When we get dislodged from our seat, physically or figuratively, we get nervous, egos get riled up, and subtle offense is taken. This can happen regardless of whether our challenged position is a seat in a room, or a physical, political, philosophical, religious, or emotional position. It’s not so bad when our bodies get stuck, but it can be a serious disaster when our minds get stuck. I first realized the immense significance of mental positioning during a decade of deep immersion in the Hindu religion. (For our purposes here, let’s define the Divine as “That which is beyond positioning.”) To a Westerner, the many statues and images of the deities of Hinduism can appear as a primitive form of idol worship. It was a tremendous ah-ha moment for me when I realized that the conceptual differences in relationship to the Divine were primarily one of position. As a generalization, in the West, we relate to the Divine in a vertical way: God is above, we are below. But the East, the devotee sits in the middle of the Divine and looks in all directions. God is everywhere, inside, outside, on all sides, up, down and around. There is God as Creator or Sustainer. Here is God as Mother, Friend, Ruler, or Supreme Intelligence. Over there is God inspiring creativity, giving strength, providing protection, abundance or healing. There are millions of roles, names and faces – but only One Divinity. It all depends on where you are sitting and which way you are facing. Again, it’s positioning.
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Even in our Western traditions, there is a difference between those who position Truth outside of themselves and those who seek it within. We tend to group ourselves with people who like the same kind of seating arrangements that we do. Familiarity makes us feel comfortable. But what happens in periods of rapid change – like now? Once a friend going through difficult times noticed that others’ lives were also in a state of change. Everything was topsy-turvy. “Somebody shook the box,” she said. I appreciated her humour about changes that were causing her considerable grief. When something shakes the box, we humans tend to cling ever more ardently to our seats, and claim even more vehemently that our view is best with no changes to our current relationship, bank account, organization, political party, religion or whatever. But change happens regardless. Sometimes we’re stuck in a bad place and change looks good. But sometimes we’re stuck in a good place, and change seems cruel and unnecessary. But stuck is stuck, and apparently not in alignment with our highest potential. One thing we can sure of – time will push us out of our comfort zone. We will get unstuck. Eventually we will let go of the familiar.
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This is where we feel the call to a deeper life; to put our roots into that which is beyond change – deeper, higher, transcendent, more expansive or more centered. (Again, we are using spatial terminology.) But change is not the end of the game. Changing positions is not betrayal. We are expected to grow and change seats through the decades of our lives. We actually thrive on such growth!
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It is illuminating to explore and see how the world looks from a different position, tradition, practice, or worldview – not with the intention of putting down roots in that new position – but rather to broaden our understanding. It’s a wise person who seeks to expand their base before external circumstances demand it. Changing seats can change our lives. ~ / June 2011 29