The Grand Staircase

This is a clumsy attempt to recall a remarkable dream I had.

The spiritual path is an infinite staircase with the abyss below and eternity, nirvana, heaven or whatever you want to call it, far above.

We all dwell on the staircase, mostly in the middle. Sometimes treads can be so vast all one sees is a plain as flat as Kansas. People on such a step have no idea what you mean by a staircase. They are perfectly happy where they are because, for them there is no where else. This is it. Sometimes the steps are a small toe hold on a sheer cliff in a wind storm. Other times it is a mere lift of the foot and living is easy.

The philosophers of the past know there are times when the climb is tough and accept the challenge. Shamans and the like speak of life as “The Game” and know the staircase all too well. Jesus is a master player at the game and came down the stairs to let us know that the climb is worth it.

“All the worlds a stage and the men and women merely players.” as Shakespeare put it. Castenda’s teacher Don Juan told him life is an unfathomable mystery but it it the job of a Man of Knowledge to fathom that mystery. The climb is infinite but we continue to scale it nevertheless.

However you envision the staircase- from the linear monolith of the Bible to Escher’s impossible paradox, keep climbing, keep learning.