Body of truth (hey, that's a catchy title)

After a relaxing weekend playing dress-up at a Regency Assembly, I am back to writing about Reiki.  Frankly, Truth #3 --the cure to suffering is awakening-- is the easiest to write about.  It's what I help people do all the time--wake up from the illusion that their life is simply about all the prosaic stuff we worry about every day.

You may have heard the saying, "you are not a human having a spiritual experience; you are a spirit having a human experience" or one of its variations.  I really believe this to be true.  This physical plane is the least of what we are, but the aspect of ourselves on which we often expend the most time, attention and concern.        

So let's talk about some writer's illusions:  the most pervasive is "you are lucky to be published" which is often followed by "so quit yer bellyaching."  If you are "lucky" enough to get a traditional publisher you should keep your mouth shut and take whatever publishers give you.  The boom (and boon) of self-publishing has given the lie to this type of sentiment.  And it's about time.

To my mind, writers, more than any other creative profession, have been willing to put up with an outrageous assortment of indignities in order to get our work to the public.  There are reasons a publishing contract is a distinct type of legal entity, and not many of them are good. And unlike many other creative endeavors, we lack a strong, well, unified, union to speak for us (though I do belong to the Author's Guild which, of late, seems to be heading more in this direction).

But I also remember my first contract negotiation.  The contract contained a clause that was a deal breaker for me.  I told my agent to turn down the offer unless this could be resolved in my favor.  This was especially risky, considering there was only one publisher of note handling the type of book I was writing.  Of course, calmer heads prevailed, all was set right and I signed.  However, it's not a negotiation if you are not willing to walk away.

But there are also other illusions we writers are prey to. The illusion that there are not enough sales for everyone; that in order to make a name for ourselves we must tear someone else down; that we are at the mercy of fans, editors, agents, our not-too-understanding families or downtrends in the marketplace.

Publishing is a pretty fear-driven business.  No one knows what really, actually works, so there's a lot of hand-wringing when things go wrong and copy-catting when things go right.  But there are ways to cast off these illusions and lead a more contented writing life.  The answer?
 
Truth #4

The end of suffering is Awakening to some truths about yourself and your work. We as people, and also as writers are not, subject to the whims of a capricious  Universe.  We are co-creators of our existence in accordance with certain Cosmic Laws.  Most people have heard of The Secret or the Law of Attraction.  Both of these are simplified and incomplete visions of how the Universe works when it comes to manifesting that which we desire.

Now I know that last word, desire, must have set off an early warning system for folks that read the last couple of posts.  Isn't desire part of the  problem?  Well, yes and no.  The Universe knows we have to feed, clothe, and shelter ourselves and those under our care.  But how do you do that?  That's where the Eightfold Path comes in:  examining your life and your writing path to see that all is in alignment for you to succeed.  This will often change your definition of "success" and how you go about achieving it.

I'll give you an example from my own life.  I needed a steady part time income to help me pay for college tuitions.  I put it out there for the Universe to handle.  Within two days I had a job interview and was hired--for a much better position than I would have thought to apply for had I put myself in charge of finding employment.

And on that note, I'm going to stop for today.  Tune in next week when I will start discussing the Eightfold Path and what following it can do for your writing and your life.


As always, I love to hear from you.  Have you had any experience where Spirit or the Universe just seemed to be there for you?