82 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard
row passages, tall rocks to jump from, sandy beaches,
and gravel bars. Drifting along, arms and legs draped
over the sides of the tube, embraced in the arms of
the river nymphs and watching the world go by, has
been the most perfect place I have ever known for
meditation and reflection. By coming to know the
river, I now know rivers, and I can tube, raft, canoe,
or kayak along them with perfect ease. I have even
done serious white-water rafting down world-class
rivers in Costa Rica!
Here are some of the best lessons I’ve learned
from the river:- The stream of consciousness flows
like a river.
Spirit moves like water. It’s always seeking to
return to the Source, and it always finds its own level.
Like water, Spirit can be bottled up, diverted, or
dammed for a time. But eventually the container will
break and Spirit, like water, will flow free and move
to continue its passage downstream. Water or Spirit
diverted will find a way around and cut new channels
to rejoin its course. Dams will one day overflow and
be swept away, and the flow will continue—always
towards the ocean, from whence it came. As water
flows ever downwards to merge with the vast ocean
below, Spirit flows ever upwards to merge with the
eternal cosmic ocean above. - Go with the flow.
Any time you come to a fork in the river, a big
rock in the way, a log jam, an island, or rapids ahead—
and you can’t see ahead to know which passage to
take—the trick is to look at the current. Wherever the
current is strongest, there will be a “V” in the water.
All you have to do is steer your tube down the center
of the “V.” Trusting to the flow, rather than fighting
it, you become one with the current, which will carry
you around and over all obstacles. Often, newbies will
try and paddle desperately to avoid the fast water, and
they find themselves getting swept into rocks, logs,
and embankments—or just going round and round in
a little side eddy and left behind by the rest of us. Just
so in life; the trick is to learn to see the flow of the
current, and then steer your course right into the
middle of it. The heart of the flow may seem too fast
and scary, but it is truly the safest course.- You can change the course of mighty
rivers with your bare hands!
Every river begins with a tiny stream. If you go
far enough back upstream towards the source, the
course of that stream can be changed by moving only
a few pebbles. Further down, it takes boulders, and
far enough along, whole mountains would have to be
moved. I’ve moved plenty of pebbles in my time—
and even quite a few boulders, and I’ve diverted tiny
streams that have become mighty raging torrents,
which have carved great canyons and washed away
mountains. Consciousness, like water, ultimately can-
not be resisted, and through Dark Times (such as are
going on as I write), I draw my hope and inspiration
from this certainty.
Quest: Inner Tube Trip
Find a river or large stream somewhere you can
get to easily, that is suitable for inner tubing in the
Summer. You may have to ask around a bit. Not so
small that the water doesn’t flow, or it’s too shallow
to float in; and not so big or fast as to be dangerous.
Ideal rivers for kayaking are often also good for tub-
ing, as long as there’s enough of a current to carry
you along. Get some friends—and at least one expe-
rienced adult—who’d like to make a day of tubing.
Get truck inner tubes, and over-inflate them into the
shape of a fat donut. Wear sneakers or good rubber
sandals that won’t come off in the water. Practice
maneuvering in a still pool before you venture into
the moving water. If you should capsize, hold onto
your tube! You’ll need a big pick-up truck to carry
yourselves and your tubes to the upstream drop-off
place, and then drive down to the other end to pick
you up. Start with a short easy trip—maybe a mile or
so—and try longer ones as you get better at it. Go
with the flow, and become one with the cosmic stream
of consciousness....The Ocean
We are the children of the great Mother Ocean,
the womb of all Life, to which our pre-human ances-
tors once returned, and to which we still feel irresist-
ibly drawn. The plasma of the very blood that courses
through our veins is basically seawater, with the same
chemical composition as that of the ancient seas from
which we first internalized our circulatory systems,
more than 500 million years ago.
Movements of human populations have tradition-- Nature.p65 82 1/14/2004, 3:33 PM