Returning Home

"The soul is like a river, flowing towards the ocean of God. As it merges with the divine, it loses its individuality and becomes one with the infinite and eternal." 
-Paramahansa Yogananda 

After an epic winter season here in Tahoe, the billions of snowflakes that fell in the mountains over the last six months are finally melting into water and flowing into the lake. As these various streams travel effortlessly downhill and merge into one, we are reminded of the soul’s journey here on Earth. Just as individual water drops lose their distinct identities and merge into the collective body of the lake, our souls will eventually reach the end of their journey here in the physical realm and merge into the single, all-encompassing consciousness of the Divine. 

But, while the “river flowing into the sea” metaphor is insightful, it also appears to be missing something. It doesn’t explain how we became rivers flowing towards the ocean of God in the first place. What we need is a metaphor that demonstrates how these water drops are, in fact, returning home.

The water in a river that merges with the ocean, for example, began as water droplets that evaporated from the same ocean in the form of clouds. When these droplets fell to earth and eventually merged back into the ocean, they returned to their original state. But, here's the kicker, these individual water droplets were actually the ocean the whole time- it’s just that they took on a temporary form which made them appear as distinct entities, separate from their original source. 

This reminds me of a quote by the poet Rumi, who explained that, “You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.” A single drop of sea water may seem small and insignificant in comparison, but it still contains all the same qualities as the vast ocean. In the same way, your divine spark is indistinguishable from its source. While you may appear as a unique individual, your essence is fundamentally the same as the infinite light of creation from which it came. In other words, the light inside you is the Light! 

So, don’t get too caught up trying to discover the proper way to connect with Source because you are already it! You have always been it and you will always be it! To connect with Source right now, all you really need to do is get out of your own way and let the light shine through.