100%-Dedicated
I enjoyed watching Russell with Fearne Cotton, and whilst listening I kept thinking it’s just beneath you .... just beneath you. Why can’t you reach out? Why can’t you just reach out? Is the answer in this blog, it concerns being 100%-dedicated to the path?
In my path as part of the Treatise I described my path, one thing for sure about that path, until well into my retirement I was never 100%-dedicated, and there are several reasons for this. Getting into those reasons might be helpful.
Russell, I have written of before as he uses his fame and podcast “Under the Skin” to investigate spirit; his books on revolution and recovery are easy reads. He has also just done an interesting series of podcasts on the 12 steps of recovery. All of this indicates that he is following his path. Surprisingly as I am British Fearne is a new name for me, she is one of the names of mainstream fluff TV. This would normally exclude her from a Russell podcast but she has apparently been open recently about her own journey in 3 books “Happy, Quiet and Calm” – have not looked at them.
What was clear to me is that this was a conversation between two people concerning the path, but neither had the peace that comes from being on the path. As I alluded to above, there appeared to be barriers that prevented the path which is always beneath coming up and bringing peace to their lives.
There is a docu-movie about the path that I like to watch because it is so effusive – 5 Gateways; I don’t give off effusion about the path, a mixture of my character and I hope humility. In 5 Gateways they talked about giving their lives over to the path. During my second childhood I never did that. I was committed to teaching, wanted to change what was in education, that might have been the path my compassion at first sought. But immersed in the delusions and denials of the education system my path got lost, I ended up doing the best I could but it was not path. But as a second childhood I learned a lot, and that learning combined with the initial awakening to the path (and the pocket money to retire early) has enabled me to be dedicated to my path for 14 years.
But whilst this dedication opened me up to the path it was still not complete. In the interview Fearne talks of only 40% being engaged in her career, and she is kind of searching with the other 60%; this is 40% definitely not on the path. This can never work. For me Russell is less clear, perhaps more of him is searching but is he still attached to fame? Is he teaching recovery 100% - a meritorious path? Are they dedicating 100% of their awareness to the path? I don't know, this is for them to decide.
But there is another aspect of this 100%, what Teal Swan would call completeness. Is 100% of who they (Russell, Fearne, anyone) genuinely are dedicated to the path? Are they 100% aware of who they are? Are they fragmented in any way – fragmentation would make them less than 100%? For details of this 100% awareness look at the “Integrating Fragments” chapter in the Companion; the chapter looks at internalising emotion (Nyanga), the denial of MAWPs, integrating Inner Parents through to Reconciliation with the Inner Child.
100% dedicated to the path means 100% of themselves dedicated 100% of the time. This of course is hugely difficult in this world. How can you be 100% dedicated without money to live? In this capitalist world there are few jobs other than teaching spirituality where people can be 100% dedicated to the path, people like Russell and Fearne are lucky enough to have the finance to be 100% dedicated. As they point out in their conversation, jobs dedicated to compassion are underfunded (often charities that are legally restricted from pointing out systemic injustices) with workers whose compassion try to offset the defilements (greed, delusion and denial) of the exploiting system. How can we be 100% dedicated in this system? How can all 100% dedicated be spiritual teachers? When we see this how can disengagement not be denial, but then how can there be complete engagement?
But that still leaves the truth. There is the path beneath, and all we need is 100% dedication to that path for it to emerge and bring peace.
The integrated path of compassion, insight and creativity - the struggle for GAIA and against the 1%-satrapy of war and wage-slavery.
