AND forgiving those who
have been in my way and have wronged me previously.
It is not their wronging of me that has hindered me.
It is holding on to that wronging that has stopped me.
By seeing myself as one who has been wronged,
I could not go forward in the maze.
And by seeing myself as one who was without love,
I could not lighten the weight of the pack.
As I forgive and bring love within me,
I make my Journey easier."

He felt his heart swell in size as he felt these insights.
He felt his heart race with joy,
as it knew its lesson to this was being heard.
The pack weighed nothing now and the young man took it off
and held it lightly in his hands.
He stood before a solid silk wall now and could see neither an
opening, nor his way to where he had just come from.
He was surrounded by solid silk!

Instead of panicking, however,
he sat and breathed in this mantra:
"I Am the Light and the Way.
I carry within me all manner of healing and knowing.
It is through this healing and knowing that
I make my way though this earthly maze.
I am able to carry forth on this journey through this maze
and I am able to release my entrapment.
I alone have the ability to solve this riddle
and I ask now to have it done.
I breathe in full acceptance of my path
and its possibilities, God.
I recognize that I was the impediment,
not anyone or anything else.
I am LIGHT and I am LOVE.
Thus being so FREES me and allows me
to soar above the physical realm.
In this I re-discover myself which is my True Self, God.
Thank you for helping me to see this.
I love you so!"

At this, the young man felt his feet rise slightly above the earth!
He floated above the silk panels and could clearly see
the others stuck within the maze.
The darknesses were carried around in their
own packs and held them stuck.
His head swam with the implications of
what was happening to him at that moment.
But he focused not on that,
but on the fact that he was flying!
He was soaring!
He was above the earth in his lightness!
He was outside the Maze!

Spying the ground around the maze,
he thought of being there and staying
outside of the maze and at once, he was.
By thinking it and seeing it, it became.
The Master was at his side as he touched down.
"Master, thank you for placing my weight
so severely upon my shoulders as you did.
Were it not so heavy,
I would have gladly carried it longer and longer
for it would not have hindered me all that much.
But as it weighed me down so greatly, I had
to get rid of the weight first before I could do anything else."

"How did you free yourself of the weight, my son?" the Master asked.
His face was alight with joy and love as he did so.
"I found myself forgiving those who had wronged me, Master.
It was my pain in response to the actions to
me that hold onto the pain inside of myself.
When I let it go, Master,
I watched it soar away from me and felt myself growing lighter."
The student's face shone with love as he spoke.
"Ah," said the Master. "And what of the Maze itself.
It is impossible to walk through.
There is no way out."

"Oh, Master! The most beautiful thing happened.
I began to fly after losing the weight.
I saw myself as light and love itself as I found it
within me to forgive and forget those that harmed me or had wronged me.
It was my darkness that had caused my weight
and it was my lightness that freed me to fly.
By BEING Light and Love, I floated, Master,
and found myself outside of the Maze.
I was freed from its confines; above its entrapments.
Master, I see now that I cause my own weight that holds me down.
That I keep me trapped in my past.
That I, alone, am responsible for the manner in
which I walk this maze.
By releasing those entrapping thoughts,
those weighting down feelings and allowing myself to feel love and light,
I soared above it all.
Did I do wrong by getting out the Maze in this way, Master?"
The young man was earnestness itself
as he awaited the Master's answer.

"What do YOU feel, young one?"
the Master answered with a smile.
"Do YOU feel freed from the Maze?'
With that, the Master strode away before
hearing the young one's reply.
He knew that whatever the young one answered
would give him further insight as to his journey.
And this is as it should be.

Thanks to the many sources and the teachers for this knowledge
and wisdom that is helping us on our journey.