The Quest

Rare moments come to us in our journey when the penny drops, the tumblers click, the pieces fall into place, the lights come on, and our breath is taken away. The old paradigm falls away behind us like a port of departure, and we are won over to new possibilities, caught up in a new way of seeing, looking toward a new and wide horizon. The Lord has more light and truth to break forth, we believe, and so we raise our sails. We are embarked on our quest. - Brian McLaren

I've been reading some complementary books this week - Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces and Karen Armstrong's The Case For God. Both have elements of myth, folklore, journeys, and a sense of one's "quest" to find a higher power, meaning in life, making sense of the greater world in which we live.

Although I am reading Campbell's book for a spiritual book club, (thus my reading is focused on more "religious" themes of late) I am hearkened back to many of the wise words of Julia Cameron. She, too, speaks of this quest, this journey - in terms of our latent creativity, our blocks in becoming our true selves, the obstacles we find and in many ways, create.

I think if we focused more these days on the universality of the quest itself we might all get by a bit better. When the quest becomes a search for "heaven" - MY heaven, MY God, MY spiritual path - we no longer hold fellowship with each other. And what a rare gift to be able to recognize that quest, that longing in others, regardless of its name. Great artists have tried to show us this path for years, in their own unique interpretation. What makes one painting flow, speak to us, call out to us in a way we instantly connect with? It is that thing that cannot be named. It is that spirit, that connection, that I hope we are able in this world to gain more focus of.

We undertake certain spiritual exercises to achieve alignment with the creative energy of the universe..As a teacher, I often sense the presence of something transcendent -- a spiritual electricity, if you will -- and I have come to rely on it in transcending my own limitations. I take the phrase inspired teacher to be a quite literal compliment. A higher hand than just my own engages us. Christ said, "Wherever two or more are gathered together, there I am in your midst." The god of creativity seems to feel the same way. The heart of creativity is an experience of the mystical union; the heart of the mystical union is an experience of creativity. Those who speak in spiritual terms routinely refer to God as the creator but seldom see creator as the literal term for artist. I am suggesting you take the term creator quite literally. You are seeking to forge a creative alliance, artist-to-artist with the Great Creator. - Julia Cameron