October 11, 2002

A Modest Proposal - Take a "woo" out of "woo-woo"

Welcome to Fall or Spring depending on which way the water spirals down your drain. I'll share a secret with you that I have never told anyone. It's really not shocking or provocative - just one of those little things that one keeps to oneself as a kind of "insider" information. Now, I read, hear, and see a lot of information regarding matters spiritual because of PlanetLightworker, my website, friends, and associates. The material ranges enormously from common sense advice to some pretty far out stuff about the hierarchies of angels, all manner of conspiracies involving shape shifting extraterrestrials, and so on. To keep my head straight with all of this variety, I use a classification system based on the "woo." That's the secret. Not so big, huh?

A "woo" is a relativistic measure of how far out the specific piece of information is. One woo is pretty much subject matter that I evaluate as having utility in supporting people in living their day-to-day lives as spiritual beings. It is stuff that can be used (and whether or not someone uses it is a matter of discernment). Examples are a breathing technique to reduce stress or a simple process to release fear. Most of what I write is one woo and now and then woo-woo.

Two woos (woo-woo) are more esoteric. There is still utility but it is harder to use as such, since complex meditations or rituals may be involved and the environment may need to be very specific (as during a full moon, an equinox, or a solstice). Woo-woo material can and often does have value, it just takes more effort. Now I have engaged in woo-woo activities, enjoyed them, and found benefit in them. The problem is that it is not always easy to apply in the moment when I find that I need support the most to remind me to act as an essentially spiritual being with a little humanness thrown in. I will come back to this in a moment for it, finally, is at the heart of this proposal.

Three woos (woo-woo-woo) is literally off the planet stuff that often is so complex that I cannot follow it. There is usually little of value in terms of providing information that is useable. It is largely intellectual spirituality reserved for people smarter than I am who truly enjoy delving into this kind of material and storing it in their mental silos to harvest at the next satsang.

Four woos (woo-woo-woo-woo) transcends the intellect, ego, and emotion. It is really far out for me and goes into realms that are truly not of this world (as we know it). Speaking in tongues and having indescribable visions are examples. Four woo subjects are very personal, and I have had a few from time-to-time. The four woo state is a place that I like to visit, but I cannot live there for it is too remote from the reality, such as it is, of everyday human existence which I find for a number of reasons I will not abandon, tempting as it may be.

The title of this proposal is, "Take a woo out of woo-woo." From the communications that I have with people around the world, I repeatedly find that what they seek is the single woo, and what they are offered is mostly woo-woo with some woo-woo-woo thrown in now and then. My suggestion is to take a woo out of woo-woo, and let's have tools, practices, and principles that we can use moment by moment, day by day, and so on, to live spiritually based lives as much as we can. We ain't gonna be perfect, but most of us (including me) can be more actively spiritual than we are.

It is easy to attend a seminar, sit at the feet of Guru Ba-Ba Wa-Wa, or listen to tapes or read books, and have that glow of contentment and feel that all is right with the world until someone says something, we listen to the news, or the neighbor runs over our rose bush, and poof, the warm fuzzies are gone, and we plunge back into the "real world." Has that happened to you? I bet it has. Something happens that negates the wonderful spiritual experience that we just had. So, I ask you a very blunt question: If what we learn from a woo-woo experience can be quickly dissipated in a matter of hours or days, what lasting good was it? If you answer "very little to none," go to the head of the class; in fact take tomorrow off.

Take a woo out of woo-woo. Reduce what you learn to that which you can use. How do you do that?

Most of the people who present woo-woo material (including me) have a sincere desire that our fellow humans find ways to lead more spiritual lives. Heck, it is in our collective best interests. Why wouldn't we want it? The problem is we get caught up in the "form" of woo-woo and ignore the "content." Not surprising - humans have done this for hundreds of thousands of years. If the frogs croak, and it rains, then ergo, croaking frogs bring rain. Association. It is a very powerful learning principle. Form is a lot easier to experience than content. Commercials tell me that if I adopt a certain car, toothpaste, chewing gum, beer, or cosmetics - all forms - then I will find love, happiness, and prosperity. Don't have to think about it, "Just do it." It is a great advertising formula. Problem is that most often the promised result for adopting the form doesn't come true.

Categorize your spiritual input howsoever you want. You are welcome to the woo system if you want it. That is not the point. The point is to look behind the form of your experiences and find the content and make it your own - something that you can use to resolve life's unpleasantries without resorting to the Uzi, upset, or attempts to dominate or intimidate, or submission. For example, say you attend a Native American ritual of some kind - there is a fire, sage, sweetgrass, chanting in a language you don't understand, ceremony, and perhaps a story or two in English - there is a trance-like setting in which you sink and meld with all that is happening. Getting in your car, you are relaxed, peaceful, and sure that this feeling will persist. One-half mile down the road, an oncoming car "burns" your eyes with its bright lights left undimmed. Immediately, if the Uzi were trunk (or boot) mounted, you'd blast the offending car into a pile of plastic and metal.

It is easy to go there, but it doesn't have to be that way. It is "that" way because you experienced the ritual as form only and didn't go behind the form to the content, the value, the prize in the experience. Perhaps the ritual was about reconnecting with the Earth and all of her inhabitants, animate and inanimate with the realization that we are all one including the car with the bright lights. Did your eyes hurt? Sure, they hurt. Do you need to be in upset about it? No, you could simply accept what happened as what happened and not a personal affront to you. When you find the value to you for everyday living, you take a woo out of woo-woo. It is there - look for it - if you can't find it, ask the person or people who presented the opportunity for the experience. If their hearts and motivations are in the right place, they will help you find what you need. All of the scents, sounds, and visions of the ritual are to bring you to a certain place of understanding. If that does not happen, ask.