The human psyche is almost infinitely complex, made up of layers upon layers of thoughts, experiences, emotions, fears, loves, and goals. Those who seek to find the true essence of being or to move past a fear find that there are many intermediate steps along the way. When we first look inward, we look at ourselves as a whole, when in fact we are only seeing the surface. Like an onion, if we move past the surface, we will find another layer. Moving past that, we find yet another layer. These layers are barriers and everyone has them. You may work past one fear only to be confronted with a deeper, underlying fear. Or you may fully assimilate a revelation only to find other aspects of that revelation that you had not discovered. How many layers you will confront before finding a resolution is unknown. This is the journey, this is life.
But the journey to the center of the onion - what they called sunyata in Sanskrit or mu in Chinese - can be an enlightening experience in and of itself. As you break through each barrier, you gain a more profound understanding of your own mind and come to learn the unique facets that make up who you are. You will become intimately acquainted with your needs and wants, reactions, aversions, pleasures, and pains. You will discover qualities within yourself that have been buried by the years or by old hurts. This knowledge is cumulative. As you break through one barrier and confront the next, oftentimes more powerful, barrier, you will be equipped with the knowledge of self that you have gained during your searching.
During the "peeling of the onion," you may feel frustrated because it can seem like progress is slow or nonexistent. But don't let the multitude of layers bother you. Many of the qualities that make us who we are may be hidden at first. The process can continue indefinitely, for with self-discovery comes growth and thus further discovery. The more you learn, the more you will inevitably find, as you travel deeper and deeper within your soul.~Daily OM
That is one of the most wonderful part about the 12 Steps, and our constant awareness of them being worked in our day to day life. When we personally feel that we have reached a point where we chose to do them again, things have probably changed enough within ourselves that the Steps take on a whole new flow, and like the onion, when we are ready we slough off those old layers to discover the new layers underneath. I think this is also true each time we find ourselves working the Steps each day--we have the joy of reaffirming just where we are in our personal Program. Love, Wren
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i found god in myself/and I loved her/i loved her fiercely--Ntozake Shange
i'm one of those BIG ole texas sweet onions, the size of a basketball....i'll be peeling till i am dead!!!!! so true though, thank again for AS USUAL gr8 share, chris, i love ur stuff.......hugs/ rosie
Ya ever seen onion skin paper? We're talking see thru slices here, not quarter inch layers......I ain't too sweet, but I am one hell of a big onion. I imagine if I ever reach that core? It'll be about fourteen life times from now. In the meantime, I'll just act like a sunburn and hope like hell I can peel without too much itching..........wren
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i found god in myself/and I loved her/i loved her fiercely--Ntozake Shange
"But the journey to the center of the onion - what they called sunyata in Sanskrit or mu in Chinese - can be an enlightening experience in and of itself."
I can now stop the profuse sweating that had come over me, and thanks, I am not alone - after all.
"Sunyata, or Mu", will just have to wait for me, I is a slow learner. Thanks for this Post Chris, it was great.
