What obstacles do you perceive to be blocking your success or happiness? A while back I read “Merle’s Door” by Ted Kerasote. It is a great book about a man and his dog. The “door” in the title refers to a dog door that Ted installed a couple of years after Merle came to live with him, and how, in giving Merle this independence, Ted released much control over the dog, changing the dynamics of their relationship.
When I moved into my current duplex, I installed a dog door for my Papillon Yoda, the first one in the ten years he had lived with me. It was quite entertaining to watch Yoda and my three cats learn how to use the door. The cats learned more quickly than Yoda, but in a couple of weeks he was going out the flap into the yard.
However, he would not come back in through the flap. He stood outside the sliding door and whined and scratched and howled until I opened it for him. I tried several things in an attempt to understand the problem. When I taped the flap open, he went out and came in with no hesitancy, so looked at the outside of the flap and noticed that it was reflective. Yoda would look at it and see his reflection, then thinking another dog was in the way, would not come in.
I had a couple of ideas to correct the problem. But it is the metaphysics of this situation that fascinate me. How often do we humans balk at new ideas because of the illusion of an obstacle? Furthermore, since the outer world reflects back to us our thoughts and beliefs, it’s like when Yoda’s reflection of himself was scaring him. Humans get scared because we don’t remember that we are the co-creators of our reality. The way we define a situation is the way we experience it.
The symbol of a door is very appropriate in this metaphysical interpretation. One of my most fulfilling moments as a minister was when one of our congregation said that she felt like our teachings had opened a door for her and she walked through it into a new world. In our quest for enlightenment, we are seeking to redefine ourselves and our world.
As we identify the beliefs we hold about ourselves and our world, we realize that we have the power to release those that do not serve us. When we release the belief that the reflective illusion of the world is an obstacle, or a threat to us, we then can pass through a doorway in thought and enter a realm of greater freedom and peace.
This is my prayer for myself and for our world.
Namaste, Rev. Carla