Direction for the Journey
Continuing on with our journey of self-discovery, once you have a better understanding of your unique vessel, It will be time to find a purpose and direction for it. There are several tools in the sailing world that help discover a purpose and direction. These tools include, an understanding of independence, intuition, orientation, as well as fundamental tools such as the compass, maps, sextants, and of course a good friend to reference. Bear with me as the following may be a little choppy and not in a narrative fashion as I describe these tools.
TOOLS OF PURPOSE
Independence
Independence is the freedom from anything hampering your vessel from sailing. Tidying up any sort of debt (physical or even spiritual) is necessary to this end. Financial debts are fairly obvious as to how they can hamper a journey. Spiritual debts on the other hand are sometimes overlooked. These types of debts, however, can have a huge impact with how your vessel moves forward. In the sailing world, anything that is acting as an anchor or a hole in your vessel, will prevent it from sailing properly. So too in the spiritual world, as every act good or bad has a price to be paid for it. The surpluses and debts of actions can either be a boon to a journey (“good luck” in the case of loving actions) or an anchor (“bad luck” in case of unloving actions). The beauty of Christianity is that there is grace for areas of fault leaving room for the abundance of faith filled works to set your vessel free. Accountability of debts, physical or spiritual debts, is the first step in harboring the independence needed to sojourn where the spirit of Truth leads you.
Before any journey can begin though, no vessel can dock or leave port unless it is free to do so. Proper paperwork, debts, and even territorial restrictions can all hamper a vessel’s journey. In a literal and metaphorical sense, proper paperwork is stating a claim of who and what your vessel is, and what it is about. It requires a declaration of identity, so port authority can have account of who you say you are. This paper work helps you solidify your identity, and that identity helps solidify your purpose. Often times vessels are given a name to identify in one word or phrase this purpose. Being the captain, you get to name your vessel appropriately. With true independence and a declaration of its identity the ship has the freedom to go where the spirit of truth leads it.
Intuition
When man was placed on earth, he walked with GOD. Another way to put it is he walked with THE sense of being (I am who am). At this time man didn’t have “things” in his life to guide him. It was a full in-tune-ment with BEING that led his direction. Man at that time was “fully alive” while walking with God. This in-tune-ment is still innate within us, but the cares of the world and wants of life quickly distract us from this natural intuition. Many cultures throughout history claim that the land and “mother nature” speak to them. Whether or not it is physically talking with them, there is a sense that something inside or outside of these people does communicate with them in some sort of way (i.e. resonance, visions, locutuions, etc). Clearly this “intuition” has kept them and their culture alive, as for centuries they didn’t have “Modern Science” to keep them alive.
It isn’t until modern thinking came to dominate this world that we have started to rely on other tools or Instruments more methodically as a THE only tried and true method of living. These tools often point to someone else’s idea of what appears true, rather than leading a discovery rooted in what appears first face as real to our own minds and hearts. The root of much evil in this world is from individuals completely ignoring what their inner conscious is gently telling them. That being said, society has been better off as much of western thinking has extended life expectancy, as well as quality of life. Finding a balance between these two directives of thinking may be the way forward to an even more abundant life. After all, much of western thinking came from insights gained from intuition.
TOOLS OF ORIENTATION
Much of the previous blog posts have been geared toward regaining connection to one’s intuition. A truthful spirit is quintessential to this end. Knowing where you want to go also requires a knowledge of where you are actually at. Having an honest heart is necessary while using tools of orientation Knowing where to go is difficult if you can’t acknowledge where you really are. To this end learning about compasses, maps, sextants, and knowing how to dead reckon will be very helpful in navigating this journey you are about to embark. We will briefly look at each as it is physically used and then give a quick overview on how to metaphorically apply them to your journey the SPIRIT OF TRUTH is guiding you on.
Compass
The humble Compass- a tool that helps sailors keep bearing on their True North. Compasses work off of a needle interacting with the magnetic field of the earth. Compasses also need to be calibrated depending on where you are geographically to the north pole (the closer to the north pole of the earth will change how the compass reads). Also, if there are other stronger magnetic fields around these fields, they can throw off the accuracy of the compass. The compass gives an idea of where north and south are in relation to this magnetic field.
In a Metaphorical sense, the Compass on your journey is the spirit of truth in your heart. Like any compass, it relies on a magnetic field which is your conscience. This magnetic field, is the field of thoughts and ideas. These thoughts and ideas are any and all that flood your mind throughout the course of a day. These thoughts will directly affect how you act in the world. Correctly forming “true” thoughts requires an exposure to acknowledging things that are lies, and then also acknowledging things that are historically unshakable. Something is truly true if over time it doesn’t change. Finding the principles of life that are unshakable is the foundation that is needed to begin to discovering whether your truthful spirit is reflecting the truth of life that hasn’t changed since the beginning of time. In this manner getting to understand natural law is essential to forming a much needed well-formed conscience. A Well-formed conscious is required for living by the spirit of truth guided by the new law of liberty. (James 1:25)
Once you have this solid correctly formed conscience, the compass of your heart is something you can always rely on no matter where you find yourself in the world. You will not need books, or people, but simply a tapping into the spirit of Truth (God’s Spirit) to guide you on your way. As with any magnetic field, the magnetic field of your inner conscious can be influenced and manipulated by external forces. Integrity in being honest will help sharpen your sense of true north, as the more you pay attention to it, the more experience you will have when your true north needle checks out to be correct. In this same breadth, lying (small or big) interferes with this true north needle. The lies in your own mind or someone else is a bad influence on your true north needle. Weeding out personal lies, and insulating yourself from the lies of others will help re-calibrate your true north calling. Weeding out any sort of Lies in your life will greatly clear the field for correct true north compass reading. This will require setting clear boundaries that your thoughts are not to cross (personally or in the case of neighbors) taking every thought captive for Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
Maps
Maps, are very important while traversing the seas… maps convey information about a land or sea to be navigated upon. They often identify boundaries and features of a given area. Maps give details about the physical nature of the land. It can point out dangers to avoid or features and areas of interest to explore. All maps will include a compass rose to show where true north lies in relation to the map.
In a metaphorical sense- maps, gives you a theoretical idea of what type of journey you might be on or the type of journey you wish to go on. As always, someone else’s map needs to be lived out through your own experience. This living out a map is how you begin to get to know the world and begin sifting the wheat of truth from the chaff of lies. Jordan Peterson (Canadian psychologist, author and public speaker) elaborates about this topic in far better detail than I can here. Essentially, it’s the idea that we map the map onto our bodies and then act it out. That direction might turn out to be a confirmation of what that map showed, or it might be the complete opposite. (i.e. global positioning systems can sometimes get directions wrong.). This is why it’s important to go with a map that is already made and go and see if it holds true for yourself.
Once you’ve journeyed many small map adventures (sea trials to test your vessel and spirit), you can take what you’ve learned from those small adventures and turn them into a completely new map that has new and better nuances for others to follow and lead a journey on. These can eventually be made into Real Player Games. If your map of life has enough relevance to other people, they may just want to give your Real Player Game a try and make a map of their own using your map you gave them. This in summary is how factual Truth is arrived at. Bumping into the world using maps other people have made and then calling out those maps as real or not real. Lastly, maps also give a recorded history of where you’ve been and pitfalls to avoid or routes to retake. This is the L.A.I.K.E. LIFE journey and a community of them. The more players the merrier. For more detailed information regarding the topic of maps in a metaphorical sense, please see Jordan Peterson’s Maps of Meaning courses on youtube or check out his book on the topic Maps of Meaning by Jordan Peterson.
Sextant
A sextant is a tool that has an eye piece that reflects the stars onto the horizon, to give a person an idea of where they actually sit on the globe latitudinally. Sextants make use of the natural environment to give the observer an idea of where they sit in relation to the natural realm. Sextants use the heavenly bodies (like the sun or a known star in the sky) as known anchor points that do not move (in the case of the sun viewed at a known time for middle of sky location). The sextant uses the angle between these reference points and the horizon as a consistent guide for locating your vessel on the earth. These reference points are located in “fixed” areas and are much larger than the observer, giving them a consistent anchor point to relate to day after day. This consistent anchor point is needed to safely navigate a journey as a journey. Without an anchor point a vessel is at risk of being lost or getting damaged.
In a metaphorical sense- Sextants make use of the “stars” on your journey to help guide and direct you. These stars are people who inspire you and who’s light helps point you in the direction God wishes you to go. To find a good anchor point for perspective, finding an object or person who is unshakable (in your area of interest) is a great starting point to get you going in the direction you wish to go. Also having timeless texts like the bible, ancient texts, and an understanding of the natural world are great resources as they contain timeless wisdom and truth that has been the same over eons. In the end “Truth in fact” are these anchor points to be referencing onto your horizon to have a confident understanding of where you actually are on a map.
Dead reckoning
Dead reckoning is the culmination of your orientation gear (maps, compass, sextants, and factual knowledge of your current situation). Dead reckoning is the task of tracking how fast you are moving and the direction (heading) you are on to estimate where on a map where you are headed and roughly where you will be at a given time. Dead reckoning isn’t an exact science, but an estimate about where you are using knowledge of speed and direction. Time tracking, a map to plot your course, a sextant, compass, wind gauge, and speed meter, all help determine your heading and your dead reckoning location.
In a metaphorical sense, dead reckoning is knowing where you came from and how fast you are moving in life. Dead reckoning is keeping tabs on where you’ve been and having a clearly defined goal of where you want to be at in x amount of time. It requires making small (or big) course corrections to your goals based on all factors of a safe vessel and, safe seas, safe weather, or other factors (like running low on supplies). In summary it is keeping tabs on where you are ACTUALLY AT by factoring where you are headed and how fast you are headed there.
Dead reckoning is a great skill to still have for any sailor, even though we have GPS now. It is a great asset metaphorically to make sure you are on track to your destination and aren’t being thrown off track. It involves a great awareness and wide-open eyes about your environment and movements of your vessel. You truly need to be in tune with your vessel and its surroundings to dead reckon well, much like living your life well.
If you wish to end up at a particular destination, you won’t get there if you are on auto pilot for your life. The currents of the day can quickly sweep you into a direction you never wished to be in, it could even be deadly. Dead reckoning is about being aware, not hypervigilant, at all times where you are at and where you want to go in relation to where you are. It is about being fully alive in taking responsibility of the direction of your journey. It is about enjoy the journey, and nuances that come up on that journey and how to handle them. Lastly it is about rejoicing in the outcome when you arrive at your destination in one piece with lots of sun and smiles on your face. Or in the case of a harrowing journey, how you escaped defeat. Dead reckoning is much like a life fully alive in God. It requires you to be engaged and super in tune with all of your senses; making the adjustments to your course that you are capable of, and maneuvering according to the natural elements as they appear. Dead reckoning leaves lots of room for God to interact and put into play the things he wants for you (Jonah and the whale for instance). It is a fast and loose direction to go that leaves God’s hand in your travels.
Intuition
Intuition as an instrument- Using the stars is also tuning into nature about what your next move should be. It takes a great in-tune-ment into your surroundings to be an effective sailor. The slightest change in wind, sun, clouds, stars, or even water current can be a tell tail sign of where you should go or what to do next. To be oblivious to the natural environment around you will get any sailor killed quickly. This is also the importance of being truthful and truthful speech. Paying attention the inner promptings (you’ve learned in previous articles) is also being in tune with nature. This inner knowing can be the saving grace when all else seems to fail. There are too many stories to account here. I’m sure every one of us has some sort of story that “something” was telling them to do or go somewhere. As it turns out following that prompting saved their life. These stories are all too common in society. The L.A.I.K.E Life journey is all about living more in tune with this intuition. If this intuition can be lifesaving, why not try to tap into it more frequently to help end needless suffering in your own life as well as the life of others. I am firmly convinced that that this spirit of truth is always with us. All too often we lose its signal through the noise of life.
Good friend
The last instrument I wish to leave you with is finding a good friend to check your work and direction. An honest friend who shares a tandem journey is a great check-mate so to speak to make sure your sight is not completely off track. Surrounding yourself with prayerful people is always great advice as sometimes our own sense of direction gets out of tune if we become too hyper focused on a subset task of achieving the journey. Having a good friend to chat with about your journey can help chase away the albatrosses that can weigh a sailor down. It also helps keep you grounded when you feel the seas are a bit bigger than you expected. Finally, it’s always good to have a friend there to help you out if all else fails, and be there to celebrate when the journey is a success!
Now that you have a vessel, a means to power your vessel (your truest spirit), and a purpose and direction, the last two areas of reflection will be discovering a medium to ride on and an anchor while in port. After addressing these two topics, you should be well equipped to hit the open seas and make your L.A.I.K.E Life journey a success. See you at the next port!