The history of Western society shows a bizarre reverence for our religious rituals, even as their functions and meanings continue to erode. Yet in their perversion we refuse to question their value, blinding ourselves with possessions and scheming to acquire more. The rugged, spiritual versions of each and every one of us are polished to a shine and pushed down into a drunken id. We are led to believe that the experience our culture yields is the ultimate. Yet there are things which may only be perceived and achieved through quiet reflection and meditation.

Our tendency is to view the world through eyes and ears we consider to be omniscient, ignoring the net effect of millions of forces acting upon our physical and mental selves. Perhaps mystic, perhaps unexplained scientific, with some coaxing and concentration we can shed some of our perceptual prejudices and discern some of these mindsets. With some focus and a great deal of repetition it becomes possible to achieve profound psychological experiences, variations of the abilities of shamans, monks, priests and mystics. Easy and tempting as it is for some to dismiss these claims as psychosomatic or exaggerated over-zealousness, when one experiences a vision or similar paranormal phenomenon, its existence is no more refutable in his mind than a sight, smell, sound, or touch.

One must realise and be forewarned that those who open themselves up to these spiritual possibilities face the disdain of the general populous. For it frightens those who lead a materialistic existence to believe that perhaps our 'beloved' society has served to restrain our natural abilities for heightened sensory and spiritual perception. So defensive may the everyman become about his own belief system and ordered lifestyle that when another claims to have an experience the everyman has not encountered or conceived of, he may subject the faithful to ridicule, or even label him as dysfunctional - a 'lunatic'. But this alteration of the natural and spiritual functions of the human mind goes beyond the realm of social norms, and their 'conform or die' mantra. We alter the processes of our childrens' brains almost whimsically, wantonly prescribing drugs like Prozac or Ritalin. We offer a chemical fix for the spiritual problem. Group-think may soon be available in a twenty-milligram pill.

Man's life is a delicate dance between his soul and the world around him. But when the dancer falls out of step, we condemn the man, failing to account for the societal forces muffling the tune. In doing so, we perpetuate the social problems we face, and promote a spiritual philosophy that is fundamentally incomplete. In our urban jungles, we deprive ourselves of the basest of all spiritual elements; the unblemished soil, the trees and rocks, our original and final womb and cocoon. We are chained down in childhood, born into a societal zoo, deprived of our natural habitat, largely unaware of its very existence. Through silent and subtle brainwashing we have learned not to see these cages, yet still we do not sing.

Our memories of the instincts we manifested in youth we dismiss as childhood indiscretion. We transform it into a laughable matter, as humour is the only respite from the true nature of these feelings and actions we seek to ignore.

We are of the earth, raised in its bosom, allotted the fate of its seasons as we wither and grow old, returning to the dust from whence we came. This is the great unaccepted fate of our physical form. But such a fate lies only in the physical realm. Are not our good deeds eternal? Have our creative impulses not contributed to the communal mind? Is our love not eternal?

Begin this very day - take stock of your own mind, your wishes, your desires, and your representations of existence. How many are infinite? Is your spiritualism confined to an answer pre-prepared for those who might ask? Does your religion dangle from a chain on your chest in the form of a relic, forgotten or ignored? Seek out your place of peace and renew your journey; find your way through the labyrinth of existence. Be not frustrated with the difficult path; await no conclusion; require no proof inasmuch as our tainted senses can provide. As Haille Selassie, Ras Tafari I, said of the spiritual journey:

'Today a goal is reached, but it is for you only a way-station on a long road which will make increasingly greater demands of you as each succeeding stage is reached. The future dares you to prove yourselves worthy of the training you have received, to fulfil the duties which now fall to your lot and to aid us in the discharge of those high duties to which we have devoted our entire life. This is the challenge that awaits you today.'