Entry 7: The Unalome
Awakening to the Fource
Nestled within the logo for Fource Beyond Perception is an unalome. My discovery of this symbol happened during a rodding session a couple months ago. Prior to that rodding session, I had never heard of an unalome.
For those unfamiliar with this symbol, the unalome is a symbol that is believed to have emerged from the Buddhist tradition but, like many symbols, the exact origin is somewhat obscure. Regardless of its exact origins, the unalome is meant to illustrate a being’s path to awakening.
At the base of the symbol is a spiral. The spiral signifies the start of a being’s journey. Some also believe the spiral symbolizes the person’s fears, weaknesses, blind spots, struggles, challenges, and distractions.
In the middle of the unalome symbol is a squiggly line. As we beings continue to make our way through life, we become a little wiser, a little more centered, and that spiral starts stretching out into more of a squiggle. As we navigate the twists and turns of life, we continue to make progress and grow, creating more space within that once tight wound spiral.
As we gain more experience and knowledge, that swirl starts to straighten out into a line. This straight line at the top of the unalome illustrates awakening, transcendence of ego, and new understanding.
Needless to say, the discovery of this symbol in that rodding session absolutely rocked me! I knew I wanted to get the symbol tattooed on my upper back under the base of my neck, to commemorate this part of my journey. I also knew that the unalome had to be part of the logo for this blog, a project that the Fource had been encouraging me to start for quite some time.
The unalome is the topic of this blog entry.
Being in the Fource
In this section, I will share information I obtained through a rodding session (for more info, check out The Rodding Method before continuing reading here). I hope you find it informative and inspiring, but that is honestly not why I share it. I share it in order to contribute to the ever-growing pool of information about the universe.
Be.
Wandering is both a constitutive part of existence and an essential part of the path to awakening.
The unalome is a symbol that illustrates this journey.
Every being must wander,
Every being must face challenges,
Every being must become wiser,
And every being must seek Energy in order to become awakened.
To become wiser, beings must learn how to sit still.
Quiet is the space in which Energy speaks.
There are other settings in which Energy communicates, but within these other contexts, some information fails to get through.
In order to fully hear Energy, silence has to be a part of the work.
Energy is knowledge unlike perception.
Knowledge through Energy transcends perception.
Quieting the mind enables knowledge beyond perception.
The unalome illustrates a being’s spiritual journey.
It begins at birth, it continues through teenage years,
and on into early adulthood.
Early adulthood marks the first unalome.
When beings become adults, perception overrides stillness, that is, ‘doing’ supersedes ‘being.’
Perception (doing) is necessary in beings’ everyday lives, but stillness (being) is integral to awakening.
Awakening enables greater awareness, understanding, and peace.
Challenges come when perception (doing) and stillness (being) are unbalanced.
Many beings are currently unbalanced, choosing activity over quiet time.
In surrendering ego and choosing to create a quiet practice, beings discover Energy, knowledge beyond perception, and peace.
Many unalomes transpire over the course of a being’s spiritual journey.
This series of transformations strengthens the flow of Energy.
To experience true transformation, beings must lay down fear, embrace humility, and seek quiet time.
Be open to more information.
Messengers are all around you.
Go in peace.
Following the Fource
In this rodding session, the Fource shares about quiet time, perception, stillness, being, and the unalome. The session opens with a comment about wandering, that it is not only an inevitable part of existence, but necessary for transformation, and that the unalome symbolizes this journey.
I am sure I am not alone in my sentiment that a lot of life feels like wandering. There’s no real road map for this thing. As much as different cultures and ideologies may try to pitch a 1-2-3 narrative for life, diversity and divergence abound.
As philosopher Jean Paul Sartre wrote, “man is condemned to be free.” Man is “condemned, because he did not create himself” and “free because, once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.”
We are condemned to wander, and we are condemned to make choices. As we make choices, somethings go well and others don’t. We face challenges. As we face challenges, we (hopefully) become wiser and, as we become wiser, we create more space in our beings. With more space in our beings, curiosity and humility emerge, and possibly an inclination towards seeking. It is in the seeking where transformation awaits.
In our wandering, many of us focus on ‘doing.’ Many of us are perpetually in motion, busy, productive — whether we realize it or not. Indeed, there is great value in the doing, in being active and operative in the world.
But, what many of us have lost in becoming so swept up in the ‘doing’ is the ‘being’ part. As discussed in an earlier blog entry, ‘being’ is not watching Netflix, scrolling on social media, reading, creating art, etc. All of those things are still forms of ‘doing.’ Being centers on true stillness.
Stillness has become so foreign to many of us. Many of us no longer value quiet time. In fact, many of us feel guilt, shame, or anxiety when we aren’t doing something or being productive in some way. Yet, in this session, the Fource reminds us that being quiet and still are not only valuable, but essential for awakening. Silence is the space in which the Fource speaks.
Many of us go about our lives like doing or perception is primary, but it’s actually the other way around. Stillness is primary, perception secondary. Stillness comes before perception. This tug-of-war between being (stillness) and doing (perception) is our elemental path, the most fundamental predicament of human being.
Although there are many contexts in which the Fource communicates information, it is within true stillness that information that might not normally have gotten through actually gets through. The Fource is knowledge unlike perception; it transcends perception. A quiet practice facilitates the reception of information beyond perception. For this reason, a quiet practice focused on stillness is essential for transformation, too.
The unalome is a simple, but brilliant illustration of this type of journey.
In the beginning of our spiritual path, chaos churns within us, much of which comes about as a result of perception. Perception creates a sustained experience of a self, a self separate from the world around it. With separation comes fear. We try to appease our fear and our ego with doing, with relentless activity, but that underlying fear and anxiety often remains. It is only when we learn to incorporate stillness, true stillness, into our daily lives that ego and fear dissolve and peace takes root.
This is but one example of an unalome-like journey that can transpire over the course of a being’s life. As we undergo various awakenings over the course of our lives, the Fource flows through us more freely. As the flow of the Fource increases within us, we not only become more at peace, but more connected to the source of all that is. In doing so, all of life (which includes us) moves forward, for the better.
