I’ve been working on this blog about transcendence for about a month now. It is a slow process because I am in the process of practicing transcendence to get over myself, and I’ve got a lot of history being myself. The question is: can I be all of who I am and still find joy in my being even when I am limited, even when my circumstances are less than perfect? Can I maintain my presence within my boundaries no matter who or what is tugging me away from my true presence? Can I transcend the fact that I don’t have a clear handle on transcendence and write about it anyway?
It is a moment by moment decision with countless opportunities. I find that if I wait to write about transcendence until I have transcended my life completely, most of us will be a little bit dead.
The word transcendence is tossed around all over enlightenment literature. We are told to transcend this or that. We read about transcendent experiences. Transcendence generally means to go beyond something — beyond an experience, beyond our own states of being. Some definitions are particular in their nuances. One definition describes transcendence as surpassing others, being preeminent or supreme (think “God”). Another says that transcendence lies beyond the ordinary range of perception. Yet another describes transcendence as being above and independent of the material universe. Transcendence is also the state of excelling or surpassing or going beyond the usual limits.
I listen to these definitions carefully as I encounter moments of transcendent opportunity. The general meaning of transcendence – to go beyond something – fits best with how my life is unfolding right now. I define transcendence in terms of choosing how I want to interpret and experience the moments of my life.
I cannot abandon my history. All that I have experienced has brought me to this moment and will follow me into the next moments. I cannot change my experiences, but I can change my perception of those experiences. Much of my life is cued by what has happened in the past and what might happen in the future. If I want to have a different experience than the one I am having right now, it is up to me to transcend my preconceived ideas and ways of being. It may not necessarily change the situation, but it brings more of who I truly am into action.
Stay tuned.
©2011 by Barbara L. Kass
Tags: "way of being", change, experience, history, self, transcend
Eternal Presence 
June 26, 2011 at 7:31 am |
Barbara,
As I got to the end of this blog my mind/spirit said, she has already transcended her past while it still informs her of who she was, allowing her to be or become who she is.”
That being if you take the definition: to go beyond something. as a guide, you have gone beyond it by being aware of it, by discussing it, by blogging about your experience.
Well done.
I am Love, Jeff
June 26, 2011 at 9:08 am |
Hi, Jeff – your words that my past still informs me of who I was which allows me to be/become who I am are absolute jewels. Lately, ancient memories have been flipping through my mind of how I was in the past. I even remember what I was thinking/knowing/feeling at the time. These past selves are often lost souls who made decisions that were not always good for me, but they got me to where I am now. Instead of berating me and wishing I had not been that way, I am looking to transcend those memories and use them to inform me.
June 26, 2011 at 9:17 am |
B,
Yes that is what they are there for! To inform, not to hinder.
June 28, 2011 at 2:17 pm |
Barbara – I’m in a “catch up” mode right now. Having taught Reiki Level 2 for certification on Sunday, all of the tasks normally done on that day fell to Monday instead. I’m clearly behind, but swiftly closing the gap.
Let me say right off that working on this post for over a month was time well INVESTED — I’ve clearly received a DIVIDEND reading it.
I cracked up when you said in regards to waiting, “…most of us will be a little bit dead.”
Your personal definition of transcendence is quite possibly the best definition I’ve ever read: “I define transcendence in terms of choosing how I want to interpret and experience the moments of my life.”
Staying tuned…
– Laurie
June 28, 2011 at 7:54 pm |
Hi, Laurie — I know you are tremendously popular at HolEssence and, therefore, ultra busy (not just regular busy). I am hoping to be at least a little more integrated and present when I finally transcend these physical boundaries. I have about 40 or 50 more years to work on it but I worry if I don’t get it right, I will have to do makeup work on the other side . . .