The Golden Guru
‘All this time. The cards had been appearing, or disappearing, the way I thought I should see them. I created the vision, and they arranged themselves according to that vision. The way I saw things was the way they appeared. Not the other way around.’ ~ from my book, Ace Egos
Acing the Ego
During the first formulations of the book Ace Egos, there was Scottie, the rock n’ roll drummer. Since he was on a path of awakening, he had to meet an enlightened character. Instantly, I named that character The Golden Guru. There was also a deck of playing cards, which represented Scottie’s world of accruing wisdom. I actually created a card game – just for the hell of it. In the card game is a move called The Golden Guru – the highest move one can make.
Like the four suits of cards, we can arrange complex ideas into four distinct entities. Life, and the wisdom it teaches us, is not a linear path of learning. Along the way, we connect dots, and wisdom weaves meaning through our experiences. So too, the wisdom in Ace Egos had to have a four-part structure. The Golden Guru that Scottie encounters represents the first of four wisdoms – The Wisdom of Appearances.
What sort of Golden Guru was really going to catch Scottie’s attention? To me it was obvious. The Golden Guru had to be a bombastic rockstar – who flew in the air. And played air-guitar. Why? That’s all part of the fun of the story. The Golden Guru’s first appearance in the story goes like this:
I turned to look. It was a sight that pierced the bullseye of any disbelief I had remaining. Straddled in space was the great Golden Guru himself. Long, flowing brown hair. His body, complete with pot belly, snugly fit inside a skin-tight pale blue spandex suit, decorated with white flames with golden flecks. A golden cape flapping out behind. The thousands of arms he had. All of those golden hands. Fine streams of lightning shooting from his twiddling fingers. As trills of electric guitar whirled around me.
Representations of the Guru
Legends and spiritual accounts attribute ‘The Guru’ to miraculous phenomena. The guru is a grand figure, that we owe infinite gratitude to, for the sparklingly clear, sometimes extremely simple, understanding of God that they share with us. In my book, The Golden Guru is surrounded by lightning. Bolts of lightning, storms, and wind are all natural acts that describe the way we receive teachings from the guru. The aim is to portray the potency of what we learn. Lightning is awe-inspiring, powerful, and direct. Storms rattle our foundations, to usher forth a more harmonious presence. Wind carries sacred messages, passed across the ages of sages.
When we, students of life, are ripe and ready, the guru appears again. The knowledge we have accumulated on our path brings us to this vital point. This can be referred to as the opening of the eye. As a symbol, the eye is helpful in so many ways to bolster our growth. To see things differently is to set the course of a new way of living. Happier, stronger, more flexible. More ‘All-seeing.’ This is why, for me, the wisdom Scottie learns from this Golden Guru is the Wisdom of Appearances. One of the first, and most profound, ‘eye-opening’ moments in our lives is realising that ‘things are not as they appear.’
Once we have stabilised new ideas, the real test begins. If we look at meditation, a breakthrough moment usually precedes a great struggle. Suddenly we are more aware. And while our habituated suffering rolls on, simply due to it being a habit, it is agonising to sit with. But sit with it we must. A mantra I live by is: The only way through is gently through. Coming out the other side, habits dissolve, and a great openness occurs. The guru knows we can make it through. This is how they demonstrate a love for us, greater than any that we can gain elsewhere. The guru’s tests ask us: Do we want the discomfort of staying the same, or the discomfort of becoming someone new, someone free?
Everyday Awakening
Life is giving us guru-like messages all the time. Tests to strengthen our character. The first step is to see them that way. We missed the bus to work. Our partner rejects us. We twist our ankle at Jiu-jitsu. Moments of apparent loss. But, seen differently, moments of incredible gain.
Sometimes, when we are looking for something, something is looking for us. It may not be obvious right away, but at some stage, it clicks. We receive the benefits of opportunity. We may not even know it was exactly what we needed. The mystery of life is incredible like that. In this sense, ‘The Guru’ – the superior being, has a mythological aspect to it. Because, the guru need not be some immortal soul imparting wisdom from on high. It is crossing paths with what we need, when we need it the most.
Smile at the world. Stay open to what might flow forth. Today you might meet someone or something that happens to embody or represent a place that you are trying to get to. If you stay open, the interaction with this person or thing will, at its deepest level, be a transmission, unlocking an enlightening experience. In and around a part of you that thirsted for knowing and release. Welcoming the everyday is where and how the magic happens. With welcome to all, all welcomes itself to you.
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Artwork by me.
Music Track 01: Rock n’ Roll Ain’t A Crime – by BugGiRL. Click to listen
Music Track 02: Created by me on Output Arcade.
Music Track 03: Faster and Faster – by BugGiRL. Click to listen
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