the city and the cross

One day, while driving to downtown Minneapolis, heading east on Interstate 394, I reached the point where the full skyline of western downtown loomed up before my eyes. I have witnessed this sight many times, and each time have marveled at the grandeur of the city, and thought about the mastery we humans have over our material world. There in the city stand huge and complicated buildings, intricately designed and shaped, differing landscapes, transportation systems, and cultural elements all blended into one specific space. This compact space allows a relatively smooth flow of thousands of people in and out of the city to do their business, participate in the arts, or be entertained. The city is a spectacular testament to the creative mind and physical capability, of humans beings.


On this particular day not only did I see the familiar city's western sky line, but also in the southern foreground, I saw a church with a dome and on top of that dome was a cross. What a striking contrast I thought. Here amid a forest of lofty buildings was a church, a dome, and a cross. It did not reach into the sky as high as the city's skyscrapers, but to my mind, it appeared as grand a sight as the skyscrapers. Given the great number of views I have had, I wondered why I had missed seeing the church?


As I pondered that question, the answer clearly came to mind. When we see something that attracts us, we centralize our vision around that which attracts us; especially objects of towering size, odd shapes, or colors. Thus when I first saw the Western Minneapolis Skyline, I was awe struck by its enormity. Its community of skyscrapers, captured my attention to the exclusion of all else within the landscape. Its major attraction for me was its towering size, but with each succeeding view, it became more expected, more normalized. This normalization of view allowed me to decentralize and expand my vision to include the church, the dome, and the cross.


I have learned that there is a basic fallacy built into sense perception, and that fallacy is, not to take appearance for "true" reality. For example, determining the character of a new acquaintance by the kinds of cloths he or she wears, seeing a coiled hose and believing to be a snake, seeing a fallen leaf on the ground and believing to be a squirrel or bird etc. In this regard there is a saying I have heard, it goes, 'Believe none of what you've heard secondhand, and believe half of what see.' I succumbed to the fallacy of sense perception when I first saw the Western Skyline of Minneapolis, believing that its essential reality was in its great physical size, design, and shape. My myopic view stayed until my view was extended to include the domed church with the cross on top. This extended view has taught me to always look beyond appearances to the more universal realities beneath the surface realities.


Although the skyline and the domed church produced a dramatic, visual contrast, I did not feel they were in opposition. Here at once, was a community of skyscrapers, grand complexes of human ingenuity and domination over earth's elements, and here also was a church and a simple cross pointing to the heavens expressing a meaning beyond the physical, and both were created by the mind of human beings. Each creation, an expression of our comprehensive essence in relationship to the realities in which we live our lives. The skyscrapers are an expression of our connection and relationship to our physical/visible realities, and the church and cross are an expression of our connection and relationship to our spiritual/invisible realities. Both connections and relationships are real, but the spiritual connection and relationship is more real, owing to its more universal and immutable characteristic; more simply, it endures longer. It is for this reason we should allow our spiritual aspects to direct and control our mundane aspects, thus building our lives upon an ever-enduring spiritual rock rather than a relatively transient physical foundation. All the masters who have walked upon Earth have recommended this kind of spiritual leadership. It is the way of wisdom.

How do we acquire this inner spiritual leadership? It is acquired by seeing from the eye of your heart, and in order to achieve that you must turn your mind inward. By turning your mind inward you begin to observe the streams of your mind and the patterns of your thoughts and actions. This vision from the eye of your heart arises continuously, yet, at first it may be obstructed by the rigidity of your thoughts. As you continue to cultivate your inner vision, a safe and effective crossing place is created where you may step over a habit of rigid thought that may be causing resistance. Thus, this kind of "multiple vision" of viewing the streams of thought in your mind refines the process of thought and action patterns, making clearer their causal effects and providing an insightful path on which to move towards right action.

There is within all human beings this great capacity of mind that stretches and penetrates every aspect, from the mundane to the cosmic. Yet because our intent lies within the mundane we live behind a mind veil that prevents and limits us from the opportunity to recognize the light of true reality that lies beyond the veil. When Gautama the Buddha walked the earth, curious people would ask him what he was, "Are you a devil, an angle, a god?" The Buddha would answer, "I am awakened." In this simple answer the Buddha exposed a great insight into the make up of human beings, and extended a hand of hope for the lifting of the veil covering our mind. As an awakened human being, the Buddha shows us that we have an innate connection to the spiritual realms, and that the great abilities he had developed are within the scope of human possibilities. Therefore, in order to fulfill our destiny as human beings we must awaken from our deep, sleep of ignorance. We must lift the veil of mere appearances in order to see and follow the light of true reality that leads us to our true destiny.