Before the Beginning is a Thought

Pause for thought with this simple, yet thought provoking little book.

I first read this book around 1993. I read it again recently when it jumped off the shelf of my book case at a time I was researching some material for a talk.

Philosophy books can sometimes be presented in such a way I'm left missing the point! This little book is written in such a simple yet thought provoking style and sums up the ever spiralling and cyclical nature of our lives ……. and leaves me still, many years after I first read it, continuing to pause for thought and doing a lot of reflective practise - which happens to be vital in my profession.

Our business in the Universe is not to deny its existence but to LIVE, using the Laws to rise from lower to higher ….

We are all on the Path, and the road leads upward ever, with frequent resting places. (The Kybalion Hermetic Philosphy).

Phil Murray reminds that throughout our lives we tread many different paths. On some we flourish, on others we don't do so well and when the going gets touch it's all too easy to give up and check out the one that runs parallel. The grass only looks greener on the side - It still has to be mowed!

Other times we run around like headless chickens going no where in ever decreasing circles. Alternatively, we decide it is far too risky to continue and so we decide that we have done well enough and decide to stay put, in the comfort zone. I call it the half a love is better than no love syndrome.

Sometimes we feel we have reached a crossroads and aren't sure which path to follow or maybe we risk and choose a path that is "less well travelled". Maybe we decide it's safer to stay with what we know and dare not take a step forward. Stuck in the groove.

"Life comprises many rhythms and vibrations. The pendulum can swing from one extreme to the other and I know of no person able to defy this natural law"

Phil suggests that there is no need to risk or feel stuck, if we learn to follow the path of Gradual Graduation we can allow ourselves to go through the Seasons of our life.

We can use this natural law to plan our life. If we wanted to have lush green grass and a bounty of beautiful flowers next Summer, would we sit and look out of the window during the Winter and hope that nature would deliver? Or would we spend time looking through the gardening books and planning which flowers would look good and where we would plant them?

Metaphorically, Winter is the time to consider what the future may hold personally and professionally. Ask, where do we see ourselves in 5 years time? …. set some goals (do some training perhaps) in order to make it all happen. We go nowhere if we don't look ahead. We need to be a "scout" sometimes and climbs the tallest tree occasionally to check out what's ahead. If we continue to plough on cutting a swathe through the forest with our headsdown, we won't see the pitfalls that lay ahead.

Spring on the other hand, is when those thoughts and plans start to come to life…just like the Snowdrops tentatively peeping up through the ground .,, it's the time we graduate and take those first steps into the big wide world. For the complementary practitioner, it is when we gain our "driving licences" and are handed those Certificates stating that we have qualified.

Summertime means nurturing those tender shoots, it's the steady course of action which comes from practising, learning, gaining knowledge. It's when we become strong and confident. But unless those plants are fed and watered they don't develop and bloom to their full beauty.

Autumn is when the fruits of all that hard labour are harvested. In the garden of everyone's life, Autumn is when we reap the rewards of gradual graduation!

As a complementary practitioner, I couldn't help relating the sentiments of this book to my own life. It's all too easy to graduate and then step out into the big wide world thinking that because we have a piece of paper, we are ready to tackle anything and anybody who crosses our front door,

The only way to blossom into the respected and very best practitioners that we aspire to be, is to graduate gradually. We must make the most of the nurturing from peer support that is available within our professional association, coupled with careful planning of specific career pathways.

Thought provoking indeed and a good read for anyone who feels "stuck in the mud".regardless of the stage they are at in their personal or professional lives.

BEFORE THE BEGINNING IS A THOUGHT
The basics of real success through natural philosophy
Phil Murray ISBN 1 – 898716 – 10 - 2
Edith Maskell
Bromley Health Management

Thursday, 25 January 2007

© 2007 Bromley Health Management