I kept going back and forth about writing this blog post, whether it was appropriate, whether it would be taken the wrong way, but ultimately decided that I should just do it since it reflects my authentic voice. In short, I can’t stop thinking about the missing submarine and the spiritual lesson myself and other seekers can take from it.
There are so many parallels in this story. The cost of boarding the submarine to visit the wreckage of the Titanic was priced the same as the Vanderbilt suite on the Titanic (adjusted for inflation). It is said that the cause of the sinking of the Titanic was due to the hubris and lack of safety concerns of the Captain. This has also been said of the Pilot of the submarine. And lastly the wife of the pilot and CEO of Ocean Gate is a direct descendant of Titanic passengers Isidor and Ida Straus. These elderly passengers were given a spot on a life boat but decided to give up their spot to their maid and another young person. Ida gave up her fur coat as well. They were last seen holding hands on deck before being swept away.
When I heard all of this, I couldn’t help but pause and reflect on the meaning here. I do want to say that I was genuinely hoping that the passengers of the submarine would be rescued. What happened was a horrible horrible tragedy, and the meaning I’m gathering is simply my own meaning. I’m not at all implying that the people of Ocean Gate needed to be taught a lesson or deserved any of this what-so-ever. I think exploration and pushing the boundaries are an important part of the human story. Because people are willing to risk their lives, discoveries are made that ultimately save many more lives. It is important that people do these things and their sacrifice benefits all of humanity.
So all that being said, I did find some personal meaning here that may be useful to other mediums and lightworkers. We see this concept of trespassing into non-human realms frequently in fairytales. This may even be a universal element of all fairytales now that I think about it. The ultimate moral of these stories is that you cannot just take and take and take, or eventually you will become the one being taken-from. There needs to be a balance of give and take. If you’re going into these realms for ego, for entertainment, for fame and fortune, at some point you’re going to have to pay the Piper.
We mediums also travel into non-human realms. There has been talk about the cautionary tales of once highly-regarded mediums, that their ego got too big, and then they seemingly lost their abilities. I’ve also written previously about the Law of Return in nature and about the tendency of mediums and even paranormal researchers to develop chronic illness. I’m finding myself more and more questioning if there is a price to pay if we do this for the wrong reasons.
Something that gets debated in the spiritual community from time to time is if it’s right to even charge for services. I have a lot of respect for people that work completely for free and would love to be able to do that. I regularly find myself moved by someone’s situation and will offer a free session. I can tell you that with the exception of two times, the free people have always no-showed me. I cleared my schedule and I waited and waited and waited, and never heard from that person again. So, again, just my own personal lesson and meaning here has led me to believe that if I offer my gifts for free that I will never have the opportunity to even use them.
Some of you who have been following me for a long time may even remember that I used to offer readings on my etsy shop for a mere $20. I don’t want to get into it too much, but that too taught me a lesson. At least for me, I learned that it’s important to have a fair exchange or that you set yourself up for a predatory experience.
This idea of give and take, of a spiritual balance goes both ways. If you value yourself over your spiritual gifts (money, ego, etc are the motivation), you’re devaluing your spiritual gifts and I would worry that you’re putting them in jeopardy. If you value your spiritual gifts over yourself, you’re devaluing yourself. That realization that valuing yourself is an important part of the equation was the “ah ha moment” that transformed Shakyamuni into the Buddha. A lot of people believe that starving and neglecting yourself is the most spiritual thing you can do, but perhaps instead we should be asking ourselves what is the balance that allows us to do the most amount of good while still being able to sustain ourselves.
As you can tell, I don’t completely have my thoughts worked out on this topic. For now, I will just say that I truly believe that intention is very important for doing this kind of spiritual work. Wanting to be of service and coming from a place of humility is very very important here. When you’ve achieved the right balance, you’ll know.