Escape the Belly of the Beast By Riding the Wave of Good Vibes

“The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom…You never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough.” — William Blake, Proverbs of Hell

Fixed in place, I thought the anxiety was here forever.

It’s easy to catastrophize when we feel our survival is threatened. I was ignorant, and it led me here.

To get out, I needed wisdom.

Out from where? The belly of the beast.

The descent there is necessary because, ironically, that is the only way to gain wisdom.

This is part of our human experience, the hero’s journey. There is a reason why all movies follow this familiar trope. The value of going on this journey is gaining wisdom through reflection on what got you into the belly of the beast and acting in alignment with the opposite.

In other words, to get out of the beast’s belly. I had to let go of my lower self in favour of my highest.

The beast isn’t your home forever. It seems like because, inside the belly, there is only bondage. Bondage to the habits, thoughts, emotions, or spirits that got you there. You seemingly have no control. But nothing is further from the truth.

You are in control by acting in alignment with the opposite of what got you there.

However, this wisdom of your highest self requires lower self-sacrifice.

That sacrifice is a tantalizing flywheel.

Pinocchio rode the waves out of the beast’s belly to save his father. Similarly, you come out of the belly of the beast by riding the wave of good vibes. Once you’re surfing, it’s easy to avoid the negative influences because they no longer serve you.

Whether you’re already acting as your highest self or in the depths of hell, here’s some sciency-biblical goodness to give you direction. It certainly kickstarted my flywheel.

The Inevitable Descent

We all know the story of the fall of man. It is a Christian concept extrapolated from the story of Adam and Eve that humans are born into sin because of the couple’s original sin. I find it hard to disprove the fact that we are born into sin. Science shows that human survival consists of avoidance of pain and a preference for pleasure. And this fact has close ties to sin.

Survival taken to excessive extremes is indulgence in the 7 deadly sins.

• Envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

All of these serve some survival mechanism — either ego based or physiological.

As I stated before, much of the Western world has its basic survival needs (food, clothes, shelter, etc.) taken care of. We now strive for the survival of our identities. If not that, bodily pleasures do the trick!

In any case, the root of humans being born into sin is our need to survive. This instinct taken to the to extreme leads us into the belly of the beast. The main point of all spiritual discipline is to favour our higher (divine) self over our animalistic tendencies.

In doing so, we ride the wave of good vibes out of the belly and into the light.

Riding the Waves of Good Vibes into the Light

Let’s draw upon the master surfer: Jesus Christ.

He said, “If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.” Luke 17:33 (NIV)

This problem exists because of our ingrained desire to survive. Everyone has a baseline selfishness to stay living. We prioritize our immediate needs before we consider helping out that homeless person. Then maybe, hit the church once a week only to remain lukewarm about this truth that Jesus spoke. Losing your life to live forever is a tall task.

But Jesus promises it will be worth it when you’re surfing out of the belly.

This can look like getting your finances right as a way to lose your life to serve others as Jesus did. Or it may be forgoing plans for yourself to take care of loved ones. No matter what action, this truth boils down to dropping everything to serve God.

There is another meaning to this quote — it is a message of minimalism.

How can you strip your life down to the bare necessities?

This philosophy, by extension, eliminates the excesses characterized by the 7 deadly sins. All 7 centre on the survival of the lower self. To only require the bare necessities is a humbling triumph over the lower self. When Jesus says that “those that save their lives will lose theirs”, he doesn’t mean literally saving your life. He means holding onto desire to the point that that is all you live for.

Conversely, a life of minimalism is letting go of this need.

When we do this, we live forever.

People conceptualize this path as the “narrow path” many can walk on. But the Bible says, “many are called, but few are chosen.”

You always have the opportunity to surf the narrow path out of the belly of the beast.

Surf’s up duuuuuuude, the good vibes are raging on today!

#sparkperception

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