The Spiral Path

With the rollover to a another 365-day cycle, man looks ahead expectantly, at least for a moment. He dreams of all the things that he wishes to accomplish in the new cycle, and tries to imagine what will be different this time around. What does earth-life have in store for him? Can he make his earth-bound dreams a reality?

Before answering those questions, it will perhaps be helpful to understand what a cycle is. In layman's terms, a cycle is a full 360-degree revolution which ends where it begins. An expansion on this can be found in man's definition of a cycle:

cycle

- any complete round or series of occurrences that repeats or is repeated
- a round of years or a recurring period of time, especially one in which certain events or phenomena repeat themselves in the same order and at the same intervals.

Did you detect a theme in the above definition?

Our years are simply 365-day cycles that repeat themselves over and over ad infinitum. Nothing really changes. The seasons will turn, on schedule, with each alternating solstice and equinox. Man's routines will remain the same: planting in spring, growth in summer, harvesting in autumn and hibernation in winter. He will do the same things on the same days at the same time of year as in years prior. Rising, shining and fading will proceed with clockwork precision and predictability.

The thing about a cycle is that it is a closed circuit. There can be little or no change manifested by something that revolves in an endless circle. Using a bicycle tire as a crude analogy, we'll find that the only thing one can expect from millions of turns of the wheel is a constant wearing-down that leads to a structural weakening of the tire, eventually ending in a blow-out.

So what can man expect of the "new" year? More of the same, unfortunately. Oh, there my be some microscopic growth in the life of the individual, but it will be almost hard to detect.  One may get a new job, new car, new house, but that is not true growth. What of the person? Has the entity made any progress in pursuit of the One Goal of Humanity?

Perhaps now would be a good time to look at the definition of a spiral.

spiral

- coiling around a fixed axis in a constantly changing series of planes; helical.
- to advance or increase steadily; rise

Again, there is a theme here, one that is in complete opposition to that found in the definition of a circle.

A spiral is a path of growth. Like a circle, it is a revolution around a fixed point. Unlike a circle, it is not a revolution on a flat plane. Each point in a spiral is plotted just beyond the preceding point. This results in an forward-upward movement. A key feature is this: the spiral also has a start-end point, meaning that it ends where it began, but due to the helical motion mentioned above, the new spiral always begins on a higher plane than the previous spiral.

So how does one pursue this spiral growth? He or she must embark on a new Path. Not one that revolves in constant repetition, but a Path that leads one from power to power and from glory to glory. Most human beings are content with the cyclic path, the path of the masses, as it offers no surprises. They know what to expect, more or less. They can pursue their desire to experience the same things over and over again. Let's face it, how much does Christmas or New Year's change over time? Man does the same things every year, like a cuckoo wired to pop out of a clock when the hour strikes. That is not living. It is a zombie-like existence, masquerading as "life".

When one begins to seek The Way Out, he approaches the Spiral Path. When one discovers and understands the doctrine of the two nature-orders, he stands at the doorstep of the Spiral Path. When one makes the voluntary decision to forsake the material world, choosing to be in the world but not of the world,  one can begin to walk the Spiral Path, the Path of Liberation; the Path of Return.

Resolve this year to abandon the cycle of death and climb aboard the Spiral of True Life.

~ g
.