October 11: Day 103

STONE TWO CONTINUED: Open: I partake of spiritual wisdom and knowledge from a variety of sources and open myself to different insights.
 
Instruction: Keep an open mind.

When we open our minds to different spiritual and religious paths, we might find that we feel like a ship without a rudder that is being tossed by the wind and the waves. At one time, we might have thought that the religious organization we had given our loyalty to was grounded and that we were on solid terrain. If we discover that the ground was shaky and the foundation weak, we might look for more solid footing, only to find ourselves at sea in a boat with no rudder and apparently no way of reaching solid ground ever again. We might discover that our questions begin to outnumber our certainties. In fact, we might not feel certain of anything we believe. We might believe that only death is certain, and even in that belief, we might be tempted to doubt. Is this wind-swept, rudderless existence dangerous? It doesn’t have to be. Not knowing is how we come into the world, and after we leave this earth, we may discover that what we thought we knew was not nearly as close to truth as we thought it was.

An open mind is a grace-filled mind. An open mind is subject to possibilities that a closed mind would never consider. An open mind may wander the ocean with abandonment and seem to have no destination or purpose, but it’s also wandering in peace, tranquility, and freedom. It floats through the storms of life without the need to comprehend why the storms happen. An open mind accepts that all will work out with time and chance, and though it does not steer its own course, it releases the need to know to the sea and to that which controls the sea. The questions no longer become “Why?” but “What now?” and the answer is the mysterious journey that unfolds before us.

Today, consider what it might look like if we suddenly let go of everything we thought we knew and decided to open to every experience as if we were seeing it for the first time. As you do this exercise, remember that an open mind is not a weak mind but a strong and powerful mind.