We, each of us, have strategies that apply to our spiritual lives. One or more practices we believe to be meaningful, to have worth, that are backed up by our experience and maybe even these days by science itself. But they are encrusted in “culture”. I am not saying we must reject culture or identity, but are the cultural prejudices in our best interests? The belief that my prayers will be answered and yours won’t, because supposedly I pray to the one true God? What has that done for us?

Cultural prejudices are often simply reflections of a striving to understand and self define? Striving to self define rather than experiencing self, that is the problem.

We are humans. Is it any wonder that despite the cultural color our traditions insist on, we all share almost identical spiritual experience? We are spiritual creatures, but has “authority” shown us God?

The story our human-ness created at our species birth? Before that. If you want to go into genetics, early hominid species continued to interbreed with its genetic cousins. But I offer that the truth we seek is transcendent of any single material set.

It’s a big universe. Strategy is writing your own story, realizing the elements of story, the reality of story, and “Writing what you know.” Now your experience that is here of yourself and all others, right here, right now, we are writing from the same body of experience. What would be wrong with writing on purpose? We need not find agreement. If we allow it, it’s easily evident. The insistence on agreement is what creates the pressure for conformity, and conformity serves us how?

The evidence for having a common field of experience… I need to eat from time to time. You need to eat as well. From time to time I sleep, so do you. We both see things. Expediency has been the motivation for every war. Then we use strategy too, but by that point we have already shown our foolishness.

My experience shows that the commonality of every struggle is due to lack of patience by one or both parties. Yes, and the patience is lost because we are afraid. Not our leaders. They don’t fear for us. They don’t care. We are afraid for ourselves. We can do our own planning, and this applies to even our spiritual paths. If you find a traditional path suits you, if you feel full in it, then by all means do keep it.

A self-directed spiritual path? Yes, but if not, recognize you have choice. There is a field of experience to draw from that is fully spiritual, very real, and very true.

Our leaders are deathly afraid. Yes, they are. I agree. Because even they realize that what I speak of now was always an option. The tail can be made to still itself by the dog. It doesn’t have to be cut off.

I don’t actually accept any leader, whatsoever. Excellent, but in select circumstances I suspect you do, because we all do. When you care at all what someone else wants, when we care about any needs that exist in your world, that leads you. When I care for my sons needs, at least for that moment my son is my leader. When I seek to give my love to my wife in my actions, at least in that moment my wife is my leader. Otherwise, if I accept no leader then I will give nothing to anyone, because if I give you a fish and you are allergic to fish what good have I done you?

I myself prefer not to take a behaviourist “Skinnerian” view of myself. He drove his daughter mad with his theories. She had to live her life in an institution.

Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends.

Travis Saunders
Dragon Intuitive
~science,mysticism,spirituality~