The Chosen few (Part 1 of 2)

Many are called, but few are chosen is the quote from the bible used to satisfy our outrage when life does not exactly smile on us in the manner we want it to. Then, those who claim to be wise issue this truism as if it contained the whole truth concerning our disap pointment, or anger, or frustration, or whatever we feel when we do not get what we want, when we want it.  In metaphysics it is taught that everything that is wanted, needed, or desired is there for the taking. One merely have to make the affirmations long enough, and the desired thing will come into one's experience. On the surface that may seem to contradict the many that are called theory. If all we have to do is affirm and the good we are seeking for which to be chosen will be ours, then everyone would have been on the band wagon by now. That it is not always so is evidenced by the unequal manner in which we live even in this "the land of the free."  If the statement that many are called and few are chosen were to hold truth, then there must be layers to its meaning that a cursory glance will not reveal.

The chosen few are those who actively elect to be among the chosen. The fact that many are called, makes those who elect to be chosen in no wise more privileged than those who elect not to be.  It is all in the choosing. To be among the chosen at this time is stated in various ways depending upon the frame of reference being used.  If the frame of reference is the material, then the chosen few, and they are few indeed, are those with all the material advantages at their disposal.  The rest of the world works for a living, or so the saying goes. On the other hand, if the frame of reference takes an overtly spiritual tack, which this one does, then the chosen few are those who are actively living a life filled with the graces of the universe; those graces are wrapped in the word joy.

The religions of our planet all claim to have a way for those who choose to be chosen, in the spiritual sense. They promise that following there doctrine is the way to be among the chosen.  Most of those religions are tolerant of one another. Those who make serious study of comparative religions attest to the overwhelming similarities among them. But to be chosen, in the spiritual sense, may have nothing at all to do with any religion. Using a religion to afford the understanding of what being chosen in a spiritual sense means, is one of the ways taken by many.  But all one has to do to see that there are many paths to travel along this route to being chosen, is go to any decent sized bookstore. There one will find many and various paths to self discovery. Self discovery is one of the meanings of being chosen. The questions then surface, how does one know that they are among the chosen; and who is doing all this choosing in the first place; and why are some folks left out?

The first question is perhaps the most difficult to answer. The idea of being chosen is so very personal, and intimate with each individual. Any blanket statement of this knowing would demand a lot more presumption that I can muster. But there are guideposts, and signs many others have left us. Their trail of lighted marbles are there for us to follow.

So we will look at some of the ways in which knowing that one is among the chosen few can be known. If the shoe fits sort of thing. Not by way of an apologetic, but by way of an explanation, let me state that the language of religion is the most succinct that is available to me at this time to discuss these ways. Plus, it is my preference to use the language of religion to discuss these acts of knowing.  There is now though  a growing language coming out of the personal empowerment movement that lend itself quite well to defining spiritual states.  But by and large the religions have been at it far longer, and therefore their language is a bit more precise.

Joy is a great indicator of being among the chosen. Joy is a very religious word, which has come to mean fun to me. Looking at joy as fun, lifts it out of a purely religious context and sets it squarely in the milieu in which living is done. Everyone wants to have fun, perhaps there is a song title in that. Fun is not always laughing and drinking beer, although the advertisements would have us think that it is. Fun is moving within a stream of energy which is enlivening, uplifting, and produces a great feeling of well being all the time. Fun may be had sitting alone on a beach and watching the waves make sand of rocks. Because we are a nation of doers, fun is always equated with activity, yet there is a lot of fun in doing absolute ly nothing and being aware of it.

 Fun or joy is intimately connected with states of awareness, and activi ties are only a reflection of those state of awareness.

  Ever been with a group of friends and have the activities slowed to a crawl and someone starts singing a song which everyone knows and every body join in, which then leads to another song and before you know it you have been singing for hours and laughing and having fun. Who said you have to have beer? The spontaneous eruption of music is the unconscious joy leaking into the moment unbidden. That state, when it is a constant everyday, with or without the singing, is one indication that one is among the chosen. But not the only. 

Another indicator of being among the chosen is characterized by a preference for allowing almost everyone to be exactly who and what they are. The urge to change others is very small in those who are chosen. In some of the more advanced beings living the life of a chosen one, it is almost nonexistent.  Religion parts from this here as most religion ist tend to want to change people to their way of thinking. They do this by promising all sorts of goodies if they change, and dire punishment if they don't.

 This proclivity to leave others to their own path, that is so very prevalent among the chosen. This stems from a realiza tion that to be among the chosen one has to choose. However by not choosing one has made a choice to remain the same.

The chosen often will tell you that everyone is doing exactly what they want to do, and being exactly whom they wish to be. Thus attempts at conversions are futile.  Plus, if the manner in which they conduct life is attractive others will ask, then information may be freely shared.

However, it must be noted that because someone may be at a stage where they must tell all the good that is occurring in their experience does not indicate they are not among the chosen.

 In the spiritual sense of the being among the chosen, no person outside of the individual self truly knows if they are among the chosen or not.  And even those who think they know for sure they are among the chosen there could be questions from time to time.

(Continued in Part 2)