Chapel Perilous

In days gone by when I was more focused on my psychic soul and "oneness" with the universe and I went out of my way to do it right and think it right I would have described my current state as just another walk through "Chapel Perilous". The "Chapel" I think, is a concept coined by Alan Watts and while through the evolution of his writings and spiritual growth it changed somewhat it still maintained its essential elements. I am not going to go into detail here about the concept but if you are interested enough and ready to understand the concept you will find the sources that will allow you what you want to know. Leave it for now that "Chapel Perilous" is that place you find yourself when every self doubt, every fear, every prejudice, every fault and all your weaknesses are manifest and present in all their force in some manner or degree.

It is a place you have to visit at least once if you expect to be able to greet the world and accept it for what it is. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes ugly, sometimes warm and fuzzy and others cruel and cold. It is what it is. For some of us it is a place that, over time, becomes familiar and even welcoming. I know that sounds a little weird but trust me, it is a fact. So to get back to the point. If I stop the rush of life and job for a few moments as I did on the drive up here to Asheville from Atlanta I can review the state of things and how I am connecting to them. I can assess how they are affecting who I am and how I think and I can anticipate how I may react to the next 'mindfuck' that comes our way.

Let's look at where we are shall we? We are in a WAR that none of us want and that is without a visible end that is costing us 2 billion dollars a week that we don't have and this month has cost us 49 more precious American lives and an untold number of others. What's worse, we are poised for more. Our fellow Americans without the security of health care now number 50 million. In the richest country in the world 27 million of our neighbors are living in poverty. On a lighter note, so far there are only 18 million empty foreclosed homes and the number will surely double. There are millions of our brothers and sisters without jobs or any prospects of one. Couple all of this with the unnecessary 300 ,000 VETS with mental health issues as a result of this ill begotten war and knowing that some 6000 Iraqi and Afghanistan vets have been traumatized to the point that they have committed suicide. Couple all of this with the minor irritations of soaring food costs and highway robbery at the gas pump and you have a recipe for 'Chapel Perilous'.

Most people have learned, whether consciously or unconsciously, to insulate themselves from all this negative influence but if you, like I, have spent your life trying to open up to the universe you can be sorely pressed to fit all of this negative energy into your personal Tao. How often does the average person think about all of this during the course of their day? Gas prices hit you if you have to fill up. War hits you for a few minutes if you glance at the paper. The irrelevance of the current political process registers if you catch a bit of TV during the day. Most people aren't confronted daily with thoughts of all the hungry, desperate people that are trying to survive around us and pass us daily on the street unless you are one of them.

So here I am for the first time in years finding myself at the door, if not in the vestibule of Chapel Perilous. I have touched on all of the issues facing us today here at Fallenmonk and will do so again but I guess the point of this post is to say that even for someone like me who has spent almost a lifetime trying to absorb everything the universe has to offer both good and bad the times today are hugely challenging. I guess my fear is that the majority of my fellow Americans are not prepared to deal with the reality of what has happened and that will continue to happen in our country. I am not looking forward to the time when most of the natural insulation burns off the synapse of the average American and the tragedy that is the American reality burns itself into their consciousness. It is not going to be pleasant and I fear the time is near.

I think the core of this post sprang from my previous one that mentions the difference between conservative love of country and that of liberal love for country. It worries me greatly how a great majority of Americans are going to handle the realization that "Dear Mommy" is actually "Mommy Dearest".