October 21: Day 113

STONE FOUR
 
Discern: It is my responsibility to discern what works for me and what does not, always remembering that what may not resonate with me today may resonate at another time.
Instruction: Put it together.

Stone Four is a culmination of the first three Stones and pulls all three together. It brings us back to Stone One which encourages us to be responsible for our own spiritual path, and then goes a bit further by adding that it is our discernment or our intuition, as some might call it, we trust to help us find our path. Stone Two encourages us to become open to new spiritual wisdom and insights and to allow for new spiritual knowledge to be presented to us. This is done with an open mind and heart. Stone Three brings a bit of caution to the mix in that we do not have to accept every bit of spiritual or religious information without questioning its truthfulness, validity, and the motivations behind it. Stone Four then gives us the responsibility of making the final decision based on discernment, intuition, and a bit of trial and error. Trial and error is part of what is meant by the concept that “ … what may not resonate with me today may resonate at another time,” which gives us the liberty to try something and see if it fits our needs.

These four Stones have given us a wonderful plan for spiritual experimentation and growth. Just like many other things in life that we take for granted, our spiritual walk is our responsibility, and we can have fun while discovering new ways to connect with The Divine and new ways to understand concepts that may have become mundane to us. Imagine someone who has taken up the hobby of flying radio controlled planes. At first, he (or she) might not be able to understand all the language and concepts, because it all seems foreign. So, he buys a plane, studies the manual, and learns how to fly. After a while, the flying experience becomes mundane. He takes the plane up, flies it around the field a few times, and then lands it. One day another pilot comes along who has a plane that is the same make and model that he has been flying for months. When the new pilot flies the plane, he has it doing loops, rolls, inverted flying, and other maneuvers that the first pilot had never seen before. Then, the new pilot pulls out another plane that does 3D maneuvers that are far beyond the expertise of the first pilot.

Pilot one can’t jump from his beginner level to that of an advanced flier in a matter of minutes. He will have to learn through trial and error, but his world of radio-controlled flying has been exposed to insights and information he didn’t previously have, and now he can blaze new trails through the sky. On our spiritual quest, it wouldn’t hurt to expose ourselves to new ideas and concepts that can make us into spiritual beings of Light capable of doing spiritual acrobatics the likes of which many have never seen.

Spend some time today thinking about the first four Stones and how they work together. Give some thought to discernment and what it means to make decisions based on what your personal likes and dislikes are. Also, give some thought to the idea that although things might not resonate with us today, they might at a later time.