The Way is Clear: Turn Sideways into the Light

I've been listening to the illuminating audio series, What To Remember When Waking  from Irish poet, David Whyte. In it, Whyte recounts the legend of the Tuatha De Danann, a mythical race from Ireland’s past, "tall, magical people devoted to beauty and artistry."When another, more brutal people, the Milesians invaded Ireland the Tuatha de Danann fought them off twice, but faced with a third battle against overwhelming odds, the Tuatha De Danann did the most remarkable thing. Out they came in full and beautiful dress. Flags waving and swords flashing, they assembled at the base of the hill and, as the invaders surged toward them, the Tuatha De Danann turned sideways into the light - and disappeared.I am absolutely fascinated by this. Aren't you?When the foundations of the Soul Caller Training began to flow to me, I was given a very clear image: one person standing and taking one step to the side  - one step onto a path that ran parallel to the world she was living in.I was being shown the image of a person turning sideways into the light.It's remarkable the way that guidance comes.Synchronistically, while listening to David Whyte's series, I was also reading Marion Zimmer Bradley's Priestess of Avalon, a book which had sat, unopened, on my shelf for years.Like the Tuatha De Danann, the priestesses and druids of Avalon - the mythical island at the center of King Arthur's world - lived sideways from the world. Though they had walked among men for centuries, their wisdom respected by the people and called upon by kings, there came a time when, like the Tuatha de Danann, the ways of the world became too harsh, the energies dissonant with the ways of Avalon. It was then that the High Priestess enshrouded the island in mist. Instantly, the island of Avalon shimmered sideways into the light.From that moment on, as legend goes, the confounding and magical mists have protected Avalon from the world. Some say its there still, only accessible if you know the way.What is this 'way' - where is this sideways world?It's here - the sideways world is woven into every molecule of the world in which we live - it's here. It's now.In fact, the sideways world is not 'sideways' at all - it's the REAL world. The world of suffering is the illusion. That's the cosmic joke at the bottom of all spiritual teachings.When we shift from defensive, dualistic thinking to open-heartedness, we suddenly see that we are not the victims of a world of woe - that is an idea, a misunderstanding.An idea that has made us step to the side of the world of light - into a world of suffering.And yet, all suffering is caused by holding ourselves separate from the world of light - and we get to choose and to make the world that we behold, that we live in. We co-create the world, with every choice we make. Our co-creative partners are the world itself - the land, the waters, the air and the plants, animals and other life forms with which we share it all - and the forces and flows of the non-physical realm. These forces and flows support the continued unfolding of all creation, of all that we behold.With this awareness, a new pathway shimmers in to view - a path that opens onto a realm of timelessness, generosity and light that was always there. A 'sideways' dimension of light and mystery that runs parallel to the path that we are on.This parallel path, and the parallel world to which it leads, are just one step to the side of this one.It waits there - patiently, silently, eternally. It is there for you - it never gives up on you. It is calling you home.  All you have to do to access it is turn sideways into the light.How to turn sideways into the light:

• Choose toward love. Fiercely, fully, no matter what.

• Respect your 'dissonance'. When something feels off to you, trust that. Choose toward what feels more resonant. If you can't figure out what to choose, simply focus on gratitude.

• Focus on gratitude. Even when it seems there is little to be grateful for. Look for something. Don't stop looking until you find it. If you get stuck, focus a laser beam of gratitude on the world itself - on the soil, out of which your food is grown, on the air that fills your lungs every two seconds; on the body in which your spirit resides. Start at the foundation of gratitude and work your way up.

• Ask for signs that the parallel path is real. This invites (and releases) the beings of light who support your unfolding to guide you there. When the signs arrive, follow them.

• Fiercely follow guidance. No matter what. When you can't - when you're afraid, forgive yourself and ask for guidance about what to do. When that guidance comes, follow that.

• While you are 'fiercely' following guidance, be gentle with yourself in all ways. Forgive yourself for not being perfect. Forgive others for not being perfect. Forgive the world for all the ways that it's let you down.

• Turn sideways into the light.

-----A little history (cuz history is always fun):According to legend, the Tuatha De Danann were Celtic Gods, with extraordinary strength and supernatural powers including the ability to "tap and manipulate mystical energies for feats of magic, mostly for altering their appearance, communicating over long distances, teleporting through dimension barriers and casting spells." After their shimmering disappearance, they descended into the earth to form an invisible world of their own in the hills and mounds, ruling the underground kingdoms as Fairies.