Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness
Section 2: Chapter 9: Endless Curiosity and the Great Truth
Dear Reader: Welcome to Section 2!
Section 1—First Line of Defense—was largely about how I embodied the teachings of my family lineage and the culture. Section 2 is all about what happens when I move away from home and try using these in the real world!
So far, in previous chapters you’ve met:
Serene Voyager (Séri, for short) — my soul
Rasa (My soul’s guide)
Fear (doesn’t need an introduction)
Guilt (same)
In this following chapter, I’m proud to introduce my and many other readers’ favorite character, and, quite honestly, the hero of this book: Endless Curiosity (or Curiosa), for short.
Below is her picture, along with the publishing company she owns and which published this book! I hope you enjoy her, and her journey with my soul and I, as much as I do.
OH! and a little secret story. I wanted Curiosa on the book cover desperately. But, the artist and I couldn’t make it happen without cluttering it up. So, I let it go. Then, when the books came, we both noticed that she found a way to slip in anyway… take a look on Séri’s shoulder where her hair flows back—and you just might see a wolf in profile mode, howling at that beautiful moon…
Section 2: Growth and Adaptation
The skin, being pliant and flexible, enables humans to grow as they shed old skin cells, between thirty and forty thousand per day — like a snake shedding old skins of childhood and assuming new, shiny skins of adulthood, ready to continue forging a new path in the world.
Chapter 9: Endless Curiosity and the Great Truth
In the Museum of Universal Truth and Cosmic Knowledge, I am remembering more about who I am.
I remember that I am an eternal searcher for and lover of truth, an urge that has led me on treacherous journeys across time and space, especially to the Earth Realm, where truth regularly bursts forth in the form of religions, prophecies, teachers, books, manifestos, philosophies, and diverse cultural stories.
In the Earth Realm, entire cultures often come into existence built on little more than a collection of shared beliefs that the people call “the truth”. But these societies fade as soon as new beliefs gain power and take their place, which only proves the truths to be anything but solid. Skin by skin, lifetime by lifetime, I have spoken for these truths, fought for them, died for them. But they were not — could not have been — the Great Truth, for where the Great Truth would unify, they have divided. Where the Great Truth would collaborate, they have conquered. And where the Great Truth would embrace, these false truths have too often judged, punished and demeaned.
Humans would be far better served by empowering their own curiosity, rather than these small truths, or beliefs. Endless curiosity, not rigid belief, has potential to help humans attain new knowledge and also forge new ways of being that honor the earth and all its people without prejudice. Becoming curious about life and one another could invoke personal growth, communal compassion and even the ever-elusive but much-coveted peace on earth.
I say to Rasa, who has patiently sat beside me as I savored my past and remembered my mission, “I must resume my search for the Great Truth, which is trickier than I anticipated, but in my soul of souls, I know it is my calling to continue the search.”
Rasa, a twinkle in her eye, a slight smile on her lips, replies, “Let me see if I remember. You are seeking the truest truth, the key that opens all life’s doors, a truth so wise it can end all misunderstandings and crises.”
“That’s the one!” I exclaim joyously at hearing my own sentiments echoed back to me.
“Well then, you have remembered, which means it is time to call for your animal companion.” Before I can ask questions, she whistles.
At first, I hear and see nothing but the sparks and pops of creation throughout the universe. But then, from a distance, I hear galloping, followed by howling. I feel a tingling sense of anticipation crawl up my body. Finally I see a wolf in the distance, looming larger and larger, with two piercing silver eyes. I watch in awe as this wild creature leaps, her long, sinewy legs cutting through the air, stretching farther than any earthly wolf could dream. Her muscles ripple. Her fur shines. She is the picture of robust health and energy. She lands, softer than a whisper, by my bare feet, her lips drawn back to display two rows of sharp, white teeth. I stare at her, her eyes nearly level with mine, her curiosity feeding my curiosity, her wildness inciting my wildness.
“Endless Curiosity!” I exclaim as I greet my truth-seeking companion. I run my fingers through her thick coat and scratch behind her sharp, pointed ears. “How you’ve grown since our last trip together — what was it, two, three lifetimes ago? What an appetite for truth you must have now! Why, you look ready to cause a revolution!” Memories of our journeys together awaken in my mind. Never have I ventured on a quest for the Great Truth without my powerful companion by my side, whose appetite for truth knows no bounds. She has kept me going when I wished to give up, reminding me that I am fiercer, wilder, and stronger than the often tidy, orderly, and delicate human skins I embody.
Rasa, watching our reunion, glows with pleasure. Then she pulls out from her tote bag a foldable instruction booklet and says, “While it is my honor to reunite you with Endless Curiosity it is also my duty to remind you of how to care for her once in the Earth Realm. It says here that it is critical to feed her well and often. Her diet must not consist of too many empty calories — gossip magazines and the like — but consist of substantive nutrients such as philosophy, science, nature, religion, art, and so forth. Neglecting her needs for too long causes a hunger in her, and by extension in you, that can be quite perilous. And yet feeding her the substantive stuff will prove challenging, too, since so many times and places now ban wild creatures like her. In pursuit of nourishment, she is bound to get you into some trouble now and then.” She tucks the booklet away.
She continues nostalgically, “There was a time in the Earth Realm when she and others in her pack — Thirst for Knowledge, Dreams of the Future, Unlimited Imagination — were respected and cherished. But you are going to a time when knowledge, and the curiosity that ushers in that knowledge, is under siege. Pursuits of the mind and indulgences of the imagination are downplayed in favor of building reputation, status, and favor, sometimes at any cost. Remember that power in the Earth Realm is held by only a few at the top of a hierarchical society. They are known as Authority. Their hold on power — and, by extension, knowledge — is dependent on humans not asking too many questions or challenging their power. You can be sure they will call your wolf rebellious and disruptive, though what they mean is intimidating. Be ready, truth seeker, because Authority will try to frighten Endless Curiosity away and often succeed.”
“But she will always come back to me, right?” I ask. “Or I can go to her?”
“Always,” Rasa affirms, to my relief.
I look into my wolf’s luminous eyes and ask, “But where will Endless Curiosity go when she is not by my side?”
In answer, Rasa only smiles.
“What is it?” I prod.
“Over lunch, I will tell you about my project. Until then the answer to your question is yes, there will be a safe place for Endless Curiosity to go in difficult times. And I promise you that even if the two of you are apart for days, weeks, or even years, she will be strong and ready whenever you call for her,” Rasa promises, placing a hand over her heart.
Feeling confident about her care, I turn to another concern. “‘Endless Curiosity’ is a bit of a mouthful. How about we call her . . .” I pause as I recollect the etymology of the word curious from one of the books I have read and then add the suffix for the feminine, “’Curiosa.’”
“I think that’s a fitting name,” Rasa says, “and much easier for a child to say, certainly.”
“Do you like it, Curiosa?” I ask my wolf, who barks her assent.
“Do we have time to take another trip through this museum? There are some books Curiosa will surely devour,” I say.
“We have all day,” says Rasa, smiling. And then we three slip down yet another aisle of the Museum of Universal Truth and Cosmic Knowledge to further explore the knowledge of the universe.
Books are always best in their embodied form, if you ask me! “Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness” is available for purchase here (I’m soon rolling off of a BOGO promotion, so now’s your chance!)
You can read reviews here, or here.
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