This entire month, I’ve been obsessed with the idea of the veil. Meaning the veil between worlds, or the veil that hides the truth from us.
In Hinduism, the goddess Kali is known to rip this veil from our eyes, to help us see the truth. Another way of thinking about it is that the Hindu goddess Maya is cloaked in the veil of illusion, which, in truth is as gauzy as a wispy cloud.
While I appreciate the imagery of both of these, the visual that always, always, always speaks to me is the mists of Avalon. There the priestess stands in the prow of her boat and parts the mists, allowing her to enter the island of Avalon. Whereas, the others who are incapable of this feat, wander forever lost in the gloam.
According to Wiccans, this specific time of year, October 31/November 1, is when the veil is thinnest. It is also their Celtic / Wiccan new year. The time the goddess travels to the underworld to confront the god in his aspect as death / rebirth / master of time. It is also when ancestors are remembered and honored. (Think too of the Day of the Dead and All Saints Day!)
I’ve actually been exploring this idea of the thinning of the veil, differently this year. Here’s what I mean.
If illusion is really impermanence, as the Buddha tells us, then that which we are seeking is a reconnection to all that is real, that never changes, and never dies. In other words, the truth of who we are.
So how do we connect to this place, as A Course in Miracles reminds us, where: “nothing real can be threatened, nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God.”
Of course, through our practices of meditation, ritual, breathwork, prayer and presence.
To that end, my prayer lately has been:
“help me see beyond this illusion, beyond impermanence, beyond what I think I know, to what is real.”
Given that today is supposedly the best time to do this, why not take a moment in quiet contemplation, and ask to see the truth of who you are, the truth of what everything is?
What do you say?
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Photo courtesy of Martin Winkler on Pixabay