Thursday, January 23, 2014

The TINA Principle

Tolerance for pain may be high, but it is not without limits. Eventually everyone begins to realize that there must be another way.
(A Course in Miracles)

You probably remember the story that told us how it all begun. God told Adam and Eve that the Garden of Eden was theirs, but that there was one requirement to stay inside. They were not allowed to eat from the fruit in the middle of the garden. Well, a snake came and showed them how tasty the fruit could be and the rest is history.

The tree in the middle of the garden describes our ability to "miscreate". We have the ability to imagine what truly would give us pleasures and sometimes we are just as prudent in our choices as a baby who thinks that it is fun to play with scissors. Religion is the attempt to guide us in the right direction, but these rules are external to us and sometimes not even very helpful. Sure we can force ourselves to love the neighbor who slaps our cheek, but all that will do is to build up poison inside.

A spiritual path begins in earnest when you see glimpses of the Way. Reactions and counter-reactions suddenly become visible. As you run after the gold that shines on the horizon you suddenly feel that something is off. And as you stop running you suddenly perceive a sparkle right in front of you. A diamond in the rough that needs a little dusting. You may still be tempted to miscreate but more often than not you stop right in the tracks for the simple reason that your internal as well as external worlds start complaining.

We call that wake-up the TINA principle. Margaret Thatcher coined the phrase, "There-Is-No-Alternative" in the 1980s when she claimed that without supply-side reforms the UK economy could not be brought back to health. Well, the TINA principle of spirituality is when you reach that fork in the road when you really only have one choice, to walk the Way for the simple reason that the alternative is not so pleasant.

As a Tao traveler you suddenly understand the spiritual consequences of your actions. Without fail you realize that by acting in accordance with the Way you not only make yourself happy, but everyone better off. Little by little the Way takes over your life. Some choices you make happily, some other choices seem forced on you. But always the TINA principle applies: There-Is-No-Alternative. What they say in our spiritual community is true. We are God's co-creators. God needs us to show up and show our true colors. Creation is simply incomplete without having found the Way. Let's go of all teachings, let's drop all the restrictions and follow the heart and the sparkle right in front of us. Enjoy!

By Christian and Su Zhen

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