I was recently asked if I believe in Universal Truths. I have come to my own place of knowing after a long journey from religion to atheism to spiritual awakening and so I respect that we will have different perspectives, life experiences and places of comfort depending on where we find ourselves; each on our own path as a seeker. All that is needed to find truth is an open mind. A willingness to openly receive another’s perspective. If something feels right, good, interesting, stay open to it, even if you don’t understand it, even if it defies your perception of the world. Stay open and allow yourself to consider new ways of perceiving yourself, your relationships and the world. Truth is found in the space between differing perspectives. There is an old folk tale about four blindfolded men sharing their experience of an elephant. One is at the head of the elephant and describes the trunk and ears while another at the hind quarter describing the massive muscle of the thigh and heaviness of the footstep and yet another is at the tail, a small and agile whisking of the tail is sensed and shared. A fourth is sitting upon the elephant and experiences the movement of the shoulders and the height of the animal. All four have very different experiences and perceptions, all are true and yet the greater truth lies in the space between each perception. A larger more holistic truth of an elephant can be found when all views are considered as parallel experiences that are relevant to the bigger picture. The saying, “there is an elephant in the room” is related to this idea of the existence of a bigger truth.
For me the bigger picture emerged through reading authors like Gary Zukav and Eckhart Tolle and finding the space between their perspective and the stories of the bible that had been engrained into my psyche in my childhood and rejected by me in my young adulthood. I also followed the parallels between these, my favorite current gurus and the Celtic, Native American and Native Hawaiian wisdom that has found its way to me, along with philosophers from 100 years ago with whom I’ve had the immense pleasure of bumping up against in my studies and work such as Jung, Steiner and Cayce; who drew upon wisdom from Goethe, Zoarastrism and other ancient guides. As I continue to study various sources of wisdom I am continuously amazed at the alignment of all of these viewpoints. Somewhere in between these different perspectives I’ve found a truth that resonates deeply within me. A truth that makes sense of all my experiences, all the patterns that show up around me and all the relationships that have challenged me. That core universal truth is what I tune into when I write and share. And at the same time, that I see something greater than the perspectives of each sage, philosopher and sacred text that influenced my writing, I recognize that this work is now my perspective. Each reader will need to take my view, marry it with their own experiences, patterns, relationships, challenges and knowing to find the greater truth that lies in the space between, for themselves. Yes, I believe in Universal Truth. Archetypes that live and seep into our life, culture, stories and art through the lens of different people and cultures all over the world and throughout time. Archetypes that are greater than our individual human perception – these are the universal truths and we are the observers with limited perception. Observe carefully and you will perceive the truth yourself by keeping an open mind to new and different perceptions.
4 thoughts on “Truth Lives in the Space Between”